■SOCCER
Saint Etienne win at last
Saint Etienne ended their three-year losing French Cup record on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bordeaux to reach the last 32 and keep coach Alain Perrin on course for an unprecedented Cup treble. Bafetimbi Gomis grabbed the only goal of the game in the 76th minute on a treacherous and slippy surface at Bordeaux’s Jacques-Chaban-Delmas Stadium. Bordeaux, coached by former Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, were missing a host of their South American stars who had been given permission to stay on their Christmas vacation. Meanwhile, Lyon’s march to a possible second successive league and cup double was put on hold when their tie at fourth division Concarneau was called off because of a frozen pitch. No first division team lost to lower division opposition on Saturday, although Le Mans, Grenoble and Lorient all needed to win shoot-outs to progress.
■SOCCER
Olympiakos extend lead
Luciano Galletti converted a first-half penalty to give Olympiakos Piraeus a 1-0 win at Asteras on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Greek league. Olympiakos now have 39 points from 16 games, nine more than PAOK Thessaloniki. Asteras controlled play from kick-off, but it was Olympiakos who came closest to scoring first in the 18th minute when a powerful shot by Fernando Belluschi sailed over Giorgos Abaris’ crossbar. Olympiakos took the lead in the 27th minute from a penalty awarded when defender Nikolas Lazaridis fouled Brazilian striker Diogo in the area. It was Galletti’s seventh goal of the season. Four minutes before the end of the first half, Asteras nearly leveled when a header by Manolis Psomas went just wide. A blistering shot by Diego grazed Abaris’ post in the 52nd, eight minutes before Lucio Filomeno’s low drive hit the base of Olympiakos’ post. Also on Saturday it was Ergotelis 0, Panthrakikos 1 and Xanthi 0, Panionios 0.
■NORDIC SKIING
German team takes title
Germany won the team competition of the Nordic combined World Cup event on Saturday in Schonach. The German team of Georg Hettich, Eric Frenzel, Bjoern Kircheisen and Tino Edelmann finished 16.9 seconds ahead of Norway in the 4x5km relay. Austria were third. Finland, who have won the event every year since 2001, trailed in fourth. Germany were missing reigning world champion Ronny Ackermann, as well as teammates Sebastian Haseney and Johannes Rydzek who were sick. “I am surprised that the team won in its reduced form,” Germany coach Hermann Weinbach said. The new-look team went into the relay with a three-second lead following the jump and extended it for a comfortable win. Earlier on Saturday, the German team also won the ski jumping part of the combined event, ahead of Austria and Finland.
■LUGE
Leitner and Resch victorious
Four-time world champions and 2002 Olympic winners Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch of Germany won their first World Cup doubles race this season on Saturday. They finished in 1 minute, 34.616 seconds to edge Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany by 0.07 seconds for their seventh consecutive victory on the Koenigssee course since 2001 and their 32nd overall win. Andreas Linger and Wolfgang Linger of Austria finished third. In the women’s singles race, two-time world champion Tatjana Huefner of Germany posted her third win this season. She finished in 1 minute, 34.948 seconds to beat compatriots Natalie Geisenberger and Anke Wischnewski.
■ICE HOCKEY
Crosby tops All-Star list
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sydney Crosby heads the list of starters announced on Saturday for the NHL All-Star Game with a record vote total in fan balloting. A total of 10 players surpassed the previous all-time record of 1,020,736 votes — set by Jaromir Jagr in 2000 — with Crosby topping out at 1,713,021. Crosby was voted into last year’s All-Star Game as well, but could not play because of an ankle injury. Joining 21-year-old Crosby in the Eastern Conference’s starting lineup will be teammate and NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin (1,585,936 votes), and a quartet of Montreal Canadiens who benefited from enthusiastic voters in the host city.
■ICE HOCKEY
Canada to play in junior final
Canada booked a place in the world junior ice hockey championships final for the eighth straight year, edging Russia 6-5 after a shootout on Saturday, having only tied the game with five seconds left in regulation time. Canada’s opponent in today’s final will be Sweden, which progressed with a 5-3 win over Slovakia. It is a re-match of last year’s decider in the Czech Republic when Canada beat Sweden in overtime for its fourth straight title. Canada’s Jordan Eberle, a first-round draft pick of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, scored twice in regulation, including the the second with five seconds left when the hosts had pulled goalie Dustin Tokarski off for an extra attacker.
■COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Connecticut beats Buffalo
Donald Brown ran for a career-best 261 yards — including 208 in the first half — and scored a touchdown as Connecticut defeated Buffalo 38-20 in college football’s International Bowl on Saturday. Connecticut overcame five first-half turnovers and a 20-10 deficit to win its second bowl game in three appearances since joining the Big East conference in 2004. Mid-American champion Buffalo had its breakout season under coach Turner Gill end with a loss in its bowl debut.
■BOXING
Nishioka knocks out Garcia
Japanese champion Toshiaki Nishioka pulled off a technical knockout over Genaro Garcia of Mexico to defend the World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight title on Saturday. Nishioka fired an array of left upper cuts before the referee stopped the fight 57 seconds into the 12th and final round. “I really wanted to score a knockout victory because of the many fans who came to watch my fight even though it was the beginning of the new year,” said Nishioka, 32, with his daughter Kohime in his arms. “Probably it was a frustrating fight for the spectators, but I’m really happy that I was able to score a knockout in the end. I’m going to improve my boxing and show them a more exciting fight,” he added.
■BOXING
Moses takes Kobori’s title
Paulus Moses of Namibia wrested the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title from defending champion Yusuke Kobori of Japan by a unanimous decision victory on Saturday. A Thai judge scored it 115-113, a Puerto Rican judge counted it 115-113 and an Australian judge had it 119-109, all in favor of the challenger. “I hit a jab in every round. That’s the key to my victory,” said Moses, who works as a policeman in his country. “I’m really happy to become the first world champion of the new year. I’m proud of it,” said Moses, adding he would continue to work for the police because “I like the job.” It was the first attempt at a world title for the 28-year-old Moses.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
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