■SOCCER
Urawa declare war on ducks
Japan’s Urawa Reds have declared war on a covert army of ducks that have been leaving their droppings and feathers all over the team’s training pitch. The side have launched “Project Eagle,” which involves the use of falcons, to keep the web-footed invaders at bay. “We have had problems with ducks for a while,” Urawa’s public relations chief Daisuke Maruyama said yesterday. The team’s training pitch was littered with feathers and mounds of droppings on Monday, with bite-sized chunks of grass nibbled off by the culprits. Having lost their season opener 2-0 at champions Kashima Antlers at the weekend, Urawa manager Volker Finke was unamused at the mess left by the birds. Urawa have been forced to conduct daily duck patrols with officials waving blinking torches to frighten off the visitors.
■SOCCER
Baggies aim to help Chile
West Bromwich Albion players yesterday aimed to raise money for the victims of the Chile earthquake with the words “Help Chile” on their shirts at a League Championship match against Sheffield Wednesday. Albion’s Chile defender Gonzalo Jara, who is sidelined with a broken bone in his foot, had to evacuate his wife and children from their apartment in Santiago when the earthquake struck on Feb. 27. West Brom do not have a regular shirt sponsor. The club will encourage fans to donate to the Chile relief fundraising through Red Cross organizations.
■MOTOR RACING
Moss survives elevator drop
British great Stirling Moss is recovering after plunging three stories down a lift shaft and breaking his ankles. A statement on his Web site said that Moss, 80, suffered the accident on Saturday and had surgery the next day. Moss, widely known as the greatest driver never to win the Formula One championship, opened a lift door on the third floor of his house and stepped forward, but the lift had stopped on the floor above. He also broke four bones in his feet and suffered four chipped vertebrae. The driver’s wife was quoted as saying Moss was in good spirits and already complaining about the size and quality of the hospital breakfast.
■TENNIS
Chile advance in Davis Cup
Chile secured a spot in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Monday after Fernando Gonzalez defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to give the South Americans an unassailable 3-1 lead. In the second singles match, Jorge Aguilar of Chile beat Harel Levy 7-6 (3), 6-1, to make the final score 4-1. The Davis Cup series in Chile started a day late after the Israeli team had problems reaching the country following the earthquake that hit just over a week ago.
■BASEBALL
Alderson to lead reform bid
Former Major League Baseball (MLB) executive vice president Sandy Alderson has been appointed to oversee the sport’s effort to reform operations in the Dominican Republic, commissioner Bud Selig said on Monday. The Dominican Republic, which produced the most players on last year’s Opening Day rosters from outside the US has had to deal with issues including underage signings, alleged skimming of bonus money for prospects and high rates of positive doping tests. “Major League Baseball faces significant issues there, but all of them can be resolved favorably through the cooperative efforts of the Office of the Commissioner, the Major League clubs and the government and the people of the Dominican Republic,” Alderson said.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS