■DRAG RACING
Street caused crash: report
The final state report into a car show crash last year that killed six spectators and wounded 22 others blamed the design of the street where the event was staged. The report by the Tennessee Highway Patrol found the street was peaked slightly to aid drainage and it began to curve so it “differed vastly from the flat, straight surface of a drag strip in which the car was designed to be operated on.” The car’s driver, Troy Critchley, an Australian living in Texas, pleaded guilty in August to 28 charges of reckless assault. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. The 3,000 horse power dragster reached 148kph in 3.56 seconds before swerving into spectators standing six deep on the side of the street, the report found. The burnout was part of an annual car show and parade put on by Cars for Kids Southern Style Inc, a local charity that raises money for children’s hospitals.
■ALPINE SKIING
Lanning to miss race
American skier T.J. Lanning crashed at high speed in a World Cup downhill training session on Friday and was ruled out of racing this weekend. Lanning had cuts on his face and a possible bruise to his knee after losing control and slamming into the safety netting lining the Stelvio course. “He’s getting checked out. We’re still in the evaluation process,” US Ski Team head coach Sasha Rearick said. “He was able to ski down.” Lanning was not taken to a hospital, but team doctors advised him against racing. Rearick said the crash occurred at “very high speed.” The race is scheduled for today.
■BASEBALL
Giants sign ‘Big Unit’
Five-time Cy Young winner Randy Johnson signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The 45-year-old Johnson signed a deal worth US$8 million, US media reported. He is five wins shy of becoming the 24th pitcher in MLB history to reach 300 in his career. A 10-time all-star, Johnson is second on the career strikeout list with 4,789. His 295 career victories currently rank sixth among lefthanders. A 21-year major league veteran, Johnson owns a 295-160 record with a 3.26 ERA in 596 games — 586 starts — with Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona and the New York Yankees.
■TENNIS
Amritaj may be barred
A government order unveiled on Friday that prevents non-natives from representing India could deny Prakash Amritraj a place on India’s Davis Cup squad. The sports ministry release said: “Players who are Indian citizens only can avail themselves of government assistance to represent the country in the national teams representing the country.” It effectively rules out Amritraj, 25, a US citizen who was born in Encino, California, from starting a sixth year on India’s Davis Cup team or in the Olympics or the Asian Games. Three women tennis players, Sunitha Rao, Shikha Uberoi and her sister Neha, will also be barred because they are all US citizens.
■ATHLETICS
Bolt’s choreographer killed
The dancer and choreographer who created the dance used by Jamaica sprinter Usain Bolt to celebrate his victories at the Beijing Olympics was shot to death at a Kingston nightclub on Friday, police said. David Alexander Smith, known in entertainment circles as “Ice,” was shot in the head and chest during an argument with two men. They then took his keys and fled in his car, police said. Smith created the “Gully Creeper” that Bolt danced each time he won a race at the Olympics last August.
Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention. Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture. The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media. She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far. “Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
Hans Niemann, the chess grand master at the heart of an alleged cheating scandal, has yet to provide an explanation on his late withdrawal from the Freestyle Grand Slam in Paris. Niemann, who was accused of cheating by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 2023 before the matter was settled outside court, received a wild card for the event, but informed organizers he was pulling out for “personal reasons” less than 48 hours before the start of the 12-player tournament. “I texted him on Friday at 7pm. I said: ‘Hans, we’re already here. Are you here as well?’ And he read the
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