CRICKET
Clarke out of WC opener
Australia captain Michael Clarke will miss the World Cup opener against England in Melbourne tomorrow, Australia coach Darren Lehmann confirmed. “He’s pulled up really well and no, he’s not playing,” Lehmann told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. “Really happy with his progress, but we’re going to stick to the plan that he’ll play against Bangladesh.” Clarke is on the comeback trail after a long layoff in the wake of hamstring surgery.
SOCCER
Aston Villa fires Lambert
Paul Lambert has been fired as manager of Aston Villa after a run of 10 winless games took them into the Premier League relegation zone, the club announced on Wednesday. “Aston Villa Football Club has parted company this evening with manager Paul Lambert,” Villa announced on their Web site. “First-team coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall will continue to prepare the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Leicester City at Villa Park.” Lambert, 45, took over at Villa Park in 2012 and led the Midlands club to 15th-place finishes in his first two seasons, but came under pressure from fans after a poor run of recent form.
SOCCER
Federations neglect women
FIFA research shows fewer than one in four member federations has staff dedicated to working for women’s soccer. One in five federations did not have a women’s senior national team and half did not run youth national teams, FIFA said on Wednesday. FIFA said 177 of its 209 members replied to the survey last year, allowing it to “make conclusions and recommendations which can be applied across all confederations.” The research said more than 30 million women and girls are playing soccer, though few seem to be involved as officials. Women accounted for one in six members of federation executive committees. That is more than the three women on FIFA’s 27-member ruling board. One in 10 referees worldwide and about one in 14 coaches are women, the study found. FIFA has committed to double funding for women’s soccer through 2018, without giving specific financial details.
GOLF
Allenby robbery arrest made
Honolulu police say there has been an arrest in connection with credit cards stolen from Australian golfer Robert Allenby. Allenby was in Hawaii for the Sony Open when he said was beaten and robbed during a night out on Jan. 16. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that police on Wednesday said that a 32-year-old man already in custody at Oahu Community Correctional Facility was arrested. Allenby posted photographs of a bloodied forehead and swollen eye to his Facebook account. He says he has no recollection of anything from about 11pm to 1:30am the night he was at a wine bar. Police opened investigations into second-degree robbery and fraudulent charges on Allenby’s credit cards.
TENNIS
Nadal to see Rio carnival
Rafael Nadal flew into Brazil on Wednesday to defend his title at the Rio Open — but also to experience first-hand “the incredible energy” of the city’s world-famous carnival. “I really want to learn about the carnival in Rio. It has an incredible energy, carnival here is like a religion,” he told reporters shortly after his arrival. “I was always fascinated by the carnival and was eager to see it live. It will be a show.” Nadal will join a parade on Sunday with compatriot David Ferrer and Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten.
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
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
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,
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