SOCCER
St Pauli beat Kaiserslautern
An own goal by Christian Tiffert gave St Pauli a 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga on Friday. Tiffert headed into his own net in the 48th minute to inadvertently help St Pauli end a six-game winless run. Both teams now have 17 points.
CRICKET
Gibbs’ contract canceled
The international career of South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs appeared over on Friday after his contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA) was canceled by mutual consent. Gibbs, whose last appearance for the national team was 10 months ago in a one-day international against India, launched his autobiography, To the Point, last month and alleged a clique led by captain Graeme Smith wielded huge power. “It has been decided that this is the best way forward for both parties,” CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said in a statement released on Friday in Johannesburg. “Because of the sensitivity of the matter as well as confidentiality agreements signed between the parties, the matter is now closed and there will be no further comments.” Gibbs recently quit first-class cricket to concentrate on limited-over formats after a 90-Test career that yielded 6,167 runs at an average of 41.95 and included two double centuries. The 36-year-old right-hander from Cape Town amassed 8,094 one-day runs in 248 matches at the average of 36.13 during a 14-year international career.
SOCCER
Liverpool keep pair
Liverpool youngsters Daniel Pacheco and Martin Kelly were given new long-term contracts with the Premier League club on Friday. Spanish forward Pacheco, 19, signed a two-year contract extension which keeps him at Anfield until June 2014, while England Under-21 defender Kelly, 20, agreed a three-year extension, which will also see him remain on Merseyside until 2014. Pacheco has featured just once as a substitute for Roy Hodgson’s team so far this season, but Kelly has been more heavily involved, starting two league games and eight Europa League ties.
SOCCER
Redknapp lets Keane go
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will allow Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane to leave White Hart Lane in the January transfer window. The 30-year-old, who was loaned out to Celtic for the second half of last season, has started just two games this campaign with Peter Crouch, Roman Pavyluchenko and Jermain Defoe all first choices. “I think he’d like to move — he wants to play,” Redknapp said. “He’s not used to not playing. All his career, he’s played and been a big player and he wants to play. He could sit here and take his wages, but that’s not him. It wasn’t easy when you respect somebody and what a good player he is or has been. It was hard, because he’s still a good player.”
SOCCER
Frozen pitch delays match
Manchester United’s away game at Blackpool yesterday was postponed because of a frozen pitch, the home club said on Friday. “[Match referee] Mr Peter Walton expressed concern that the severely affected areas of the playing surface would not thaw sufficiently for the game to be completed,” a statement on Blackpool’s Web site said. Meanwhile, United manager Alex Ferguson had good news about injured striker Michael Owen, who is back in training: “He’s doing very well. He took part in the football side of it yesterday, but I would say he’s two weeks away,” he said.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
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