CYCLING
Zabriskie grabs overall lead
David Zabriskie of the US grabbed the Tour of California lead on Thursday with a dominant victory in the stage five individual time trial. Zabriskie, 33, who has won stages in all of cycling’s Grand Tours and who led the 2005 Tour de France for three days, completed the 29.7km flat course in 35 minutes, 59 seconds. Germany’s Jens Voigt was 23 seconds behind, while Tejay van Garderen of the US placed third, trailing by 34 seconds as temperatures reached 35oC for the second successive day. “I came out here in February and videotaped the course,” Zabriskie said. “I had a few spots where I wanted to soft pedal, but maintain speed. It sounds weird, but you can do it. The turnaround was one of those spots. This was a really good course for me.” Zabriskie also won the time trial last year and finished second overall in the event in 2010.
SOCCER
Luhukay signs deal at Hertha
Hertha BSC Berlin have appointed Jos Luhukay of the Netherlands as their new coach after the 48-year-old former Augsburg boss signed a two-year deal on Thursday as they prepare for life in the second division. “We are very pleased that we could take Jos Luhukay for the next two years,” Hertha manager Michael Preetz said. Luhukay replaces former Greece coach Otto Rehhagel, who took over in February, but was unable to prevent Berlin going down as they lost the German league relegation playoff against Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-3 on aggregate. Hertha have appealed to the German Football Federation after chaotic scenes in Tuesday’s second-leg match in Duesseldorf blighted the 2-2 draw as two separate pitch invasions caused lengthy delays. The result confirmed Hertha’s relegation after Fortuna won the first-leg 2-1 in the capital, but Berlin’s appeal was being heard by the federation yesterday. Excluding caretaker coaches, Luhukay, whose resume includes stints with Cologne and Borussia Moenchengladbach, is Hertha’s fifth coach in five years.
SOCCER
Reja quits Lazio ... definitely
SS Lazio coach Edy Reja has quit the Roman club and insists he will not change his mind this time. Reja reportedly considered resigning twice last season, saying he was tired of working under fierce protests from Lazio fans after defeats to Genoa and Fiorentina. Reja announced his decision in an interview with Web site Cittaceleste.it on Thursday, citing the “negative atmosphere” and the “continued criticism.” He said that club president Claudio Lotito asked him to stay and that “even after my refusal, he asked me to have a rethink, to take a week to reflect, but I have already made my decision.” Lazio missed out on Champions League qualification on the last day of the Serie A season and finished fourth, two points behind third-placed Udinese.
SOCCER
Sanchez to coach Sporting
Manuel Sanchez is to coach Sporting de Gijon next season following the resignation of Javier Clemente, the Spanish club announced on Thursday. Clemente, a former Spain national coach, joined Sporting in February to replace Inaki Tejada, who had been appointed on an interim basis after Manuel Preciado was sacked. Clemente arrived hoping to save Sporting from relegation, but he was unable to prevent the club from slipping into the second tier after they finished the season in 19th place. “For next season, the new coach of the first team will be Manuel Sanchez Murias,” read a statement from Sporting on the club’s Web site.
ICE HOCKEY
US, Canada suffer defeats
Jesse Joensuu scored with nine seconds left to give Finland a 3-2 victory over the US on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the world ice hockey championships, and Michal Handzus scored the winning goal late in the third period in Slovakia’s 4-3 victory over Canada. In the semi-finals today, Finland will face Russia, and Slovakia will play the Czech Republic. In Stockholm on Thursday, Milan Michalek scored in the final minute to give the Czech Republic a 4-3 victory over Sweden, and Alex Ovechkin scored in his first game of the tournament to help Russia top Norway 5-2. Joensuu scored twice, and Mikko Koivu added a goal for Finland. Kyle Palmieri and Bobby Ryan scored for the US. In the Canada-Slovakia game, Milan Bartovic tied it for Slovakia off a rebound with six minutes, 35 seconds left. Canada killed off Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ boarding penalty, but Ryan Getzlaf was given a kneeing major for an open-ice hit on Juraj Mikus with 2:32 to play. Four seconds later, Handzus tipped in the winning goal.
BASKETBALL
Bus attack delays finals
The Greek basketball playoff finals between Olympiakos Pireaus and Panathinaikos have been thrown into chaos after the first match of the series was postponed following an attack on the Panathinaikos bus, which injured two of their players. The match, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday evening, was called off after fans of the Piraeus club pelted the Panathinaikos bus with rocks as it neared the stadium, smashing a window. Greece international forward Stratos Perperoglou and US forward Steve Smith were both admitted to hospital after complaining of eye pain, but were later discharged, Panathinaikos team manager Manos Papadopoulos said.
MOTOGP
Casey Stoner to retire
Two-time world MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has announced he will quit motorcycle racing at the end of the season for “family reasons.” Stoner, who has won 35 MotoGPs in his career and leads the current standings after winning two of the season’s three events, made the announcement at a news conference ahead of tomorrow’s French Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Australian won world titles in 2007 and last year. He became a father for the first time in February, when his wife, Adrianna, gave birth to a daughter.
CRICKET
Pomersbach arrested
Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach has been arrested on molestation and assault charges, a senior Delhi Police official said on Friday. The 27-year-old was alleged to have molested a woman and physically attacked her male friend in a city hotel during a party after Pomersbach’s Royal Challengers Bangalore had beaten the Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match on Thursday. “A case has been registered ... Luke is in custody and will be produced in the court,” additional commissioner of police K.C. Dwivedi told the CNN-IBN TV channel.
RUGBY UNION
Higginbotham joins Rebels
Australia loose forward Scott Higginbotham has joined the Melbourne Rebels from the Queensland Reds on a two-year contract, the Super Rugby franchise said yesterday. The 25-year-old will join the Rebels next season. “Scott’s a current Test player, who we’re confident will add to the culture of the Melbourne Rebels,” coach Damien Hill said in a statement.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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