SOCCER
Schweinsteiger reinjured
Manchester United’s Bastian Schweinsteiger has reinjured his right knee while on duty with Germany and faces a race against time to be fit for the Euro 2016 in June. The 31-year-old midfielder suffered the injury training in Berlin on Tuesday and an MRI scan in Munich on Wednesday revealed he has again torn the medial ligament. He misses Germany’s home friendly against England at Berlin’s Olympiastadion tomorrow, then against Italy four days later at Munich’s Allianz Arena and faces a race to be ready for Euro 2016 in France. The news is another blow for Germany’s captain, who had been working his way back to fitness after tearing the same ligament in United’s FA Cup third-round win over Sheffield Wednesday at the start of the year.
TENNIS
Hradeka beats Bouchard
The Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradeka beat slumping Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Miami Open. Bouchard entered the week ranked 45th in the world, 40 spots higher than Hradeka. Hradeka set up a match with Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens. American Christina McHale outlasted Japan’s Doi Misaki 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, and Coco Vandeweghe beat Samantha Crawford 6-4, 7-5 in an all-American match. In men’s play, American Taylor Fritz topped Italy’s Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-2; Britain’s Kyle Edmund held off Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8/6); Canada’s Vasek Popisil defeated Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Albert Ramos-Vilonas of Spain topped Colombian qualifier Alejandro Gonzales 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3); and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco beat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
BASEBALL
Joe Garagiola dies
Joe Garagiola, whose exuberant personality carried from the baseball field to the broadcast booth to morning and late-night network television, has died. He was 90. He died on Wednesday, according to an article on Major League Baseball’s Web site, which did not give a cause. He lived in Phoenix, Arizona, where he did occasional broadcasts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Like his friend , Yogi Berra, Garagiola exuded an everyman charm that turned him into a celebrity even among those who did not follow sports. Compared with Berra’s career, Garagiola’s injury-shortened career was unexceptional. He hit .257 in nine seasons with the St Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants. He made his move from the dugout to the Cardinals’ radio booth when his playing career ended after the 1954 season. He began broadcasting games for NBC and was a regular on the network’s Game of the Week telecasts from 1975 to 1988, with partners including Tony Kubek and Vin Scully. The Scully-Garagiola team provided the coverage for All-Star, playoff and World Series in the 1980s.
BASEBALL
Yankees most valuable team
The New York Yankees are Major League Baseball’s most valuable team for a 19th consecutive year, coming in at nearly triple the league’s average value, according to a survey released by Forbes on Wednesday. The 27-time World Series champion Yankees were valued at US$3.4 billion, a 6 percent jump from last year and comfortably above the second-ranked Los Angeles Dodgers, whose value rose 4 percent to US$2.5 billion. The average MLB team is now worth US$1.3 billion, a 7 percent rise from last year, which Forbes attributed to new, or anticipated, richer national broadcasting deals.
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