■ FRANCE
Marseille win to go second
Olympique Marseille moved just one point behind Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon with a 3-1 win at struggling Valenciennes on Sunday. Ivory Coast striker Bakary Kone opened the scoring with a header on 13 minutes, following up after an effort by Mathieu Valbuena bounced off the crossbar. France forward Hatem Ben Arfa raced into the box and skipped past Valenciennes keeper Nicolas Penneteau to double the advantage with 17 minutes left. Valenciennes, who were under pressure throughout the match, managed to pull one back through striker Gregory Pujol following a swift counterattack, before substitute midfielder Charles Kabore sealed Marseille’s win in added time. Marseille, the only undefeated side after nine games, climb to second place on 19 points, one point behind seven-times champions Lyon, who were held to a 2-2 home draw by Lille on Saturday. Surprise package Le Mans moved into third, two further points adrift, with a 2-0 home win over lowly Nancy on Sunday. Nancy midfielder Pascal Berenguer put Le Mans ahead against the run of play when he deflected a corner into his own net on 33 minutes. Belgian forward Roland Lamah wrapped up the win from close range on 65 minutes.
■ GREECE
Olympiakos extend lead
Luciano Galletti scored two goals on Sunday to lead Olympiakos to a 2-0 win over newly promoted Panthrakikos to extend their lead in the Greek league. The defending champions have 16 points from six games, four ahead of PAOK, who drew 0-0 at home with Panathinaikos. Panathinaikos are in fifth place with 10 points, but have a game in hand. Galletti scored with a powerful shot from the edge of the area in the 64th minute soon after he had missed a penalty. He made it 2-0 from a free-kick in the 72nd minute. Also on Sunday, it was AEK Athens 1, Larissa 1; Levadiakos 0, Xanthi 0; and OFI 1, Thrasivoulos 3. Olympiakos controlled play from the kick-off, but the defending champions had to wait until the 31st minute for their first scoring chance, Giorgos Galitsios’ powerful shot being saved by goalkeeper Jose Manuel Roca. Panthrakikos, who are playing in the top flight for the first time in their 45-year history, came close to scoring in the 41st minute when a shot by Abdul Diallo forced goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis to punch the ball away.
■ DENMARK
OB Odense win, stay top
Djiby Fall scored two late goals on Sunday to give leaders OB Odense a 4-2 win over last-place Esbjerg in the Danish league. Fall dribbled past several defenders before scoring with a long-range shot in the 84th minute. Two minutes into injury time, he found the net again after goalkeeper Lars Winde failed to control a shot by Johan Absalonsen. However, Esbjerg took the lead in the third minute through Soren Rieks, until defender Alexander Ostlund scored an own-goal in the 21st minute. Bjorn Runstrom gave Odense the lead in the 23d minute, but Jesper Bech equalized in the 37th minute for Esbjerg. It was the eighth win this season for Odense, who stayed top of the standings with 24 points, one ahead of FC Copenhagen, who beat Horsens 1-0 on Saturday after a 51st-minute goal by defender Zdenek Pospech. Brondby stayed third place after a 2-2 draw with Sonderjyske on Sunday, and Randers drew 1-1 with Vejle. Defending champions Aalborg lost 2-1 to FC Nordsjalland on Saturday and remain 11th in the 12-team league.
■ FORMULA ONE
Canadians deny debt claim
The Grand Prix du Canada denied a claim by F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone that his organization is owed a considerable amount of money for the past three years by the company that runs the Formula One race in Montreal. It was announced last week that the Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from next year’s calendar. At the time, Ecclestone said it was due to a contractual problem. Later he was quoted in an interview with Auto, Motor und Sport: “We tried our best, but they have not kept up their obligations for the past three years. Until this point, they have paid only 50 percent of the money they owe us. I wouldn’t say that Canada has no chance to return [after next year], but first they have to pay.”
■ FOOTBALL
Brady confirms operations
Injured New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady confirmed for the first time this weekend that he had not one, but two operations on his injured left knee. In a posting dated on Saturday, Brady thanked fans for supporting him “during the challenging times” and confirmed that he had surgery on Oct. 6 and again last Wednesday. “The [first] surgery went well and my doctor described my knee as ‘rock solid,”’ Brady wrote on tombrady.com. “Unfortunately, in the week following the surgery, I developed an infection ... We were proactive with the infection and the doctors went in for a second procedure this past Wednesday to clean and to test the wound.”
■ MOTOR RACING
Police review video crash
Police were reviewing video footage yesterday of a weekend sprint car crash that killed a 28-year-old driver at a western Sydney track. Scott Darley was driving one of the front cars in a 21-lap qualifying race on Saturday when his sprint car veered off the track and became airborne before landing on its side and crashing into a concrete wall. Darley, from western Sydney, was trapped in the car and freed by firefighters, but died at the scene. All other racing was suspended for the night. Among the 2,000 spectators were Darley’s fiancee and father. Race officials said they were investigating the possibility that the throttle on Darley’s car may have become stuck in the open position, leaving him no control of the speed of the vehicle as it entered a turn.
■ MARATHON
Kenyans triumph in Denver
Jynocel Basweti won the Denver Marathon on Sunday as Kenyans took the top three finishes. Basweti posted a winning time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 13 seconds. Richard Kimeli was second in 2:23:54, followed by defending champion Jonathan Ndambuki in 2:24:53. Romania’s Nuta Olaru won the women’s race in 2:42:18. Judy Kiplimo from Kenya came in second at 2:45:11 and America’s Patty Rogers was third in 2:54:27.
■ BASEBALL
Yankee apologizes for arrest
New York Yankees righthander Joba Chamberlain apologized on Sunday in the wake of drunken driving arrest. “I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and the fans for an error in judgment and for putting myself in a difficult situation,” Chamberlain said in a statement released by his agent, Randy Hendricks. State patrol pulled Chamberlain’s car over for speeding south of Lincoln, Nebraska, in the early morning hours on Saturday. The officer saw an open container of alcohol on the passenger seat of the BMW and said he detected an odor of alcohol. Chamberlain was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, having an open container of alcohol in the car and speeding.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care