ATHLETICS
Merritt mulls legal action
Disgraced Olympic and world 400m champion LaShawn Merritt might take legal action if USA Track & Field (USATF) does not allow him to compete in this year’s world championships, his lawyer said on Friday. Merritt’s 21-month doping suspension is scheduled to end on July 27, a month ahead of the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, but a month after the US trials in Eugene, Oregon. As the reigning world champion, Merritt would normally be an automatic qualifier for the world championships, with the US trials determining the other three US 400m competitors. However, a USATF bylaw requires all athletes to compete in the US world championship trials to be considered for the US team.
ATHLETICS
Bolt to run 100m in Rome
World and Olympic double sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica will open his Diamond League campaign in the 100m in Rome on May 26, organizers said on Friday. Bolt, also the world record holder in the 100m and 200m, will be joined by Kenya’s 800m world record holder David Rudisha in the Olympic Stadium at the third leg of the 14-leg Diamond League. It will be Bolt’s first appearance in Rome. “I’m looking forward to test the reaction of the Roman crowd, whose love for sports is well known worldwide,” Bolt said. “I know that the Olympic stadium has a very fast track, as some of the best sprinters ran remarkable times there in the last 10 years. I hope to put my name on that list, hopefully somewhere on the top.”
ALPINE SKIING
Mario Scheiber hospitalized
Downhiller Mario Scheiber could be kept in hospital for observation until today, doctors said, after a training crash in Camonix, France, left the Austrian with a fractured collar bone and facial injuries. Scheiber, 27, lay unconscious for three minutes on Thursday after a heavy spilll on the “Verte des Houches” run that hosted the men’s downhill run yesterday and had to be airlifted to hospital. Fears that he might have suffered the same injuries as compatriot Hans Grugger — who had to be put into an artificial coma last week — were soon allayed after his arrival at the hospital in nearby Sallanches. It is unknown for how long he will be sidelined by his injuries.
FOOTBALL
Number of injuries rising
The NFL Players’ Union says the average number of injuries increased this season. In a report released on Friday called Dangers of the Game of Football, the union says injuries rose from 3.2 to 3.7 per week per team and the share of players injured increased to 63 percent compared with a 2002-2009 average of 59 percent. The report also shows that 13 percent of all injuries required being placed on injured reserve this season, compared with an average of 10 percent for 2002-2009. The union says that indicates the injuries that are occurring are more serious than in past years. The analysis is based on data from NFL Weeks 1 through 16 from Football Outsiders, which compiles information from the publicly available weekly injury reports.
FOOTBALL
Rough Peppers fined
Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers has been fined US$10,000 by the NFL for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers in the NFC championship game. The fine was for unnecessary roughness, the NFL said in a statement. Peppers was penalized for roughing the passer on the play.
CRICKET
Bracken hangs up his boots
Australian limited-overs specialist Nathan Bracken announced his retirement from cricket in Sydney yesterday. The New South Wales left-armer, a key member of Australia’s World Cup-winning team in 2007 in the West Indies, played 116 one-day internationals and five Tests, plus 19 Twenty20 internationals for Australia. He cited knee injuries for his decision to call it quits at the age of 33. Bracken said he had investigated ways to continue playing, but received medical advice that he should retire. “I really have enjoyed my cricket, both internationally and domestically, but unfortunately knee injuries have taken their toll,” Bracken said. “My doctor has advised that I may require further surgery to stabilize my knee and to enable me to have good use of the knee in the future, but to continue playing first-class cricket is now not an option that I have.”
CRICKET
Canada pleads for visa help
Canada have pleaded with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to help their three Pakistan-born players obtain visas to enter India for the World Cup, which gets under way on Feb. 19. Vice captain Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan and Hamza Tariq are all still waiting for their visas for India. The delay has prompted Cricket Canada to demand that the schedule, which has the team playing four of their six group games in India, be altered so that matches are switched to co-hosts Bangladesh and Sri Lanka if the problem persists. In a letter to ICC president Sharad Pawar, Cricket Canada president Ranjit Saini requested that all efforts be made to solve the impasse. “We seek your kind help and attention to this matter in assisting our players to obtain their visa in Dubai, Dhaka or Colombo,” Saini wrote.
SOCCER
Inter sign striker Pazzini
Inter eased the scoring burden on Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito by swooping for Sampdoria and Italy striker Giampaolo Pazzini on Friday. The world, European and Italian champions said in a statement that he had signed until June 2015 and that forward Jonathan Biabiany has joined Samp as part of the deal. Media reports said 12 million euros (US$16 million) had also changed hands. “It’s a great surprise. I’ve arrived, yet I don’t really understand what’s happened,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s happened so quick and I absolutely did not expect it, but I am really happy.”
SOCCER
Vela loaned to the Baggies
Arsenal’s Mexico international striker Carlos Vela joined struggling Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion on loan until the end of the season on Friday. The 21-year-old, who was in his country’s World Cup squad, has made just 13 appearances for the Gunners this season, scoring three goals. In total, he has played 62 times for Arsene Wenger’s men, scoring 11 times. “Carlos is a new attacking option for us, who can play both centrally and in the wide areas. He also has great technical ability and pace, and we’re hoping he can make a big impact during the remainder of the season,” West Brom coach Roberto Di Matteo said.
SOCCER
Vila inks deal with Milan
Espanyol defender Didac Vila signed a four-year deal with Italian league leaders AC Milan on Friday, the Spanish club announced. “The transfer of the player to AC Milan will be concluded in less than 48 hours,” an Espanyol statement said. The 21-year-old has not featured in the Espanyol first team this season.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
Thousands of Taiwanese fans yesterday descended on the Tokyo Dome for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) opener, displaying banners proclaiming “Team Taiwan” as opposed to their official designation in the tournament, Chinese Taipei. Taiwan has long competed in international sport as “Chinese Taipei” to avoid objections from China. Outside the Tokyo Dome, self-described “fan activists” clad in the red, white and blue of Taiwan’s flag led chants of “Go Taiwan” in Mandarin and “Team Taiwan” in English. “Of course we hope to compete under the name Taiwan, so that in the future there will no longer be a ‘Chinese Taipei’ anymore — it
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