OLYMPICS
Illegal ticket seller arrested
British police said they arrested a man suspected of illegally offering to sell London Games tickets. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested the 23-year-old man at his home on Monday in Brent, England, after it was tipped off about activity on social networking sites luring people to a fraudulent Web site offering tickets to next year’s Games. Police said on Tuesday it was the first arrest of its kind. The man has been bailed to return in early August. Police are warning people to be wary of buying tickets from unauthorized sources.
HOCKEY
Belfour heads Fame list
Former All-Star goalie Ed Belfour has been elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk as the newest class of inductees. The four former NHL stars were chosen by the hall’s 18-member selection committee on Tuesday. Belfour, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie, posted 484 wins — third on the NHL career list — and 76 shutouts during a 17-year career during which he played for Chicago, San Jose, Dallas, Toronto and Florida.
RUGBY UNION
McCaw could be fit to play
Canterbury Crusaders assistant coach Daryl Gibson is confident All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will be fit for the Super 15 semi-final against South Africa’s Stormers on Saturday. Gibson said All Blacks backrower Keiran Read was also likely to be fit for the match in Cape Town, South Africa. McCaw has been sidelined for the past month with a foot injury and Read was in doubt after injuring an ankle during last weekend’s elimination qualifier against the Durban-based Sharks. Gibson said “we anticipate Richie will be back and he will lead the team. Kieran, too, is expected to be fit.” He said it was “a pure luxury” for the Crusaders to be able to name a full strength team at this stage of the season.
HOCKEY
Canucks’ Bieksa extended
The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a five-year contract extension, the NHL team said on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but local media reports have suggested the deal is worth US$23 million. Bieksa, Vancouver’s fifth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, has 34 goals and 147 points in 347 games with the only team he has played for. A cornerstone of the Vancouver blueline, Bieksa had five goals and five assists the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stanley Cup finalists still have two key defensemen unsigned with Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo set to hit the free agent market tomorrow.
CRICKET
‘Big Bash’ salary cap set
Cricket Australia say eight city-based teams in Australia’s revamped Twenty20 “Big Bash” competition will have a salary cap of A$1 million (US$1.05 million). The teams, including two each from Melbourne and Sydney, can sign up to 18 players, including up to two from overseas, within the cap, Cricket Australia said yesterday. Players will be paid retainers, not match fees. Retired Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and attacking West Indies allrounder Chris Gayle are the highest-profile international players figuring in contract speculation. The Indian Premier League, which spawned a number of domestic Twenty20 competitions around the world, imposed a US$9 million salary cap on its clubs for this year’s competition.
An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said yesterday. Zhang Zhijie was playing a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed. “Medical conclusions ... indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest,” Broto Happy, spokesman for
Taiwan will have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) and her older sister Latisha Chan (詹詠然) officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association said Thursday. According to the association, the International Tennis Federation confirmed Wednesday evening the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they will join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and Tsao Chia-yi (曹家宜) to compete in the quadrennial sports jamboree. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)
ONE GAME LEFT: ‘We 100 percent believe that this is the team,’ Kagiso Rabada said when asked if this team could end South Africa’s long World Cup drought A long, tortuous World Cup title drought is closer than ever to ending for South Africa after a nine-wicket win over first-time semi-finalist Afghanistan at the global T20 World Cup cricket tournament on Wednesday. Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada set the foundations for the lopsided victory with destructive opening bursts of pace bowling to have Afghanistan reeling at 20-4 in the fourth over, and eventually all out for a paltry 56. The South Africans lost just one wicket in pursuit of its first semi-final win at a global men’s limited-overs tournament, with Reeza Hendricks hitting a six and a four on consecutive
Taiwan is to have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching and her older sister Latisha Chan officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the national tennis association said on Thursday. The International Tennis Federation on Wednesday evening confirmed the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they would join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei and Tsao Chia-yi to compete in the Olympics. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association doubles rankings as of Monday, secured her slot earlier,