RUGBY UNION
Toulon win European Cup
Toulon beat Clermont 16-15 to win the European Cup on Saturday. Clermont scored two tries to Toulon’s one in a nail-biting match, but three penalties and a conversion from English flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson saw Toulon sneak home. Brock James opened the scoring for Clermont with an early penalty, later matched by Wilkinson as the teams went into half-time at three points apiece. Clermont’s Fijian winger Napolioni Nalaga scored a try early in the second period, followed by a second for James. When James converted his own try, the score stood at 15-6. However, Wilkinson pulled back three points with his third penalty. When Wesley Fofana was caught in possession and turned over by Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and fed to Delon Armitage, the England fullback romped in for Toulon’s sole try, converted by Wilkinson for victory.
SOCCER
Ribery saves Bayern
Champions Bayern Munich needed some Franck Ribery magic to end the Bundesliga season with a dramatic 4-3 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach, as they prepare to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final this week. Bayern went behind as Martin Stranzl and Mike Hanke scored twice within five minutes before Javi Martinez pulled one back on seven minutes. Havard Nordtveit restored Gladbach’s two-goal advantage in the 10th minute, before Frenchman Ribery’s powerful effort made it 3-2 eight minutes later. Ribery leveled with a sensational 18m volley from a deep Philipp Lahm cross in the 53rd minute. Six minutes later he set up Dutchman Arjen Robben for the winner with a perfectly weighted cross at the far post. Second-placed Dortmund conceded two goals as TSG 1899 Hoffenheim staged a last-gasp relegation escape with a 2-1 win. Schalke 04 beat SC Freiburg 2-1 to grab fourth place and a spot in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling was the season’s top scorer with his 25th strike in the last minute for a 1-0 win at Hamburg SV, helping his team to a comfortable third-place finish and secure Champions League action next season. Promoted Fortuna Duesseldorf slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Hannover 96. Augsburg finished with a 3-1 win over already relegated Fuerth.
SOCCER
Sociedad beat Sevilla
Surprise contenders Real Sociedad maintained their slender advantage over Valencia in the race for Spain’s fourth and final Champions League berth when they came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday. San Sebastian-based Sociedad and Valencia, who won 1-0 at Getafe in the earlier kickoff, are tied on 62 points with two matches left, with the Basques ahead in the standings thanks to a superior head-to-head record. Granada, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, moved to the brink of safety when they won 3-0 at home to fellow strugglers CA Osasuna, while second-division leaders Elche won promotion to the top flight.
SOCCER
Sampdoria shock Juve
Sampdoria ended their troubled season on a high note on Saturday with a surprise 3-2 victory over Serie A champions Juventus. Goals from Eder, Lorenzo De Silvestri and Mauro Icardi were enough to beat Juve, who opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Fabio Quagliarella and were also on target in stoppage-time through Emanuele Giaccherini.
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