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.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar responded to attacks from Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey. With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogacar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than 4 minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion. Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4km climb of the Col de La Loze to the finish. At 2,304m, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour. Two
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
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