BASEBALL
Matty Alou dies aged 72
Matty Alou, once part of an all-Alou outfield for the San Francisco Giants with brothers Felipe and Jesus, died on Thursday in his native Dominican Republic. He was 72. He died of diabetes complications, according to his former Dominican Republic teammate, Leones del Escogido. The Giants also confirmed his death and said Alou had been sick for several years with a variety of health issues. A two-time All-Star, Alou became the 1966 National League batting champion with Pittsburgh when he hit .342. He spent his first six years with San Francisco from 1960 to 1965 and he also played for St Louis, Oakland, the New York Yankees and San Diego. Alou was a career .307 hitter with 31 home runs, 427 RBIs, 1,777 hits and 236 doubles in 15 seasons. The Alou brothers made history in 1963 when they appeared in the same outfield for several games.
SOCCER
Teens arrested for tweet
British police have arrested two teenagers over a racist tweet sent to Newcastle United striker Sammy Ameobi. The 19-year-old, who broke into the first team at the end of last season, re-tweeted the abuse he received and his attacker’s account was closed down. Police said “two young men, both aged 17, [were arrested] on suspicion of malicious communication. The arrests come after reports of a racist tweet being sent to one of the region’s professional sportsmen.” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said: “When something like this happens, we have to react strongly.” Pardew claimed that “with the austerity measures and everybody feeling a bit tight, everybody is feeling a bit narrow-minded and racism is coming to the fore, so maybe [the arrests] is not a bad thing.”
RUGBY UNION
Ospreys ban spray tans
Welsh rugby side Ospreys have banned players from having spray tans and wearing colored boots as the club attempts to shed its tag of being “Galacticos,” it was reported on Thursday. The Daily Telegraph said Ospreys’ management were seeking to use the departure of high-profile players Gavin Henson and James Hook to mark the start of a new era at the Swansea-based side. “The fake tan and the colored boots, and the Galacticos label doesn’t interest us really,” Ospreys coach Sean Holley told the Telegraph. “We’ve banned the tan. It’s real tan only and you are only allowed to wear colored boots if you’ve played over 50 times for the Ospreys or over 15 times for your country. We feel that you have to earn the respect, you have to earn the right to do something.” The sober approach appears to have reaped dividends for Ospreys so far this season — they have won six of their seven Celtic League fixtures.
ATHLETICS
Miner to run marathon
Edison Pena, one of the 33 miners pulled out alive after 69 days underground in Chile, will run in the New York City Marathon tomorrow, hoping the feat will help him overcome drug problems. “Last year has been very difficult,” Pena told reporters on Thursday, admitting to “many mistakes” that led him to seek help for drug addiction at a clinic. “I didn’t want to speak about this. I got help from a specialist clinic and a team of therapists has me in its hands, and now I am very well.” Pena became famous as “The Runner” last year when he kept up his jogging routine while trapped underground in a mine, awaiting rescue in a life-or-death saga. He became an instant celebrity at last year’s New York Marathon and also took part in the Tokyo Marathon in February.
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