SOCCER
Levante loss brings drop
Levante UD were relegated from La Liga after a six-season stay in the Spanish top flight as two late goals condemned them to a 3-1 defeat against Malaga on Monday. Croatian striker Duje Cop gave Malaga the lead in the 30th minute with a near-post finish barely a minute after Levante striker Mauricio Cuero had a goal harshly ruled out for offside. Jose Luis Morales leveled in the 42nd minute, but Malaga finished the game stronger and deserved to take the lead again in the 89th through Cop, which put Levante on the brink of relegation. Chory Castro delivered the final nail in the coffin with a powerful finish from the edge of the area in stoppage-time.
SOCCER
Sakho suspension extended
Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho’s 30-day suspension for failing an anti-doping test has been extended worldwide by world soccer’s governing body FIFA. The 26-year-old was banned for 30 days by European soccer governing body UEFA after testing positive for an illegal substance following Liverpool’s Europa League tie against Manchester United on March 17. The new suspension covered all games, including domestic, international, friendly and official fixtures, FIFA said in a statement, and came on top of UEFA’s original European ban. France’s RMC radio reported in April that the center-back had tested positive for a fat-burning substance. His suspension is provisional on an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary body, which is yet to announce the date of his hearing. Sakho chose not to challenge the results of his original positive test and did not ask for an analysis of his B sample. The player, who has featured in 34 games for Liverpool in all competitions this season, was dropped by the club as soon as it was informed of the investigation by UEFA.
SOCCER
‘Martian’ Messi hailed
Argentina’s all-time leading goal scorer, Gabriel Batistuta, on Monday said that the man closing in on his record, Lionel Messi, is a “Martian.” Batistuta told Argentine newspaper La Nacion that “when Leo takes the record from me, it will hurt a little, but it’s not just anyone taking it away. It’s not a normal person. A Martian is taking it from me. That makes me feel a little better.” The 47-year-old striker scored 54 goals for Argentina from 1991 to 2002, not counting two he chalked up against Slovakia in 1995 in a match that FIFA later ruled unofficial for record-keeping purposes. Messi has 50 goals for the national team. The 28-year-old Barcelona star last month scored his 500th career goal. Batistuta defended the five-time World Player of the Year against the criticism he has received in Argentina for failing to lead the country to its first World Cup title since 1986. “He plays 70 matches a year and wouldn’t need to come here to get cursed out playing for the national side, but he’s hungry, and even though he’s already won 200 things, he comes. Messi is a winner,” Batistuta said.
OLYMPICS
NBC names Rio pair
Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski are to serve as correspondents for NBC’s coverage of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The network on Monday announced that the NBC Sports figure-skating analysts will explore Rio’s culture, sights, sounds and fashion in August during the Games. “We are thrilled to have Johnny and Tara join us in Rio, a city whose color, vibrancy and spirit is a perfect match with their own,” NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell 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