BASEBALL
Nicaraguan player charged
A Nicaraguan player has been charged with sexually assaulting a Taiwanese woman while he was in the country for an international match earlier this year, a prosecutor said yesterday. Huembes Gustavo Lopez, who was on the Nicaraguan squad for the Intercontinental Cup in central Taiwan in October, faces up to four years in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said. The 28-year-old allegedly met the woman near the hotel where he was staying and took her to his room to chat, before the woman reported to police the following morning that she had been assaulted. Lopez has been detained in Taiwan since his arrest in October as he failed to pay a bail of NT$200,000, prosecutors said. The Nicaraguan team’s coach Edgard Matamoros has apologized on the player’s behalf and said he would respect the authorities’ decision.
SOCCER
Schalke’s Hao on China team
Schalke 04 midfielder Hao Junmin is the only foreign-based player in China’s 23-man squad for next month’s Asian Cup in Qatar. The Chinese Football Association kept faith in domestic league players in picking a squad containing three goalkeepers, eight defenders, 10 midfielders and two forwards for the continental championship, Xinhua news agency reported. Wuhan-born Hao, 23, became the first Chinese player to play for Schalke 04, having joined the Bundesliga side early this year. China are in Group A with hosts Qatar, Kuwait and Uzbekistan in the Jan. 7 to Jan. 29 championship.
SOCCER
Pardew angry with Enrique
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has criticized defender Jose Enrique for revealing on Twitter that he would miss Tuesday’s Premier League match at Tottenham. The Spaniard wrote in broken English four hours before the match: “we decide is better dont play.” Pardew was annoyed that key team news had been leaked. “Did he tweet it, did he?” Pardew asked reporters after a 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane. “Players can’t be giving that sort of information out.” Pardew said: “It’s difficult to police ... we need to make it as a club policy that it has to stop.” Asked if Enrique would be fit for Sunday’s match against West Ham, Pardew replied: “I’ll check his tweet.”
BASKETBALL
Bucks’ Boykins suspended
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Earl Boykins has been suspended for one game without pay for making intentional contact with a game official, the NBA said on Tuesday. The incident occurred with 5.3 seconds left in the third period of Milwaukee’s 95-80 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Boykins served his ban in Tuesday’s game against the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, the league said in a statement.
FOOTBALL
Ryan named to Pro Bowl
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was named to next year’s Pro Bowl game as the Falcons led all NFL teams with seven selections, the league announced on Tuesday. Falcons all-star receiver Roddy White and defensive end John Abraham also earned a spot in the game for Atlanta, which has the best record in its conference at 12-3. Ryan however won’t start for the NFC squad as that honor goes to Philadelphia’s quarterback Michael Vick, who served 18 months in jail for his role in a brutal dog-fighting ring. New England’s Tom Brady will start for the AFC.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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