■ 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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS