■ Boxing
Ex-champ jailed over fight
Former WBC light heavyweight champion Graciano Rocchigiani will serve five months in jail for hitting a taxi driver. The 42-year-old German, already on probation, was sentenced on Friday by a Berlin court for the incident two years ago in which he hit the taxi driver, then damaged his car. Rocchigiani has a long history of run-ins with the law, including a conviction for assaulting a police officer. He won a US$31 million judgment against the WBC in 1998 over the loss of his light heavyweight title, but settled for less when the WBC planned to dissolve itself under bankruptcy laws. The WBC declared its light heavyweight title vacant when champion Roy Jones Jr said he was moving up to the heavyweight division and Rocchigiani won the vacant title against Michael Nunn. When Jones Jr returned, he was restored as light heavyweight champion. The WBC wrote to the German saying the official rankings that had him as champ were a "typographical error."
■ Rugby Union
Wellington fixed on circuit
The Wellington rugby sevens tournament will be a fixed part of the International Rugby Board's world circuit for the next five years, the New Zealand Rugby Union said yesterday. The tournament is one of seven confirmed on the 2006-2007 circuit which starts in Dubai. Other tournaments will be played at George in South Africa, San Diego, Hong Kong, Adelaide in Australia and London. The venue for the eighth tournament has yet to be confirmed. "The New Zealand International Sevens tournament has been a commercial success as well as a sporting and social event triumph and the IRB has recognized that," New Zealand union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said.
■ Basketball
All-Stars beat Yulong
World champion Serbia and Montenegro easily defeated Argentina 83-64 on the first day of the Singapore Cup on Friday. Serbia and Montenegro took an early lead over Argentina, who were led by San Antonio Spurs player Manu Ginobili. Fifth-ranked Spain beat Slovenia 96-85. The four countries are using this tournament as a warmup for the world championship starting next week in Japan. The competition also includes regional club teams. The Singapore All-Stars beat Taiwan's Yulong Club 80-74. The competition continued yesterday, when Argentina took on Slovenia, and Spain met Serbia and Montenegro.
■ Basketball
Lithuania edge South Korea
Forward Linus Kleiza of the Denver Nuggets scored 12 points yesterday as Lithuania edged South Korea 83-81 at the World Basketball Challenge. Kleiza scored six points in the fourth quarter when the Lithuanians outscored their opponents 25-22 en route to their first win of the tournament. South Korea dropped to 0-2. In yesterday's final game, Turkey defeated Italy 72-61 to improve to 1-1. Italy is 0-1.
■ Soccer
Brawling coaches banned
Two coaches have been fined and banned in Colombia after exchanging insults and punches on the touchline and being sent off in a game last Sunday. Jorge Luis Pinto of Cucuta was suspended for six games and fined the equivalent of US$466 while Julio Comesana of Real Cartagena was banned for eight games and fined US$1,700. The Colombian league said former Costa Rica coach Pinto was guilty of "slandering the referee and provoking his opposite number" by saying that Comesana had bribed the official. Comesana, a Uruguayan, was sanctioned for violent conduct after he aimed a punch at Pinto in the 80th minute incident during the 1-1 draw.
■ Soccer
Kahn reaches milestone
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made his 500th Bundesliga appearance in Friday's season opener against Borussia Dortmund. Kahn, 37, played his first Bundesliga game in 1987 for Karlsruhe and it was an unpromising start, as his side lost 4-0 to Cologne. He joined Bayern in 1994 and has since won the Champions League and seven league titles, as well as two German Player of the Year awards.
■ Soccer
Mourinho weighs up options
Jose Mourinho said on Friday he is considering "other options" in defense after being unable to prise Ashley Cole from Arsenal for what he considers a fair fee. Mourinho is reported to have offered ?16 million (US$30 million) for the 25-year-old England left back, but Arsenal want nearer to ?25 million. Cole was conspicuous by his absence from the Arsenal team photocall on Thursday at the club's new Emirates Stadium. But Mourinho insists the Premiership champions will not dip further into billionaire owner Roman Abramovich's pockets. "Nothing has changed," Mourinho said on Friday at a press conference ahead of the Community Shield against Liverpool. "He [Cole] is for sure an Arsenal player, and he is probably training with them. I cannot say more than that." The situation was not desperate, Mourinho insisted. "I am looking first of all to what I have," he said. "I have [Wayne] Bridge, Paulo Ferreira, I have [Lassana] Diarra, if I need, [Michael] Essien if I need," he said.
■ Rugby Union
Carter tries hand at soccer
All Blacks golden boy Daniel Carter has found a way around his tightly controlled rugby playing regime -- he's turned out for a social soccer match in a move that has surprised his rugby bosses. They are offering little comment on Carter's switch from the oval ball to the round ball and are unsure whether he had broken any conditions of his contract. During the All Blacks current three-week break in the Tri-Nations series, head coach Graham Henry has dictated which players he wanted to have a run out in the provincial competition and who he wanted to have a complete rest. Carter, arguably the most skillful rugby player in the world, was among those ordered to have a complete rest, but he was sighted having a run with a soccer team in his hometown of Christchurch, the Press newspaper reported yesterday. One player on the team said Carter had plenty of natural ability and came along to make up the numbers. In a recent appearance, he put in a cross that resulted in a goal, but the teammate said Carter "shouldn't change his day job" just yet.
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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