RUGBY LEAGUE
Kiwis claim crushing win
Junior Sa’u and Sam Perrett shared six of 14 tries as New Zealand beat Papua New Guinea 76-12 in the Four Nations yesterday, likely booking a place in the tournament final. Sa’u and Perrett both crossed three times and Jeremy Smith had two tries as New Zealand backed up their 24-10 opening-round win over England. The Kiwis scored their first try through Perrett after only three minutes and added seven more tries to lead 46-0 at halftime. Sa’u scored the first try of the second half two minutes after the restart, breaking 50 points, and New Zealand raced to an 11-try, 62-0 lead, before Papua New Guinea hit back with two quick tries. The tries cut the lead to 62-12, but New Zealand reasserted themselves with late tries to match their record 64-point winning margin in Tests.
RUGBY UNION
Wilkinson ruled out
Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson was ruled out of England’s internationals next month with a shoulder injury on Friday, the RFU said in a statement. Wilkinson, who complained of soreness in the shoulder earlier in the week, will be replaced by the experienced Charlie Hodgson. The injury, the latest of many in Wilkinson’s illustrious career, comes as a particular blow as he has been playing well for French club Toulon and was hoping to challenge for a place in the starting lineup, the flyhalf spot likely to go to Toby Flood. England play the first of their matches against New Zealand at Twickenham next Saturday.
SOCCER
Chelsea fined by UEFA
UEFA have fined Chelsea 10,000 euros (US$13,900) after Marseille security officials were not allowed into Stamford Bridge during a Champions League game between the clubs, the French club said on Friday. The light fine follows “disciplinary proceedings” opened against Chelsea by UEFA because of the “incorrect behavior” of their stewards during the group stage encounter on Sept. 28. The Chelsea stewards prevented their Marseille counterparts from accompanying the 2,700 away supporters into Stamford Bridge, which contravened security arrangements that had been agreed upon prior to the match. Marseille’s director of security, Guy Cazadamont, was physically restrained as he attempted to make his way into the stands.
SOCCER
‘Drunken cocoa’ downs ref
Top Colombian referee Oscar Ruiz has been hospitalized after being found unconscious and suffering with apparent symptoms of intoxication from “drunken cocoa” at his Villavicencio home on Friday, his father said. Oscar Ruiz Sr said his son, who has officiated at three World Cups, appeared to be suffering from the effects of scopolamine, which is extracted from a plant known in Colombia as drunken cocoa. “It seems he was a victim of scopolamine, he is being examined to rule out brain damage and a blood analysis is being made to see what problems might come from the scopolamine,” Ruiz Sr told reporters.
SOCCER
Whistler Pinto suspended
Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Pinto has been suspended for two Champions League matches after faking the referee’s whistle to fool an opponent into thinking he was offside. UEFA says Pinto was guilty of “gross unsporting conduct” in an Oct. 20 match against FC Copenhagen at the Camp Nou. The 34-year-old goalkeeper whistled, causing Copenhagen forward Cesar Santin to stop as he ran through on goal in the 26th minute when Barcelona led 1-0.
MOTOGP
Lorenzo sets pace at Estoril
World champion Jorge Lorenzo geared up for Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix by setting the fastest time over two practice sessions at the Estoril circuit west of Lisbon on Friday. The Spaniard, who clinched this year’s MotoGP title after finishing third in Malaysia on Oct. 10, recorded a best time of 1 minute, 48.522 seconds on his Yamaha. American Nicky Hayden of Ducati was second fastest, 0.135 seconds back, with Lorenzo’s team-mate and six-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi 0.361 seconds off the pace in third. Lorenzo is gunning for his third consecutive victory at Estoril, after wins there in 2008 and last year, while Rossi has previously tasted success on four occasions.
BASEBALL
Girardi stays with Yankees
Joe Girardi, who guided the New York Yankees to last year’s World Series title, will return as manager through the 2013 season after agreeing to a three-year contract. Financial terms were not announced by the Yankees, but New York media said the deal was worth US$9 million. Girardi made US$7.8 million under his previous three-year contract, which expired on Sunday last week. “I love being here. I’ve loved working here,” Girardi, 46, told the Yankees’ Web site. The Yankees have posted a Major League-best 287-199 record since the former Major League catcher succeeded Joe Torre as manager following the 2007 season.
FOOTBALL
Texans ordered drug sweep
Houston Texans owner Bob McNair instructed the NFL team’s staff to go through the locker room in a search for supplements that might contained banned substances. USA Today first reported the Texans had staff members remove products from lockers that are not approved by the NFL. The move came after two Texans players — left tackle Duane Brown and linebacker Brian Cushing — received four-game suspensions for different violations of the league’s policy on banned substances. McNair said on Friday he wanted to take positive steps to prevent similar cases in the future and said he believes the Texans have the right to control what supplements players use while they are in the team facilities.
FOOTBALL
Jackson ends holdout
Wide receiver Vincent Jackson accepted a one-year contract tender from the San Diego Chargers on Friday, ending his holdout from the team. Jackson, unhappy about not receiving a long-term contract offer from the team after two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, had refused to sign a US$3.168 million tender during the off-season. Jackson is ineligible to play until Nov. 28 — when the Chargers face the Indianapolis Colts — because he was placed on the roster-exempt list at the start of the season.
BASKETBALL
Celtics fight at practice
Boston Celtics backup guards Delonte West and Von Wafer got into a scuffle after the NBA team’s practice on Friday, coach Doc Rivers confirmed. Rivers said the team would handle any discipline it deemed necessary internally. “There was a fight and that’s all you need to know,” Rivers said prior to the Celtics’ game against New York. “I’m going to leave it alone, but obviously I’m not thrilled that it happened. Let’s talk about the Knicks.” Wafer declined to comment before the game, referring questions to Rivers and general manager Danny Ainge. West wasn’t available for comment.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
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