■ SOCCER
Henry still an Arsenal fan
Thierry Henry would love to return to former club Arsenal in some capacity in the future, the Barcelona striker said on Wednesday. "It does not matter what will happen with my new team, I'll never find the affection I was shown at Arsenal," Henry told Sky television. "In part that's because I don't think my legs will let me play for another club for eight years. You always return to the place you belong to and so I hope one day to be able to work with that club. I have this club in my blood." The 30-year-old said he had followed Arsenal's games since leaving for Spain in the close season. "I'm proud to have played for Arsenal and to be a fan of theirs," he said.
■ GOLF
TV commentator suspended
A commentator on US cable television's Golf Channel was suspended for two weeks on Wednesday by the company for saying last week that young players who wanted to challenge Tiger Woods should "lynch him in a back alley." Kelly Tilghman was laughing during the exchange on Friday with analyst Nick Faldo at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and Woods' agent at IMG said he didn't think there was any ill intent. But the comments became prevalent on news shows on Wednesday and American black activist Al Sharpton joined the fray by demanding she be fired immediately. Golf Channel didn't know who would replace Tilghman.
■ SWIMMING
Kovacs opts out of Games
Former Olympic champion Agnes Kovacs won't compete at the Beijing Games because she lacks motivation and is tired after being cleared of doping charges last year. "After giving it a lot of thought, I will not prepare for the Beijing Olympics," Kovacs said on Monday. "But my life will be complete only if I take part in the national championships. So, officially, I am not retiring yet." Hungary's national swimming championships are in July, the month before the Beijing Olympics. Kovacs won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also won a bronze in the same event at the 1996 Atlanta Games, as well as two world and seven European gold medals.
■ EQUESTRIAN
Swiss pull out of dressage
Switzerland's dressage team will not take part at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The move follows the withdrawal of the team's top rider, Silvia Ikle, who doesn't want to expose her horse to travel-related stress and the humid conditions in Hong Kong during the summer. "Ikle's decision not to participate has consequences for the entire national dressage team," the Swiss equestrian federation said Tuesday in a statement. Switzerland said it had only qualified for the event because of the performance of Ikle and her horse, Salieri.
■ SOCCER
Coach rules out change
Thailand coach Charnwit Polcheewin says he has no interest in coaching Vietnam's national team because he loves his country too much. The Thai national team boss, reportedly a candidate for the vacant Vietnam post, said he was too patriotic to consider coaching another country, even if the salary was bigger. "I'm not interested because I couldn't do it," Charnwit said yesterday. "I know the money would be better than what I earn but I'm Thai, I always will be and I'm happy where I am. We have World Cup qualification to think about now, that's my focus.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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