FISHING
S Pacific teams sweep
Teams from across the South Pacific swept the top three spots at the 52nd annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament last week in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Port Vila Game Fishing Club of Vanuatu finished in first place, comfortably winning what is considered one of the most prestigious billfish tournaments on the calendar, tournament officials said on Friday. In their first trip to Kona, the team amassed 2,000 points, including tagging and releasing two Pacific blue marlin on Wednesday and another two on Thursday. New Zealand’s Bay of Islands Swordfish Club #2 claimed second place with 1,570 points. The team was awarded 100 bonus points for catching the largest Pacific blue marlin of the tournament. Game Fishing Club of South Australia finished third with 1,219 points.
RALLY RACING
Loeb wins in Finland again
Citroen’s world champion Sebastien Loeb won Rally Finland for the second time in his career on Saturday to forge further ahead in the overall standings. The French seven-time world champion, who also won in Finland in 2008, was the first non-Nordic driver to win the rally on two occasions. Loeb beat Ford’s Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala by 8.1 seconds with Citroen’s other French driver, Sebastien Ogier, in third place ahead of Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen.
SOCCER
United beat Barca in US
Michael Owen scored in the 76th minute to lift Manchester United to a 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Saturday in suburban Washington in a friendly match that reprised their clash in the UEFA Champions League final. Nani opened the scoring in the 22nd minute for English champions Manchester United, who were dominated 3-1 by the Spanish giants in the Champions League final in May. Tom Cleverley set up Owen’s goal, intercepting Sergio Busquets’ pass intended for Seydou Keita and racing toward the goal before finding Owen, who lofted the ball over Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. Six minutes earlier, Thiago Alcantara had equalized after winger Carlos Carmona had cut inside and slotted a pass through.
FOOTBALL
SYFL Chicago unveiled
Snoop Dogg said his youth football league isn’t just about teaching kids sports, but about giving them a positive release for their energy and introducing them to role models. The rapper and actor launched the inaugural season of the Snoop Youth Football League (SYFL) in Chicago on Saturday. He danced and high-fived his way through the crowd at the Chicago Indoor Sports Facility and seemed intent on meeting all of the 100 kids who showed up. Snoop Dogg said he started the league to give kids, especially those in high-crime neighborhoods, an outlet. The league is open to youth ages seven to 14.
SOCCER
Firecrackers halt final
The Swedish championship match between Malmo and Djurgardens was abandoned after 12 minutes on Saturday after firecrackers were thrown on to the pitch. It was the third match abandoned in Sweden’s top flight this season because of crowd trouble and the second at Malmo’s Swedbank stadium. Dardan Rexhepi had given last season’s champions Malmo the lead after six minutes when fans began throwing firecrackers toward the field. Referee Martin Hansson took the players off the pitch and abandoned the match. “With so many and such powerful explosions, we didn’t dare to continue,” Hansson told local media.
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