ICE HOCKEY
NHL reaches agreement
The National Hockey League (NHL) and union representing its locked-out players reached agreement on drug testing and player safety on Friday, but did not address the core economic issues standing in the way of a new labor deal. “We’re taking baby steps right now.” Mathieu Schneider, a special assistant to the NHL Players Association’s executive director, told reporters in New York. “We are not really discussing anything that has to do with the core economics,” he said. The NHL locked out its players on Sept. 16 when the previous labor deal expired with the two sides at odds over how to divide a US$3.3 billion revenue pie. The lockout, which is the NHL’s fourth work stoppage in 20 years, has already forced the league to cancel its entire preseason schedule.
BASEBALL
Twins drop Nishioka
Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was released on Friday by the Minnesota Twins after a disappointing year with one season remaining on his Major League Baseball contract. The 28-year-old Osaka native was dropped for a US$250,000 buyout to avoid playing him US$3 million next season in the final year of a deal signed in 2010. Nishioka, who helped Japan win the 2006 World Baseball Classic, suffered a broken leg in a collision with New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher after playing only 68 games in the 2011 season. Nishioka, who had batted .226 with 19 runs batted in and 14 runs scored before the injury, went hitless in three at-bats for the Twins this season and spent most of the season with their top developmental team, hitting .258 with two home runs and 34 runs batted in over 101 games.
FOOTBALL
Children’s coach fired
The coach of a children’s gridiron team in suburban Los Angeles and the league president have been suspended after allegations in the Orange County Register by parents of a bounty scheme. The bounty system, allegedly used last season to provide payments to 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds for deliberately injuring opponents, follows a similar scheme that led to National Football League bans this year for the New Orleans Saints. The report says parents claim coach Darren Crawford and an assistant offered players on the Red Cobras of the Tustin (California) Junior Pee Wee league cash for hard hits that knocked football rivals out of playoff games. One player suffered a mild concussion as a result of such a hit. National Pop Warner officials said that Crawford and Pat Galentine, who serves as president of the Tustin league, have been suspended until an investigation into the claims has been conducted.
ICE HOCKEY
Kane to play in KHL
Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane has reached a deal to play for Dinamo Minsk of the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the duration of the National Hockey League (NHL) lockout. Kane became the first Canadian player to sign with a KHL team even as NHL officials and players union leaders renewed talks in hopes of saving a full NHL season in the wake of club owners locking out players almost two weeks ago. The Belarus club announced the agreement on Friday, exactly 40 years to the day after Canada defeated the Soviet Union in ice hockey’s legendary Summit Series. Kane scored 30 goals for the Jets last season and signed a six-year NHL contract extension worth US$31.5 million just before the lockout began.
SOCCER
Steve Kean ‘forced to resign’
Steve Kean quit as Blackburn Rovers manager on Friday, saying he had been “forced to resign” with immediate effect due to his position becoming “untenable.” The Scot had faced constant criticism from Rovers fans throughout his two-year spell in charge at Ewood Park after the club’s owners, Venky’s, an Indian-based poultry firm, controversially brought him in to replace the experienced Sam Allardyce. However, Kean carried on despite the club’s relegation from the English Premier League in May. Yet despite Rovers currently lying a promising third in the Championship, Kean walked out of the northwest club ahead of yesterday’s match away to Charlton Athletic. “For reasons that I cannot discuss on legal advice, it is with deep regret, given my hard work and service for the club for a number of years, that I have been forced to resign as manager of Blackburn Rovers Football Club with immediate effect, due to my position as team manager becoming untenable,” Kean said in a statement.
SOCCER
FIFA delays Kosovo decision
Kosovars were kept waiting in their bid to be allowed to play friendly internationals after FIFA again delayed a final decision on Friday. FIFA had initially given approval at its congress in May, but then put the decision on hold after opposition from the Serbian soccer federation and UEFA president Michel Platini. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the executive committee had decided to postpone a ruling on the matter until its next meeting in Tokyo in December. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but has not yet won recognition from the UN, although it is recognized by about 90 UN member nations. FIFA and UEFA statutes state that only nations recognized by the UN itself can be accepted as members. The Football Federation of Kosovo has made it clear that it is not seeking membership, but simply the right to play matches against teams from countries which recognize it.
GOLF
Pistorius to play in pro-am
“Blade runner” Oscar Pistorius, who has an 18 handicap, will play alongside several of the world’s best golfers at next week’s Dunhill Links pro-am event in Scotland. Last month, the South African became the first double amputee to feature in an Olympic Games and he also won two gold medals and a silver at the London Paralympics that followed. Ten major championship winners are set to feature in the European Tour event. Among the amateurs taking part are Hollywood film actor Greg Kinnear, musician Huey Lewis, Olympic rowing champions Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent, and Dutch soccer greats Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit. Former cricketers Shane Warne, Ian Botham, Steve Waugh and Andrew Strauss are also set to compete.
CYCLING
Centenarian breaks record
A French centenarian became the fastest cyclist of his age on Friday when he covered 100km at an average speed of just over 23kph. Robert Marchand, a former fireman and boxing enthusiast from Paris, who will celebrate his 101st birthday in November, had been training every day for months to cross the finish line in under five hours. “I did better than expected,” he told reporters at the velodrome in Lyon, southeast France, where he completed the 300 laps in 4 hours, 17 minutes, 27 seconds, averaging 23.305kph. The wiry centenarian, who weighs in at just 51kg, says he never smoked, but otherwise indulged a healthy appetite for wine and women throughout his life.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
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