■FORMULA ONE
Montreal courts F1
Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay says officials are completing a deal to bring Formula One back to the city next June. Tremblay said on Thursday the date of the Canadian Grand Prix and other details still had to be hammered out. He said it looked “very good” that Montreal would have its Grand Prix in June. Tremblay said he was confident he would be able to make the official announcement before next year’s F1 calendar is unveiled next month. His comments came after F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone recently told a European motor sport magazine that cars would be whizzing around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal next year. Tremblay said the agreement respected the principles established by city, state and federal governments, notably that they would not only finance the event but would also share in the revenues.
■FOOTBALL
Cleveland drops Stallworth
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who pleaded guilty in a drunk-driving death, has been suspended for all of the this year’s National Football League season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to Stallworth outlining his reasons for imposing the ban — for violating the league’s policies on substances of abuse and personal conduct. Stallworth pleaded guilty in June to drunk-driving manslaughter, a charge stemming from an incident on March 14 when he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in Miami. Stallworth had initially pleaded not guilty on June 4 and was facing a sentence of four to 15 years in jail if convicted. On June 16 he reached a plea agreement that included two years of house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service. He was released from jail on July 10.
■BASEBALL
Beer douser turns self in
A man turned himself in to police on Thursday, hours after Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino filed a police report about getting doused with beer at Wrigley Field. Police said the man was being questioned. The incident during Wednesday’s game was being investigated as “simple battery.” Victorino was hit by a cup of beer thrown from the stands while trying to catch a fly ball in the 12-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder managed to make the grab, and Cubs chairman Crane Kenney apologized to him in person before Thursday’s game. Victorino filed the police report on Thursday. Shortly after the game, police said a man turned himself in.
■SOCCER
Brunei players booted
A trio of Brunei soccer players have been kicked out of the S.League for an attack on a referee during a Singaporean league match earlier this month. Croatian defender Rene Komar was banned for 15 months for punching the match referee in the Aug. 2 clash between Brunei DPMM FC and Home United in Bandar Seri Begawan’s Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium. Komar’s teammates Pg Sallehuddin Damit and Yusof Salleh were also handed bans by the Football Association of Singapore Disciplinary Committee. All three admitted to charges of violent conduct against match referee K Kalimuthu. Skipper Pg Sallehuddin was banned for 12 months after admitting confronting Kalimuthu in “an aggressive and threatening manner,” manhandling and shoving him in the 39th minute of the match.
■CRICKET
Star banned over rampage
Australian cricket authorities on Friday banned Twenty20 star Luke Pomersbach from playing until at least January after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges including assaulting a police officer. The attacking middle-order batsman, who plays for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, apologized in court for a drunken rampage that led to him being arrested by police in Perth on Sunday. Pomersbach, 24, was fined A$3,500 (US$3,000) by the court, lost his driver’s license for six months and was ordered to pay more than A$20,000 for the damages he caused. Pomersbach pleaded guilty to a total of six charges that also included pushing a policeman into a window at his Perth home, breaking the glass and causing minor injuries, as he resisted arrest over a hit-and-run road incident. Following the court ruling, the Western Australian Cricket Association said he would be banned from representing Western Australia in any form of cricket until the end of the 2010-2011 season, but may be eligible to play state cricket from Jan. 1 next year if he fulfills counseling criteria.
■CRICKET
Windies sack coach Dyson
Australian coach John Dyson became the latest casualty of the West Indies’ bitter cricket turmoil on Thursday when he was sacked as coach. The West Indies Cricket Board WICB axed Dyson following the humiliating home Test and one-day series defeats to whipping boys Bangladesh, losses which coincided with a damaging players boycott. Dyson’s sacking comes less than six weeks before the start of the Champions Trophy in South Africa where assistant coach David Williams will take temporary charge. Dyson, 55, took over as coach in October, 2007, following on from another Australian, Bennett King, who stood down after the World Cup.
■RUGBY LEAGUE
TV show offers NRL dreams
Filming is about to start on a reality television series offering aspiring players the chance to earn a contract and play in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) competition, reports said yesterday. The show, titled NRL Dream, will give budding stars aged between 17 and 25 the opportunity to vie for a A$100,000 (US$84,000) contract with either the St George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland Cowboys, Newcastle Knights or Gold Coast Titans, the Daily Telegraph said. Auditions will be held around Australia and Papua New Guinea and judged by leading NRL coaches Wayne Bennett, Brian Smith, Neil Henry and John Cartwright, with former State of Origin players Ben Ikin, Paul Harragon and Gorden Tallis also involved. The winner is expected to be announced at a gala dinner during a live broadcast in March next year.
■SOCCER
Kenyon backs collective sale
Maintaining the collective sale of TV rights is crucial to preventing further financial polarization and keeping the Premier League ahead of Spain’s Primera Liga, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said. While big clubs in Spain and Italy have profited from exploiting TV rights individually, a collective approach has given the Premier League a competitive edge, he said. “The collective sale of TV rights has served the Premier League extremely well since it was conceived and we’d be absolutely against breaking the current model,” Kenyon said in a telephone interview ahead of the new season.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
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