IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Boxing

Holyfield in talks with Tyson for rematch

LONDON: American boxer Evander Holyfield said in an interview published Thursday that he was in talks with Mike Tyson for a rematch of their infamous 1997 fight.

Speaking to The Guardian, Holyfield, who failed in his quest to regain a version of the world heavyweight title in October, said: "There has been some talk between us.

"Mike had Jeff Fenech, who's been training him, call me a few months ago. Jeff says Mike wants to fight me again - but he needs to know if I would agree to it. I said, 'It all depends on what they gonna give us - because I'm gonna catch a lot of flak if I say I'm fighting Mike Tyson again. I've already said I don't want to fight Mike no more'."

Soccer

Lens eyes PSG after winning nine-goal thriller

PARIS: Lens will face fellow relegation candidate Paris Saint Germain in the French League Cup final after it won an astonishing semi-final 5-4 over Le Mans on Wednesday.

It will be a rematch of the 1998 final, which PSG won.

Lens, coached by former French striking great Jean-Pierre Papin, had to come from behind twice to take what looked like an unassailable 4-2 lead in the second-half only for Le Mans to strike twice in a minute to level it.

However, Lens, which like PSG is a former French champion but in distinct danger of being relegated, grabbed the winner a minute from the end of extra time through Malien midfielder Sidi Keita - a remarkable return after he had been taken ill during a match and sent to hospital only 10 days ago.

Xavi's late show saves Barcelona in draw

BARCELONA, Spain: A goal well into injurytime by Xavi gave Barcelona a 1-1 draw at home to Valencia in their Spanish Cup semifinal first leg clash here on Wednesday.

Valencia - whose season rests solely on winning the Cup after a disastrous Champions League and championship campaign - had taken the lead through Spanish international striker David Villa 20 minutes from time.

Barcelona, to be fair, had the majority of the chances - Valencia's under-fire coach Ronald Koeman electing to play only Villa up front - but found Valencia's German goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand in commanding form.

DFB set to hit back after police raid

FRANKFURT, Germany: The German Football Federation (DFB) has taken legal advice in the wake of the police raid on its offices under a suspicion of establishing a monopoly.

Both the DFB premises and those of the German Football League (DFL) were raided on Tuesday afternoon after a search warrant was issued by the district court in Bonn.

Documents were seized by plain-clothed police and officers from the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) - which protects against monopolies - amidst suspicion of "competition-limiting arrangements".

Motor Sports

Alonso downplays racial taunts against Hamilton

MADRID: Spain's two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso Wednesday sought to downplay the racial insults directed at British driver Lewis Hamilton at a recent testing session.

"Perhaps it has been exaggerated. I remember having won in Monza (Italy) and the people gave me the finger. That's sport," he told radio Cadena Ser, the station said on its website.

But the sports newspaper AS, which carried a lengthier transcript of the same interview, reported Alonso also said any such insults against Hamilton "must be categorically condemned".

(China Daily 02/29/2008 page24)