Sporting briefs

Taarabt: Tottenham misfit Adel Taarabt has completed a permanent move to QPR for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1m. The Moroccan international spent last season on loan at Loftus Road and has now put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Championship side.

Jovetic: Fiorentina midfielder Stevan Jovetic is facing up to seven months on the sidelines after damaging ligaments in his right knee. Jovetic, who has been almost an ever-present since signing from Partizan Belgrade in 2008, suffered the injury in pre-season training this week and tests revealed the extent of the damage.

Carson: Scott Carson is to continue as West Brom skipper for their first season back in the Premier League. The England keeper was handed the armband 12 months ago in succession to Jonathan Greening after the midfielder’s move to Fulham.

Koumas: Cardiff have signed Jason Koumas on a season-long loan from Wigan. The midfielder will not however be able to make his debut until the club’s transfer embargo is lifted. The cash-strapped Championship outfit have been under embargo for most of the summer but are working to lift the ban by the start of the new season this weekend.

Klasnic: Bolton have completed the permanent signing of striker Ivan Klasnic on a free transfer from Nantes. The Croatian enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Reebok Stadium last season, scoring eight goals in the Premier League.

Djalo: Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has dismissed rumours linking the north London club with a move for Sporting Lisbon striker Yannick Djalo. The highly-rated Portuguese has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent weeks. But Redknapp claims reports of a possible bid are wide of the mark.

United States: Landon Donovan and Tim Howard were among 14 World Cup players named to the 18-man US squad for next Tuesday’s friendly against Brazil. More than 55,000 tickets have already been sold for the Americans’ meeting with the five-time World Cup champion at the new home of American football’s New York Giants and New York Jets.

Golf: Filipino Ferdinand Aunzo shot the first albatross in three years on the Asian Tour yesterday during the second round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters being played in Malaysia. Aunzo fired his career-first albatross on the par five, 518-yard fifth hole at the Seri Selangor Golf Club when his seven-iron approach from 172 yards found the cup. Aunzo’s feat is only the 15th albatross recorded on the Asian Tour.

Basket, NBA: Shaquille O’Neal, a three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player and 15-time All-Star centre, signed with the Boston Celtics. The 18-year NBA veteran who has led four teams to league titles will fill in for Celtics centre Kendrick Perkins, who might be sidelined until February after knee surgery following an injury in game six of the NBA Finals. The Celtics lost to Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in last June’s championship series.

Baseball: New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez belted his 600th Major League Baseball home run on Wednesday, becoming the youngest of only seven players to reach the milestone. The landmark blast came after a 12-game stretch without a homer from “A-Rod” and it came three years to the day after he hit his 500th career home run.

Volleyball: Two-time US Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor will travel to Moscow as a sports envoy to conduct beach volleyball clinics under an exchange with Russia, the State Department said. May-Treanor will conduct beach volleyball clinics for American and Russian youths participating in an exchange programme in Russia from August 6 to August 21.

Rugby Union: England World Cup winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was barred this week from joining up for a training camp with the national squad by his French club Toulon. Toulon said that Wilkinson, who enjoyed a successful campaign with them last term where they reached the Top 14 semi-finals, was not being released for the August 8-13 camp as their first Top 14 match against Bayonne is on August 13.