Chelsea sign Brazilian midfielder Oscar
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Brazil midfielder Oscar has signed for Chelsea, the English Premier League club said on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, who is in Brazil’s Olympic squad for the Games in London, arrives at Stamford Bridge from Brazilian side Internacional. “Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Oscar,” the ... Read More
Syrian delegation sign Olympic ‘truce wall’
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
The Olympic delegation from Syria, currently in the midst of a bloody civil conflict, on Wednesday joined other teams at the London Games who have signed a “truce wall” aimed at promoting global peace. Syrian chef de mission Maher Khyyata signed the wall, a series of glass panes in the Olympic village, as some 30 team ... Read More
Moroccan runner Selsouli fails doping test: report
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Moroccan runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli is reported to have tested positive for doping on the day she clocked a world season-leading time in the 1,500 meters, jeopardizing her place at the London Olympics. French sports daily L’Equipe reports that the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Paris ... Read More
Iran says Olympians will compete against Israelis
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
In surprising move, Islamic Republic said it will allow its athletes to compete with Israeli counterparts during the London Games. Bahram Afsharzadeh, head of the Iranian Olympic Mission, said Monday that his country’s athletes will compete against Israelis at the London Games. Iran has been criticized in the past because ... Read More
Boldly go: Patrick Stewart joins Olympic torch run
Monday, 23 July 2012
The Olympic flame has boldly gone to Wimbledon. Actor Patrick Stewart, best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is set to take a turn on the torch relay later Monday. Before he does, tennis stars Andy Murray and Venus Williams posed with the flame on Center ... Read More
Syrian athletes arrive in London, IOC says
Monday, 23 July 2012
Syrian athletes have arrived in London and will compete at the 2012 Olympic Games, an International Olympic Committee official said on Monday, ending uncertainty about whether the team would be able to participate with fighting raging at home. Pere Miro, who is in charge of relations with national Olympic committees, ... Read More
Motor racing-Red Bull escapes action over engine maps
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull team escaped a penalty at his home German Grand Prix on Sunday after stewards cleared them of a possible breach of the technical rules. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) had raised concerns, only hours before the 10th race of the season, about the ... Read More
Footballer Fabrice Muamba carries Olympic torch
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Fabrice Muamba carried the Olympic torch through London on Saturday, four months after collapsing on the field during an English football match. The Bolton midfielder’s heart stopped for 78 minutes on March 17 after collapsing during an FA Cup match at Read More
Games boss upbeat as torch reaches London
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Olympic chief Jacques Rogge flew into London on Friday a week ahead of the opening ceremony and predicted a “great Games”, despite a security fiasco, travel disruptions and persistent rain. The biggest single problem in the run-up to the July 27-August 12 Games has been the shortage of guards to secure venues, after the ... Read More
Cassano fined 15,000 euros over gay comments
Friday, 20 July 2012
Italy forward Antonio Cassano has been fined 15,000 euros ($18,250) by UEFA for saying during Euro 2012 that he hoped there were no homosexuals in the team. UEFA said the controversial player had been penalized for a “discriminatory press statement” and had three days to appeal. Cassano has already apologized for his ... Read More
Pepsi or Coke? Olympic brand rules sow confusion
Friday, 20 July 2012
Not just a sporting event, the Olympics present a fashion dilemma. That Pepsi T-shirt and Nike sneakers may seem perfect for a trip to Olympic Park -- but will they fall foul of the brand police? Olympic organizers scrambled Friday to clarify their restrictions on branding, after the head of the London games ... Read More
Golf-Players will devour unlinks-like Lytham: Lehman
Friday, 20 July 2012
Expect low scores on the rain-softened Lytham links at the British Open this week, 1996 champion Tom Lehman said on Friday. “If it stays like this they’re going to shoot the grass off the course,” the former world number one told Reuters after a two-over-par 72 in the second round for a five-over total of 145. “It’s so ... Read More
South Sudan runner bids for independent place
Friday, 20 July 2012
A refugee from Sudan’s civil war who became a top distance runner after moving to the United States is fighting for last-minute permission to compete in the London Olympics as an independent athlete. Guor Marial, 28, who was born in southern Sudan at the start of the conflict, would have liked to run the marathon for South ... Read More
Bin Hammam’s life ban overturned by CAS
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has won his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a life ban from all soccer-related activity over bribery allegations. However, CAS said the decision did not amount to an “affirmative finding of innocence” for Bin Hammam, saying that FIFA’s ... Read More
Maradona in Dubai: was it really worth it?
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Argentinian legend Diego Maradona was sacked as coach of UAE club Al Wasl after 14 months on the job. While the appointment of Maradon and his on- and off-pitch antics probably brought a lot of worldwide attention to the club, the Dubai-based daily Gulf News asks if it was all worth it considering the huge financial cost. Al ... Read More
Paris St Germain signs striker Ibrahimovic on three-year deal
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Big-spending Paris St Germain aims to dominate Ligue 1 this season and showed their intent by signing Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic from AC Milan on a three-year deal on Wednesday. “Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 30, has been transferred from AC Milan and signed a three-year deal in favor of Paris ... Read More
Last chance for FIFA, warns Swiss MP
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Swiss politicians will propose legislation ending FIFA’s tax and legislative privileges if it does not take firm action against officials involved in the case concerning its former marketing partner by the end of the year, an MP said on Wednesday. The legislation would also affect dozens of other international sporting ... Read More
Maradona replaced by Metsu at UAE’s al-Wasl
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Former Senegal and United Arab Emirates coach Bruno Metsu has replaced the sacked Diego Maradona in charge of al-Wasl, the Dubai-based club said on Tuesday. Argentina World Cup winner Maradona, 51, was sacked last week with a year left on his two-year contract following a trophy-less season for Read More
Manchester United most valuable sports franchise
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Manchester United is the most valuable franchise in sports at $2.23 billion, according to Forbes magazine’s annual survey. The English Premier League team, owned by the same American family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is ranked on top thanks to lucrative global sponsorship deals. ... Read More
Olympics satire: Watch out for the brand police
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Here are some Olympic images that organizers have not approved: A hooded youth making off with an Olympic ring; the same multicolored hoops turned into toasters; a dog doing something a bit rude to a London 2012 mascot. The guardians of the games are vigilant about protecting the integrity -- and the commercial ... Read More