BASEBALL
MLB clubs eye Maeda
MLB clubs are looking at making deals for Japanese star pitcher Kenta Maeda with the Japan League’s Hiroshima Carp planning to make the 27-year-old right-hander available. The MLB Web site said the Central League Carp are to post right-hander Maeda, who has pitched for Hiroshima since 2008, going 97-67 with a 2.39 earned-run average. He went 15-8 last season with a 2.09 earned-run average over 29 starts to claim his second Sawamura Award as top pitcher, his first having come in 2010. The Carp are expected to “post” Maeda as early as this week and set Maeda’s release fee at US$20 million — the maximum amount possible under revamped rules established in 2013 for having Japanese talent jump to North American clubs. Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart is among those interested in Maeda, with Seattle, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs also reportedly in the mix.
BASKETBALL
Hornets’ Jefferson suspended
Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program, the league said on Wednesday. Jefferson’s suspension is to begin with the next regular season game for which he is eligible and physically able to play, the NBA said in a statement. The league disclosed no further details about his violation, though according to the terms of the agreement between the NBA and its Players’ Association, players are suspended for five games following a third positive marijuana test. “As an organization, we do not condone this behavior. We have addressed this with Al. He is regretful and understands that we expect him to learn from this mistake,” the Charlotte Hornets said in response to Jefferson’s ban.
SOCCER
Algeria, Nigeria going to Rio
Algeria and Nigeria on Wednesday secured places at next year’s Rio Olympics, leaving South Africa and Senegal to fight for the third and final qualifying place this weekend. An early Oussama Darfalou goal set up Algeria for a convincing 2-0 victory over South Africa and a first appearance at the Games since the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Oghenekaro Etebo calmly converted a second-half penalty to give Nigeria, the 1996 gold medalists and 2008 silver medalists, a 1-0 win over Senegal in the first half of a Dakar double-header. Senegal, who beat South Africa in the opening match of the eight-nation African qualifying competition, must do so again tomorrow in the third-place playoff to achieve back-to-back Olympics appearances.
CRICKET
Pietersen’s Dolphins win
Kevin Pietersen on Wednesday helped his team, the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins, reach the final of South Africa’s Twenty20 franchise competition. The former England batsman hit 27 off 10 balls as the Dolphins beat the Cape Cobras by five runs in a knockout eliminator. The Dolphins are to meet the Titans in the final at the Centurion tomorrow. Pietersen, who flies to Melbourne on Sunday to play in Australia’s Big Bash T20 event, is to go into the final on top of the competition batting averages, with 391 runs at an average of 97.75. However, he said the star of Wednesday’s match was 19-year-old all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo. The Cobras needed nine runs off the last over, with four wickets in hand, but lost two wickets, one to a run-out, and could only add three runs. Phehlukwayo took 2-28. “It is just brilliant,” Pietersen said.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but