■OLYMPICS
Russia to push for chess
The new chairman of Russia’s Olympic committee said he would push to add chess to the Olympic program. Alexander Zhukov said that “regrettably, the International Olympic Committee doesn’t want to add that sport to the Olympic program, but we will insist on that.” Zhukov, a long-time Russian Cabinet member whose responsibilities included overseeing preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, headed Russia’s chess federation from 2003 to last year. He said that chess deserves inclusion into the Olympic program because of its global popularity.
■CRICKET
Dilshan made squad leader
Batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed to lead the Sri Lankan cricket squad to Zimbabwe for a tri-nation, one-day international series that also involves India, Sri Lanka Cricket said in Colombo on Thursday. Several senior players, including captain Kumar Sangakkara, former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had a dismal World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean, have been left out of the team. Muttiah Muralitharan, the most successful bowler in history with a record 792 Test and 512 one-day international wickets, was not picked for the tour.
■RUGBY UNION
RFU slam Saracens criticism
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have slammed Saracens for criticizing the manner in which their director of rugby Brendan Venter was banned from the Premiership final against Leicester. Former South Africa center Venter received a 14-week touchline ban on Tuesday after being found guilty of making inappropriate gestures and comments to spectators during his side’s 32-23 win at Leicester on May 8. He was cleared of a charge of pushing a female Leicester supporter, but the ban means he will not be allowed any contact with his side when they face a rematch against the Tigers in the Premiership final a week on Saturday. Saracens leaped to Venter’s defense upon the news of his charges, but the RFU have responded strongly, describing the club’s reaction as “disappointing.”
■SOCCER
Ribery to stay in Bayern
Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery will stay at the German club, extending his contract for another four years until 2015, German newspaper Bild said on Thursday. Ribery, who will miss the Champions League final against Inter in Madrid today because of suspension, was expected to leave Bayern at the end of the season, eager to play for a major club in Spain or England. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United had reportedly shown interest. The newspaper, citing club sources, said the new deal would be signed today when the 27-year-old Frenchman returns to Madrid from the French national training camp.
■FOOTBALL
Favre makes wager
A college baseball team could determine whether veteran quarterback Brett Favre plays in the NFL next season. “Let’s make a bet,” Favre told members of the University of Southern Mississippi baseball team on Thursday, the Biloxi Sun-Herald reported on its Web site. “If you guys go back to the College World Series this year, I will come back and play,” the 40-year-old Minnesota Vikings quarterback said. “How about that? “You go back and I go back.”
■BASKETBALL
Stars beat Shock 83-74
Sophia Young scored 23 points to lead three players in double figures as the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the Tulsa Shock 83-74 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday. Edwige Lawson-Wade added 16 points, Michelle Snow scored 13 and Becky Hammon had 12 for San Antonio (1-1), which shot 51.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded Tulsa 41-31. The Silver Stars also scored 24 points off 18 turnovers. Kara Braxton led Tulsa (0-2) with 15 points, while Amber Holt scored 11 and Scholanda Robinson added 10. The Shock shot 41.3 percent from the field but couldn’t overcome their miscues on offense and inability to grab rebounds.
■BASKETBALL
Russian to oversee Nets
Irina Pavlova, a diplomat’s daughter with a business degree from Stanford University, was hired on Thursday as president of the company that will oversee the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Group said that Pavlova would represent the team’s new owner in the New York area. Prokhorov’s US$200 million purchase made him the first foreign owner of an NBA franchise. Pavlova has extensive experience in business and finance. She earned a masters degree in business from Stanford, worked as a financial analyst with Prudential Investment Corp and was Russia’s first employee for Google. Prokhorov has vowed to revive the lowly Nets, and his company called Pavlova the “perfect bridge between Russia and the United States.”
■ICE HOCKEY
NHL hires Swedish veteran
A veteran Swedish official will become the first European-trained referee to work games in the National Hockey League, the league said on Thursday. Marcus Vinnerborg will join the NHL officiating staff next season, league director of officials Terry Gregson told reporters during a conference call. “He meshes extremely well [with NHL on-ice officials] on blended crews for world championships and Olympics,” Gregson said. “His knowledge of the North American game and his work ethic and professionalism will make him a positive addition to the NHL staff.” Vinnerborg, 37, will be assigned to the second-tier American Hockey League, but is expected to officiate NHL regular-season games, the league’s official Web site said.
■FOOTBALL
Romo putts closer to Open
NFL star Tony Romo has moved closer to competing in the US Open golf tournament in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback Romo was among seven golfers who moved on to the sectional qualifying round after shooting a 2-under 69, which put him in a four-man playoff for three spots. Romo now heads to a 36-hole qualifier June 7 at The Woodlands course. If he’s among the top finishers there, he would have a spot in the season’s second major golf tournament June 17-20 at Pebble Beach, California.
■BASKETBALL
Ball-throwing ref suspended
Veteran National Basketball Association ref Joe DeRosa has been slapped with a one-game suspension for throwing a game ball at a fan during halftime of Tuesday’s playoff match in Orlando. The league’s disciplinary officials said DeRosa would miss his next scheduled assignment. DeRosa was near the scorer’s table when he was approached by a fan at half-time of Game 2 of the series between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic. A fan behind the table approached and appeared to be shouting at DeRosa, who flipped the ball to the fan. The fan then tossed it back.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
RSS