HOCKEY
Carcillo out for season
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Daniel Carcillo would be sidelined for the rest of the season after having knee surgery next week, the National Hockey League team said on Friday. Carcillo, 26, will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee which he injured during a hit that sent Tom Gilbert of the Edmonton Oilers into the boards on Jan. 2. Both players were forced to leave that game with knee injuries, while Carcillo received a major penalty and game misconduct. He was later suspended by the league for seven games. “Daniel Carcillo will undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery on his left knee on Tuesday, Jan. 17,” the Blackhawks said in a statement.
FOOTBALL
Rams eye Fisher as coach
The St Louis Rams say they are finalizing a deal to hire Jeff Fisher as their new NFL coach. The team confirmed reports on Friday that Fisher would be joining the Rams after considering a job with the Miami Dolphins. The 53-year-old Fisher interviewed twice with the Rams, once in Denver with owner Stan Kroenke and again in St Louis when he toured facilities and met quarterback Sam Bradford. Fisher is the most sought-after coach among those teams seeking replacements. He coached the Tennessee Titans for 17 years, including to a Super Bowl against the Rams in 2000. Fisher was the Rams defensive coordinator in 1991 when the franchise was in Los Angeles.
BASEBALL
Yankees get Kuroda, Pineda
The New York Yankees made a major push to bolster their starting rotation by agreeing to terms with pitcher Hiroki Kuroda on a US$10 million, one-year contract shortly after acquiring youngster Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners. A person familiar with Kuroda’s signing said the deal is contingent on the 36-year-old former Los Angeles Dodgers starter passing a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there has not yet been an announcement. Kuroda’s deal also includes performance bonuses, according to the person. The right hander was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA for the Dodgers this year and 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA in four seasons in Los Angeles after a long career in Japan.
SWIMMING
Evans qualifies for Olympics
Janet Evans, a four-time Olympic gold medalist mounting a comeback at the age of 40, qualified on Friday for the US Olympic swimming trials, moving a step closer to booking a London berth. Former world record-holder Evans won her 400m freestyle heat at the Austin Grand Prix in 4 minutes, 17.27 seconds, comfortably inside the trials qualifying standard of 4:19.39. She sliced about five seconds off the best time posted in her comeback. Evans is slated to swim the 800m today.
OLYMPICS
Ticket resale site to reopen
The crisis-hit London 2012 Olympic ticket resale Web site is set to reopen next week, organizers said on Friday. It has already been down for a week since being unable to cope with the vast demand, since when under-pressure agents Ticketmaster have been trying to get it back up and running. However, a spokesman for the London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG) said on Friday the problems had been fixed and that the site should reopen next week. “LOCOG confirms that a solution has been found to enable the ticket resale platform to reopen next week,” he said.
SOCCER
Goalkeeper fails dope test
Ukraine international goalkeeper Alexander Rybka faces a two-year ban after testing positive for a banned substance contained in a weight-loss product, local media reported on Friday. Reports said the samples, which the 24-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk player gave after a domestic league match in November, contained a banned diuretic. “After November’s league match with Karpaty Lviv, Rybka took the diuretic in attempt to lose some weight,” Shakhtar general manager Sergei Palkin said. “After UEFA discovered that his samples contained the banned medication they sent us a letter demanding to suspend him from matches under UEFA control. Alexander [Rybka] will unlikely avoid disqualification for the violation of the doping code.”
SOCCER
Former Real coach dies
Miljan Miljanic, the former coach of Yugoslavia, Red Star Belgrade, Real Madrid and Valencia, has died in Serbia at the age of 81, local media reported on Friday. After a brief career as a defender with Red Star Belgrade, Miljanic coached the team and won 10 national championships. However, his greatest success was with Real Madrid, where he coached from 1974 to 1977. In the 1974-1975 season, he became the first foreigner to win both the national championship and the cup in one season. He also briefly coached Valencia for a season from 1982. Miljanic was also the head coach of former Yugoslavia’s national team, leading them to the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.
SOCCER
Allegri agrees new deal
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri signed a new deal on Friday which will keep him at the helm of the Italian champions until 2014, the club announced. Italian press reports said Allegri, who won the Serie A title in his first year in charge last season, wanted an annual salary of 3 million euros (US$3.8 million), while the club would only go as high as 2.5 million euros. “I’m very happy to have the chance to work with Milan for another two years,” Allegri said. “I believe that everything is in place to continue what we started a year and a half ago.”
BOXING
Tutaki arrested, detained
The professional boxing career of All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has hit a new snag with the arrest of his rival for the New Zealand heavyweight title on serious criminal charges. Midfielder Williams was to fight 33-year-old Richard Tutaki for the vacant title on Feb. 8, but Auckland police confirmed yesterday that Tutaki was being held in custody after failing to appear in court on charges including possession of methamphetamine and receiving stolen property. Inspector Gary Allcock said Tutaki was arrested at his girlfriend’s home and had been refused bail ahead of a court appearance on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS
Third arrest in spying case
A third person has been arrested in connection with allegations that Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur spied on officials during their failed bid to take over London’s Olympic Stadium after this year’s Games. Tottenham were accused of ordering surveillance on all 14 members of the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s board during the stadium bidding process. Spurs deny the allegation, made by company chairperson Margaret Ford last year. Two people were held in November in connection with the illegal procurement of information. Police said they also arrested a 57-year-old man on Wednesday in Cheshire, England, “on suspicion of fraud offenses.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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