Withe to coach Thailand till 2002

Withe to coach Thailand till 2002

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

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Putbrief-tennis-Davenport
Davenport withdraws from Sydney international
JP/18/BRIEF

Davenport skips 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withdrawn from the Sydney international tennis tournament, the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. -- 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

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

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Putbrief-soccer-Senegal
Senegal tries to head off players' strike
JP/18/BRIEF

Senegal tries to foil 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. -- Reuters

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Putbrief-Alpine-Beltrametti
Paralyzed Beltrametti fighting on
JP/18/BRIEF

Paralyzed Beltrametti fighting on

GENEVA, Switzerland: 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 told a news conference hosted by the Swiss Center
for Paraplegics (CSP) in the central town of Nottwil on Thursday.

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

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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

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Putbrief-autoracing-McLaren
McLaren to launch new car on Jan. 19
JP/

McLaren to launch new car on Jan. 19

LONDON: McLaren will launch its new MP4- 17 car in Barcelona
on Jan. 19, the Formula One team announced on Thursday.

McLaren, constructors' championship runner-up for the past
three seasons behind Ferrari, plans to run the car at the Circuit
de Catalunya after the presentation with drivers David Coulthard
and new signing Kimi Raikkonen.

McLaren will begin testing in Barcelona next Monday with an
intermediate car, last year's chassis with some new additions,
and has rejected suggestions that it might start the new season
on March 3 with the 2001 car. -- Reuters