■ PHILIPPINES
Winner set for windfall
The Philippine government and the private sector are offering 9.5 million pesos (US$220,000) to any athlete who brings home the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, an official said yesterday. The most recent medal of any color was silver in boxing in Atlanta in 1996. “This is an incentive. The first gold winner will get the money,” said Philippine Olympic Committee spokesman Joey Romasanta. The government pledged 5 million pesos and the rest came from donations from the private sector, Romasanta said.
■ UNITED STATES
Coach faces fight for life
US swimmer Dara Torres, set for her fifth Olympics next month in Beijing at age 41, is devastated as her coach for the past two years, Michael Lohberg, faces an unexpected fight for his life. The Miami Herald reported he had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder. “It’s so awful — really, really terrible. I can’t even talk about it right now. I haven’t stopped crying,” Torres told the newspaper. “They told me I might last only weeks or maybe even days ... Without treatment, I might not make it to Monday,” Lohberg said. Treatment can include blood transfusion or a bone marrow transplant. “I have always had a good outlook on things, so I will fight this as hard as I can and see if I can make it,” Lohberg told the Herald.
■ AUSTRALIA
Viagra abuse a risk: scientist
Next month’s Olympics may be remembered for the abuse of Viagra and other legal drugs among athletes, a leading Australian sports scientist said yesterday. Robin Parisotto, principal scientist involved in the development of a test for the banned blood booster EPO (erythroipoietin), said legal drugs including Viagra and psychological medicines also enhance athletic performance. The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering including Viagra on its list of banned substances, but a decision will not be made until after this year’s Olympics. “Any physical activity that goes for longer than two minutes would be a beneficiary of something like Viagra, just like the normal blood-doping drugs.” Parisotto told ABC Radio. The former senior scientist with the Australian Institute of Sport said Viagra had the same benefits as blood doping because it opens up arteries and veins — “and not only in the private parts.” But the erectile dysfunction drug isn’t the only legal medicine that can boost an athlete’s performance. Drugs used for psychological purposes can help competitors gain a mental edge, Parisotto said. “With sport quite often it comes down to a battle of wills and as you become fatigued you become confused and your judgement is not so good,” he said. “So to take a drug which will keep your mind clear and focused certainly is another area of drug-taking that would be of benefit to athletes.”
■ GERMANY
Rights group fears for horses
An animal rights group has called for the country’s equestrian team to pull out of the Olympics because of fears over the extreme temperatures horses will endure. The equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong’s sweltering heat and the German Animal Defense Association fears for the animals’ lives. “We are afraid of collapses and injuries because of the high workload the animals face in high temperatures,” spokesman Thomas Schroeder told the Sport-Bild Web site. “There is a real danger in that heat of serious injury and in bad cases, animals may have to be put to sleep.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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