BASEBALL
MLB considers realignment
Major League Baseball and the players’ association are seriously considering realigning its leagues to have 15 teams each, with one National League club moving to the American League, according to an ESPN report on Sunday. MLB and the players’ association are in talks over a new labor agreement and in addition to realignment, commissioner Bud Selig has said the possibility of adding teams to the playoff structure is also on the agenda. The National League has 16 teams and the American League has 14, with both leagues comprised of three divisions. Currently, division winners reach the postseason along with a wild card team from each league that has the best record outside its division champions. According to a highly ranked executive, one proposal raised in ownership committee meetings was eliminating divisions altogether, so that 15 AL and 15 NL teams would vie for five playoff spots within each league, ESPN reported. Two top executives believe the Houston Astros would be a possibility, the network said.
BASEBALL
Colon disabled with strain
The New York Yankees took another hit to their starting rotation when right-hander Bartolo Colon was put on the disabled list on Sunday after straining his left hamstring in Saturday’s game. Colon, a former AL Cy Young winner who signed with New York before the season, has been a surprisingly strong contributor to the Yankees after missing last season with an injury. The 38-year-old Colon gave up two hits in 6-2/3 shutout innings on Saturday to improve to 6-3 and lower his earned run average to 3.10. Colon said he was feeling better on Sunday and hoped he would return quickly.
ATHLETICS
Two break 10-second mark
Usain Bolt’s training partners Daniel Bailey and Yohan Blake both recorded sub-10 second times for the 100m at an international athletics meet in Strasbourg, France, on Sunday. Bailey, of Antigua, clocked 9.97 seconds, edging Jamaican rival Blake by 0.01 seconds. Briton Dwain Chambers, the world indoor 60m champion who once served a two-year doping ban after being notoriously unmasked as a drugs cheat in the 2003 BALCO scandal, came in third on 10.04 seconds.
SEA TRIATHLON
Taiwanese win two golds
Taiwanese triathlon teams captured two gold medals at this year’s Northeast International Sea Triathlon and Kayak Marathon held at Fulong beach on Sunday. Taiwan’s Wang Yi-wen and Tseng Yi-ying won the half triathlon mixed race in a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 41 seconds, defeating Rebecca Hui and Ronaco Rezek of the US. Taiwanese pair, Chiu Huai-chun and Hsieh Cheng-en finished first in the full-course triathlon professional category in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 40 seconds to take gold. The sea triathlon, organized by Chinese Taipei Kayaking Association and Outward Bound Taiwan, included beach running, sea swimming and sea kayaking, and the participants compete in pairs.
POOL
Hsu Kai-lun finishes second
Taiwanese pool player Hsu Kai-lun finished in second place at this year’s World 9-Ball China Open on Sunday after losing 11-3 to Chris Melling of the UK. Hsu, 22, won a solid 11-3 against two-time world champion Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines earlier in the day, but fell to Melling in the championship round after some misses.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two