■ FOOTBALL
Dolphins sign McKinney
The Miami Dolphins continued to strengthen their offensive line by signing 10-year league veteran Steve McKinney as a free agent on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team on their official Web site. “It’s a good fit for me,” McKinney, 32, was quoted as saying by the Miami Herald. “I like the organization. I like the coaches. I like the guys they brought in and I feel like it’s a place where I’m going to have a real chance to play.” Last month, Miami signed Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, the number one selection in the NFL draft, to a five-year, US$57 million contract.
■ TENNIS
Edberg to play Sampras
Sweden’s former men’s world No. 1 Stefan Edberg, who has not played competitive tennis since he retired 12 years ago, could be set to face old rival Pete Sampras after agreeing to play two events on the Tour of Champions. The 42-year-old six-time Grand Slam winner will play in the Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere in Paris in September and at London’s Royal Albert Hall in London in December. Sampras, who like Edberg has committed himself to playing two of the tour events this year, is delighted at the prospect of playing the Swede again after a hiatus of 13 years. “It’s great to hear that Stefan is going to be playing because he’s a great guy and a great player,” Sampras said.
■ GOLF
Woods plans two-day clinic
Tiger Woods is not sure if he will play before the US Open, but the world golf No. 1, who is recovering from left knee surgery, is already making plans next month for after the event. Woods will play at the Buick Open from June 26-29 and conduct a clinic two days before the opening round at the home ballpark for Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers, tournament officials announced on Monday. While the team is not named for the 13-time major champion, the Tigers’ stadium provides a perfect backdrop for his first ballpark clinic, with tiger heads along the walls and giant concrete tigers at entry points.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Classic battle set for 2010
Russia’s dethroning of Canada to become hockey World Champions has not only revived a classic rivalry but helped set the stage for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. After a 5-4 overtime loss to Russia in the championship game, Canada can be thankful there is no home-team curse when it comes to the Winter Games. The last time a country won the worlds on home ice was the former Soviet Union’s victory in 1986 in Moscow. And the Big Red Machine was back on Sunday in Quebec City showing the world that they can play as a team and not just as a group of individual stars.
■ ICE SKATING
Yamaguchi skates perfectly
Kristi Yamaguchi could not have done any better at the Dancing With the Stars finals on Monday. The figure-skating champ earned a perfect score of 60 for her two dances on Monday, putting her far ahead of fellow finalists Cristian de la Fuente, who scored 52, and Jason Taylor, who finished with 51, in the television dance competition. Each performed a freestyle routine, and the three finalists shared the floor for a group dance dubbed “the cha-cha face-off.” Yamaguchi came out on top both times. “It’s ladies’ night. You won that hands down,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba told the Olympian after the group dance. Her perfect score easily bested de la Fuente’s 26 points and Taylor’s 24.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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