HOCKEY
Capitals receive title parade
The US capital was a sea of red on Tuesday as tens of thousands of ice hockey fans lined the streets to celebrate the city’s first major championship team in 26 years — the Stanley Cup-winning Washington Capitals. Under sunny skies, the NHL champions paraded down Constitution Avenue — accompanied by marching bands and even a few Zamboni ice resurfacing machines — to rousing cheers of “Let’s Go Caps!” The title is the first in the 44-year history of the franchise. “It’s incredible,” said Capitals fan Mark Kulkoskoi, who works in sales and marketing. “We love our hometown teams and we haven’t had a championship here in some time. This is a big deal for us.”
UNITED STATES
Global doping made a crime
Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday introduced a bill that would make it a crime to use or distribute performance-enhancing drugs while competing in international sports events. The bill is named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the Russian lab director who blew the whistle on Russian cheating at the Sochi Olympics. Penalties would include fines of up to US$250,000 for individuals and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those who make, distribute or use banned substances at international events, such as the Olympics. The bill cites the US contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency as justification for jurisdiction over events outside US borders. Other countries, including Germany, Italy and Kenya, have similar laws. US authorities have long been hamstrung by limited legal options to prosecute doping cheats.
GOLF
Woods still the one to watch
Tiger Woods is not necessarily the man to beat at the US Open this week, but he is still the man everyone wants to see at Shinnecock Hills. The 14-times major champion on Tuesday played only nine holes, teeing off at the crack of dawn accompanied by last-start Memorial winner Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson. He completed his work, did a little practice, spoke to the media and left the course to return to his luxury yacht at nearby Sag Harbor before the sun was even over the yardarm. However, not before thousands of fans had taken the chance to catch a glimpse of one of sport’s most famous celebrities. “I think everyone realizes it’s different when he [Woods] turns up,” former world No. 1 Jason Day said. “I know I was like that when I first saw Tiger. I wanted to go on the putting green and putt around next to him, and stare at him.”
WORLD CUP
Hero Ronaldo backs Brazil
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo believes that it is time for his country to live up to the expectations and end their 16-year wait for a World Cup in Russia. Tite’s Brazilian squad head into the tournament as one of the favorites, and will meet Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E. “I think for me the favorite is, of course, Brazil, not just because I am Brazilian, but because Brazil are playing very well,” Ronaldo, who was the top scorer when Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002, told reporters in Moscow. “I hope Brazil can win. It’s a long time since 2002, and I think it’s time,” he said. Five-time champions Brazil are to open their campaign against Switzerland on Sunday.
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