NASCAR
Edwards rivalry heats up
Driver Carl Edwards passed on one chance to pay back rival Kyle Busch in NASCAR in Fontana, California. Given another shot, it’s more apparent that he might not hold back. The recent spat between Edwards and Busch started in Phoenix, Arizona, where Busch sent Edwards, the polesitter, into the wall. Edwards said afterward that he owed Busch one, even though Busch apologized after the race. The two hashed it out at Las Vegas the following week, but Edwards was still thinking about it when he got close to Busch last week at Bristol. Edwards chose not to get into Busch there, but again brought up the owe-you-one sentiment. Busch and Edwards are still talking about the payback issue in Fontana, so it could get interesting if they were to come close late in yesterday’s Auto Club 400.
SOCCER
Beckam, Galaxy stomped
David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy suffered a humbling 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday. Beckham, captaining the Galaxy in the absence of Landon Donovan away on international duty, saw his side go a goal down inside three minutes to an Andy Williams strike. A Javier Morales penalty put Salt Lake 2-0 up in just the 10th minute and then the Argentine playmaker took advantage of a dozing Beckham to lose his marker at a throw-in and fire home a superb shot from 20 yards out to make it 3-0 four minutes before the break. Paulo Junior made it 4-0 for Real in the 68th minute before, Colombian Juan Pablo Angel got a consolation for the Galaxy with his first goal for the club, getting on the end of a curling free-kick from Beckham.
SKI JUMP
Fans honor Polish legend
Poland’s president and thousands of fans gathered in the southern ski resort of Zakopane on Saturday to watch former ski jump world champion Adam Malysz take his last leap during festivities that marked the end of his career. The 33-year-old Malysz is Poland’s best loved sportsman after 15 years of success, winning World Cup titles in 2001, 2003 and 2007. He also finished with four gold medals and a bronze at the world championships and three silvers at the Olympics. The events, attended by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and his wife Anna, began with Zakopane awarding Malysz honorary citizenship.
BASKETBALL
Taiwanese awarded MOP
A Taiwanese basketball player was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II basketball championship yesterday, even though his team lost in the title game. Chang Tsung-hsien scored 35 points, the fourth-highest personal score in the championship’s history, for Brigham Young University-Hawaii in a 71-68 loss to Kentucky’s Bellarmine University, to become the first player from a losing team to be named MOP since 1998. Chang, a 1.92m shooting guard who goes by the nickname of “Jet,” tallied 78 points in two games in the Final Four and is the first Taiwanese player to win the MOP honor. He also shot 14-of-17 from the field and made seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 43 points in a 110-101 win over West Liberty University in the national semi-final on Friday. Chang, who hails from Yilan county, led Hsin-rong High School to Taiwan’s high school league title in 2006.
NASCAR
Ferrie challenges Lawrie
Kenneth Ferrie shot a round of 60 to equal the European Tour record and climb to within one stroke of leader Paul Lawrie with one day to go at the Andalucian Open on Saturday. Ferrie hit eight birdies and eagled the 12th hole to jump 43 spots and move into contention. “It was unspectacular, but it added up to a spectacular score,” the Englishman said. “You’d expect somebody with such a low score to have holed putts and hit spectacular shots, but it was just a very steady round. Lots of fairways, lots of greens and a lot of wedge shots to four or five feet which I managed to knock in.” Only 13 other golfers have shot a round of 60 on the European Tour. Lawrie proved steady again and hit five birdies to move to 12-under overall. The former Open winner has bogeyed only once in three rounds. England’s Mark Foster is level with Ferrie after six birdies within eight holes on the back side.
SOCCER
Piazon signs with Chelsea
Sao Paulo’s teenage midfielder Lucas Piazon, who broke the net when he scored for Brazil in the South American under-17 championship, has agreed to join Chelsea. “The player has signed a pre-contract agreement and is expected to join us in January 2012 on a long-term deal,” the Premier League champions said on their Web site on Friday. Piazon has scored two goals in three games in the South American under-17 championship now being held in Ecuador. The 17-year-old grabbed the winner for Brazil against Venezuela and broke the net when he struck in a defeat by Paraguay.
CRICKET
Ponting considers future
Ricky Ponting said yesterday he will decide his international future over the next few days, but insisted he still has a lot to offer Australian cricket. The captain’s return home after Australia’s World Cup quarter-final elimination by India corresponds with calls for his replacement as Australia’s Test and one-day skipper. Ponting, whose captaincy has been under attack since Australia’s Ashes series debacle against England in January, scored a fighting 104, but it was not enough to prevent India from knocking the champions out in Thursday’s quarter-final in Ahmedabad, India. He has now presided over the end of Australia’s 12-year run as World Cup champions after his third Ashes series defeat as captain to England. Ponting, 36, who is Australia’s greatest run-scorer in Tests, said he didn’t believe now was the right time to retire from international cricket. However, he said he was prepared to play on in the national team without the captaincy and drop down the batting order if he — along with Cricket Australia — believed that was the best way forward.
SWIMMING
Krizko banned for two years
The world swimming federation (FINA) has banned Slovak swimmer Lubos Krizko for two years after he failed a doping test at the European championships last year. FINA announced on its Web site that its Doping Panel had taken the sanction after a hearing on Dec. 13 examined Krizko’s positive test for the banned drug Tamoxifen, a hormonal therapy commonly used for breast cancer. “The FINA Doping Panel has decided according to FINA rules a period of two years ineligibility, starting on Sept. 22, 2010,” it said. Krizko finished sixth in the 50m backstroke at the championships in Budapest last August.
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
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
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
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