ICE HOCKEY
Pay dispute shutters tourney
The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation has canceled the Four Nations women’s tournament in November because it cannot guarantee its players’ participation due to an ongoing pay dispute. The federation on Friday announced the decision, saying that uncertainty regarding their players’ status has made it difficult for the three other competing nations to make travel plans. Sweden’s top players are boycotting their national team over pay and working conditions. The players last month also skipped a Five Nations tournament in Finland and have yet to agree a new contract with the federation.
GOLF
Chappell joins 59 club
Kevin Chappell on Friday made a scintillating return to the US PGA Tour, joining one of golf’s most exclusive clubs by firing an 11-under-par 59 in the second round of the Greenbrier. Chappell, who had back surgery 10 months ago and is playing his first tour event since November last year, posted just the 11th sub-60 round on the US PGA Tour. He had a chance to join Jim Furyk as the only players to card a 58 on tour, but his birdie putt at the ninth curled left at the hole. “Ten months ago I was on the couch and couldn’t walk,” he said, his voice breaking. Chappell’s 11 birdies included a record-equaling nine in a row.
TENNIS
Clijsters, Golovin to return
Belgium’s Kim Clijsters and France’s Tatiana Golovin are to return to the sport, they said in surprise announcements on Thursday and Friday. Seven years after retiring from tennis a second time, Clijsters is attempting another comeback at age 36. The former No. 1 and four-time major champion said she is planning to return next year, although she is not yet ready to say exactly when, where or how often she will compete. Golovin is also to return, despite having retired 11 years ago. The 31-year-old former world No. 12 was forced to retire aged 20 due to lower back inflammation. “The goal was to be ready early next year, but things are going fast and now I plan to resume perhaps by mid-October,” she said.
TENNIS
Big hitters to join ATP Cup
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are among the top 10 who are to play for their nations at the new ATP Cup in Australia in January, organizers said yesterday. Andy Murray will also compete, with his protected No. 2 ranking giving Britain entry to the tournament, even though they are outside of the 24-team qualifying cut. In total, 27 of the world’s top 30 male players have committed to the event, which is to see nations split into six groups, with eight teams emerging from the round-robin stage to compete in the knockout phase.
SOCCER
Aluko decries racist reviews
England star Eni Aluko has condemned Amazon for not removing racist reviews of her memoir posted on the online retailer’s Web site. Of the 31 reviews on Amazon’s UK site, 27 gave They Don’t Teach This a one-star rating. The book details the discrimination Aluko faced during her England career. Customers have used the platform to call the book “anti-white racist drivel” and “fiction.” Aluko, who is black, and her publishers have asked Amazon to delete the racist reviews, but they remained on the site on Friday night. Aluko said the reviews were “clearly motivated by tribalism, bitterness and hatred,” and wrote in a column for the Guardian that “sometimes the law is the only solution.”
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning