■ICE HOCKEY
US women beat Canada
The US beat hosts Canada 4-2, while Sweden downed Finland 3-1 in Wednesday’s final preliminary-round games at the women’s Hockey Canada Cup in Vancouver. The results mean the US will face Finland in today’s semi-finals, while Canada will take on Sweden. Jenny Potter scored the opening two goals, Hilary Knight added a goal and two assists, and Molly Schaus made 27 saves for the US.
■BOXING
Donaire fights scary fever
Champion boxer Nonito Donaire is recovering from a frightening bout of dengue fever that put him in the hospital with a 40˚C temperature, his manager said on Thursday. Donaire, a Filipino-born fighter raised in California’s Bay Area, fell ill on Wednesday in the Philippines, where he has been living since defeating Rafael Concepcion for the WBA’s interim 52kg title last month in Las Vegas. Manager Cameron Dunkin says a regimen of intravenous fluids helped to reduce the fighter’s fever, which dropped to 38˚C on Thursday. Donaire appears healthy enough to be released later Thursday. Donaire was treated at Asian Hospital in the southern part of metropolitan Manila, one of the Philippines’ top hospitals.
■MOTOGP
Ducati sticks with Hayden
Nicky Hayden will race for Ducati again next season after the Italian team announced on Thursday they had extended the American’s contract by a year. The 2006 world champion joined Ducati at the start of the season and, after a tough start, claimed his first podium for them last weekend with third place at the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
■BOXING
Abraham wants Super Six
Arthur Abraham said Thursday he will not let his home-town fans down when he takes on Jermain Taylor in Berlin in his first Super Six Boxing Classic bout on Oct. 17. The 29-year-old relinquished his IBF middleweight world champion belt to step up to the super-middleweight division and is one of the six fighters to have signed up for the tournament. Along with Abraham and Taylor of the US, England’s WBC champion Karl Froch has signed up for the new concept along with Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward and WBA champion Mikkel Kessler. Armenia-born Abraham, who lives in the German capital is not content to merely take part in the Super Six, he wants to win the overall tournament. “The quality of fighters in this tournament is already good. But I would not only like to participate, I want to win it,” he said.
■CHESS
Drunk grandmaster loses
A leading French chess player turned up drunk and dozed off after just 11 moves in an international tournament in Kolkata, losing the round on technical grounds, domestic media reported yesterday. Grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev arrived for Thursday’s match against India’s Praveen Kumar in such an inebriated state that he could hardly sit in his chair and soon fell asleep, resting his head on the table, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. Indian papers carried pictures of the world number 58 sleeping and the organizers’ futile attempts to wake his up. The game was awarded to the Indian on the technical ground of Tkachiev being unable to complete his moves within the stipulated time of an hour and 30 minutes, the paper said. The player was warned and reprimanded by the organizers afterwards, but has been allowed to take part in the remainder of the competition, the paper said.
■SOCCER
Gunners to appeal ban
Arsenal are to appeal against the two-match ban imposed by UEFA on striker Eduardo da Silva for diving in a Champions League match last week. “We strongly believe that the decision taken is deeply flawed and not based on any forensic view of the video evidence available,” the Premier League club said in a statement on Thursday. “There are obvious errors and inconsistencies in UEFA’s judgment and we intend to appeal.” The Brazilian-born Croatia international was given the ban after UEFA’s disciplinary and control panel ruled he had tried to deceive the referee to win a penalty in the second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League playoff tie against Celtic. Eduardo converted the penalty awarded by referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez after he tumbled to the ground despite there appearing to be no contact with Celtic keeper Artur Boruc.
■SOCCER
Reds stadium still on hold
Liverpool’s new stadium will not be built until the global recession is over and credit becomes available to finance the US$800 million project. The 60,000-seat replacement for Liverpool’s historic but crumbling Anfield was due to have opened next year, but the economic downturn forced co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to halt building work in August last year. “Construction on the stadium will begin when the current contraction in the banking industry ends and the global financial markets re-establish their equilibrium,” Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow said.
■SOCCER
Argentina attend Mass
Diego Maradona and his Argentina team went to Mass on Thursday, praying for help in today’s critical World Cup qualifier against No. 1-ranked Brazil. The religious service was held on the training ground where Argentina are preparing for the game in Rosario, about 300km northwest of Buenos Aires. The mass was organized by Nelida Pariani, the wife of Julio Grondona, who is the president of the Argentine Football Association. Argentina are struggling to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa and need a victory.
■YACHTING
Oracle goes back to court
US syndicate Oracle on Thursday launched new legal moves against America’s Cup defenders Alinghi over the rules for the next edition of yachting’s premier event. It said it had asked the New York Supreme Court to ensure that Alinghi does not try to impose regulations, notably concerning the measurements of boats and their equipment, that do not exist under the Deed of Gift, the 19th century rules that govern the oldest trophy in international sport. Alinghi, owned by Swiss biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, announced last month it would face Oracle in a multi-hull duel for the 33rd America’s Cup in the United Arab Emirates at Ras al-Khaimah from Feb. 8.
■SWIMMING
Miller avoids jail term
Former world champion swimmer Scott Miller avoided a jail term yesterday for supplying the party drug ecstasy to a friend as a birthday gift. District Court Judge Greg Woods ordered Miller to complete 100 hours of community work. He also imposed a two-year good behavior bond. Miller, 34, pleaded guilty to five charges including supplying a prohibited drug, after he gave 12 ecstasy pills to Mark Catchpole, the son of an Australian rugby great, as a gift.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
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