■FOOTBALL
Giants end Burress’ season
The New York Giants officially ended the season of Plaxico Burress on Tuesday by placing the embattled NFL star on the injury list. The move came one day after Burress was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Manhattan nightclub the previous weekend. The Giants initially fined Burress and suspended him for four games for conduct detrimental to the team for multiple and repeated violations of club rules. Should the defending Super Bowl champions make the playoffs, which is a mere formality given their 11-1 record, Burress will not be allowed to return to the Giants’ active list.
■FOOTBALL
Six NFL players suspended
The NFL suspended a half dozen players after they failed doping tests, league officials announced on Tuesday. Defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, a trio of players with the New Orleans Saints — running back Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant — and center Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans were slapped with four-game suspensions for violating the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. The NFL’s disciplinary officials did not release the name of the drug but it is reportedly a masking agent for steroids.
■FOOTBALL
Browns sign Gradkowski
The Cleveland Browns signed quarterback Bruce Gradkowski today, while Derek Anderson was placed on injured reserve, the team said. Quarterback Brady Quinn, who hurt his right index finger in his first National Football League victory on Nov. 17 against the Buffalo Bills, will have surgery tomorrow to repair the damage. He was expected to recover in six to 10 weeks. Gradkowski played his first two NFL seasons with Tampa Bay, throwing for 1,661 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games during his rookie year with the Buccaneers. After four appearances last year, he was waived in June and went to training camp this year with St. Louis.
■GOLF
Ballesteros has operation
Five-time major champion Seve Ballesteros underwent more surgery on Tuesday, this time to drain fluid from his brain. Ballesteros was in stable condition in the intensive care unit after the operation to implant a valve in his brain, La Paz hospital said in a three-line statement. Doctors also repaired a bone defect stemming from one of the procedures the golf great has undergone since his initial operation on Oct. 24 to remove a malignant brain tumor.
■ICE HOCKEY
‘Pit’ falls through ice, dies
Police divers recovered the body of Hubert “Pit” Martin, a four-time NHL All-Star in the 1960s and 1970s, who drowned after the snowmobile he was driving plunged into an icy lake near his home. Divers found Martin’s body on Tuesday, Quebec provincial police said. Constable Marie-Josee Ouellet said Martin was driving the vehicle on Lake Kanasuta in northwestern Quebec on Sunday when the ice cracked and he plunged into the freezing water. Another man who was driving a separate snowmobile at the time confirmed Martin ended up in the water, Ouellet said. Martin, who would have turned 65 next week, lived on an island in the lake that was reached by boat in summer and snowmobile in winter.
■ATHLETICS
Kamel to return to Kenya
Bahrain’s Kenya-born world indoor 800m bronze medalist Youssef Saad Kamel plans to ditch his Bahraini passport and return to Kenya next year, alleging mistreatment in the Gulf nation. The 25-year-old Kamel said the conditions were not favorable for his stay. “Promises are not honored. Sometimes I can go for several months without a salary. When I ask for the money I am told to wait,” said Kamel, who is credited with the second-fastest 800m time in the world behind Abubakar Kaki of Sudan. “I am prepared to come back home and run for Kenya at the 2009 World championships in Berlin.”
■CYCLING
Police question Astana rider
Spanish police stopped an Astana rider on Tuesday because he wasn’t wearing a cycling helmet. Chris Horner was riding alongside teammate Lance Armstrong at Astana’s preseason training camp in Tenerife when a police car pulled the pack over. The team was allowed to continue after an identification check on Horner, who continued without the helmet since professional cyclists are not obligated to wear them in Spain.
■SOCCER
Uruguay chief threatened
Uruguayan Football Federation (AUF) president Jose Luis Corbo said on Tuesday he had received death threats and anonymous calls warning that bombs had been hidden at the federation’s headquarters. Corbo revealed the threats a day after the authorities had announced the league program would resume yesterday following a three-week interruption in the wake of fan violence. The AUF had suspended the league after fighting broke out at a match between Nacional and Danubio. “I don’t know where [the threats] are coming from — most likely these people don’t want the league to resume ... or they’re trying to get me out. But they won’t be lucky as I have a clear conscience and I’m not afraid of them,” Corbo said.
■SOCCER
Tenerife deny allegations
Players at Spanish second division side Tenerife on Tuesday denied allegations they had accepted bribes to lose a key match last season. “This accusation is totally false. We had nothing to do with this affair,” the team said in a statement read out by captain Cristo Marrero. A former Tenerife player, Jesus Mora Nieto, known as Jesuli, said he received around 6,000 euros (US$7,600) to ensure the club lost a match on the last day of last season that allowed opponents Malaga to win promotion to the first division, the newspaper El Mundo said on Monday. He made the allegation in a taped conversation two weeks ago with Inaki Badiola, president of Real Sociedad, which failed to win promotion due to Malaga’s victory. “I cannot tell you if [my fellow players] took money, but, well, if I received it I imagine that everyone also received it, no?” the player said.
■GOLF
US PGA boss rakes it in
US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem had a US$400,000 drop in his compensation last year, but the US$4.8 million in salary and bonuses was still enough to be the equivalent of No. 3 on the money list for the second straight year. The Sports Business Journal, citing the latest tax forms the tour is required to file, said Finchem received US$1.3 million in salary, US$3.2 million in bonuses and US$240,000 in benefits. The most recent tax forms available for the US LPGA Tour said that commissioner Carolyn Bivens earned US$710,812 in salary and benefits in 2006.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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