BASEBALL
Decline in non-US players
The percentage of Major League Baseball (MLB) players born outside the US declined slightly for the second straight season. The MLB commissioner’s office on Tuesday said that 223 players among the 853 on opening-day squads and inactive lists were born outside the 50 states. At 26.1 percent, the share is down from 28.2 percent last year and 28.4 percent in 2012. Players come from 16 countries and territories, the most since 2008. The Dominican Republic has topped the list each year since MLB began tracking in 2005, but its 82 players are down from a high of 99 in 2007. Venezuela was next with 59, followed by Cuba, which set a high with 19 — four more than its previous high mark, set last year. Puerto Rico had 11, followed by Canada (10), Japan and Mexico (nine), Curacao (five), Colombia and Panama (four), Nicaragua (three) and Australia and South Korea (two).
BASEBALL
Parnell tears ligament
New York Mets closer Bobby Parnell may need surgery after tests revealed a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, the National League team said on Tuesday. Parnell complained of tightness in his right forearm after Monday’s opening day game against the visiting Washington Nationals, in which he allowed a run to blow a save in the ninth inning of a 10-inning, 9-7 loss at Citi Field. The Meta are already without starting pitcher Matt Harvey, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow suffered late last season. Hoping Parnell can avoid surgery, the right-hander was injected with platelet-rich plasma and will rest for about two weeks before beginning a throwing program that will determine whether an operation is necessary. Parnell saved 22 games in 26 chances last season with a 2.16 earned run average. Former Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde was expected to take over as primary closer while Parnell is sidelined.
BASEBALL
Darvish recovering
Rangers ace pitcher Yu Darvish of Japan has thrown an 86-pitch bullpen training session and could return to the team in the next week. Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux says the right-hander looked very good during what amounted to four innings of simulated work at the Rangers’ home ballpark Tuesday. Maddux says the next step is to see how Darvish recovers. He missed the opening-day start after coming up with a stiff neck about two weeks ago in spring training. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Monday that Darvish could return without making a rehabilitation start. He is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday.
FOOTBALL
Redskins, Jackson sign deal
Recently released Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has agreed terms with the Washington Redskins, it was announced on Tuesday. Jackson, an electrifying playmaker, was cut loose by the Eagles last week amid concerns about his attitude and off-field activity. The NFC East rival Redskins did not take long to lure him and will add him to an offense that features quarterback Robert Griffin III and NFL receptions leader Pierre Garcon. Jackson reacted to the news by tweeting: “Its goin down!! Burgundy & Gold.” Terms of Jackson’s contract have yet to be disclosed, according to the NFL’s Web site. The 27-year-old Jackson is coming off a career-best season that saw him catch 82 passes for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns.
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later