SOCCER
PSG targets Rooney
Paris Saint-Germain are willing to pay Manchester United as much as ￡40 million (US$60.3 million) to sign Wayne Rooney and give him a salary of ￡15 million a year after tax, the Daily Mirror reported. The French champions have made Rooney their No. 1 off-season target and will offer the England forward a four-year contract that would put him on the same wages as Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, its top-scorer this season, the newspaper added.
ICE HOCKEY
Canucks sack coaches
The Vancouver Canucks sacked head coach Alain Vigneault along with assistants Rick Bowness and Newell Brown on Wednesday, in the wake of their first-round NHL playoff exit. “We have made the very difficult decision to relieve Alain Vigneault, Rick Bowness and Newell Brown of their coaching duties today,” Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said. “Alain, Rick and Newell worked tirelessly to lead this team to great on-ice success. I am personally grateful to each of them and their families for their commitment to the Canucks and the city of Vancouver, and wish them continued success in future.” Vigneault had been at the helm since June 2006. He led the Canucks to 30 or more wins in six straight seasons and guided the club to a club-record 54 wins and a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2011. However, Vancouver fell in the first round last season to eventual Stanley Cup winners the Los Angeles Kings, and they were swept in the first round this month by San Jose.
RUGBY UNION
SANZAR charges Henry
Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry was slapped with a misconduct charge yesterday after blasting officials during the Auckland Blues’ loss to the Canterbury Crusaders last weekend. Henry, the Blues defensive coach, singled out TV match official Keith Brown. “Frank Halai [scored] a try in the corner — it would have been nice [if] you had those given to you,” Henry, filling in for Blues coach John Kirwan, told reporters. “It was obvious to me. He is probably a blind TMO [television match official], is he?” SANZAR yesterday said it had brought a complaint against Henry, who stepped down as All Blacks coach after winning the 2011 World Cup, for breaching its code of conduct with the hearing to be held on Sunday.
CRICKET
Warner explains rant
Australian opener David Warner said yesterday he regretted not keeping a lid on his outrage, but maintained he had to defend himself after his image was used in a report condemning the Indian Premier League (IPL). Warner was speaking for the first time since he was found guilty of breaching Cricket Australia’s code of behavior on Wednesday over a Twitter tirade at two Australian journalists and fined A$5,750 (US$5,567). The explosive opener said he was responding to a piece from News Limited cricket writer Robert Craddock that followed the arrest of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other IPL players for spot-fixing. Warner said he was “extremely annoyed” that a photo of him playing for the Delhi Daredevils accompanied Craddock’s piece that highlighted, in part, corruption and fixing in the IPL. “For me to have my image related to an article [detailing those issues] ... it’s the worst thing that can possibly be brought to a cricket player,” Warner told reporters in Sydney. However, he expressed remorse, saying he should have handled his reaction better.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
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