BASEBALL
Kuo signs with Mariners
The Seattle Mariners have signed free-agent relievers Kuo Hong-chih and Shawn Camp to one-year contracts in a move to bolster their bullpen, the Major League Baseball (MLB) team said on Monday. Financial terms were not released. Kuo, who in 2010 became the first Taiwanese to make an MLB All-Star team, went 1-2 and had a 9.00 earned run average in 40 games last season while hampered by elbow and anxiety problems. The left-hander, 30, had spent his entire seven-year Major League career with the Dodgers before being released in the off-season. Camp, 36, appeared in a team-high 67 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last year, posting a 6-3 record and 4.21 earned run average.
ICE HOCKEY
Crosby works out with team
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby worked out with his teammates on Monday, but said he was still recovering from concussion-like symptoms and a neck injury, and offered no timetable for his return. Crosby practiced with the Penguins at the Bell Centre in Montreal ahead of yesterday’s game with the Canadiens, but he and coach Dan Bylsma cautioned there was no change in his status. “I didn’t want to skate by myself,” Crosby told reporters. “When I go back to Pittsburgh I’ll be skating by myself again. It’s getting tough. I miss being out with the guys.” The NHL’s top attraction has been out of the lineup since Dec. 5 with concussion-like symptoms and a recently diagnosed soft-tissue neck injury. He said he believed his health was improving. “I feel like I’m getting there,” Crosby said. “I don’t have a time frame, I wish I did, but I don’t. The good news is that there is some progression.” However, he said: “I’m not symptom free. As soon as I am, I’ll be out there.”
CYCLING
Garmin win second stage
Garmin won the second stage at the Tour of Qatar on Monday, beating Quick Step by 7 seconds in the opening time trial of the season. In a slick performance from start to finish, Garmin finished the 11.3km route in 12 minutes, 38 seconds in sunny conditions. Sky Procycling were third, 9 seconds back. The win lifted American rider Tyler Farrar into second place in the overall standings, behind 2005 world road race champion Tom Boonen of Belgium. Boonen, who won the first stage on Sunday, was satisfied with his team’s performance. “We did a very good job until the last four [kilometers],” Boonen said. “There was a tail wind and the plan was to go fast on the way back. I think the last 1km is where we lost the time trial. So like I said yesterday, a finish in the top three would be a very good job, but we tried hard and lost to a very good team. I am happy with our young guys.”
BASKETBALL
Love handed suspension
Minnesota forward Kevin Love was suspended for two games without pay by the NBA on Monday for stamping on Luis Scola as the Houston player lay on the court during a game on Saturday. In making the announcement, NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson said the incident had been upgraded by the league office to a flagrant foul two. The incident occurred with 8 minutes, 34 seconds to play in the third quarter of Minnesota’s 100-91 victory over Houston in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Scola hit the floor after a drive toward the basket and Love stepped on Scola’s head and chest with his left foot as he moved down the court. At the other end, the Rockets bench was called for a technical and the contest became increasingly physical from there.
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