Armstrong will answer ‘honestly’

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ― Lance Armstrong said he will answer questions “directly, honestly and candidly” during an interview with Oprah Winfrey next week. He will also apologize and make a limited confession to using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.Armstrong has spent more than a decade denying that he doped to win the Tour de France seven times. Without saying whether he would confess or apologize during the taping, Armstrong told the Associated Pr

More SportsJan. 13, 2013

Armstrong has yet more to lose if he admits doping

The cyclist Lance Armstrong could lose much more than his already ravaged reputation if he confesses to doping this week during a television interview with Oprah Winfrey -- he could end up in jail.The disgraced Texan‘s decision to talk to the famed US talk show host has divided opinion, as some say he needs to do something radical to rehabilitate his public profile, while others say speaking out will only make matters once.The crux of the matter is whether Armstrong, having been stripped of his

More SportsJan. 13, 2013

KT close to landing 10th team

KT, the nation’s largest fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, has taken a major step toward owning a new professional baseball team after receiving rave reviews for its application for an expansion club, officials said Friday. KT received more “positive grades” from evaluators than its rival, a local business conglomerate Booyoung, as they both try to launch an expansion team in the Korea Baseball Organization, league officials said.The KBO will hold a general meeting of owners of the e

BaseballJan. 11, 2013

Owners approve new labor deal

NEW YORK (AP) ― NHL commissioner Gary Bettman secured unanimous ownership support for the pending labor deal, then apologized to everyone hurt by the long lockout and said he isn’t going anywhere.The league’s board of governors met in a Manhattan hotel Wednesday and overwhelmingly approved the agreement that was reached early Sunday on the 113th day of the lockout.Bettman felt the full brunt of anger, especially from fans, during the four-month dispute that kept hockey off the ice. But he was co

More SportsJan. 10, 2013

Hall shuts out Bonds, Clemens

NEW YORK (AP) ― No one was elected to the Hall of Fame this year. When voters closed the doors to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, they also shut out everybody else.For only the second time in four decades, baseball writers failed to give any player the 75 percent required for induction to Cooperstown, sending a powerful signal that stars of the Steroids Era will be held to a different standard.All the awards and accomplishments collected over long careers by Bonds, Clemens and Sosa co

BaseballJan. 10, 2013

Hong looks forward to fresh start

INCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Hong Myung-bo, who coached South Korea to the men’s soccer bronze medal at the London Olympics, said Thursday he was looking forward to a fresh start as he is about to begin coaching training at a Russian professional club under his old mentor.Hong left for the United Arab Emirates Thursday to join FC Anzhi Makhachkala’s training camp during the midseason break in the Russian Premier League. There, he will receive training under the team’s head coach, Guus Hiddink.Hiddink

SoccerJan. 10, 2013

Swansea edges Chelsea in semis

LONDON (AP) ― Swansea beat Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semifinals Wednesday, capitalizing on two defensive lapses by Branislav Ivanovic. The result moved the Welsh team a step closer to its first major final.Michu made the most of Ivanovic’s poor control to open the scoring from the edge of the penalty area in the 39th minute. It was the Spaniard’s 16th goal of a spectacular first season in British soccer.Ivanovic then made a sloppy back pass that was seized by Danny Graham, w

SoccerJan. 10, 2013

FIFA extends lifetime bans ...on 41 Korean players

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA has extended the match-fixing sanctions on 41 players in South Korea to worldwide lifetime bans.The scandal goes back to 2011 when more than 50 players and coaches in the K-League were indicted for accepting money to fix matches.Forty-one players received life bans from the K-League and the Korea Football Association.FIFA said Wednesday that its disciplinary committee extended the sanctions so they take effect worldwide.However, FIFA said it would offer 21 players who admitted

SoccerJan. 10, 2013

Jang Mi-ran eyes IOC membership

GOYANG (Yonhap News) ― Putting behind an illustrious weightlifting career, Jang Mi-ran said Thursday that her next goal is to be an elected member of the International Olympic Committee.“I will try to be an IOC member,” Jang said at her retirement ceremony at Goyang City Hall, west of Seoul. “I’d like to serve the community from a better platform.”Jang first revealed her plans to retire on Tuesday. She goes down as one of the most decorated weightlifters in the sport’s history, having won an Oly

More SportsJan. 10, 2013

Match-fixing life bans for 41 Koreans: FIFA

 The global football governing body said Wednesday it has extended domestic match-fixing sanctions on 41 South Korean players to worldwide lifetime bans."FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions on 41 players from (South Korea) related to a domestic match-fixing investigation dating back to the summer of 2011," the Zurich-based FIFA said in a press release. "All 41 players have been sanctioned with a lifetime ban from all football activity by the K League and the Korea Football Associat

SoccerJan. 9, 2013

Self-defense for children (2)

Strangers with bad intentions will often approach children and pretend to be friendly. They will chat with children and persuade them to come with them and often put an arm around the shoulders. This gives them extra leveraging in grabbing a child who may protest. Here is how to handle situation like this.1. An adult has placed his arm around a child’s shoulders as shown in picture 1. This adult is attempting to take the child somewhere. When the adult’s hand is around the child’s shoulder, the

More SportsJan. 9, 2013

Back-to-basics exercises are hot for 2013

Forget fancy workout gear. One of the hottest trends of 2013 suggests you need nothing more than your own body weight.Body weight training includes back-to-basics exercises ― pushups, planks, pullups, squats and other exercises ― and using the body as resistance is a leading trend this year. A survey recently released by the American College of Sports Medicine says among fitness trends, body weight training appears in the top 10 for the first time.“The reason body weight exercises are becoming p

More SportsJan. 9, 2013