■ OLYMPICS
Beijing fish dies in HK
Chinese officials berated Hong Kong yesterday after one of five “Olympic” fish presented to the city by China ended up dead within days. The rare Chinese sturgeon, one of China’s five Olympic symbols, died on Monday, just four days after being publicly released into an aquarium at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. Vets believe the 1.1m sturgeon, the smallest of five presented by China, was fatally injured when a barracuda sharing the its giant tank bit it on Saturday. Officials from China’s National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association quoted by Hong Kong’s government-run radio station yesterday questioned whether the fish had been “adequately handled.”
■ CRICKET
S Africa cuts Zimbabwe ties
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has suspended its bilateral agreements with Zimbabwe because of the worsening political crisis in the country, the body said on Monday. The agreements, including development and administrative programs, as well as the participation of Zimbabwe teams in CSA’s domestic competitions, have been suspended until further notice. “In the past, CSA has defended Zimbabwe cricket against heavy odds, but the general situation in Zimbabwe has now made this untenable,” CSA president Norman Arendse said.
■ BASKETBALL
Shaq skewers Kobe Bryant
Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O’Neal, the big man sent out a reminder. The Phoenix Suns center can be seen rapping that “Kobe couldn’t do without me” in a video posted online at celebrity news site TMZ.com. During the two-minute video, a grinning O’Neal lurches through an improvised rap in which he skewers the Lakers star, with whom he won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002 while with Los Angeles. “I was freestyling. That’s all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever,” O’Neal told ESPN.com on Monday. “That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I’m totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all.”
■ BASKETBALL
Carmelo Anthony suspended
The Denver Nuggets suspended NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony for the first two games of the next season as punishment for his April arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. The announcement by the team on Monday comes a day before he is scheduled to enter a plea in the case. Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said in a written statement the team would continue to support Anthony as he “strives to live up to the high expectations” set by the Nuggets and by Anthony. Anthony was arrested on April 14 on Interstate 25.
■ SOCCER
Angola face elimination
Angola are in danger of being eliminated from the 2010 World Cup qualifying race after Uganda exceeded expectations by forcing a 0-0 Group 3 draw in Luanda on Monday. The shock 2006 World Cup qualifiers visit leaders Benin in the penultimate series of second round fixtures during September and a loss coupled with a win for Uganda in Niger would rule Angola out of contention for a top-two finish. The 12 group winners and best eight runners-up advance to the third round, where the countries will be split into five pools with the winners joining hosts South Africa at the first World Cup to be staged in Africa. All World Cup fixtures in Africa double as qualifiers for the 2010 Nations Cup and Angola are guaranteed a place among the 16 participants as hosts of the biennial tournament.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946