■SOCCER
Podolski to miss qualifier
Germany striker Lukas Podolski has been ruled out of tomorrow’s 2010 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan after picking up a minor injury in training this week, the German soccer federation said on Sunday. Podolski had also missed Cologne’s season opener, a 1-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, after feeling some pain in his leg muscle during training throughout the week. “It would have been too risky to play him in Baku because he could then be out for much longer,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said on the federation’s Web site. Germany are top of European qualifying Group Four, a point ahead of Russia.
■SOCCER
Real blank DC United
Real Madrid beat DC United 3-0 on Sunday in an exhibition game before 72,368 fans at FedEx Field. The Spanish powerhouse — which spent some US$375 million on new players in the offseason — also beat Toronto FC 5-1 on Friday during its preseason tour. United goalkeeper Josh Wicks kept Real at bay in a scoreless first half, but Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in a two-minute span in the second half as the visitors took control. Arjen Robben added another goal for Real. Real stunned the soccer world with its lavish offseason spending in hopes of regaining supremacy in Spain and Europe from Barcelona. Its newly purchased players included Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA’s world players of the year in 2007 and last year. Ronaldo played only the first half on Sunday, and Kaka was replaced in the 67th minute.
■ICE HOCKEY
Kane in 20 cent dispute
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, last year’s NHL Rookie of the Year, was arrested early on Sunday after an altercation in Buffalo with a cab driver. TV station WIVB reported that Kane pleaded not guilty to charges of felony robbery and misdemeanors of theft of services and criminal mischief that both he and a cousin face following the incident. Kane, 20, caught a cab from the city’s nightclub district and a police report says the driver claimed he was punched and hit by two men because he did not have US$0.20 in change for them, leaving cuts to his face and damaging his glasses.
■BASKETBALL
Rambis to coach T-Wolves
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says team executives have a verbal agreement for Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis to become the next coach of the T-Wolves. Taylor told the St Paul Pioneer Press about the deal, saying Rambis was expected to sign a contract yesterday. Rambis replaces Kevin McHale, who was fired in June after the Timberwolves completed a miserable 24-58 campaign. Rambis, 51, played nine seasons for the Lakers during the 1980s “Showtime” era featuring Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
■RUGBY UNION
Carter recalled to All Blacks
Star fly-half Dan Carter was on Monday recalled to the All Blacks squad for the rest of their Tri-Nations campaign six months after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. Carter has played in domestic games recently and declared himself fit to return to international duty. “He is a key member of the All Blacks, has recovered well from his injury and has made a great return to rugby so now is the right time to bring him back into the squad,” coach Graham Henry said. Carter was injured playing for the French side Perpignan against Stade Francais in February while on a New Zealand Rugby Union-sanctioned break from Super 14 duties.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later