■ BASEBALL
Dodgers' trip delayed
The Los Angeles Dodgers' trip to China next week will be delayed by a day. Originally scheduled to make the long flight to Beijing on Monday, the team will depart from Orlando the following day because the original charter company contracted by Major League Baseball didn't receive approval to land in China before its deadline. Now, the Dodgers will bus to Orlando on Monday and spend the night before departing on another charter. Team spokesman Josh Rawitch said the team will arrive about 20 hours later than originally scheduled. "The only thing it really does is eliminate the off-day there," manager Joe Torre said. "It just makes sightseeing a little tighter. We'll work out here [on Monday] before heading to Orlando."
■ ATHLETICS
Sprinter Roger Gill dies
Roger Gill, a sprinter who competed for Guyana at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was killed in a Brooklyn car crash. He was 35. The car in which Gill was riding hit an unoccupied box truck early on Sunday. He died at a hospital, police said. Warren Davies, the 35-year-old driver, died at the scene and investigators believe he might have been speeding. Gill ran the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay in Atlanta. Guyana finished sixth out of seven teams in their first-round heat and did not advance.
■ RUGBY UNION
Nathan Sharpe re-signs
Australia lock Nathan Sharpe has signed a three-year extension deal with the Wallabies in the hope of finishing his career with a World Cup victory. The 30-year-old Sharpe played at the last two World Cups without success, reaching the final in 2003 then the quarter-finals last year, but hopes to have one final crack at it in 2011. "I really want to be there again in 2011. It's something I would love to be a part of," he said in a statement yesterday. "If I do get the opportunity, it would be a great way to finish up. I think I'd quite literally hang the boots in the locker room at the end of it all. I look on the next World Cup as my last throw of the dice, and this contract as the last one of my career."
■ RUGBY UNION
Nel and Engels suspended
Bulls center JP Nel and prop Jaco Engels will miss Friday's South African Super 14 derby at home to the Lions after being suspended for foul play. Engels was suspended for three matches for punching Sharks captain Johann Muller during the Bulls' 29-15 home loss in Pretoria last Saturday, a South African Rugby Union spokesman said on Monday. Nel was given a one-match ban for a dangerous (spear) tackle on Sharks fullback Frans Steyn in the same match. The suspensions multiply the problems facing the defending champions after losing coach Heyneke Meyer and captain Victor Matfield.
■ FOOTBALL
Ben Roethlisberger re-signs
Star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed an eight-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday that is worth US$102 million and makes him one of the NFL's top-paid players. "He's a Steeler and he'll always be a Steeler," team chairman Dan Rooney said. The agreement comes after Roethlisberger re-established himself as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks last season, and nearly two years after his life and career were threatened by a motorcycle crash. The serious accident happened a few months after he led the Steelers to victory in the 2006 Super Bowl.
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter on Sunday pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers’ top four hitters in a 7-3 win. “I feel like I’m in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,” Yarbrough said. “I’m having a lot of fun.” The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
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