SOCCER
Sunderland, Everton draw
Sunderland set up a home FA Cup quarter-final replay later this month by holding Everton to a 1-1 draw on Saturday in a pulsating tie at Goodison Park. Scotland defender Phil Bardsley gave visiting Sunderland a 12th-minute lead with a fierce long-range drive that eluded a cluster of players in the goalmouth. Australian Tim Cahill equalized for five-time FA Cup winners Everton 11 minutes later, showing lightning reactions to nod a header from Nikica Jelavic beyond goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Photo: EPA
GOLF
De la Riva stays in front
Spain’s Eduardo de la Riva maintained his one-shot lead at the Andalucia Open on Saturday in Spain as the unheralded 29-year-old stayed on track for his first career title. De la Riva, whose best previous finish was third place at last year’s Madrid Masters, carded six birdies and two bogeys. It was enough to keep him in front of England’s Simon Khan and Italian teenager Matteo Manassero, the first-round leader, who are one shot back at 11-under. “It’s been a great day for golf,” de la Riva said. Manassero, who had been three ahead after the first round, carded five birdies on Saturday.
CYCLING
Gerrans wins classic
Simon Gerrans took Australia’s second win in two years in the 298km Milan-San Remo Classic thanks to some crafty racing in a furious finale on Saturday. With a shattered pack snapping at their heels on San Remo’s Via Roma finish, the 31-year-old GreenEdge rider held off Fabian Cancellara, also second last year, and Italian favourite Vincenzo Nibali. The leading three had broken away on the Poggio climb, a traditional launch pad for late attacks in the 298km classic, and Gerrans then shadowed his two rivals to the finish before pouncing for his biggest career win. Asked why he had not worked more in the finale to keep the break clear, Gerrans said: “I did what I could, but Cancellara was going like a motorbike. I knew if Cancellara was there, we would make it to the finish.” Pre-race favorite Mark Cavendish of Britain was dropped from the main pack on a climb mid-race, losing all chance of victory after a 50km chase by his team. Another top contender, Philippe Gilbert of Belgium, crashed on the descent of the twisting Cipressa climb.
GOLF
Goosen, Furyk tied for lead
South African Retief Goosen defied a painful back ailment to fire a six-under 65 on Saturday and seize a share of the third-round lead with Jim Furyk at the USPGA Tour Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida. Goosen’s seven birdies on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook included three in a row from the 14th as he positioned himself for a run at a title that could earn him a Masters berth. Goosen, who said he would take next week off to have his aching back treated, needed just 25 putts on a course where he won titles in 2003 and 2009. He had an 11-under total of 202. He was joined there by Furyk, who gave up sole possession of first place with a bogey at 18 to cap his 66. The leaders were one stroke in front of American Jason Dufner and South Korean Bae Sang-moon. Bae had the lead until a triple-bogey seven at the 16th. He responded with a birdie en route to a 68, while Dufner carded a 71 for 203.
FORMULA ONE
Button wins Grand Prix
McLaren’s Jenson Button won the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne for the third time ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel in an incident-packed season opener yesterday. Button’s compatriot and teammate Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, finished third behind the German to round out the podium, while Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber was fourth, his best finish in his 11th attempt to win his home race. Fernando Alonso drove a spirited race to finish fifth for Ferrari ahead of the Sauber of Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi after Williams driver Pastor Maldonado crashed out on the final lap while running sixth. Kimi Raikkonen, one of six former world champions in the field, also impressed on his return from two years out of the sport to finish seventh for Lotus after starting 17th on the grid. Mexican Sergio Perez had started right from the back after changing his gearbox overnight, but finished a creditable eighth — the same place he claimed on his Formula One debut in Melbourne last year before he and Kobayashi were disqualified for technical infringements. Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth on his home race debut for Toro Rosso despite an accident at the start, while the last point was won by Force India’s Paul Di Resta in 10th.
RUGBY UNION
Cheetahs beat Rebels
An 81st-minute try by replacement Piet van Zyl gave the Cheetahs their first victory of the Super Rugby season with a dramatic 33-26 away win over the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. With two minutes left and the game tied at 26-26, the Cheetahs, who lost in the final minute last weekend to the ACT Brumbies, ran the ball from their own 22 through several phases to come up with the winning score. Replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn made a decisive break and scrumhalf Van Zyl won a sprint to the corner to end the Cheetahs’ three-game losing start and leave the crestfallen Rebels as the only team yet to record a victory this year.
SOCCER
Tigre barely cling on
Tigre clung to their lead in the Argentine first division with a 1-1 draw at home to Estudiantes in Buenos Aires on Saturday, while picking up another valuable point in their fight against relegation. Such is the Argentine league set-up that Tigre find themselves in the relegation zone while dominating the early rounds of the Clausura championship in which they are unbeaten with 14 points from six matches. The drop in Argentina is decided on teams’ average points over three seasons — which amounts to six Apertura and Clausura championships. The bottom two, where Tigre currently lie, in the parallel relegation standings go down automatically.
OLYMPICS
‘Blade Runner’ qualifies
“Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius on Saturday moved closer to a place at the London Olympics when he ran 45.20 seconds in the 400m at a regional qualifier, well within the required standard of 45.30. The South African, who runs with carbon fiber prosthetic running blades, set the time at the Gauteng North provincial championships in the selection event for the South African National Championships. Last year, Pistorius won a silver medal for his part in helping South Africa to reach the 4x400m relay final in Daegu, South Korea. He was the first amputee to compete at the world championships.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB