■ Baseball
Jeff Reardon gets busted
Jeff Reardon, one of the top relief pitchers in Major League Baseball history, was charged with robbing a jewelry store, then blamed his arrest on medication he was taking for depression. The 50-year-old Reardon, retired since 1994 and sixth in career saves, walked into Hamilton Jewelers at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Monday and handed an employee a note saying he had a gun and the store was being robbed, police said Tuesday. Reardon fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police found him at a nearby restaurant, recovered the stolen money and charged him with armed robbery. Reardon made a brief appearance in court Tuesday and was to be released on US$5,000 bail, said his attorney, Mitchell Beers. "He asked me to apologize to his fans and friends," Beers said. "This bizarre incident is completely uncharacteristic of Jeff Reardon."
■ Soccer
Pele's son put in program
Pele's son will enter a drug rehabilitation program while he awaits trial on drug-related charges, media in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil reported on Tuesday. Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, 35, was released from prison on Dec. 17 and decided to seek treatment after consulting with Pele and his family, the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported. Nascimento, a former professional soccer player known as Edinho, was among 50 people arrested on June 6 when police dismantled a drug gang based in Santos, a port city 300km southwest of Rio de Janeiro.
■ Soccer
US adds players to roster
Kansas City midfielder Chris Klein and MetroStars goalkeeper Zach Wells were added on Tuesday to the roster for the US national team training camp that starts Jan. 4 in Carson, California. The pair replaced Chicago midfielder Justin Mapp and Columbus goalkeeper Jonny Walker, who are injured, the US Soccer Federation said. The US team, which will play in its fifth straight World Cup in June, is preparing for friendlies against Canada on Jan. 22 at San Diego; Norway on Jan. 29 at Carson; and Japan on Feb. 10 in San Francisco.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two