■BASEBALL
Yankees acquire Eric Hinske
The New York Yankees added a veteran bat to their lineup by acquiring Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a pair of minor league prospects on Tuesday. Hinske, who can play all three outfield positions as well as third and first base, was batting .255 with the Pirates this season with one home run and 11 RBIs. The 2002 American League rookie of the year, Hinske, 31, won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007 and last year made it back to the Fall Classic with the Tampa Bay Rays. The rebuilding Pirates get 23-year-old pitching prospect Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer.
■BASKETBALL
Pistons fire coach Curry
Michael Curry was fired on Tuesday as coach of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, his departure coming just one day before the start of the league’s free agent signing period. The Pistons had reached the Eastern Conference finals for six consecutive seasons but went 39-43 in Curry’s first season as coach and were drummed out of the play-offs in the first round by Cleveland without winning a game. “This was a difficult decision to make,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. “I want to thank Michael for his hard work and dedication. However, at this time, I have decided to make a change.” Dumars dumped his former teammate two months after assuring that he would return and faced major questions about who might take over as coach and when as the final hours ticked away before free agent offers went on the table. Curry played for the Pistons from 1995 to 1997 and 1999 to 2003, having also spent time with Milwaukee, Toronto, Washington, Philadelphia and Indiana before retiring in 2005.
■BASKETBALL
Nowitzki’s ex transferred
NBA star Dirk Nowitzki’s former fiancee Crystal Taylor was transferred from a Texas jail to a lockup in Missouri on Tuesday. Taylor, arrested at Nowitzki’s Dallas home in May, was taken to Missouri after posting bond in Jefferson County. Keith Day of Professional Bail Bonding in Beaumont, Texas, was listed as the agent who paid, but officials there said they were unable to determine where the money came from. Taylor, 38, faces probation violation charges in Missouri. She was charged with theft in Beaumont, Texas, for allegedly failing to pay for US$10,000 worth of dental work in 2006. Corrections officials in St Charles County, Missouri, said Taylor arrived early on Tuesday to face probation violations stemming from 1997 charges of forgery and stealing. She is scheduled to appear in court next Monday for a bond reduction hearing in Missouri, court documents said. Taylor has told the Dallas Morning News that she is pregnant with Nowitzki’s child. Nowitzki has filed for custody if a paternity test proves he is the father.
■ICE HOCKEY
Canadiens sign Scott Gomez
The Montreal Canadiens acquired Scott Gomez, and his sizable contract, from the New York Rangers in a seven-player trade on Tuesday. With the free-agent signing window opening yesterday, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey got an early jump on the competition landing the play-making center he had been seeking. Gomez will earn US$8 million next season. The Canadiens also received forward Tom Pyatt and defenseman Michael Busto from New York while sending forward Christopher Higgins and defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik to the Rangers.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but