■ CRICKET
ICC error saved Harbhajan
An administrative mistake by the International Cricket Council (ICC) saved Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh from a possible suspension, the judge who heard his case said yesterday. Harbhajan was fined half his match fee after pleading guilty to using offensive language against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second Test in Sydney earlier this month. However, New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen said Harbhajan might have received a tougher penalty had the ICC correctly informed him about all his prior convictions. Hansen said the ICC told him Harbhajan had only one prior offense, but after he had handed down his penalty, he discovered the Indian spinner had four previous offenses. The most serious of these occurred in South Africa in 2001 when Harbhajan was given a suspended sentence for showing dissent and trying to influence an umpire. "If I had been aware of the serious transgression in November 2001 I would have required more extensive submissions as to the offense in mitigation which could have led to a different penalty," Hansen wrote in his 49-page judgment released yesterday.
■ BASEBALL
Exhibition game to be last
The US Baseball Hall of Fame Game, an annual tradition in Cooperstown for more than six decades, will end after this year's contest between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Hall of Fame officials say Major League Baseball decided keeping the game was too difficult because of the complexities of the major league schedule and "all its inherent challenges." The first Hall of Fame Game was in 1940, and its the last surviving in-season exhibition game on the major league schedule. This year's game is slated for June 16.
■ RUGBY UNION
All Blacks to support US
The US rugby team will get help from one of the best and well-organized outfits in the sport, the New Zealand All Blacks. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday it had signed a five-year memorandum of agreement with USA Rugby to promote rugby in the US and look into joint sponsorships and merchandising agreements. "The rugby world wants to see the game grow in the United States and we're taking concrete steps to help USA Rugby," NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said in a statement. Tew said as a first step, the NZRU will give coaching background and other resources to USA Rugby at no charge, supporting the US union's youth, referee and coaching development programs. The two groups also plan to "explore opportunities for high-profile matches" in the US as well as age-grade competition between the two countries. No further details on where or when the matches would be played was provided.
■ SOCCER
Galaxyto visit Asia
David Beckham will lead the Los Angeles Galaxy into South Korea and China in March as part of a pre-season Asia tour announced on Tuesday by the Major League Soccer club. Galaxy will meet FC Seoul on March 1 at the World Cup stadium and visit Shanghai on March 5 to face a China All-Star Union side of young talents, each stop capitalizing on Beckham's incredible popularity in Asia. Manchester United and Real Madrid also made several Asian tours with Beckham in the line-up. "These are important games in our club's preparation for the MLS season and I expect fans in Seoul and Shanghai will remember the LA Galaxy visiting their cities for a very long time," Galaxy assistant general manager Tom Payne said.
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
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