SWIMMING
Thorpe disappoints again
Ian Thorpe failed to reach the 100m butterfly final at the Beijing World Cup short-course meet yesterday as the second stop of his hotly anticipated comeback came crashing to a halt. The 29-year-old Australian was 13th overall in the heats with 54.35 seconds, 2.22 seconds off Japanese leader Kosuke Hagino, after also missing the 100m freestyle and 100m individual medley finals on Tuesday. It follows a disappointing return to action for the five-time Olympic champion last weekend in Singapore, when he finished way out of the medals in his first competition in five years. “Thorpedo” is also scheduled to compete in Tokyo this weekend as he builds toward Australia’s Olympic trials in March.
SOCCER
Former Juve boss jailed
Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was sentenced to five years and four months in jail on Tuesday for his role in the 2006 Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. Fiorentina owners Andrea and Diego Della Valle and SS Lazio president Claudio Lotito received sentences of 15 months, though they will not have to serve them as under Italian law sentences under two years do not require the guilty party to serve time. Paolo Bergamo, the former referees’ selector, was sentenced to three years and eight months in jail. Moggi was judged to be the man chiefly to blame for the scandal and was found guilty on two counts, including sporting fraud.
OLYMPICS
Aussies face medal drought
Australia is facing its lowest overall summer Olympics medal haul in two decades at next year’s London Games, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) forecast yesterday. Based on the latest benchmark results Australia will be struggling to hang on to a top-five finish in the medals tally, a position it has held since 1996, AOC chief John Coates said. Coates said based on the results, which track Australia’s performance in international competitions, Australia would win 35 or 36 medals in London. As an overall medal tally, that would represent the lowest haul since Barcelona in 1992 when Australia finished 10th with 27 medals.
SOCCER
Alcaraz banned for spitting
Wigan Athletic captain Antolin Alcaraz was banned for three matches on Tuesday after admitting a charge of spitting at an opponent during an English Premier League match, the Football Association said in a statement on its Web site. The 19-year-old Paraguayan defender was caught by television cameras spitting at Wolverhampton Wanderers player Richard Stearman in an incident missed by the match officials on Sunday. The Latics are bottom of the table following eight successive defeats and Alcaraz will miss the games against Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and Arsenal.
SOCCER
Messi to get ‘caganer’
Barcelona star Lionel Messi, a rock ‘n’ roll legend and British royalty will be honored this year by Spain’s “caganer” figurines, a Christmas tradition that shows celebrities in unflattering poses. The figurines have been sold in the Catalonia region around Christmas since the 18th century, when they were placed in nativity scenes in the hope of bringing good luck and a rich harvest, but now they show famous personalities with their bottoms bared in the act of defecating. Customers inclined toward rock music or royal romance can choose between Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger or Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Catherine.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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