SOCCER
Hertha lose their appeal
Hertha BSC Berlin have lost their appeal for a replay of their relegation playoff match at Fortuna Duesseldorf 1895 last week, which was twice interrupted by crowd trouble and ended with them being relegated from the top tier. The German football federation’s sporting tribunal said it could find no justification for ordering a replay of the relegation playoff second-leg that ended 2-2, giving Fortuna a 4-3 aggregate win. The club, who went straight down after only one season in the top flight, said the decision was “totally incomprehensible” and that they would appeal to the highest tribunal, the Bundesgericht. “The appeal was not successful because no reasons for objection could be found,” said Hans Lorenz, head of the tribunal. “The referee at all times acted according to the rules and Hertha’s claim that the team was weakened by the interruption could not be proved.”
BASEBALL
Feliz put on disabled list
The division-leading Texas Rangers face a nervous wait for Neftali Feliz to recover fitness after placing the starting pitcher on the disabled list on Monday. The 24-year-old Feliz has a sprained ligament in his right elbow that is likely to keep him out at least through the All-Star break and possibly longer. Feliz, who spent the past two years as the team’s closer before joining the starting rotation this season, is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA. The Rangers entered Monday night with a five-game lead in the American League West, but they now have to look for ways to compensate for their loss. Texas general manager Jon Daniels indicated the team may even consider signing a free agent.
BASKETBALL
Magic fire Van Gundy
The Orlando Magic fired head coach Stan Van Gundy following a season where he clashed with All-Star center Dwight Howard, the NBA team said on Monday. Van Gundy, who said in March that Howard wanted him fired, was named head coach of the Magic in 2007 and led the team to the NBA Finals in 2009. The Magic, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers two weeks ago, also said general manager Otis Smith and the team had mutually agreed to part ways. “These are the days you dread in this business, but we feel it’s time for new leadership and new voices,” Orlando chief executive Alex Martins said in a statement. “The disappointment of getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs these past two seasons played a primary role in our decision, as we feel our momentum towards winning a championship has paused.” Van Gundy had a 259-135 record with the Magic and led the team to the post-season in each of his five seasons in charge, including three Southeast Division titles.
GOLF
Woods’ niece eyes LPGA
Cheyenne Woods, the 21-year-old niece of 14-time major winner Tiger Woods, has signed with her uncle’s agent, Mark Steinberg, and is set to start playing in LPGA Tour events this year. In a statement posted on the Excel agency Web site on Monday, Cheyenne Woods said she plans to play in LPGA events this year on sponsor exemptions and seek a full-time spot on the women’s tour through the qualifying tournament. “I am really looking forward to pursuing my goals and dreams to compete on the highest level,” she said. “As I begin my professional career, I am confident and excited about working with Excel as they help shape my future.” She posted the lowest scoring average at Wake Forest University.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier