PJ Axelsson's 56th-minute goal capped Sweden's 6-5 win from 1-5 down against Finland Wednesday in one of the greatest comebacks in the world ice hockey championship's 93-year history. \n"We had nothing to lose when trailing 5-1 and we started playing better and better after we got back to 5-4," Swedish coach Hardy Nilsson said. "We're sure happy to still be in the hockey tournament." \nFinland's worst collapse before a stunned sellout crowd of 13,441 at Hartwall Arena upheld the Finns' record of never beating archrivals Sweden at home in the worlds, and their inability to win a championship medal at home in six attempts. \nSweden advanced to Friday's semifinals against defending champion Slovakia, which ousted Switzerland 3-1. \nAt Turku, top NHL sharpshooter Milan Hejduk had a goal and an assist while goalie Tomas Vokoun made 31 saves as the Czech Republic blanked Russia 3-0 and moved on to face Olympic champion Canada, which edged Germany 3-2 in overtime. \nFinland led Sweden 5-1 after Teemu Selanne completed his hat-trick with a power-play goal at 6:44 in the second period. \nMany fans were celebrating what they thought would be one of their most lopsided wins over their archrivals. \nThen 80 second later, Jorgen Jonsson scored for Sweden, followed by NHL MVP candidate Peter Forsberg and Jonas Hoglund to make it 5-4 by the end of the session. \nFinland introduced Pasi Nurminen in goal at the start of the third, but it didn't help. \nForsberg equalized with one of the most stunning goals in the tournament, going coast to coast and capping the great rush with a wraparound goal from a sharp angle. \n"It was a nightmare finish for the Finnish team," said Finnish head coach Hannu Aravirta, who'd announced earlier he was retiring after these championships. \nThe Czechs earned sweet revenge after their bid last year for a fourth successive world title was ended in the quarters by Russia. \nHejduk, who led the NHL this season with 50 goals, assisted on the first by teammate Jan Hlavac. The Czechs then capitalized on Russia's indiscipline with a pair of power-play goals to Hejduk and Jaroslav Hlinka. \nCanada blew a 2-0 third-period lead against Germany before it was saved in the four-on-four overtime -- a new rule at this year's event -- when Eric Brewer scored 37 seconds in. It was his first goal of the tournament. \nSwitzerland stunned the unbeaten Slovaks while the latter had two in the penalty box, by scoring first at 14:28 in the first period on Martin Pluss' backhander.
LONG WAIT OVER: The Brothers have won the top prize after being unable to get over the final hurdle in six of the past seven years, defeating the Lions 5-0 The CTBC Brothers have finally tasted victory in the Taiwan Series after an 11-year wait, winning the title last night by completing a four-game sweep of the Uni-President Lions at the Tainan Municipal Stadium. The Brothers were crowned champions of Taiwanese professional baseball after a 5-0 win in Game 4 after being unable to get over the final hurdle in six of the past seven years. It was a magical first year for CTBC manager Lin Wei-chu, a former standout with Japan’s Hanshin Tigers. He has brought a title to the starving Brothers fans — who have endured a string of second-place finishes
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching on Sunday secured a bronze medal in the mixed doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, Texas, after losing to their Chinese opponents 1-3 in the semi-finals. The duo lost to Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, dashing their hopes of competing for the gold medal. It was the first time they had faced the Chinese duo. In the first game, Lin and Cheng established an 8-6 lead, but gave away five straight points to lose on unforced errors. They successfully regrouped and won the second game 11-7. In the third game, the
They do not call Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue “The Monster” for nothing. The WBA and IBF bantamweight world champion is undefeated, with all but three of his wins by knockout — mostly in the early rounds. Drawing praise as one of the best “pound for pound” active boxers around, and the best out of Asia since Manny Pacquiao, Inoue has his eyes on the big time. Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) made his Las Vegas debut last year with a knockout victory over Jason Moloney, which followed a fight in California in 2019. Signed with Bob Arum’s boxing promotion company Top Rank, Inoue fought again
‘JUST THE BEGINNING’: Alexia Putellas won the women’s award after she led Barcelona to victory in the Champions League, scoring a penalty to beat Chelsea 4-0 in the final Lionel Messi said winning the Copa America with Argentina might have been the determining factor in him claiming the men’s Ballon d’Or prize for a seventh time after a turbulent year, as Spain’s Alexia Putellas took the women’s award. Now 34, Messi pipped much-fancied rivals such as Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema to take the award in a glittering ceremony in Paris on Monday, the city he now calls home after leaving boyhood club Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in August. Despite his tearful goodbye from Barcelona and his relatively underwhelming start to life in France, the jury of journalists from around the
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