Baseball

Cubs hire GM Epstein from Red Sox

Theo Epstein is leaving the Boston Red Sox after a remarkable run that included two World Series championships. He's joining the Chicago Cubs to see if he can bring success to another team steeped in history and starved for a title.

The 37-year-old Epstein became the president of baseball operations for the Cubs after resigning with a year left on his contract as general manager of the Red Sox.

With Epstein at the helm, the Red Sox ended an 86-year World Series championship drought in 2004 and won the title again in 2007.

Cubs fans hope he will do the same thing on the North Side where the Cubs are looking for their first title since 1908. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts fired GM Jim Hendry in July during another disappointing season, although Hendry stayed on the job an extra month.

Soccer

Fox, Telemundo get World Cup rights

FIFA cashed in on a $1.2 billion bonanza from United States broadcasters on Friday, striking World Cup deals with Fox, Telemundo and Spanish language radio.

Fox won the English-language US television rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, outbidding incumbent ESPN and NBC for soccer's showpiece tournament.

Fox agreed to pay around $425 million for the two-tournament package. It also secured English-language radio rights.

ESPN paid $100 million to show the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 event in Brazil. The World Cup will be held in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022.

Blatter to release records of scandal

FIFA President Sepp Blatter promised on Friday to release the files from a 10-year-old corruption scandal that could name senior officials who took millions of dollars in kickbacks.

FIFA has previously stopped a Swiss court from releasing documents identifying who received payments from the former ISL marketing agency, which collapsed in 2001.

Blatter said his executive committee - including members implicated in the case - will reopen the ISL dossier at a Dec 16-17 meeting in Tokyo.

Winter sports

Vonn scores historic giant slalom win

Lindsey Vonn won the season-opening World Cup giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, to become the fifth female skier to win a race in all five disciplines.

The American three-time overall champion, who was fourth after the opening run, used a blistering finish to her second run to win in a combined time of 2 minutes, 24.43 seconds.

Golf

Lee jumps out to lead in Seoul

Little-known South Korean Lee Ki-sang enjoyed a stunning start to snatch the third-round lead from Anthony Kim and tournament host K.J. Choi at the inaugural CJ Invitational on Saturday in Seoul.

Lee birdied his opening four holes, sank a magical hole-in-one at the fifth and birdied the seventh for an outward 29 at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club before settling for an eight-under-par 64.

Cycling

Papp gets eight-year doping ban

Cyclist Joseph Papp has accepted an eight-year ban for his second doping offense, a reduced penalty for assisting the USADA.

The 36-year-old American was a USADA witness in the 2007 arbitration case that stripped Floyd Landis of his Tour de France title.

AP - AFP

(China Daily 10/23/2011 page7)