■SOCCER
Rovers sign Robinson
Blackburn Rovers on Friday signed Tottenham Hotspur’s England goalkeeper Paul Robinson for £3.5 million (US$7 million), the Lancashire club announced. With the deal sealed, it is expected that Rovers’ long-serving keeper Brad Friedel will complete his £2 million move to fellow English Premier League side Aston Villa. The 28-year-old Robinson will be hoping for a fresh start at Ewood Park after a remarkable fall from grace at White Hart Lane that started when he was dropped as England’s No.1 and ended with his first-team spot under Juande Ramos threatened by Radek Cerny and summer signing Heurelho Gomes.
■CRICKET
Steyn ruled out of Test
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn will miss the third Test against England after suffering a fractured thumb. X-rays showed Steyn has injured the base of his left thumb and the 24-year-old is likely to be in a plaster cast for two to three weeks. South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee confirmed Steyn will miss the Edgbaston Test, which starts on Wednesday, after having the plaster cast fitted at a hospital in Worcester, where his side are currently playing a tour match against Bangladesh A.
SOCCER
Mexes’ daughter stolen
AS Roma’s French defender Philippe Mexes suffered a terrifying ordeal when thieves stole his car, with his two-year-old daughter inside. Police sources said the robbers abandoned the vehicle just a quarter-of-an-hour later having discovered baby Eva inside the car. Italian police claimed Mexes was present at the time of the theft, which occurred on Thursday night, a version that was denied by Mexes’ agent Olivier Jouanneaux. “Thursday night, Philippe Mexes was at training at Roma’s training ground at Trigoria,” said Jouanneaux, claiming that Mexes’ wife Carla had been alone with their two children, Eva and four-year-old Enzo. “She took her son into the house and the two men came in behind her and stole the keys. She saw them leaving with the car, with her young daughter still inside.”
■CRICKET
Laxman move falls through
India batsman V.V.S. Laxman’s planned move to Nottinghamshire has fallen through after the deal was vetoed by the India Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI), the English county said. The 33-year-old had been expected to arrive at Trent Bridge next month after Nottinghamshire had received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI two weeks ago. However, the BCCI have subsequently withdrawn the NOC by e-mail and Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell said the county would now search for a replacement player. “We followed correct procedures to complete the deal with the approval of the BCCI and it is extremely disappointing that they have reversed their stance,” Newell said. “We were very surprised to learn about the possibility of the deal collapsing in the media in the first instance.”
■SOCCER
Porto sign the ‘Hulk’
Portuguese champions FC Porto on Friday signed Brazilian striker Givanildo Vieira de Souza, nicknamed the “Hulk” for his muscular physique, for 5.5 million euros (US$8.6 million) from Tokyo Verdy in Japan. “The contract runs until June 30, 2012,” a Porto statement said. The 21-year-old began his career with Corinthians in the Brazilian top flight, before moving to Tokyo Verdy in 2005.
■BASEBALL
Olympics to use tie-breaker
The Olympic baseball tournament will institute a new tie-breaking procedure in Beijing, beginning each inning from the 11th with runners on first and second bases. Teams may also start the 11th at any point in their batting order under format changes announced on Friday by the International Baseball Federation and adopted in time for next month’s Beijing Games. For example, a team that opts to lead off with its No. 3 hitter would begin with its No. 1 batter on second base and its No. 2 hitter on first with no outs.
■BASKETBALL
Lakers acquire Vujacic
Slovenian guard Sasha Vujacic has agreed to a three-year, US$15 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after emerging last season as a key member of the NBA’s Western Conference champions. “We felt Sasha made great progress in this past year, and our coach showed great confidence in playing him the second half of the season,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said on Friday in confirming the agreement, first reported by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The 24-year-old Vujacic, whose contract had expired, averaged a career-high 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1 assist in 72 games this season.
■BASEBALL
Yanks trade for Nady, Marte
The New York Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and southpaw reliever Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for four minor leaguers on Friday. The trade is pending medicals. With injuries to outfielders Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui along with catcher Jorge Posada, the Yankees were looking to add offensive depth for their late-season push. Nady, 29, gives New York another experienced right-handed bat in a lineup that has struggled to produce runs. Entering Friday’s game, Nady was batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs. Marte will provide the Yankees with a left-hander out of the bullpen. He is 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA in 46-and-two-third innings this season. Pittsburgh will receive right-field prospect Jose Tabata and pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos and Phil Coke.
■FOOTBALL
Packers in talks with Jets
The Green Bay Packers have been in touch with the New York Jets, reportedly to give the Jets the go-ahead to pursue quarterback Brett Favre. Jets quarterback Chad Pennington on Friday said he was told by general manager Mike Tannenbaum that the Packers have been in contact with the Jets. With Pennington and Kellen Clemens expected to vie for the starting Jets job, any quarterback controversy at the Jets could be magnified by the arrival of Favre.
■BASKETBALL
Shock snub Lieberman
Nancy Lieberman, who made history on Thursday night by playing in a Women’s National Basketball Association game at age 50, was waived by the Detroit Shock on Friday. The guard was axed one day after signing a seven-day deal with the club and breaking her own mark as the oldest player in the history of the US women’s elite league. Lieberman missed her only shot and added two assists with turnovers in nine minutes on the court in a 79-61 Detroit loss to the Houston Comets on Thursday. The Shock were in need of players after five players were suspended for their roles in a brawl on Tuesday against Los Angeles. Lieberman was a rookie 11 years ago in the WNBA’s debut season when she set what had been the mark for the oldest WNBA player.
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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