ENGLAND
Jail term too lenient: Leeds
A 16-week jail term handed out to a Leeds United fan on Monday for attacking former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland in a match against Sheffield Wednesday was too lenient, Leeds has said. Aaron Cawley, 21, from Cheltenham, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court to assault and invading the pitch during the game at Hillsborough on Friday. Wednesday ’keeper Kirkland was pushed in the face by Cawley and shoved to the ground moments after conceding an equalizer in the 76th minute. After treatment he was able to continue for the remainder of the game. “While we are pleased to see justice brought so quickly, our one disappointment is that we feel the sentence could, and should, have been considerably longer,” Leeds said in a statement on their Web site. Cawley was given a five-year soccer banning order by the court and Leeds said he would be banned for life from attending home games.
SCOTLAND
SPL warns Hearts on wages
Hearts on Monday received a warning from the Scottish Premier League (SPL) over their failure to pay their players’ wages in September, but face another hearing about a similar offence today. Hearts, who were late paying players four times last season, on Monday paid outstanding wages dating from Oct. 15. The Edinburgh-based club later issued a statement that read: “We accept the result of today’s SPL board sub-committee hearing and are satisfied that this specific matter is now resolved and closed. We also acknowledge the second charge against the club, the subject matter of which the club believes has been resolved internally. However, the club notes that this will be dealt with separately on Wednesday.”
GREECE
Hard-up team takes bus
Greece’s financial crisis has forced cash-strapped teams to be more conservative when travelling, with top-flight club Veria making an 800km trip by bus to play their weekend away match. The northern Greek team traveled by bus to southern Tripolis on Sunday to play league rivals Asteras and they also avoided staying at a hotel overnight by returning straight after the match. That meant leaving early in the morning for the eight-and-a-half-hour drive to reach Tripolis, losing the match to Asteras 3-0 and then getting back on the bus for the return trip, a total of 17 hours in transit. The team arrived back at their home base at 5am on Monday morning. Asteras are fourth after seven matches with 13 points while Veria are tied for seventh place with eight points, with undefeated Olympiakos top with 21 points.
FRANCE
Troyes coach extends deal
ES Troyes AC coach Jean-Marc Furlan extended his contract with the Ligue 1 strugglers on Monday which sees him contracted to the club until 2017. The 54-year-old — who was already on a four-year contract — signed the extension the day after the northern French side had climbed off the bottom of Ligue 1 with a shock 1-0 win over previous table toppers Marseille. Furlan has guided Troyes twice into the top flight, the first time in 2005 before he left the club in 2007 and then last season. In between he had spells at RC Strasbourg and FC Nantes. Troyes are second from bottom after nine matches with just five points.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take