Withe to coach Thailand for another year
Withe to coach Thailand for another year
BANGKOK: Former Aston Villa and England striker Peter Withe
has agreed a new one-year deal to coach Thailand's national team.
Following months of salary negotiations with the Football
Association of Thailand, Withe told Reuters on Friday he was
ready to put pen to paper to extend his three-year tenure.
Withe's salary was previously paid by the English Football
Association. When his contract ran out in October, Withe rejected
a new offer from the cash-strapped Thai soccer authorities,
believed to be half his previous wages.
But Withe said he was happy with an improved offer after
International Management Group (IMG) and Thailand's Channel 7
stepped in as sponsors for the national team. -- Reuters
;REUTERS;
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Putbrief-tennis-Davenport
Davenport withdraws from Sydney international
JP/18/BRIEF
Davenport withdraws from Sydney international
SYDNEY, Australia: World number one Lindsay Davenport has
withdrawn from the Sydney international tennis tournament, the
main warm-up event for the Australian Open, because of a knee
injury, organizers said on Friday.
Sydney international tournament director Craig Watson said
Davenport's knee injury, suffered three months ago, had not fully
healed.
Watson said although Davenport would miss the Jan. 6-12 Sydney
event, the American was confident of being fit for the Australian
Open -- the first Grand Slam of the year -- starting in Melbourne
on Jan. 14.
Davenport, 25, was a semifinalist at last year's Open and is a
former Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion. --
Reuters
;REUTERS;
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Putbrief-soccer-Kirch
Kirch sells World Cup U.S. TV rights to Anschutz
JP/18/BRIEF
Kirch sells World Cup U.S. TV rights to Anschutz
FRANKFURT, Germany: The World Cup U.S. English-language
television rights have been sold to Anschutz Soccer Inc, German
media group KirchMedia said on Thursday.
Anschutz Soccer is part of Denver billionaire soccer fan
Philip Anschutz's privately held Anschutz Entertainment Group.
The package also includes the rights to the 2006 tournament in
Germany and the women's soccer World Cup in 2003. Anschutz, which
is to license the rights to TV networks ABC and ESPN, is paying
US$40 million, according to industry sources.
Kirch bought the worldwide rights for the next two World Cups
for a total of SFr2.8 billion ($1.70 billion) from FIFA. --
Reuters
;REUTERS;
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Putbrief-soccer-Senegal
Senegal tries to head off players' strike
JP/18/BRIEF
Senegal tries to head off players' strike
DAKAR: Senegal's soccer chief is heading to France to try to
convince the country's internationals to drop a strike over
bonuses for their first ever World Cup qualification.
Players have threatened to boycott the African Nations Cup
later this month in neighboring Mali if their bonuses for
qualifying for the World Cup are not raised from 10 million CFA
francs (US$13,730) to 40 million CFA francs each.
"I will be going to France with other officials of the
federation to meet the players there and have a serious
discussions with them," El hadj Malick Sy, president of Senegal's
Football Federation, told reporters on Thursday.
Sy said he was surprised by the strike call from Senegalese
internationals, most of whom are based in France, the West
African country's former colonial ruler. -- Reuters
;REUTERS;
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Putbrief-Alpine-Beltrametti
Paralyzed Beltrametti fighting on
JP/18/BRIEF
Paralyzed Beltrametti fighting on
GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters): Swiss skier Silvano
Beltrametti, paralyzed after an horrific fall in a World Cup
downhill race last month, is fighting on as he comes to terms
with the accident which has left him in a wheelchair.
"I was a fighter on skis and I will remain so. I am the same,"
the 22-year-old said on Thursday.
"I accepted my destiny very soon. It could have been worse. I
thank God I'm still here, that I'm still able to talk and think,"
he told a news conference hosted by the Swiss Center for
Paraplegics (CSP) in the central town of Nottwil.
Beltrametti, who broke his back and lost the use of his legs
after slashing through safety netting and landing on a rock in
the race at Val d'Isere in France, said he could not yet face
watching skiing on television. -- Reuters
;AP;
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Putbrief-golf-Tryon
Teen to open season in Phoenix Open
JP/18/BRIEF
Teen to open season in Phoenix Open
KAPALUA, Hawaii: Seventeen-year-old Ty Tryon, the high school
student who became the youngest player to earn his PGA Tour card,
will open the season in the Phoenix Open, his agent said
Thursday.
The Phoenix Open is Jan. 24-27 on the TPC at Scottsdale, and
traditionally has one of the strongest fields during the West
Coast Swing.
Tryon played three times on the PGA Tour last year, two as an
amateur and once as a pro.
As a 16-year-old at the Honda Classic, he became the youngest
player in 44 years to make the cut at a PGA Tour event,
eventually tying for 39th. He was tied for the lead after one
round of the B.C. Open, and wound up tied for 37th. He missed the
cut in the Michelob Championship in early October as a pro. -- AP
;AP;
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Putbrief-soccer-Mercosur
Copa Mercosur final second-leg to be held Jan. 24
JP/18/BRIEF
Copa Mercosur final second-leg to be held Jan. 24
ASUNCION, Paraguay: The second leg of the Mercosur Cup final
between Argentina's San Lorenzo and Brazil's Flamengo will take
place on Jan. 24, South America's soccer association CONMEBOL
announced.
The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 19 at San Lorenzo's
stadium but was suspended because of anti-government rioting that
left 28 dead. A statement on the CONMEBOL website announced the
date of the new game, but said the start time had not been
decided.
Flamengo and San Lorenzo tied 0-0 in the first-leg on Dec. 12
in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
San Lorenzo, which won last season's Clausura Argentine league
title, is chasing its first ever international club trophy.
Flamengo is seeking to win the Copa Mercosur for the second time.
-- AP