■Baseball
World Cup considered
Major league baseball's staff made a presentation Tuesday on a proposed World Cup that could start before the 2005 season. The proposal was very broad and there are many details still to be determined. While commissioner Bud Selig has said he is in favor of a World Cup, major league baseball has not made any decisions on whether to proceed with a tournament, how many nations to include and where to play the games. The presentation was made to the task force Selig appointed in January, which is called "Major League Baseball in the 21st century."
■ Boxing
Bruno applies for license
Former WBC world heavyweight champion Frank Bruno has made an official application for the return of his boxing license at age 41 although an eye problem could well lead to rejection. Bruno has not fought since losing his title in two rounds to Mike Tyson in Las Vegas more than seven years ago and has since discovered that he has a damaged retina. But the Southern Area Council confirmed on Tuesday he had applied for his license back with a view to a big money fight with former Olympic superheavyweight champion Audley Harrison who has won his 10 fights as a pro.
■ Extreme sports
Winter X goes to Aspen
The Winter X Games are headed back to Aspen. The games will take place in Aspen-Snowmass for the third straight year. The eighth version of Winter X will be staged Jan. 22 to Jan. 25. About 250 athletes are expected to compete moto X, skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile events. Last year's games drew more than 48,000 to the slopes of Buttermilk Mountain in three days. The X Games were created in 1995 by ESPN. Winter X started two years later at Big Bear Lake, California. The X Games are scheduled Aug. 14 to Aug. 17 in Los Angeles.
■ Rugby
Controversial player fined
Australian rugby league international John Hopoate, who was banned in 2001 for poking his fingers up the backsides of opposition players, was fined by his club on Wednesday after admitting to playing under a false name in a rugby union match. Hopoate received a 12-match ban in 2001 for his crude tactics while playing for Australia National Rugby League (NRL) club Wests Tigers, who sacked him. The 106kg winger, who has returned to his original NRL club Manly, was fined A$5,000 (US$3,350) after admitting he had breached his contract by playing in a fifth-grade rugby union match in Sydney on June 9.
Agencies
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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