WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
S P ORTS
Troicki’s ban ends dream LONDON: Serbia’s Viktor Troicki said his dream of being a “top player” had been taken away after his ban for violating the ITF’s doping regulations was reduced to 12 months from 18 yesterday. The 27-year-old former world No.12 was suspended by the ITF in July for failing to provide a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters in April but appealed to have the decision reversed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Troicki, who denied any wrongdoing, said he had been told at the time by a doping official that he had been excused from providing a blood sample as he was feeling unwell. While the CAS tribunal found that Troicki’s fault was “not significant” it only reduced the ban by six months, meaning he will not be able to compete again on the ATP Tour until July 15, ruling him out of three grand slam tournaments. “I hoped that the most difficult period of my career and of my life would be over, and I really trusted the judges I met in Lausanne,” Troicki said in a statement. “I had the feeling that they were really looking for the truth and that they had found it during the hearing.—Reuters
Mickelson to play in Abu Dhabi
Le Clos shatters records SINGAPORE: South Africa’s Chad Le Clos shattered his own 200m butterfly shortcourse world record in Singapore yesterday as Australia twice powered to new marks in the mixed 4x50m medley relay. Under stormy skies, the world and Olympic champion produced a lightning swim to touch in 1min 48.56sec, nearly half-a-second under his record set in August and five seconds ahead of the pack. The 21-year-old later added 50m butterfly gold to extend his lead in the overall standings with just two stops left in the eight-leg series after Singapore. “I just heard the crowd pick up and I knew that I was under world record pace,” said Le Clos. “For me it’s just about getting faster each year, and the most important thing is that I keep dominating the events that I am dominating and extending on other events like the freestyle and individual medley races,” he added. Le Clos was the star but Australia caused fireworks of their own with not one but two world records in the newly introduced 4x50m mixed medley relay, the first in the morning heats.—AFP
ABU DHABI: British Open winner Phil Mickelson will launch his campaign next year by returning to the Abu Dhabi Championship for the first time since 2011. The world number four, who said last week that he would be making unspecified cuts to his schedule in 2014, is to join Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Luke Donald in a strong field at the $2.7 million European Tour event in the Gulf between Jan. 16-19. “To play Abu Dhabi in the early part of the year is a great opportunity,” Mickelson said in a news release yesterday. “I’ve wanted to return since my first time there in 2011. The golf course and facilities are outstanding and the quality of the field and the good weather make it a great place to start my season.” Five-times major winner Mickelson plans to play the week before each of the big four championships next year. The 43-year-old American said last week that he would compete in Houston before the US Masters, in Memphis ahead of the US Open, in Scotland before the British Open and in Akron ahead of the US PGA Championship. —Reuters
Devils stop Lightning
LAS VEGAS: A panda bear sits next to Jay Farber’s chips during the World Series of Poker Final Table. — AP
2 WSOP finalists set to play for $8.4M crown LAS VEGAS: Four finalists in the World Series of Poker busted out in quick succession early yesterday, leaving a Las Vegas club promoter and a young pro originally from Michigan one heads-up match away from poker’s richest prize an $8.4 million crown. Ryan Riess, 23, eliminated Amir Lehavot in third place with a pair of 10s, treading past five meaningless community cards to bump his guaranteed payday up by $1.5 million and set the last day night showdown. Reiss’ opponent in the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament: Las Vegas amateur Jay Farber, who went straight from the final table to rounding his friends up to go clubbing. “I’m out every night. What am I going do? Sit at home and dwell on the final table? No, I’m going to enjoy myself,” he said. After several hours of pushing chips around with little excitement, the final table came to a close with a flurry of allins, sending four people home in just 15 hands played in less than an hour. Lehavot won $3.7 million for his third place finish. JC Tran, who came in as the chip leader and was the favorite to win the diamond-encrusted championship bracelet, busted out in fifth place after struggling all night with a string of weak hands. “I’m not 100 percent happy with the way I played, but when you’re put on the tough side of hands, it’s tough to overcome it,” he said. Tran, the best known of the nine finalists, vowed to come back next year and make another run at the prize he had hoped would float him into grinder retirement. On Monday evening, nine players from five countries walked like prizefighters into the 1,600-seat theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino where magicians Penn and Teller regularly perform, and sat down to play the biggest game of their lives under the heat of blue and red stage lights. The finale was broadcast nearly live on ESPN, airing with a 15-minute delay to satisfy Nevada gambling regulators so that players don’t have any way to know what their opponents are holding. Farber took the lead early, a plush panda mascot cheering him on. His friends wore “combat panda” shirts, and
shrieked when the mascot rushed the stage only to be escorted out by security. Riess, the youngest of the nine finalists, also kept well ahead of the pack. His fans cheered “Riess the beast” as he made bold plays that he could back up with strong cards. “Everyone was playing really solid and the cards ran my way today,” he said. “It worked exactly like I envisioned it. I was kind of thinking it would be me and Farber.” Both men sat back and accumulated the chips early, quickly amassing twothirds of the chips in play. They stayed out of each other’s way for the most part, attempting to pick off the weaker players. The poker marathon began in July with 6,352 players and was chopped down to nine through seven sessions spread over 11 days. Play then paused for four months, giving the men a chance to recuperate and study each other. Or, in the case of Farber, not study. “I felt like the way I played got me to where I was, and we weren’t gonna try and change anything,” the heavily-tattooed 29 year-old said during a break Monday. Poker pro Mark Newhouse was the first to go home Monday. He sat down in eighth place, and busted out after he went up against Riess with a pair of nines. Riess was holding an ace and a king, and caught another king on the flop, when the first community cards were revealed. Newhouse went home with just the $733,224 ninth place prize all finalists were paid in July. Chips mean everything and nothing in poker tournaments. They have no direct tie to the amount of money won or lost; each player already staked $10,000 to enter. As the tournament progresses, minimum bets creep higher every two hours, tightening the pressure on players who continually find their chips weren’t worth as much as before. Riess and Farber will sit down yesterday with 105,000,000 and 85,675,000 in chips, and play until they settle the title, with one player losing all his chips and the other claiming the top prize and the glory that comes with joining the names of past winners, including Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson and, most famously, Chris Moneymaker. — AP
NEWARK: Jaromir Jagr became the NHL’s leader in game-winning goals after scoring on a secondperiod breakaway to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The 684th goal of Jagr’s 20-year NHL career, gave him 119 game-winners, putting him one ahead of NHL Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. Adam Henrique also scored and Mar tin Brodeur made 16 saves as the Devils won consecutive games for the first time this season and ended Tampa Bay’s three-game winning streak. Steven Stamkos, who had three goals and four assists last week, scored a power-play goal for Tampa Bay, which had won five of six in posting the best record in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey, which lost its first seven games of the season, rallied late to beat Boston on Saturday for its second win. BLUES 3, JETS 2 Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59.4 seconds left to break a tie and Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves to lead the Blues to a win over the Jets. The Blues, who won their second in a row, have recorded points in five successive games. Winnipeg has lost five of six. Halak improved to 71-1 on the season. He is 5-2 lifetime in seven starts against Winnipeg. Brenden Morrow and Alex Pietrangelo also scored for the Blues, who improved to 5-1-1 at home. Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler tallied for the Jets.
straight game. He also scored the tying goal early in the third. The Ducks lost veteran forward Teemu Selanne in the third period after he took Luke Schenn’s high stick to the face. Selanne went down on the corner ice, then skated off to the locker room. Hiller and the Ducks killed one final Philadelphia power play that extended into the final minute to hang on for the win. CANADIENS 2, STARS 1 Rene Bourque scored in the second period and Carey Price made 26 saves as the Canadiens downed the Stars. Michael Bournival also scored for Montreal, which has won three of its past four games. Cody Eakin scored for Dallas, which remained last in the Central Division. The Canadiens struck first as Raphael Diaz lofted a wrist shot from the point to the far post that Bournival tipped off defenseman Stephane Robidas and past Kari Lehtonen at 12:02 of the first. Bournival has three goals and four assists in his past seven games. RANGERS 3, ISLANDERS 2 Benoit Pouliot and Ryan McDonagh scored third-period goals as the Rangers rallied for a victory over the Islanders. Trailing 2-1 after two periods, McDonagh got the Rangers even at 4:59 with their second power-play goal of the night. Pouliot then netted the game-winner off a pass from Carl Hagelin with 6:14 left. Cam Talbot,
subbing for No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist, made 22 saves for his second win. He played for the third time in four games. COYOTES 3, KINGS 1 Mike Smith stopped 41 shots and Kyle Chipchura had a goal and an assist as Phoenix rebounded from a messy loss to Los Angeles by beating the Kings. Smith had a miserable game in California last Thursday, when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots in the first period of the Kings’ 7-4 win. Smith made numerous tough saves Tuesday before Jarret Stoll beat him on a power play late in the third period. Phoenix’s Derek Morris and Shane Doan each scored in the final two minutes of the second to break open a tight game. Chipchura scored in the third. MAPLE LEAFS 4, OILERS 0 Phil Kessel had two goals and two assists, leading Toronto past Edmonton for its second consecutive victory. James Reimer stopped 43 shots for his 11th career shutout. James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won three of four to take over sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. Richard Bachman made 22 saves for the Oilers, who have lost four straight. Edmonton outshot Toronto 43-26. — AP
BLACKHAWKS 6, SENATORS 5 Jonathan Toews had three goals and an assist and Corey Crawford made 14 saves in relief of an ineffective Nikolai Khabibulin as the Blackhawks beat the Senators. Andrew Shaw scored twice and Marian Hossa had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks, who trailed 4-2 with 8:46 left in the second period. It was Hossa’s 100th goal with Chicago and No. 439 for his career. The Senators scored three times in a span of four shots in the second, but were unable to hold off the suddenly high-scoring Blackhawks. Kyle Turris and Milan Michalek each had a goal and an assist in Ottawa’s fourth loss in five games. DUCKS 3, FLYERS 2 Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Ducks past the Flyers. Andrew Cogliano also scored for the Ducks and Jonas Hiller had 26 saves. Matt Read and Vinny Lecavalier scored for the Flyers. Palmieri scored on a tip-in with 4:09 left in the game to help the Ducks win their third
NEWARK: Martin Brodeur No. 30 of the New Jersey Devils watches a shot slide harmlessly past the goal in this file photo. — AFP
NHL results/standings Anaheim 2, NY Rangers 1; Winnipeg 4, Detroit 2.
Anaheim San Jose Phoenix Vancouver Los Angeles Calgary Edmonton
W 12 10 10 10 9 6 3
Colorado Chicago Minnesota St. Louis Nashville Dallas Winnipeg
12 9 8 8 7 6 6
Western Conference Pacific Division L OTL GF 3 1 52 1 3 53 3 2 51 5 1 46 6 0 43 6 2 42 10 2 36 Central Division 1 0 42 2 4 52 4 3 38 2 2 44 5 2 31 6 2 37 8 2 39
GA 40 27 46 41 40 49 59
PTS 25 23 22 21 18 14 8
19 42 34 29 40 42 47
24 22 19 18 16 14 14
Tampa Bay Toronto Detroit Boston Montreal Ottawa Florida Buffalo
10 10 9 8 8 4 3 2
Pittsburgh NY Islanders Washington NY Rangers Carolina Columbus New Jersey Philadelphia
11 6 7 6 4 5 3 4
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 4 0 47 5 0 48 5 2 40 5 0 36 7 0 41 6 4 42 8 3 28 13 1 26 Metropolitan Division 4 0 48 5 3 45 7 0 44 8 0 26 7 3 27 8 0 33 7 4 26 9 0 21
35 36 41 25 31 47 49 49
20 20 20 16 16 12 9 5
33 44 40 40 44 36 42 37
22 15 14 12 11 10 10 8
Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).
Winter sports up in arms over 2022 World Cup idea LAUSANNE: The prospect of a winter World Cup in 2022 is causing mounting anger among the leaders of skiing, ice hockey and other cold weather sports who fear the crushing power of football fever. As FIFA weighs up whether to move the globe’s top football tournament from its traditional June and July slot to avoid host nation Qatar’s scorching heat, its winter sport counterparts are marshalling opposition. The International Ski Federation (FIS) has announced that it plans to form a united front with six other governing bodies to take a stand against the idea of their seasons being blitzed by football. The world of football is already split, with critics saying the climate issue could hardly have escaped FIFA’s notice. England’s Premier League and its Australian counterpart have protested, fearing disruption to their fixtures and coffers, while winter sports federations and broadcasters argue that a high-profile football event clashing
with their own seasons would dent television audiences and revenues. The winter federations are not disguising their irritation about the way things are taking shape. “I honestly and privately just don’t believe that anybody within FIFA cares about us,” said FIS chief Gian Franco Kasper as skiing’s own World Cup season got underway at the end of October. “They’re the gods of the world-at least they believe itthey can do whatever they want. Now we are opposing it of course as much as we can” said Kasper, who is Swiss like FIFA boss Sepp Blatter. Ottavio Cinquanta, the Italian head of global skating’s governing body FISU hammered home that message. “I don’t think my colleague Kasper is wrong,” Cinquanta told AFP. “You have to remember that Mr. Blatter is Swiss, the head of an international federation and a member of the International Olympic Committee, so he has to discuss this with his colleagues,” he insisted. Cinquanta said it
was time for some “loyal and respectful cooperation”. Anders Besseberg, head of biathlon federation IBU, says the red lines are there for all to see. “They (FIFA) don’t really need to consult us because it is very clear: we don’t want them to have the World Cup finished later than by December 1 or the end of November,” the Norwegian told AFP. “You have a World Cup in soccer, normally it belongs to the summer sports and should not go into the winter season of the winter sports,” he underlined. With FIFA’s plans still up in the air-it has delayed making a decision until after the 2014 World Cup in BrazilBesseberg said the time for serious discussion was nonetheless still to come. There is a similar sense of annoyance at the International Ice Hockey Federation. IIHF boss Rene Fasel said it was likely to join forces with its fellow winter federations. “We have to work as a family,” Fasel, who is Swiss and a
member of the IOC’s executive committee, told AFP. “We can’t forget that football is the world’ number one sport. It’s clearly a competitor. Our clubs could feel the consequences on the spectator front,” he added. But he said that the winter federations should keep their powder dry until FIFA’s stance is clearer. “Only then should be start getting angry,” he said. The IOC also wants FIFA to coordinate with it in order to avoid any impact of a World Cup shift on the 2022 Winter Olympics, whose host city will be chosen in July 2015. Blatter is scheduled on Saturday to meet Qatar’s new emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, for what FIFA has described as a “courtesy visit”. In addition to the calendar issue, the two men are expected to discuss labour rights in the Gulf monarchy, amid human rights campaigners’ claims that migrant workers on World Cup-linked projects there are being treated like slaves. — AFP