BASEBALL
Hall to honor ‘Simpsons’
Baseball’s Hall of Fame is to honor The Simpsons on May 27 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show’s “Homer at the Bat” episode. First televised on Feb. 20, 1992, “Homer at the Bat” featured future Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey Jr and Ozzie Smith among the ringers on Homer Simpson’s Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team. Voices of actual players were used in the episode, which also included Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia and Darryl Strawberry. Boggs and Smith are scheduled to appear at a round-table discussion on May 27. The hall’s legends game is slated for that afternoon at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York.
FOOTBALL
Jersey worth US$500,000
Tom Brady’s missing jersey from Super Bowl 51, where the star quarterback led the New England Patriots over Atlanta for a record fifth crown, has been valued at US$500,000 by police in Houston, Texas. Web site TMZ posted a copy of the police report regarding the theft of the jersey, which has been classified as a first-degree felony. The No. 12 Patriots jersey went missing in the aftermath of New England’s 34-28 overtime triumph over the Falcons at Houston’s NRG Stadium. Brady said he had stashed the prized souvenir in his bag and left it in the locker room. “I put it in the bag and I came out and it wasn’t there anymore,” Brady said the morning after the victory. “If it shows up on eBay somewhere, someone let me know so I can track that down.” Brady completed 43 of 62 throws for 466 yards and two touchdowns and guided New England from a 28-3 deficit in the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
SOCCER
Rodelin leads Caen to win
Forward Ronny Rodelin’s fifth goal of the season on Tuesday helped Stade Malherbe Caen move out of the relegation zone after a 1-0 win against AS Nancy-Lorraine in Ligue 1. Rodelin finished confidently in the 24th minute, collecting a long throw in, skipping past Modou Diagne and placing the ball through the legs of Belarus goalkeeper Sergey Chernik. Nancy’s hopes of equalizing took a blow when 18-year-old defender Faitout Maouassa received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 78th for fouling Rodelin, whose free-kick was saved by Chernik. The win ended a run of three straight defeats without scoring for Normandy-based Caen, who moved up to 15th place. However, Nancy dropped into 18th spot after losing their fourth straight game without scoring.
TENNIS
Bellucci stuns Nishikori
Thomaz Bellucci upset top-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Rio Open, thrilling the home crowd on carnival week in Rio de Janeiro. Nishikori, who on Sunday lost the Argentina Open final on clay, smashed his racket on the red clay after losing Tuesday’s first set. It did not get any better. He was broken in the first game of the second and never really recovered. Brazilian Belluci had lost his previous two matches against Nishikori, who has lost all six of his singles finals since winning the Memphis Open a year ago. In another first-round match, No. 4 seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain defeated Brazil’s Joao Souza 6-3, 6-2.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and