SOCCER
Qatar fire Uruguayan coach
The Qatar Football Association on Thursday sacked Uruguayan coach Jose Daniel Carreno, 17 months after naming him to prepare the 2022 World Cup hosts for the 2018 tournament in Russia. The decision followed back-to-back losses in the qualifiers to Iran and Uzbekistan. There was no immediate word on who would replace Carreno, but fellow Uruguayan Jorge Fossati is considered the front-runner. Fossati coached the national team in 2007 and 2008 and is currently manager of top flight Qatar Stars League champions Al-Rayyan. Another candidate is Algerian Djamel Belmadi, who coached the national team in 2014 and last year, when Qatar won the Gulf championship. The new coach will face the challenge of preparing for a tough qualifier against South Korea on Oct. 6.
GOLF
Johnson keeps on rolling
Dustin Johnson hit out of a bunker for birdie on his first hole and kept right on rolling to a four-under 66 for a three-way tie of the lead at the Tour Championship on Thursday. Hideki Matsuyama had six birdies and Kevin Chappell played bogey-free to join Johnson at 66 on a tough day for scoring at East Lake. Johnson only has to win the Tour Championship to capture the US$10 million FedEx Cup bonus. Jason Day, who withdrew from the final round of the BMW Championship two weeks ago with back pain, was among those at 67. Jordan Spieth was three-over after two holes and shot 68, courtesy of six birdie putts between 18 and 30 feet. Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey were also at 68.
FORMULA ONE
Ricciardo tips Rosberg
Australian Daniel Ricciardo has spoken of the awkward pre-podium silences between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, while tipping the latter for the season’s Formula One title. The smiling Red Bull driver finished second in Singapore last weekend, with Rosberg winning and triple champion Hamilton third. The result sent Rosberg back on top in the championship, the German now eight points clear of Hamilton with six rounds remaining. “When Lewis made up that deficit to Nico and came back it was like OK, nobody’s going to touch Lewis,” he told Sky Sports television during a trip to Australia ahead of next week’s Malaysian race. “Nico’s come back... I’m going to throw a spanner in the works and say Rosberg,” he added when asked to pick one of the pair for the title.
FOOTBALL
Hazing prompts football ban
Hazing inflicted by older players on younger ones at a conditioning camp has led to the cancelation of an Oregon high school’s football season, investigations by authorities, and calls for soul-searching and healing. Meanwhile, three varsity high-school football players in California have been charged in a separate incident. Studies show more than half of college students in sports teams, clubs and organizations have experienced hazing — the practice of rituals, challenges and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group. Many were hazed in high school. Breaking the cycle is difficult, but the town of Philomath is tackling the issue head on. School district officials say they are focusing on students’ mental health and looking for ways to prevent hazing incidents in the future.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
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