SOCCER
Inter reappoints Mancini
Inter reappointed Roberto Mancini as coach on Friday in a bid to rediscover their glory days, when they won three successive Serie A titles under the Italian. Walter Mazzarri was earlier sacked after a string of poor results left Inter ninth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Juventus. “Welcome back to our new coach, together we will return Inter to being one of the top clubs in Europe,” club president Erick Thohir said in a club statement. Former successful Napoli coach Mazzarri, who took over from Andrea Stramaccioni at Inter in May last year, had come under immense pressure of late and the club’s new Indonesian owners have decided to act. Bringing back a crowd favorite in Mancini will help the hierarchy curry favor with fans uninspired by last year’s takeover. Media reports said Mancini has signed a deal until 2017. Fans will hope Mancini can do what he did last time when he won the club’s first trophy in seven years before dominating Serie A during Juventus’ demotion for match-fixing.
RUGBY UNION
Beale rejoins Wallabies
Kurtley Beale left Australia to join up with his Wallaby teammates in Europe yesterday, saying he wants to redeem himself after fearing his international career was over. Beale received a call-up to join the Wallabies for the last two matches of their northern hemisphere tour after being left out of the squad for disciplinary breaches. Beale has not played for Australia since the Wallabies’ loss in Cape Town against South Africa on Sept. 27. On the ensuing flight to Argentina to play the Pumas, Beale had an argument with then-Wallabies business manager Di Patston, which quickly descended into a major scandal engulfing the Australian Rugby Union and leading to the resignations of Patston and then-Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie. Beale was fined A$48,000 (US$41,700) for sending an offensive text message to Patston and sanctioned again later for being rude and disrespectful to Wallaby team management on the flight.
SKIING
Violinist to appeal ski ban
Pop violinist Vanessa Mae plans to file an appeal against a four-year ban from competitive skiing for taking part in fixed races before the Sochi Olympics. Mae calls the sanction “nonsensical” and says the matter is “now with my lawyers and we will of course be appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.” The International Ski Federation imposed the ban on Tuesday, saying four giant-slalom races in Slovenia were fixed in January to allow Mae to qualify for February’s Sochi Games. Five ski officials were also suspended. The celebrity musician competed for Thailand in Sochi, finishing last of 67 racers in the giant slalom.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
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