■BASEBALL
Santana out for the season
New York Mets ace Johan Santana needs surgery for bone chips in his left elbow and will be out for the season. Following an examination, the Mets said their 30-year-old ace was expected to be ready for spring training next year. “It’s not the worst,” Santana said on a conference call. “Believe me, I’m going to be ready.” Santana said he had the same operation after the 2003 season, and came back with a career-high 20 wins and the first of his two Major League Baseball pitcher of the year awards for Minnesota. The Mets had feared a major injury to Santana, who has four seasons left on his US$137.5 million, six-year contract. Instead, he will have arthroscopic surgery. Santana said if the Mets had a chance to make the playoffs, he would’ve tried to keep pitching. “I didn’t want to shut it down,” he said. That said, “you don’t want to go out there and blow it and make it worse.”
■BASEBALL
Ichiro out longer than hoped
Ichiro Suzuki’s quest to make Major League Baseball history has been stalled longer than expected because of his sore calf. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said on Tuesday the nine-time All-Star would not play yesterday either, as the team had hoped. Suzuki did some light work on Tuesday and Wakamatsu said the Japanese star was improving. Yet Suzuki missed his second consecutive game and likely remained sidelined until late this week. “We’ve just got to make sure that on the first ball he hits he doesn’t pop [the muscle],” Wakamatsu said.
■BASKETBALL
Donaghy back in jail
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was back behind bars on Tuesday, accused of violating his federal probation by not showing up for work, the US Marshals Service said. Donaghy, 42, was being held without bond a day after his arrest at a halfway house in Tampa, Florida, where he was finishing his 15-month sentence for gambling charges. “He was supposed to be at work and he was somewhere else,” said Deputy US Marshal Ron Lindbak, who didn’t know any more details. Jail records said Donaghy was in sales at the Sarasota-based beverage company ShotPak. Calls to company executives there were not immediately returned. A New York judge sentenced Donaghy last year after the referee, who said he was a gambling addict, admitted taking thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on NBA games.
■CYCLING
Australian star convicted
Australian cyclist Chris Jongewaard was yesterday convicted over a hit-and-run driving accident that left his training partner fighting for his life. The four-time national mountain bike champion was found guilty in the South Australian District Court of aggravated driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident. Judge Wayne Chivell dismissed another charge of serious harm by dangerous driving leveled at the 30-year-old over the 2007 incident, which resulted in cyclist Matthew Rex being placed in an induced coma with severe injuries. The court heard that Jongewaard had been at a party with Rex in February 2007 when his car crashed into his fellow cyclist’s bike as he was driving from the venue. Rex’s injuries included a broken back, broken hip, broken leg, punctured lung and internal bleeding. He recovered but the accident ended his career as a professional cyclist. Prosecutors said Jongewaard did not stop and drove on to a nearby resort where he was staying.
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two