BASEBALL
Smuggling case goes to jury
A Miami jury is to decide the fate of a sports agent and a trainer accused of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the US. The federal jury was expected to begin deliberations yesterday after six weeks of testimony in the trial of agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada, who are charged with conspiracy and alien smuggling. Prosecutors said the two oversaw a network of boat captains, handlers, document forgers and used phony paperwork to get the players to the US quickly so they could sign lucrative Major League Baseball contracts. Defense lawyers said the men did nothing illegal. Neither Hernandez nor Estrada took the witness stand.
GOLF
Ko top-ranked for 92 weeks
Lydia Ko of New Zealand is atop the women’s world golf rankings for the 92nd week of her career, tied with South Korea’s Inbee Park for third all time. Only Lorena Ochoa of Mexico (158) and Yani Tseng of Taiwan (109) have accumulated more time as the world’s top-ranked player than Ko and Park. Park, who remains ninth in the rankings, on March 5 shot a 19-under-par 269 to win the HSBC Women’s Champions by one stroke. Ko, who tied for ninth at the tournament, became the youngest player to reach No. 1 at age 17 in February 2015 and has remained there since. South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon moved up one spot to No. 5. She has held the world’s fifth ranking for a total of 62 weeks in her career. Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn maintained her spot at No. 2, while China’s Feng Shanshan and South Korea’s Chun In-gee round out the top five.
CYCLING
Quintana coasts to victory
Nairo Quintana on Tuesday won the Tirreno-Adriatico for a second time in three years, while Rohan Dennis was fastest on the final stage, an individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy. Quintana started the day with a 50-second advantage over Thibaut Pinot and the Colombian rider’s 45th place finish, 41 seconds behind Dennis was enough to secure the overall victory. Dennis was three seconds faster than Jos van Emden on the 10km course to move into second place overall, 25 seconds behind Quintana. Pinot ended up 36 seconds behind Quintana. Michael Hepburn of Australia was third on the day.
SOCCER
Dortmund defeat Lotte 3-0
Christian Pulisic on Tuesday scored for the second time in a week as Borussia Dortmund defeated third-division Sportfreunde Lotte 3-0 to line up a DFB Pokal semi-final at defending champions Bayern Munich. Having scored his first Champions League goal in a 4-0 victory over SL Benfica on Wednesday last week, Pulisic made the breakthrough 12 minutes into the second half to set Dortmund on their way in the postponed quarter-final. The original game was called off on Feb. 28 due to heavy snow and a waterlogged pitch, and had been moved from Lotte’s stadium to nearby Osnabrueck, Germany. Raphae Guerreiro headed back a Shinji Kagawa cross for Andre Schuerrle to make it 2-0 and Dortmund captain Marcel Schmelzer wrapped it up with a free-kick in the final minutes. Dortmund were missing Bundesliga top-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to a groin injury.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two