■RUGBY UNION
Bull suspended over tackle
Reigning champions the Bulls will be without leading tryscorer Gerhard van den Heever for the Super 14 semi-finals after the wing was suspended for two weeks Monday for a dangerous tackle. Van den Heever was handed the ban after being yellow-carded and cited for the spear tackle on Canterbury’s Tim Bateman in Friday’s game at Loftus Versfeld. The Bulls won 40-35, to seal a home semi-final, but will be without Van den Heever for the regular season game against the Stormers on Saturday and next weekend’s semi at Soweto’s Orlando Stadium. The 21-year-old Van den Heever has scored eight tries in 12 matches for the Bulls this season and is second on the Super 14 try scorers’ list.
■SOCCER
Three join N Korean squad
J-League Kawasaki Frontale striker Jong Tae-se, nicknamed “Asia’s Wayne Rooney,” will lead a contingent of three Japan-born ethnic Koreans in North Korea’s World Cup squad. The two others are also J-League players, Omiya Ardija midfielder Ahn Yong-hak and Vegalta Sendai midfielder Ryang Yong-gi, a group affiliated to North Korea’s national football association said yesterday. Jong and Ahn helped the communist nation qualify for their second World Cup finals — the first in 44 years since they upset Italy with a single-goal victory to reach the quarter-finals in England in 1966.
■SOCCER
West Ham fire Zola
West Ham fired manager Gianfranco Zola yesterday after a season in which the club barely avoided relegation from the Premier League. The London club announced the departure of the 43-year-old Italian two days after the end of the season.
■BOXING
Pac-man, Mayweather talk
Negotiations for a megafight involving Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr are expected to begin again this week. The matchup involving boxing’s two most high-profile fighters was discussed at length earlier this year, but negotiations fell apart when the sides could not agree on drug testing protocol. Both took other fights, with Pacquiao beating Josh Clottey and Mayweather defeating Shane Mosley. Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said that discussions could begin as early as yesterday, once the results of the Philippine elections are in. Pacquiao is running for Congress.
■SOCCER
Beckham leads Cup bid
England’s World Cup bid team hope David Beckham’s star quality will dazzle FIFA when it hands over its official documents on Friday, and Princes William and Harry will lobby for support at this year’s tournament in South Africa. While an Achilles’ injury has ended Beckham’s hopes of playing at another World Cup this June, the Los Angles Galaxy midfielder will be leading the bid delegation to FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday as they try to win England the right to host the 2018 tournament. “The great thing about David is that if he suddenly appeared in any village on the planet, everyone would know who he was,” Football Association chairman David Triesman said on Monday. “People love seeing him and he will play a leading role in the presentation of the book.” Each country vying to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups will hand over bid books containing technical details on Friday, with England’s taking up 1,752 pages. Technical inspections of all the countries are due by September, and the final vote by FIFA’s 24-man executive committee is on Dec. 2.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at