■BASEBALL
Baltimore fire manager
Dave Trembley was fired on Friday as manager of the Baltimore Orioles, who have the worst record in Major League Baseball and are staggering toward a team-record 13th consecutive losing season. Third base coach Juan Samuel was appointed interim manager by president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who hired Trembley to take over on an interim basis for Sam Perlozzo in June 2007. The Orioles opened with 16 losses in 18 games, have a 15-39 win-loss record and are coming off a winless six-game road trip in which they were outscored 34-8 in Toronto and at Yankee Stadium. “The results on the field were not what any of us would have hoped for, and I understand that the organization felt the time was right to move in a different direction,” Trembley said in a statement.
■BASEBALL
Grady Sizemore sidelined
Cleveland Indians All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore will be sidelined for the rest of the year after having knee surgery on Friday, the team said. The 90-minute operation on his left knee also involved microfracture surgery, an intricate procedure requiring a recovery time of between six and nine months. “Grady is expected to participate in exhibition contests next March when camp opens in Goodyear, Arizona,” the Indians said in a statement. The loss of Sizemore for the rest of the season is a major blow to a Cleveland team already 11 games back of the American League Central division leading Minnesota Twins. Sizemore initially hurt his knee during spring training, but the 27-year-old played through the pain before aggravating the injury on May 16 against the Baltimore Orioles. Three days later, he was put on the disabled list. Following consultations with several doctors, he had arthroscopic surgery in Vail, Colorado, with Richard Steadman, a pioneer of microfracture surgery.
■CRICKET
Pakistan lifts Khan ban
The indefinite ban on former Pakistan captain Younis Khan was lifted yesterday, and a fine on current captain Shahid Afridi was revoked. “I have set aside the ban on Younis,” Pakistan Cricket Board arbitrator Irfan Qadir told reporters in Lahore after the hearing. Qadir said the board had already reconsidered Younis for future tours by naming him in a list of 35 probables, therefore there was no reason to keep an indefinite ban on the former captain. The board imposed the ban in March for Younis’ alleged infighting with another former captain Mohammad Yousuf during the winless tour of Australia early this year. Younis was not considered for this month’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, but it is likely he will be included in the team for the twin test series against Australia and England next month.
■RUGBY UNION
Barbarians beat Ireland
The Barbarians withstood a comeback from a second-string Ireland team to win 29-23 after scoring three tries to two in Limerick, Ireland, on Friday. Xavier Rush, George Smith and Cedric Heymans touched down for the all-star team at Thomond Park, with Butch James kicking 11 points and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde adding a penalty goal. Trailing 21-3, Ireland hit back with tries to Niall Ronan and Tony Buckley either side of halftime. Ronan O’Gara added 13 points. It was also the final professional game for former Ireland lock Malcolm O’Kelly, who played for the Barbarians. Ireland plays a test at New Zealand on June 12 in New Plymouth and takes on Australia in Brisbane on June 26.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set