BASEBALL
Choo on 15-day DL
Choo Shin-soo was walking around the Cleveland Indians clubhouse on Saturday with a soft cast on his left hand that covered three stitches on his bloodied, broken thumb. The only thing that might hurt worse is the hole in Cleveland’s shattered lineup. The Indians’ prize right fielder will see a hand specialist at the Cleveland Clinic today and expects to have surgery on his injured thumb, likely sidelining the South Korean for the next six weeks and possibly more. “It is discouraging because he was swinging the bat very well,” manager Manny Acta said. “He was playing better, pulling the ball with authority and we knew it was just a matter of time before he could carry this ball club for some weeks as he has done in the past.” Choo was placed on the 15-day disabled list (DL).
BASEBALL
Johnson to join Nationals
Davey Johnson, who guided the US in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, but hasn’t managed a Major League Baseball team in 11 years, is set to be the new Washington Nationals manager. Mike Rizzo, general manager of the National League club, told Fox television on Saturday that Johnson has agreed to terms to replace Jim Riggleman, who quit as the Nationals manager on Thursday, but no contract has yet been signed. Johnson, 68, will take over his fifth major league club, but the first since serving as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000. He also has guided the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.
BASKETBALL
Young star in place crash
A 16-year-old high school basketball player with the promise of playing at the University of Michigan is fighting for his life after surviving the second plane crash of his life. Austin Hatch, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was in critical condition on Saturday in a northern Michigan hospital after the Friday evening crash that killed his father, Stephen Hatch, and his stepmother, Kim. Austin and his pilot father had survived a 2003 crash that killed Austin’s mother and two siblings. Austin had committed earlier this month to play basketball at Michigan, where his father and mother went to school.
SOCCER
Tevez in Copa squad
Striker Carlos Tevez, who seemed to be out of Argentina’s Copa America plans little more than a month ago, was named on Saturday in the hosts’ 23-man squad for the tournament. There were no surprises among coach Sergio Batista’s selections, posted on the Argentine Football Association’s Web site five days after their last warm-up — a 4-0 rout of Albania at the Monumental. Batista dropped three home-based players from those named in his provisional squad — Boca Juniors defender Luciano Monzon, Lanus midfielder Diego Valeri and Estudiantes winger Enzo Perez.
CRICKET
Nash out of India Test
Brendan Nash’s career for West Indies appears to have reached a crossroads following his axing for the second Test against India, starting tomorrow at Kensington Oval in Barbados. The Australia-born left-hander, whose parents are Jamaican, had been pigeon-holed as a Test batsman over the past two years, but has been omitted from the 13-member squad, after a string of modest scores in recent Tests. Kirk Edwards has taken his place in the squad, but he is unlikely to make his Test debut on home soil. Instead Marlon Samuels, who was overlooked for the first Test in his backyard, is the frontrunner to slot into the middle order.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but