■ICE HOCKEY
Red Wings post best record
The Detroit Red Wings beat the struggling Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday to post the best record in the NHL. Goaltender Ty Conklin recorded 25 saves and Johan Franzen scored his 26th goal of the season as the Red Wings improved to 94 points, one ahead of the San Jose Sharks and the East’s Boston Bruins. As the trade deadline came and went, defending Stanley Cup Champions Detroit (43-14-8) decided not to make any changes going into the final stretch of the season. The Avalanche took an early lead when John-Michael Liles scored with a slapshot three minutes into the game. Valtteri Filppula scored the first of three unanswered goals for the Red Wings with 19 seconds remaining in the first period. Franzen followed at 7:03 into the second and Kris Draper made it 3-1 six minutes later. Milan Hejduk pulled Colorado within one goal with his 24th score of the season 18:19 into the third.
■SOCCER
Bayern crash out of Cup
Defending champions Bayern Munich crashed out of the German Cup when they lost to Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in Wednesday’s quarter-finals. Bayern trailed by three goals before scoring twice within two minutes to get back into the match. But Juergen Klinsmann’s team could not get the third goal to send the match into extra time. Tranquillo Barnetta opened the scoring in the 54th, Arturo Vidal made it 2-0 in the 61st and Patrick Helmes notched the third in the 70th. Bayern, without injured striker Luca Toni, appeared headed for a crushing defeat but defender Lucio scored in the 72nd and Miroslav Klose added another two minutes later. Stefan Kiessling secured the victory when Leverkusen capitalized on an error by Bayern defender Martin Demichelis and scored two minutes into injury time. In other quarter-finals, Claudio Pizarro and Diego each scored twice to help Werder Bremen win 5-2 at Wolfsburg, while Hamburger SV beat second-division Wehen Wiesbaden 2-1. On Tuesday Mainz beat Schalke 1-0 to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
■SOCCER
Sampdoria batter Inter
Sampdoria strike duo Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano exposed a brittle Inter defense to give the 10-man hosts a shock 3-0 win in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday. Inter coach Jose Mourinho rotated his line-up and paid the price when Nelson Rivas, playing as an unaccustomed right back, allowed Cassano to steal the ball and chip reserve keeper Francesco Toldo on nine minutes. Pazzini made the most of more loose Inter defending when he headed in from close range following a corner and the former Fiorentina forward grabbed a second on 42 minutes when the Serie A leaders again failed to clear a ball in the box. Samp lost defender Daniele Gastaldello to a second yellow card on the hour but Inter failed to cash in. Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at home in Tuesday’s semi-final first leg.
■SOCCER
Lyon, PSG knocked out
Holders Lyon were knocked out by Lille 3-2 in a dramatic French Cup last 16 tie on Wednesday. Lyon were sunk by a last-gasp Nicolas Fauvergue goal after twice canceling out Lille’s advantage. PSG suffered a shock exit as third division strugglers Rodez struck twice in extra time to go through. PSG started confidently and Sammy Traore grabbed the opener after nine minutes. Jeremy Choplin equalized in the 66th minute and gave Rodez the edge 24 minutes into extra time with a stunning 35m drive. Striker Miguel Pacios put the result beyond doubt four minutes later.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two