■ RUGBY UNION
De Villiers under review
A disastrous South Africa Tri-Nations campaign and controversial comments by embattled coach Peter de Villiers will be reviewed this month, a statement said on Sunday. “Rugby followers are extremely disappointed with results in the Tri-Nations as are the Springbok team and management,” South African Rugby Union (SARU) president Oregan Hoskins said. “We take the situation very seriously, but there is a process in place and we will follow that through. SARU will make no further comment until the review process is complete.” Sections of the South African media predicted De Villiers, who became the first black coach of the Springboks when appointed two years ago, would be fired on Sunday with one blogger labeling him a “clown.” The thick-skinned coach has grown used to hostile reporters and repeatedly claims that when his team triumphs he is a “superman” and when they flop he is a “clown.”
■ RUGBY UNION
NZ wins women’s cup
New Zealand won the women’s rugby World Cup for the fourth successive time when they overcame three sin-binnings to beat England 13-10 at Harlequins’ Stoop Memorial ground on Sunday. Despite being reduced to 13 players for a spell in the first half after yellow cards for Anna Richards and Mel Bosman, New Zealand led 7-0 at the break after a try by winger Carla Hohepa, who also scored two in the 45-7 semi-final thrashing of France. After a penalty apiece England, who have now lost the last three finals, drew level at 10-10 with a Charlotte Barras try when the Kiwis were again reduced to 14. However, a 65th-minute Kelly Brazier penalty put the holders back in front and they held out to maintain their stranglehold on the tournament despite playing far fewer regular matches than their European opponents.
■BASEBALL
Hamilton out with injury
Texas Rangers All-Star Josh Hamilton sat out his team’s 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday and will miss extended time with a rib injury. Major League Baseball does not have a disabled list during the month of September, but Hamilton will be out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time after slamming into the wall while making a catch on Saturday against the Twins. “It’s not good. All signs point to not soon,” Hamilton told the team’s Web site in regards to his timetable for return. “I feel like I have been in a car wreck.” Hamilton is enjoying the best year of his career and is leading the American League with a .361 batting average while hitting 31 home runs and driving in 97 runs. The absence of slugger Hamilton leaves a sizeable hole. “The last time it happened I felt a lot better after a week,” said Hamilton, who had a similar injury last year when he missed 13 games. “So we’ll see.”
■ GOLF
Blind golfers tee up
Three blind golfers will test their skills this week against Asian Tour professionals during the inaugural Handa Singapore Classic in a drive to encourage more people with disabilities to tee off. Australian David Blyth, England’s Neil Baxter and Yam Ting Woo of Malaysia will play a three-hole challenge, each paired with a professional who will be blind-folded. The initiative is the brainchild of Japanese philanthropist and businessman Haruhisa Handa, whose Tokyo-based company International Sports Promotion Society is the main tournament sponsor. Australian Unho Park has been confirmed as one of the Asian Tour professionals to take the challenge.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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