BASKETBALL
Cavaliers snap up Luol Deng
The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired All Star forward Luol Deng in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, the team announced on Monday. Cleveland will receive Deng in exchange for center Andrew Bynum and three future draft picks sent to the Bulls. Chicago will also have the right to swap 2015 first-round picks with the Cavaliers. “We are very excited for Luol to join the Cavaliers organization,” Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous defensive player that can impact the game on both ends of the court with a team first mentality and is a high character leader.” The Bulls are expected to release Bynum in a move that will give them financial flexibility and help them build for the future once franchise player Derrick Rose returns from his lengthy injury absence. Cleveland will add the 28-year-old Deng to a young roster that is currently outside of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Briton, who has missed time recently with a sore Achilles, has averaged 19 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Bulls this season.
ALPINE SKIING
Neureuther wins slalom
Germany’s Felix Neureuther used a blistering second run to edge first-leg leader Marcel Hirscher and win a World Cup night slalom on Monday. Trailing by just 0.01 after the opening run, Neureuther attacked from start to finish in his second trip down the Stelvio course for a two-leg combined time of 1 minute, 59.75 seconds. Hirscher, the two-time defending overall World Cup winner from Austria, finished second, 0.36 seconds behind, and Manfred Moelgg of Italy moved up from sixth after the opening run to place third, 0.65 back. Naoki Yuasa of Japan had the fastest second run and jumped from 21st to fourth.
FOOTBALL
Compensation plans unveiled
Lawyers representing former NFL players in the proposed US$765 million settlement of concussion-related claims have detailed how the money would be distributed. The awards could reach US$5 million for athletes with Lou Gehrig’s disease, US$4 million for suicides, and US$3 million for dementia cases. Senior US District Judge Anita Brody of Philadelphia must still approve the plan. Under the formula, men under 45 would get the most money because of their lifetime needs. The money decreases with age and the severity of the cognitive problem. A 60-year-old with Alzheimer’s disease would get US$950,000; an 80-year-old with early dementia US$25,000. The former players include Kevin Turner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ICE HOCKEY
Jagr to lead at Sochi
New Jersey Devils veteran star Jaromir Jagr will lead the Czech Republic ice-hockey team at the Sochi Winter Olympics, head coach Alois Hadamczik told reporters on Monday. Nominated for his fifth Olympics, the 41-year-old Jagr is the only player on the 25-man roster who won the surprise Olympic gold at Nagano 1998. “I am convinced we have tried to pick the best team which will stick together and be determined to achieve the best result possible,” Hadamczik said. “Our goal at Sochi is a medal. Looking at the tradition, ambitions and reputation of our hockey, it can’t be otherwise,” Czech Ice Hockey Association head Tomas Kral added. The Czechs begin the Olympic tournament against Sweden on Feb. 12.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set