SOCCER
Martinez joins Atletico
Porto’s highly rated Colombian striker Jackson Martinez has signed for Atletico Madrid for a transfer fee of 35 million euros (US$38.91 million), the Portuguese club announced late on Tuesday. The 28-year-old forward is to replace Croatian Mario Mandzukic, who has moved from Spain to Juventus in Italy for 19 million euros. Martinez has been the top scorer in Portugal for the past three seasons, having joined Porto from Mexican outfit Jaguares de Chiapas. He scored 21 goals in 29 league appearances as Porto finished as runners-up to St Benfica last season. Martinez had previously agreed a move with AC Milan, and had been targeted by Arsenal, before instead opting for a switch to Atletico. Martinez is expected to sign a four-year deal with Atletico.
ICE HOCKEY
Coyotes acquire Gordon
Boyd Gordon never really wanted to leave Arizona, so the veteran forward is thrilled to be back in the desert. The Coyotes filled a need at center on Tuesday, acquiring Gordon from the Edmonton Oilers for forward Lauri Korpikoski. “It was tough to leave Phoenix,” Gordon said. “I heard the news today and I’m excited to come back.” Gordon was a steadying influence with Arizona from 2011 to 2013, helping the Coyotes reach the 2012 Western Conference finals with his heady play, penalty killing and faceoff ability.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Aldo out of McGregor fight
UFC lightweight champion Jose Aldo has pulled out of his title defense against Conor McGregor at UFC 189 on July 11 with a rib injury. Chad Mendes is to face McGregor for the interim title instead. UFC president Dana White made the announcement on Tuesday. Aldo was hurt while training in Brazil, damaging cartilage in his ribcage. Aldo initially said he could still fight despite the pain. McGregor is among the UFC’s biggest rising stars, and the loquacious Irishman’s bout with Aldo was the promotion’s most anticipated fight of the summer. Mendes has lost twice to Aldo, but has won every other fight of his mixed martial arts career.
GOLF
Allenby robber pleads guilty
A Hawaii man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to using Robert Allenby’s credit cards after the Australian golfer said he was robbed and beaten in Honolulu. Allenby recounted a bizarre saga in January that involved having no memory of what happened for two-and-a-half hours after he left a Honolulu restaurant. He went to dinner, and said he later woke up in a park with a bloodied face. Owen Harbison was arrested in February on charges of identity theft, attempt theft and unauthorized possession of confidential personal information. As part of a plea deal, Harbison agreed to a five-year prison term, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Delaplane said. Harbison used Allenby’s credit cards and ID around Honolulu to buy gift cards, clothing and jewelry, Delaplane said. It is still unclear what happened to Allenby after he left Amuse Wine Bar. Harbison is the only person who has been arrested in connection with the case. The saga generated interested when Allenby took a photograph of his scraped and bloodied face and posted it to his Facebook page after he got back to his hotel. He first said he was beaten, robbed and thrown from the trunk of a car. He later said he was told that by a homeless woman who helped him escape from a park. However, one homeless man told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Allenby injured himself by passing out and hitting his head on a rock.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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