U.S.-Scotland in the works
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The U.S. men's soccer team is negotiating to play Scotland in an exhibition game May 26 or 27.
The Americans, preparing for the start of World Cup qualifying, also are negotiating to play Brazil on May 30 or 31 at Landover, Md., or Foxborough, Mass.
U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Neil Buethe said Monday that they have been in discussions with a "number of federations about a game in late May, including Scotland. Nothing is finalized, and we'll continue to have those discussions."
The game against Scotland, the first for the U.S. since 2005, would be in the eastern or central part of the United States. The Americans open qualifying for the '14 World Cup on June 8 at home against Antigua and Barbuda.
The Zimbabwe Football Association suspended 67 players, including most of its national team, after a long-standing investigation into match fixing. A ZIFA probe last year led to a number of players admitting that they accepted money from an Asian betting syndicate to lose exhibition games on Far East trips from 2007-09.
• Women's Professional Soccer won't play the 2012 season amid a legal dispute with Dan Borislow , who owned the league's South Florida franchise. WPS terminated the franchise in October.
• Players in Greece's second and third-tier leagues say they will strike starting Wednesday to protest a lack of insurance coverage for them and their dependents. A previous coverage deal expired Dec. 31 and since then the league has been negotiating each week and covering only the players -- and then only during games.
• Sudan reached the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 42 years, defeating Burkina Faso, 2-1, to beat out Angola on goal difference.
• Forward Kris Boyd , 28, the Scottish Premier League's all-time leading scorer (164 goals), is joining Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers. Terms of the deal were not released.
• The New York Red Bulls acquired Wilman Conde , 29, from the Chicago Fire for allocation money and then signed the defender.
• The Philadelphia Union released goalie Faryd Mondragon so he can return to his native Columbia and play for Deportivo Cali.
• A coroner in Warrington, England, ruled that Wales manager Gary Speed might have killed himself accidentally. The coroner said Speed died of hanging but that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he had committed suicide.
Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat Slovakia's Karol Beck , 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors tournament in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Florian Mayer of Germany beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, 7-6 (3), 6-3, in the opening round of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, France. French wild card Guillaume Rufin and Russian wild card Nikolay Davydenko also advanced.
Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello said he has no plans for this season beyond his two-day IndyCar test with KV Racing Technology. He tested the new Dallara DW12 at Sebring International Raceway. Barrichello split with Williams earlier this month when the F1 team tabbed Bruno Senna for Barrichello's seat.
A spokeswoman for Stonestreet Farm said Rachel Alexandra , the 2009 Horse of the Year, and her newborn colt have returned to their home. The two had been taken Friday to Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic in Lexington, Ky., as a precautionary measure for pain management related to the birth.
Greenville, S.C., was chosen as the host city for 2014 paracycling road world championships. Paracycling comprises four groups: blind and visually impaired riders, people with cerebral palsy, locomotor disabilities and handcycling. The world championships have been held since 1994. ... Germany's national anti-doping agency will investigate 28 athletes to see whether they received blood transfusions from a doctor at the center of a doping scandal.
First Published January 31, 2012 12:00 am
