VOLLEYBALL
Murder charges dropped
A judge in Puerto Rico has found there is not enough evidence to charge a former US Olympic volleyball player from Louisiana in the 2016 death of her young daughter. Police had accused Kim Willoughby of murder and child abuse in the case. It was not immediately clear if Willoughby had an attorney. Police had said in 2016 that Willoughby told them her three-year-old daughter slipped in the shower and died after hitting her head. On Friday, police presented charges, but a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to charge her. Willoughby had played in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in China and won a silver medal. She later played with a team in Puerto Rico.
GOLF
Palmer takes 36-hole lead
Ryan Palmer was yesterday the 36-hole leader in the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, California. Jon Rahm was right behind, poised to reach No. 1 in the world. And for the first time in 29 months, a PGA Tour event is this weekend to feature Tiger Woods. Palmer finished eagle-birdie on the North Course at Torrey Pines for a five-under 67. He had a one-shot lead over Rahm, the defending champion who birdied two of his last three holes on the North for a 66. Woods had to rally to make the cut in his return from a fourth back surgery. He was on the wrong side of the green on the par-five ninth on the North and two-putted from 75 feet for birdie for a 71 to make the cut on the number.
BROADCASTING
Jemele Hill quits TV role
ESPN on Friday said outspoken Sportscenter anchor Jemele Hill is leaving that role to write for a company Web site and do occasional on-air commentary. Hill attracted attention last year and was briefly suspended for opinionated messages on social media, including a reference to US President Donald Trump as a “white supremacist.” The network said that Hill had asked to be taken off the 6pm weekday edition of ESPN’s sports news show. Hill said that deep down she knew the Sportscenter job was not for her and that her true love has always been writing, reporting and commentary.
SOCCER
Atletico coach suspended
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has been banned from the touchline for three Copa del Rey matches for misconduct toward a referee in the competition. The Royal Spanish Football Federation said the suspension would be served next season since Atletico was eliminated on Tuesday. Simeone was sent off during Tuesday’s 3-1 cup loss to Sevilla for protesting a decision by the referee, earning a one-match touchline ban. The punishment was extended by two matches because Simeone applauded the referee in a mocking fashion when he was dismissed.
CYCLING
Quick Step pair in crash
Quick Step cyclists Belgian Laurens De Plus and Czech Petr Vakoc were recovering in hospital after being knocked down by a truck in South Africa, the team said on Friday. Neither rider is in danger, but Vakov, 25, was left with broken vertebrae and De Plus had lung and liver injuries. Both are expected to remain in hospital over the weekend. The pair had been out riding on Thursday with teammate Bob Jungels, who rushed to their aid and comforted his teammates until medical care arrived. In April last year, top Italian rider Michele Scarponi was killed in a road accident near his home.
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier