FORMULA ONE
New Jersey lands race
Formula One will unveil a New Jersey Grand Prix for the 2013 season, the mayor of West New York said on Monday. F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has long hoped to bring the world’s most lucrative motor sports championship to the New York area and that would be realized as a deal was reached with a consortium of investors, and city and state governments. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was set to announce the deal at a press conference in Weehawken, New Jersey, yesterday. The race will run along the Hudson River in Weehawken and West New York, said Joe DeMarco, an attorney with West New York. “It will provide a very challenging course — they compare it to Spa in Belgium, but it will have the feel of Monaco,” said DeMarco, who added that the race would take place on a four-lane highway, two lanes in each direction.
BASKETBALL
NBA to cancel more games
The NBA was set to cancel at least another two weeks of its season yesterday as owners and players remain at odds over a new collective contract, the New York Daily News reported. In an article posted on its Web site, the newspaper cited a person “familiar with the league’s plans” as saying the widely expected announcement would come yesterday. The first two weeks of the regular season — 100 games scheduled from Nov. 1 to Nov. 14 — have already been lost as league owners and players wrangle over a deal to replace the one that expired on July 1, when owners locked out players. Further games have been in jeopardy since talks collapsed on Thursday.
BASEBALL
Bautista, Kemp scoop gongs
Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers were named winners of the Hank Aaron Award on Monday as the outstanding offensive players in their respective leagues. Bautista led the major leagues in home runs (43), slugging percentage (.608) and walks (132). Kemp narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown, leading the National League in home runs (39) and runs batted in (126), while finishing third in the batting averages (.324). Bautista was the first American League player since Babe Ruth in 1930 to record at least 40 home runs, 130 walks and nine stolen bases in the same season.
SOCCER
Eriksson quits the Foxes
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has left his position as Leicester City manager by “mutual agreement,” the Championship club confirmed in a statement on their Web site on Monday. The 63-year-old had held talks with the club’s Thai owners on Monday after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Millwall left them 13th in the table, albeit only two points outside the playoff places. However, Thailand-based owners Asia Football Investments were unhappy that after spending ￡10 million (US$16 million) on new players during the close season results had not been better. Martin O’Neill will be high on the list of possible replacements, according to reports.
SOCCER
United’s Vidic quits Serbia
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic confirmed his retirement from international duty on Monday because of criticism of his attitude toward the national team. The last of Vidic’s 56 appearances for Serbia came against Slovenia this month, when he missed a penalty in a 1-0 defeat that cost the team a place in the playoffs for Euro 2012. Vidic announced his decision in a statement carried by Serbia’s soccer federation.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
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