■ENGLAND
Ferdinand off to Sunderland
West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand is Sunderland-bound after the London club accepted a bid reported to be approaching £8 million (US$14.7 million), Hammers boss Alan Curbishley said on Sunday. Curbishley told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The board have accepted the bid — he’s not renegotiated his contract — and the decision was taken out of my hands. I don’t know where Anton is in terms of signing for Sunderland — but once the club accept the bid it moves on.”
■SPAIN
Hleb says he needs time
Belarusian international midfielder Alexander Hleb, who joined Barcelona from Arsenal last month, said on Sunday he needs more time to fully adapt to the Spanish giants. “It takes time to adapt. It’s important for me to learn Spanish and to be able to communicate with my teammates and make myself understood on the pitch,” he said in comments published on the club’s Web site. The 27-year-old said he felt most comfortable playing “in the middle, behind the striker” but was able to shine in other positions. “I’ve learned to play in a lot of positions; on the left or on the right and in the middle of midfield, or further forward, wherever the manager needed me,” he said.
■RUSSIA
Danny set to leave Dynamo
Dynamo Moscow’s Portuguese international Daniel Miguel Alves Gomes, known as Danny, is expected to sign next week for UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg for a record 30 million euros (US$44 million), the Portuguese press reported on Sunday. “It’s great to be the most expensive player in the history of Russian football. Everything should be sorted by Monday,” the 25-year-old told the daily Diario de Noticias. The Portuguese press reported that Russian champions Zenit have accepted to pay the player’s 30-million-euro get out clause with Dynamo. The Venezuela-born midfielder played for the national side for the first time in Wednesday’s 5-0 friendly win over the Faroe Islands.He moved to Dynamo in 2005 from Sporting Lisbon.
■AUSTRIA
Firecracker deafens keeper
Rapid Vienna goalkeeper Georg Koch was hospitalized with hearing problems on Sunday after a firecracker thrown from the stands exploded near his head in the first half of a domestic league match against Austria Vienna. Koch damaged his ear canal when the cracker exploded in the sixth minute and afterward complained about being deaf in the right ear, Rapid Vienna team doctor Benno Zifko said. “Georg has a lot of pain and can’t hear,” Zifko said. “I can’t exclude permanent damage to his ear.” Police said they studied a video recording of the incident and arrested a suspect immediately after the match. The match was interrupted for about 15 minutes after the incident before resuming. Rapid won 3-0 to go atop the league standings.
■PORTUGAL
Porto start with win
Porto began the defense of their Portuguese premier league title with a 2-0 home win over Belenenses on Sunday. The champions went ahead after 15 minutes when Belenenses goalkeeper Paulo Cesar parried Argentine Lisandro Lopez’s shot and his compatriot Mariano Gonzalez knocked in the rebound. Belenenses were reduced to 10 men after 73 minutes when defender Graziano was sent off for a second bookable offence. Newly signed Brazilian Hulk wrapped up the three points with a searing left-footed shot into the top corner from 25m six minutes from the final whistle.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of