■RUGBY UNION
Rules waived for McAlister
The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) yesterday granted an exemption to its eligibility rules to allow the speedy return of inside back Luke McAlister to the All Blacks. McAlister is due to return to New Zealand next month after playing for English club Sale for the last two seasons. He would normally become eligible for the All Blacks only after playing a season of Super 14 or the domestic provincial championship, under rules aimed at keeping the top players in domestic competitions. But star flyhalf Daniel Carter — also exempted from eligibility rules this year — is unlikely to be fit for the Tri-Nations series after rupturing his Achilles tendon playing for his French club, Perpignan, in February. NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs said that, due to injuries in McAlister’s favored flyhalf and inside center positions, the union decided to exempt him from the regulations. It is intended that the 25-year-old will play only in the June home Tests against France and Italy if other contenders are injured, but he would be available for the later Tri-Nations series starting in July.
■CRICKET
Deccan charge ahead
Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma hammered explosive half centuries to set up a comprehensive 24-run victory for the Deccan Chargers against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Newlands in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday. Unbeaten Deccan are top of the table after two matches. Their total of 184 for six was the highest of the competition so far and Bangalore never seriously threatened to match it before subsiding to 160-8.
■FOOTBALL
Player charged over drugs
Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith was pulled over on Wednesday afternoon and found with crack cocaine and marijuana in his car, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Smith, who played 10 seasons for Jacksonville in the NFL, was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Jacksonville for excessive window tint on his 2009 Mercedes Benz, Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Bill Leeper said. The trooper reported that the inside of the car smelled like burnt marijuana. During a search, the trooper found crack cocaine, marijuana and a business card with powder cocaine residue in the car’s center console.
■SOCCER
Ransomed watch recovered
Germany defender Arne Friedrich has been involved in a police sting after a thief attempted to extort 5,000 euros (US$6,475) from him for his Euro 2008 watch, it was reported on Wednesday. The 29-year-old Hertha Berlin captain, who has won 62 caps for Germany and played in last June’s Euro final, had his special watch stolen two months ago while he was working out in a fitness center in Berlin’s up-market suburb Charlottenburg, the Bild tabloid reported. The watch, engraved with Friedrich’s name and shirt number, was a limited edition time-piece by Swiss firm IWC, presented to each member of the Euro 2008 squad by the German Football Federation (DFB), and was stolen from his locker. A few days after the theft, the thief rang Friedrich claiming to have found the watch and demanded 5,000 euros to return it. The Germany star called police and a meeting was organized between Friedrich and the thief where the man was arrested and charged with extortion.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946