SOCCER
Hayatou leads Goal Bureau
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said its president Issa Hayatou has been appointed as chairman of FIFA’s Goal Bureau to distribute development funds. CAF also said on Tuesday that Hayatou, a FIFA vice president from Cameroon, will take charge of the organizing committee for Olympic football tournaments ahead of next year’s games in London. Hayatou replaces banned Qatari official Mohammed bin Hammam as head of the Goal Bureau, which was created in 1999 to allocate millions of dollars of project funds to FIFA’s less-developed members.
FOOTBALL
Ngata extends contract
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep him with the Baltimore Ravens until 2015, the NFL team said on Tuesday. Ngata, taken by Baltimore with the 12th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, is coming off a breakout campaign where he set a career-high 5.5 sacks along with 63 tackles to earn Pro Bowl honors for the second straight season. “It just feels awesome,” Ngata, 27, said in a report posted on the team’s Web site. “I won’t have to worry about my family, my kids, with money problems.”
SOCCER
Lechkov to appeal sentence
Former Bulgaria midfielder Yordan Lechkov has been handed a suspended three-year prison sentence for abuse of power as mayor of the southern town of Sliven, a Bulgarian court said on Tuesday. “I didn’t expect such [a] sentence,” Lechkov, who is the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) vice-president, told reporters. “We’ll appeal, of course, because I think it was a political act.” The BFU was not immediately available to comment. Lechkov, who scored the winning goal in Bulgaria’s famous 2-1 quarter-final victory over Germany at the 1994 World Cup, was found guilty of mismanagement which caused significant damage to the Sliven municipality, the court said. Last year, Lechkov, 44, was removed from the post of Sliven mayor over charges related to abuse of power, but was restored two months later.
VOLLEYBALL
Bulgaria captain suspended
Bulgaria’s volleyball captain Eva Yaneva has been suspended from the national team for two years for unprofessional behavior and breaching the ethics code of the FIVB, volleyball’s governing body. The 26-year-old was also fined 5,000 euros (US$6,833) for publicly criticizing Bulgaria’s former Slovenian coach Dragutin Baltic, sacked earlier this month, Bulgarian media reported yesterday. Yaneva, who recently moved from French team RC Cannes to Russia’s Dynamo Moscow, also failed to turn up for Bulgaria’s preparation camp last month. She presented her apologies at the federation’s board meeting, but the board members were unmoved and voted unanimously for the sanctions.
BASEBALL
President lauds Rivera
Mariano Rivera said he received a phone call from Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli congratulating him on his career saves record. The New York Yankees closer, born in Panama City, said on Tuesday it was an honor and a privilege to speak with Martinelli, who thanked Rivera and wished him good luck. Rivera said he also received a congratulatory text message from Trevor Hoffman, who held the previous major league mark of 601 career saves before Rivera notched his 602nd on Monday against the Minnesota Twins.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
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