SOCCER
Nicollin banned after tirade
Outspoken Montpellier president Louis Nicollin was on Monday given a two-month suspended ban by France’s National Ethics Council (CNE) for a foul-mouthed outburst in the aftermath of a recent game. After Montpellier briefly went top of the French first division last month, Nicollin responded in belligerent fashion to a suggestion that some people would see his side’s rise to the summit as proof of the league’s weakness. “I’ll piss on their arse-crack,” he said. “Not a nice response, eh? It’s scandalous. But when Brest were the leaders, people took the piss. Does it always have to be Marseille or Lyon that are on top? When Saint-Etienne were top, their heads became huge.” Nicollin is no stranger to controversy and was banned by the CNE last season for labeling Auxerre captain Benoit Pedretti “a little poof.”
GOLF
Liang tops OneAsia Tour
China’s Liang Wenchong has topped the OneAsia Tour order of merit after two wins and a second-place finish this year, the Tour announced yesterday. Liang finished at the top of the money list with winnings of US$560,737 after wins at the Luxehills Chengdu Open and Thailand Open and a runner-up finish in the Indonesian Open. “I am very happy and honored. This is something that China supports and that gives me even more pride to take this trophy home,” he said. “This win will be encouraging for the development of golf back at home.” South Korea’s Kim Dae-Hyun finished second with earnings of US$272,154.
BASEBALL
Jenkins going postal
Ferguson Jenkins, the only Canadian in the Baseball Hall of Fame, celebrated his 68th birthday on Monday by watching Canada Post begin printing stamps bearing his image. The stamps, to be issued as part of Black History month in February, portray Jenkins while a youthful pitcher on the mound for the Chicago Cubs with a background of Jenkins being honored with his inclusion on the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2001. Jenkins, who was born in Chatham, Ontario, made his first appearance on a collectible trading card as a Major League Baseball player back in 1965. He went 284-226 over 19 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and the Cubs, compiling a 3.34 earned-run average.
FOOTBALL
Trip gets Alosi suspended
The New York Jets assistant coach who tripped a Miami Dolphins player during a game has been suspended without pay for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, and fined an additional US$25,000. Sal Alosi, the Jets’ strength and conditioning coach, will begin serving his suspension immediately and have no access to the team’s practice facility. Alosi said earlier in the day that his “actions were inexcusable and irresponsible.”
FOOTBALL
Peacemaker Hayes tasered
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Geno Hayes was arrested on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct early on Monday after an incident at a nightclub. The third-year National Football League defender was jailed only hours after the team arrived home from Washington following a 17-16 victory over the Redskins. According to police reports, Hayes became upset while trying to calm a dispute with two men he knew at the entrance to the Blue Martini Lounge in Tampa, Florida. At one point, a police officer used a taser on the NFL player.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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