BASEBALL
Bautista heals after surgery
Home run king Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays had surgery on Thursday to repair a sports hernia and is expected to need four to six weeks to recover, the team said. Bautista hit a Major League-leading 54 home runs with Albert Pujols of the St Louis Cardinals finishing a distant second with 42. Bautista established a record for the largest increase in home runs from one year to the next as he hit just 13 last year as a bench player for Toronto. Davey Johnson of the 1973 Baltimore Orioles held the previous record with an increase of 38 home runs.
BASEBALL
Tigers sign Brandon Inge
The Detroit Tigers have signed third baseman Brandon Inge to a two-year contract with an option for 2013, the team said on Thursday. Financial terms were not released, the Tigers said on their Web site. Inge, 33, was eligible for free agency after completing a four-year US$24 million contract he signed in 2006. Known for his defensive play at third base, he batted .247 with 70 runs batted in this year’s season.
FOOTBALL
Financing woes hit stadium
The San Francisco 49ers may delay opening their proposed new stadium by a year until 2015 because of problems securing financing, the team said. “Until there is a new collective bargaining agreement that embraces the realities of NFL economics today, the Santa Clara stadium project won’t attract the required funding from either the NFL clubs or the financial markets,” the 49ers said in a statement on their Web site. “Since the financing plan needs to be in place several years before the stadium opens, the planned 2014 opening date may be delayed by a year,” the statement added. The 49ers have plans to build a US$1 billion, 68,500-seat stadium in nearby Santa Clara, California. “But without a CBA that adequately recognizes the costs of new stadiums and other capital expenses required to generate revenue … the 49ers and the NFL cannot make a major investment in a new stadium at this time,” the 49ers’ statement said. The current collective bargaining agreement with the players expires in March with negotiations for a new agreement at a standstill. “We are working hard to reach an agreement with the players’ union that will provide the resources once again for significant capital investments by the league in projects such as a new Bay Area stadium,” the NFL said.
BOXING
Katsidis to fight Marquez
Michael Katsidis will fight Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez for his WBA Super and WBO lightweight titles as scheduled despite the sudden death of the Australian’s brother this week. The Nov. 27 bout in Las Vegas had been in doubt when Katsidis, who was training in Thailand, was told his Australian champion jockey brother Stathi had been found dead at his Brisbane home on Tuesday. “The fight will go on,” Katsidis said in a statement yesterday. “I will do this for Stathi, my family and myself.” Promoters Golden Boy said on Wednesday they would leave it up to Katsidis (27-2) to decide whether or not the fight should go ahead with Marquez (51-5). “He [Stathi] is with me and will be all the way. I’m happy about this. I have never experienced anything like I felt that day. Stathi is inside me. We will fight this fight together, I know this is what he wants.” Victory for Katsidis, the current WBO interim champion, would give the Queenslander a full version of one of the four recognized world titles for the first time.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care