■ BULGARIA
Mittal set to offload CSKA
Indian businessman Pramod Mittal is on the verge of selling top Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia, the club announced on its Web site on Wednesday. Mittal, the brother of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, is reported to have agreed terms of the sale with Bulgarian company Titan. No financial details of the deal, which is set to be finalized in the next two months, were made available. Pramod Mittal bought the club two years ago but his spell as club owner was marked principally by a series of financial problems. CSKA, 31-time and current Bulgarian champions, were forced to sell several players last year in a bid to cushion debts.
■ ITALY
Ronaldinho’s villa burgled
Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho’s Italian home was burgled this week with thieves making off with jewelry estimated at tens of thousands of euros, police and media reported on Wednesday. Two burglars broke into the 28-year-old AC Milan player’s villa in Galliate Lombardo on Monday night, police in Varese, north of Milan, said. Caretakers disturbed the robbers and fired into the air but the duo escaped, according to a report in the Corriere della Sera. Ronaldinho, twice footballer of the year, was not at home, having left for his Christmas break in Brazil. Corriere della Sera valued the haul of jewelry and watches at several thousand euros but they overlooked his trophy medals which were left untouched in a cabinet. Riccardo Sogliano, a former player who used to live in the house, was himself the victim of a robbery there in 2002, the paper noted.
■ BRAZIL
Ronaldo becomes dad again
Ronaldo’s fiancee, Maria Beatriz Antony, on Wednesday gave birth to the striker’s second child, a hospital spokeswoman said. Antony gave birth to Maria Sofia in Rio de Janeiro’s Clinica Perinatal, hospital spokeswoman Ana Maria Funky said by telephone, adding the baby was born weighing 2.98kg. She said Ronaldo was present when his daughter was born and cut the umbilical cord. Funky said both mother and daughter were in perfect health and should leave the hospital no later than today. Ronaldo, who is recovering from knee surgery and recently signed with Brazilian club Corinthians, already has an eight-year-old boy, Ronald, from a previous relationship. The three-time FIFA player of the year hasn’t played since injuring his knee in February while playing for AC Milan. Ronaldo led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title in South Korea and Japan, scoring twice in the final against Germany.
■ ENGLAND
Hammers reject Bellamy bid
Tottenham have reportedly had a £6 million (US$8.8 million) bid for striker Craig Bellamy turned down by West Ham. The Hammers are rumored to be open to offers for all their players because of the financial problems facing their Icelandic owner, but Sky Sports News said on Wednesday that they had dismissed Spurs’ offer for Bellamy. Sky also reported that Manchester City had made an inquiry about Bellamy. Tottenham need another striker to compete with Darren Bent, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Fraizer Campbell. Pavlyuchenko cannot play for the club in the UEFA Cup and Campbell is only on loan from Manchester United. Tottenham would be Bellamy’s eighth club in eight years following spells with Liverpool, Blackburn, Celtic, Newcastle, Coventry and Norwich. The Wales international has scored four goals in 22 Premier League matches for West Ham.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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