BASEBALL
Wang starts for Bisons
Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming made his second start with the Buffalo Bisons, a Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, pitching six innings in the Bisons’ 2-1 loss in Buffalo on Saturday. Wang gave up two runs on five hits and one home run in a loss to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where he made nine starts before signing with the Blue Jays. The right-hander was optioned to the Bisons after he was overwhelmed by both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, giving up seven and six runs respectively in 1-2/3 innings in both starts. Wang pitched all seven innings of his debut for the Buffalo Bisons, earning a win to complete a July 7 sweep of the Syracuse Chiefs.
TENNIS
Rain washes out semis
Rain washed out both semi-final matches at the ATP Tour’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, on Saturday. Nicolas Mahut and Michael Russell were to play their match yesterday morning, while the second semi between John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt was to be played at the same time. The final was to be played in the afternoon. Elsewhere, at the Mercedes Cup semi-finals in Stuttgart, Germany, Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-3, while Fabio Fognini defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3. Meanwhile, the Swedish Open title was to be decided yesterday between Fernando Verdasco and Carlos Berlocq, after they won against Grigor Dimitrov and Thiemo De Bakker respectively in the semi-finals on Saturday.
TENNIS
Errani, Vinci in final
Top-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci were to face each other in the Italiacom Open final in Palermo, Sicily, after winning their semi-finals on Saturday. No. 1-seeded Errani, who won this tournament in 2008 and last year, recovered from 3-1 down in the second set to beat the fourth-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4. Vinci struggled past Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach her first Palermo final. Elsewhere, Simona Halep was to play for her third title of the year against Yvonne Meusburger in the Budapest Grand Prix final yesterday. In Saturday’s semi-finals at the Romai Tennis Academy, the third-seeded Halep defeated Alexandra Cadantu 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), while Meusburger upset No. 6 Chanelle Scheepers 6-2, 6-2.
TENNIS
Martina Hingis inducted
Martina Hingis was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, becoming one of the youngest members to be enshrined in one of the sport’s most elite clubs. The 32-year-old from Switzerland was among a distinguished class of inductees who were formally inducted at Newport, Rhode Island. Hingis told the crowd she was humbled by the honor. “Thank you, tennis. You gave me the world,” she said. Hingis became the fourth youngest player to be inducted, following Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32). Hingis won five Grand Slam singles titles — the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Australian Opens, 1997 Wimbledon and 1997 US Open — and held the No. 1 ranking for 209 weeks. She also won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title before injuries forced her into early retirement at the age of 22. Also enshrined were 94-year-old Australian great Thelma Coyne Long, who was inducted in the master player category, and Ion Tiriac, Cliff Drysdale and Charlie Pasarell, who were inducted for their contributions to tennis.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and