Soccer

Udinese tops Serie A

Udinese beat AS Roma 2-0 on Friday to go top of Serie A ahead of Saturday's clash between Lazio and Juventus.

Udinese seized the occasion courtesy of Antonio Di Natale, who secured his ninth goal of the season in the 79th minute, with Maurizio Isla adding the second one minute from time.

"We produced a great game against a side that is going far. They were very good in the first half, while we defended well and counter attacked," Di Natale said.

"We don't look at the standings ... what counts is that Udinese win, I'm an attacker, I'm there to provide service to the team."

Lazio face a stern test at home to Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, as it bids to prove it is capable of pushing Serie A's heavyweight all the way in the race for the Scudetto.

Both teams are on 22 points, two behind Udinese, with Juventus, who has a game in hand, placed second on goal difference.

NFL

Green Bay player suspected

Green Bay Packers linebacker Erik Walden was arrested on Friday on suspicion of domestic violence and will be in jail until at least Monday, authorities said.

Walden allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend at the couple's apartment in Lawrence, Wisconsin, just outside of Green Bay.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Brown County Court is closed for the weekend.

That means Walden will remain in jail until Monday as his teammates celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend after a 27-15 victory at Detroit on Thursday.

"The Packers organization is aware of the situation involving Erik Walden," the team said in a statement. "We are in the process of gathering more information and will refrain from making any further comment."

Alpine Skiing

Oh deer! Skiers get taste of wild

World Cup racer Marc Gisin said it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened after a close encounter with a deer while training for the new ski season in the Canadian Rockies.

The 23-year-old Swiss skier was barrelling down Nakiska Mountain last week at speeds of 65 km/h (40mph) when he almost collided with a wayward deer bounding across the course. Nakiska is 83 km (52 miles) west of Calgary.

Gisin was in Nakiska practising the giant slalom with the Swiss team. Luckily for him he was in control of his skis and avoided the collision before jamming on the brakes.

"It is a funny story," Gisin said during a training run for Saturday's season-opening downhill at Lake Louise.

"I was doing this giant slalom training run and suddenly this deer came from the right side."

Gisin posted a video of the incident on his Facebook page.

"I stopped because it was so weird," Gisin said. "It is the first time it has happened to me."

Gisin said the deer took off quickly and escaped the course by jumping over the protective netting.

Gisin's older sister, Dominique, is a three-time winner on the women's World Cup circuit.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 11/27/2011 page7)