MLS Lands Donovan, Ships Him to San Jose
Landon Donovan’s promising soccer career stalled in Germany. He hopes to revive it closer to home.
Donovan, considered one of the top American soccer players, signed a four-year contract with Major League Soccer on Thursday and was assigned to the San Jose Earthquakes.
The 19-year-old forward was allowed to move to MLS by Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga, which signed him to a four-year contract two years ago. He never got into a game with the German club, and after several frustrating months abroad, jumped at the chance to return to his home state.
“I felt to maximize my potential, I needed to be somewhere I could play,” said Donovan, a native of Redlands. “I’m going to be here for a couple of years, and hopefully I’ll improve my play. I don’t know how much they expect, but I hope it’s not too much.”
The Earthquakes won the inside track on Donovan’s rights by virtue of their last-place finish in 2000.
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The New England Revolution claimed Jamaican national team midfielder Andy Williams off waivers. Williams and forward Ben Stafford were the only players selected in the MLS waiver draft.
Stafford, originally taken by Kansas City in February’s MLS super draft, was taken by the D.C. United.
Olympics
Dick Pound is expected to announce his candidacy for president of the International Olympic Committee on Monday.
The Montreal lawyer and former IOC vice president hopes to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, who will step down this summer after 21 years as president.
Pound, 59, will be the fourth candidate to join the race, joining Jacques Rogge of Belgium, Anita DeFrantz of the United States and Pal Schmitt of Hungary. Kim Un-yong of South Korea is expected to announce his candidacy Tuesday.
China dismissed as “a farce” a vote by U.S. lawmakers to oppose Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Olympics on human rights grounds.
Sun Yuxi, a foreign ministry spokesman, said Wednesday’s largely symbolic vote by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives inappropriately mixed politics with sports.
Organizers of Toronto’s bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics estimate the Games would cost $1.989 billion and would break even, according to the group’s official three-volume bid book.
Miscellany
Ian Thorpe won the 100-meter freestyle title Thursday to complete a rare sweep of the 100, 200, 400 and 800 at the Australian swimming championships in Hobart.
Thorpe, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, became the first man since John Konrads in 1959 to win all four events at the national championships.
World Boxing Council super-middleweight champion Dave Hilton Jr. will appeal his Canadian conviction for sexually abusing two young sisters, his lawyer, Paul Skolnik, said.
Skolnik said Montreal judge Rolande Matte made several mistakes during the boxer’s trial, which ended in conviction March 16. Hilton faces up to 14 years in prison.
Former Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro, who was paralyzed during a game last fall, is scheduled to complete his outpatient rehabilitation today. He was walking unassisted when he visited Penn State on Feb. 24, his first trip back since the injury.
Aloha Inc. executive director Fritz Rohlfing has told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin the Aloha Bowl could move to a mainland site this year. Rohlfing plans to list Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle as possible sites for both the Oahu Bowl and Aloha Bowl.
Former USC player Ramsey Earnhart and one-time UCLA star Brian Teacher will be among eight inductees into the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. men’s Hall of Fame May 23. Also going in will be Brad Gilbert, a former pro who now coaches Andre Agassi.
Serena and Venus Williams, along with Lindsay Davenport, won’t have to testify in person at the Miami trial of a man accused of stalking Martina Hingis, but they must submit affidavits. Miami-Dade County Judge Kevin Emas ruled that the Williams sisters and Davenport must provide sworn affidavits by today, when Dubravko Rajcevic’s trial starts.
Former middleweight and super-middleweight champion James Toney, 32, won the International Boxing Assn. super-cruiserweight title, stopping Saul Montana in the second round at Detroit.
Rain postponed the first round of the PGA Tour’s BellSouth Classic at Duluth, Ga. Inclement weather is also predicted for today and Sunday.
