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.”
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barça secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barça a 2-0 win over
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