OLYMPICS
US’ Quinn gets stuck again
If there was a gold medal for getting into scrapes at the Sochi Winter Olympics, it would surely have already gone to US bobsled team member Johnny Quinn. Two days after using his “bobsled push” skills to smash a hole in a door to escape a Sochi hotel bathroom when the door jammed, he found himself stuck in an elevator. Quinn had spent the morning on a media tour of the US networks to explain how he managed to smash a gaping hole in the door. The episode garnered huge interest, coming amid keen attention on the standard of accommodation for athletes and media. A few hours later, he tweeted: “No one is going to believe this but we just got stuck in an elevator.” The photographs taken by his teammates — who will know whom not to take the elevator with next time — showed Quinn again trying to use his brute strength to prise open the doors. After such a debut at Sochi before his own event has even started, the question now is: Where will Quinn’s next adventure take him?
SOCCER
Bilbao boost Champions bid
Athletic Bilbao hung on to draw 0-0 at RC Celta de Vigo to stretch their fourth-place advantage in La Liga on Monday. The Basque club moved four points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal in the duel for the last Champions League qualifying place. Celta improved to 11th. Os Celestes should have come away with more from the high-tempo game, with playmaker Rafinha — the on-loan Barcelona midfielder who has been one of the forces driving the Galician club’s strong season — sending a shot wide just before stoppage-time. Celta striker Mario Bermejo also had a missed opportunity from inside the box, which went over outstretched ’keeper Gorka Iraizoz, but over the goal in the final play of the game.
SOCCER
Gunners fan kills Reds rival
An Arsenal fan in Kenya stabbed a Liverpool supporter to death on Saturday while they were watching on television as the Merseyside club beat the Londoners 5-1 in the English Premier League, a local police chief said on Monday. Tom Odera, police chief in Kenya’s northeastern Meru region, said that “the assailant and the deceased had a bitter argument over the match.” “The assailant, David Mwangi, drew out a knife and stabbed Anthony Mutethia,” Odera said by telephone. Kenyans are fervent Premier League fans and that fanatical support has seen the nation’s soccer fans grab headlines for the wrong reasons. A Manchester United follower in the capital, Nairobi, last year committed suicide after the Red Devils lost to Newcastle United. In 2009, an Arsenal fan hanged himself after the Londoners lost to Man United in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final game.
SOCCER
Ribery to miss Gunners tie
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery will miss next week’s Champions League clash at Arsenal after undergoing surgery on bruised buttocks. The France international was confirmed as an absentee for the last-16 first leg at the Emirates Stadium in London in a statement on the German champions’ Web site on Monday. “Ribery will miss upcoming matches, notably the last 16 Champions League game against Arsenal in London,” it read. Ribery, 30, who had the operation on Thursday last week, is “on the mend” and will resume training next week, the statement added. The news came after Bayern coach Pep Guardiola had expressed hope that Ribery would make the Arsenal fixture on Wednesday next week.
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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