Cycling
Australia’s Dennis will go after the hour record
PARIS – Australian rider Rohan Dennis says he will try to break cycling’s hour record in February.
The current mark of 51.85 kilometers was set by Austria’s Matthias Braendle in October.
Dennis, who won silver in the team pursuit at the 2012 Olympics, will be the third challenger in recent months after Jens Voigt and then Brandle improved the 2005 mark of 49.7 kilometers set by Czech cyclist Ondrej Sosenka.
Dennis said his track experience means the record “is within reach.”
The record was previously held by cycling greats Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. The UCI changed the rules earlier this year, authorizing competitors to ride bikes that can be used for endurance track events.
MLB
Baseball monitoring Cuba decision from White House
NEW YORK – Major League Baseball isn’t sure of the impact of President Barack Obama’s decision to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.
The U.S. withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government in January 1961. Because of the American trade embargo, a player who defected from Cuba has had to obtain a license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control before he could sign with a major league organization.
MLB said in a statement Wednesday it “is closely monitoring the White House’s announcement” and added “there are not sufficient details to make a realistic evaluation.
Soccer
Garcia sends statement, resigns as FIFA prosecutor
GENEVA – The American lawyer who led the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process resigned from the FIFA ethics committee on Wednesday in protest over the handling of his findings.
Michael Garcia cited a “lack of leadership” at the top of FIFA in a resignation statement. He also said he has lost confidence in the independence of his ethics committee colleague, German judge Joachim Eckert.
Though Garcia did not identify Sepp Blatter by name, he also revealed that the FIFA executive committee – led by the longtime president – made a failed complaint of unethical conduct against the former U.S. Attorney in September.
Garcia quit a day after the FIFA appeals panel rejected his challenge of Eckert’s summary of the confidential 430-page investigation dossier.
In Qatar, migrant workers paid to be sports ‘fans’
DOHA, Qatar – Migrant workers in 2022 World Cup host Qatar fight to earn a few dollars. The job: Pretend to be a sports fan.
Qataris boast they’re mad for sports. The ruling emir of the oil-and-gas rich Gulf nation is so fond of football he bought Paris Saint-Germain, now France’s powerhouse team.
Pitching successfully in November to track and field’s governing body to host its world championships in 2019, Qatar bid presenter Aphrodite Moschoudi said: “Qatar has a true passion for sports. Everything in our country revolves around sport.”
When the world’s second-richest people per capita can’t be bothered to fill their sports arenas, migrant workers are paid to take their place.
Thirty Qatar riyals – equivalent to $8 – won’t buy a beer. But for this pittance, workers from Africa and Asia sprint under blinding sun in the Doha industrial zone where they’re housed and surround a still-moving bus like bees on honey. They sit through volleyball, handball and football, applaud to order, do the wave with no enthusiasm and even dress up in white robes and head-scarves as Qataris, to plump up “home” crowds.
Associated Press
