FOOTBALL
Panthers sign Shockey
The Carolina Panthers signed four-time Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey in a bid to give their sputtering offense a boost, the NFL team said on Thursday. Shockey, who was released by the New Orleans Saints last week, joins a Panthers squad that finished last in the 2010 season and an offense that had an NFL-worst 196 points. “We are very pleased to add Jeremy to our football team,” Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said in a report posted on the team’s Web site. “He is a highly competitive player with a good skill set and a wealth of experience. He should make a solid contribution to our offense.”
SOCCER
No men in women’s team
FIFA on Thursday confirmed that there were no men in the Equatorial Guinea women’s team that qualified for June’s World Cup in Germany, despite allegations from rival countries. “There are no men in the Equatorial Guinea women’s team,” said Jurg Nepfer, who is responsible for education and technical development at FIFA. “There’s no proof. It doesn’t exist. We can’t comment, there are no comments to make.” Nepfer was speaking during a tour of countries that have qualified for this summer’s women’s World Cup. Equatorial Guinea were accused of having two male players in their women’s team during November’s Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. The country’s soccer federation, Feguifoot, flatly rejected the accusations. At the time, Feguifoot media officer David Monsuy said: “They are saying that Genoveva Ayong Man and Salimata Simpaore are men. It was the press in Nigeria who started it, with Cameroon following afterwards.”
HOCKEY
Tough guy had brain disease
Bob Probert, who made his living for 16 seasons by pounding on other hockey tough guys, suffered from a degenerative brain disease when he died last year, a new report revealed on Thursday. The hard-drinking former NHL enforcer officially died of heart failure at age 45. However, Probert was battling other demons at the time of his death and that’s why he asked that his brain be analyzed once he died. Boston University researchers said on Thursday that analysis of Probert’s donated brain revealed that he had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Probert, who played nine seasons with Detroit and seven with Chicago, is the second hockey player from the program at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy to be diagnosed with the disease following his death. Reggie Fleming, a 20-year veteran who carved out a career in the 1960s, also suffered from CTE.
SOCCER
Pique tight-lipped on Shakira
Spanish World Cup star Gerard Pique on Thursday told reporters that he would prefer to talk about soccer than discuss his burgeoning romance with singing superstar Shakira. The 24-year-old Barcelona center-back has become the focus of intense media attention in Spain this week after pictures of him hand in hand with the 34-year-old Colombian singer were published in gossip magazines. “I’d like it if people only talked about me from a sporting perspective but I get the impression that, ultimately, it’s inevitable,” said Pique during a press conference at Barca’s training center. “I think that the other aspect sells more.” He added: “I accept that people can criticize me for sporting reasons but what I don’t like is when they use an easy excuse and say that my performances are affected by my private life. If we’re here it’s to talk about football.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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