ICE HOCKEY
Vlasic lifts Sharks over Jets
San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Sharks a 3-2 win against the Jets in Winnipeg, Canada, on Monday. Joe Pavelski won an offensive zone faceoff to Logan Couture, who set up Vlasic for the winning goal. Brent Burns and Melker Karlsson also scored for the Sharks. Andrew Ladd and Jay Harrison had goals for Winnipeg in the only NHL game on Monday. The clubs entered the night holding both of the Western Conference’s wild-card playoff spots. The Sharks moved into a tie with Vancouver and Los Angeles for second in the Pacific Division.
FORMULA ONE
Beltoise dies at 77
French former Formula One driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who won the Monaco Grand Prix in torrential rain in 1972, died in Senegal on Monday at the age of 77. The French motor sport federation FFSA and Le Mans organizers paid tribute to Beltoise, whose Monaco victory was the 17th and last by the now-defunct BRM team, and hailed his prowess on two wheels and four. “One of the great names in French motor sport has left us,” said Pierre Fillon, president of Le Mans 24 Hours organizers the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. “Jean-Pierre will forever be remembered as a flamboyant driver who was so proud to fly his country’s colors and take part in the revival of French teams in the ’60s and ’70s.” The Paris-born driver died in Dakar, where he had a holiday home, after suffering a stroke. He had been in a coma since Friday. Beltoise started out as a motorcycle racer, winning 11 French championships, before switching to sportscar racing and Formula One, despite a bad crash in 1964 that seriously injured his left arm. He made his F1 debut with Matra in 1967 and stayed with the team until the end of 1971, when he switched to BRM. The Frenchman left Formula One in 1974 after chalking up eight podium finishes from 84 starts.
ICE HOCKEY
Canada win juniors’ final
Canada held on to claim a nail-biting 5-4 win over Russia in the final of the ice hockey junior world championships on Monday to end a five-year wait for a gold medal. It was Canada’s 16th gold, but first since 2009 and it did not come easy. Russia left a capacity Air Canada Centre crowd, which included Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer. Leading 5-1 late in the second period, Canada nearly let the victory slip away as Russia scored three quick goals to slash the deficit to one. However, Russia could not complete the comeback as Canadian goaltender Zach Fucale shut out the visitors in the final period. Anthony Duclair and Nick Paul put Canada 2-0 up, before Dmitri Yudin pulled one back for Russia before the end of the opening period. Canada went up 5-1 on goals from Max Domi, Sam Reinhart and Connor McDavid. Russians answered through Ivan Barbashev, Sergei Tolchinski and Nikolai Goldobin.
SOCCER
Podolski on loan to Inter
Inter on Monday confirmed that German World Cup winner Lukas Podolski has joined on loan from Arsenal. The Italian Serie A outfit said the 29-year-old had taken part in training on Monday afternoon. Arsenal had revealed the completed deal earlier in the day when wishing Podolski well on Twitter. The former Bayern Munich player was to be on the bench for yesterday’s high-profile trip to play Juventus, Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.
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
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was