EQUESTRIAN
Tiny bet wins millions
A British horse racing punter has won ￡1.4 million (US$2.3 million) after placing a ￡2 bet. Heating engineer Steve Whiteley hit the jackpot in his five-race accumulator at Exter racecourse in Devon on Tuesday. “I’m not a horse racing man. I only go once or twice a year,” 61-year-old Whiteley said. The final horse of the accumulator was 12-1 shot Lupita. Earlier victories came from Black Phantom (12-1), Ammunition (16-1), Mr Bennett (16-1) and Lundy Sky (5-1). Jayne Amor of the Tote bookmaker says Whiteley “came to us after four races to check if he had been reading his ticket correctly.”
FOOTBALL
Barber to end retirement
Tiki Barber, the New York Giants all-time rushing leader, has filed paperwork to return to the NFL after being retired for four years. The Giants confirmed on Tuesday that the running back, who ranks 22nd on the all-time NFL rushing list with 10,449 yards, has asked to be removed from the retirement list. Barber also had 5,183 receiving yards in a 10-year NFL career. Barber, who will turn 36 on April 7, retired in 2006, halfway into a four-year NFL contract worth US$23 million. New York will release Barber once they are again allowed to make roster moves. During talks to extend the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players union, no player personnel moves can be made. “We wish Tiki nothing but the best,” the Giants said in a statement. Barber said that seeing his twin brother Ronde, a cornerback for Tampa Bay, still playing in the NFL at age 35 in what would be a 15th NFL season has convinced him he should give the gridiron one more try despite the long layoff.
RUGBY
Muliaina’s back fractured
Waikato Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina will miss at least four weeks of Super rugby after a scan yesterday confirmed the All Blacks fullback had sustained two fractures in his lower back. Muliaina came off the field early following a clash in the Chiefs’ win over the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday. The scan had shown the 30-year-old had fractured the “transverse processes of his first and second lumbar vertebrae,” the team said in a statement. “We estimate that he will miss about four weeks of rugby,” the team’s doctor Zig Khouri said. Muliaina’s injury comes as a blow for the struggling Chiefs, but opens the door for Tim Nanai-Williams to start at fullback against the Hurricanes this weekend after the 21-year-old impressed off the bench against the Rebels. The Chiefs have managed only one win from their first three matches in the southern hemisphere competition. They face a stiff test in Wellington against the Hurricanes, who have had two weeks off after the cancellation of their Feb. 26 match against the Canterbury Crusaders following the devastating earthquake in Christchurch and a scheduled bye last week.
SOCCER
Adriano leaving AS Roma
Brazilian striker Adriano has parted company with AS Roma by mutual consent after a disastrous seven months when he played just five games in the Italian Serie A. “We found an agreement for an amicable early end to his contract, which was to have finished on June 30, 2013,” the club said in a statement. The 29-year-old Brazilian, who has battled drink problems and poor physical condition, arrived at Roma in the summer, but has failed to hit the net once. Adriano has won 48 caps for the Brazil national team and took part in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
SOCCER
Invader tackle punished
A non-league player has been sent off for tackling a scantily clad pitch invader during an English sixth-tier match. Dorchester player-manager Ashley Vickers was red-carded for violent conduct after ending the intruder’s 30-second jaunt with a thudding tackle in the 70th minute of Monday’s game against Havant Waterlooville. Vickers says “the funny thing was, the stewards actually thanked me for it. But the ref decided to send me off and it beggars belief.” To add insult to injury, Dorchester lost the match 3-1 — having been level at 1-1 before the intruder, who was wearing nothing but a bright green “mankini” thong and curly black wig, ran onto the field. Havant has banned the perpetrator from its stadium.
CYCLING
Pellizotti guilty of doping
Italian rider Franco Pellizotti has been found guilty of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and will serve a two-year ban, the CAS said on Tuesday. “The CAS has partially admitted the appeal of the UCI [International Cycling Union] and has imposed a two-year ban... as well as the disqualification of all his results obtained as from 7 May 2009,” it said in a statement. The UCI provisionally suspended Pellizotti, the 2009 Tour de France best climber, before the Giro d’Italia in May last year after they ruled the then-Liquigas rider’s blood values were “abnormal.” “The CAS Panel has noted the violation by Franco Pellizotti of the anti-doping rules prohibiting the enhancement of oxygen transfer and has imposed on him a two-year ban starting on 3 May, 2010,” the statement said. Pellizotti must also pay a fine of 115,000 euros (US$159,800) to the UCI, the CAS said.
SOCCER
Japanese players unionize
Japanese players are to form a union to demand better working conditions, including bigger rewards for international duty, press reports said yesterday. The Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA), currently representing 962 players at home and abroad as a fraternal body, has decided to register itself as a labor union with the right to collective bargaining and strikes. The decision was made by a majority vote at a special JPFA meeting on Feb. 28, the Kyodo news agency and the daily Asahi Shimbun said. The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) has advised the 15-year-old JPFA to launch “union activities as soon as possible,” the Nikkan Sports said. No official at the JPFA was immediately available to confirm the reports. The JPFA, whose members include CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda and Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe, has been unsuccessfully seeking bigger allowances for international duty since before the World Cup in June and July last year. They also want salary guarantees for players who sustain injuries during international games.
SOCCER
Livestrong inks stadium deal
Lance Armstrong’s anti-cancer foundation Livestrong has signed a naming rights deal for the new US$200 million stadium of Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City, the club said on Tuesday. The seven-time Tour de France winner’s foundation will pay no money for its six-year branding of 18,500-seat Livestrong Sporting Park, which both groups hope will help Armstrong raise money. Livestrong will receive a portion of all stadium revenue, including ticket sales and concessions for concerts as well as matches, which team president Robb Heineman said could add up to as much as US$10 million over six years.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
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