SPAIN
Doping claims withdrawn
A Spanish radio station has withdrawn an item broadcast last year in which it alleged Barcelona players were involved in illegal doping and has agreed to pay the club 200,000 euros (US$268,500) in damages. Cadena Cope published a statement on its Web site, www.cope.es, on Tuesday saying the allegations, made in March last year, had proven to be untrue and had come from an unverified source. “It is recognized therefore that an unlawful interposition against the honor of the club in question was committed,” the statement said. The allegations, which Barca denied and demanded be withdrawn, were particularly controversial as local media reported that the source was an unidentified official at Barca’s archrivals, Real Madrid.
GERMANY
Podolski linked to Arsenal
Experienced German striker Lukas Podolski is close to joining English Premier League side Arsenal from Cologne, German daily Bild said on its Web site on Tuesday. The 26-year-old — capped 95 times and a veteran of two World Cups and Euro 2008 — has apparently already agreed personal terms with Arsenal, though, the two clubs have yet to agree a fee. Podolski’s contract with Cologne, a club he adores as he grew up in the city after his family moved there from Poland, runs till next year and the Bundesliga outfit had been trying to get him to sign an extension. Although presently out injured he has scored 15 goals out of the 30 the club has netted in the Bundesliga, in which they lie fifth from bottom and battling against relegation.
ARGENTINA
Injured coach quits
Nestor Gorosito handed in his resignation as coach of Argentine first division side Argentinos Juniors from a hospital bed after suffering multiple injuries in a car crash. The 47-year-old crashed his pickup truck in the early hours of Saturday on a highway on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, hours before his team lost a league match against San Lorenzo. “Today, the coaching staff led by Nestor Gorosito handed in their resignations to the board. These will be evaluated jointly with the coach given the time that his recovery requires,” the club said on Tuesday on their Web site, www.argentinosjuniors.com.ar. The former Argentina midfielder decided to resign after learning he would have to remain in hospital for at least two months to recover from intestinal damage and a fractured vertebra. Club president Luis Segura confirmed on La Red radio station that Gorosito’s life was not in danger and the board would take two to three days to decide whether to accept his resignation. Picking up a team with no wins in seven matches in September, Gorosito steered them to five victories and three draws in 11. Argentinos have picked up only one point from three matches in the Clausura championship.
FRANCE
Armand Penverne dies at 85
Former France skipper Armand Penverne has died aged 85, a source close to him said on Tuesday. Penverne captained France in seven of the 39 internationals he played between 1952-59 including most famously the 6-3 whipping they doled out to the Germans in the 1958 World Cup third place match. Penverne, a midfielder, won the French league title four times and the French Cup twice with the great team of that epoch, Reims. Penverne, who also played for Limoges and Red Star, was also part of the Reims side that reached the European Cup final twice where they lost on both occasions to Real Madrid, 4-3 in 1956 and 2-0 in 1959.
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
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