Sporting briefs

Ziege: Former German international defender Christian Ziege was fired yesterday as coach of second division Arminia Bielefeld after just five months in charge. The 38-year-old former Liverpool defender, who won 72 caps for Germany from 1993 to 2004, had a torrid time in charge having lost nine of their 11 games this season, including a 3-0 defeat at Augsburg yesterday.

Schwarzer: Fulham manager Mark Hughes is hopeful Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer will end speculation over his future by signing a new contract with the Premier League club. “We’ve been talking with Mark in recent weeks and, hopefully, we’ll soon have some good news about his future,” Hughes said.

Keane: Ipswich boss Roy Keane insists he remains in the dark over any plans to extend his contract at the Championship club. Keane’s current deal expires at the end of this season and chief executive Simon Clegg told a supporters’ club meeting on Thursday that a decision could be made soon. Keane said: “Thinking about doing something and doing something can be completely different.”

Albrighton: Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton has signed a new three-and-a-half year contract with the midlands club. Albrighton has committed himself to Villa until the summer of 2014. The 20-year-old Academy product made his full Premier League debut on the opening day of the campaign against West Ham and has established himself as a first team regular.

Hunt: Stephen Hunt has been drafted into the Ireland squad for the first time this season. The Wolves midfielder is set to play in the friendly against Norway in Dublin on November 17.

Fellaini: Marouane Fellaini could return from injury earlier than expected. Belgium midfielder Fellaini was ruled out for six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty last month. But the the 22-year-old’s recovery is ahead of schedule and he could even return for the league clash with Arsenal today week.

Baseball: A group of American nuns have sold a rare Honus Wagner baseball card that they inherited from a relative of a deceased nun for $262,000 at an auction. The card fetched substantially more than officials at the Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries anticipated. The Baltimore-based order of Roman Catholic nuns inherited the card from the brother of a deceased nun after he died earlier this year. The Wagner card is the most sought-after card in the world as just 60 are known to exist.

Horse Racing: Unrivaled Belle won the two million-dollar Ladies’ Classic on Friday to cap the opening day of the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Unrivaled Belle held off 3-2 favourite Blind Luck to triumph under the floodlights. Unbeaten mare Zenyatta’s bid for a repeat in the five million-dollar Breeders’ Cup Classic will cap today’s action.

Basket, NBA: Emeka Okafor had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 13 points and 19 assists as New Orleans Hornets edged Miami Heat to remain unbeaten through their first five games of the season. Trevor Ariza hit a huge three-pointer in the final seconds for the Hornets who are off to their first 5-0 start in franchise history.

Golf: Francesco Molinari held off a dogged Lee Westwood yesterday to maintain a one-stroke lead over the new world no.1 and set up an enticing final-round battle at the HSBC Champions in China. The Italian answered every challenge from his English playing partner on Day Three in Shanghai with a smart, conservative game to card a five-under 67. A victory this weekend would be just the second of Molinari’s career.

Cricket: Former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has criticised recently-retired bowler Makhaya Ntini in a new memoir, accusing the Proteas’ first black player of using race to keep his spot on the national team. In excerpts of the autobiography published yesterday, Arthur wrote that Ntini complained he had been left off the one-day national team in 2008 because Arthur and captain Graeme Smith didn’t want black players in the team. Arthur said in reality the reason Ntini was left out was poor form.

Rugby Union: Test matches results: England vs New Zealand 16-26; Wales vs Australia 16-25; Ireland vs South Africa 21-23.