BASEBALL
Taiwan clinches junior series
Taiwan on Sunday won its sixth consecutive LLB Junior League Baseball World Series in Michigan, defeating US southwest regional champion Texas 2-0 in the final. Taiwan broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lee Chin-wei singled, Wang Chia-i bunted and Lee Hsun-chieh hit a double, allowing the side to take a one-run lead. Huang Kuan-lun, the team’s starting pitcher, hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to pick up another run. Over the 6.2 innings, Huang gave up five hits and one walk, while striking out six. Teams from Taiwan have won the tournament — for players aged 13 to 15 — for the past five years, the league said.
E-SPORTS
Dota 2 tops own record purse
Dota 2’s marquee event, The International, has broken its own record for the biggest prize pool in e-sports history with a purse approaching US$25 million. The tournament on Sunday night surpassed its total for last year with US$24,787,916 in prize money, marking the sixth straight year of increasing prize pools since the event moved to a crowd-funded format in 2013. Fans boost the tournament pot via in-game microtransactions, with Dota 2 developer Valve also supplying US$1.6 million in prize money. The tournament’s main event was held yesterday and the pool is to be distributed among the final 18 teams. The five-person club that wins The International would earn US$10.9 million. The finals are set for Saturday.
FOOTBALL
NFL ‘will be flag football’
Richard Sherman on Sunday took to Twitter to voice his dislike of the NFL’s new helmet rule. The veteran San Francisco cornerback blasted the new regulations in a series of tweets, saying that the NFL “will be flag football soon” because of its player-safety mandates. “The rule is idiotic And should be dismissed immediately,” Sherman, 30, wrote. When you watch rugby players tackle they are still lead by their head. Will be flag football soon,” he added. The NFL owners approved the new helmet rule in March. It is now a penalty if a player lowers his head to “initiate and make contact with his helmet” against any part of an opponent’s body.
SOCCER
Lazio ‘ultras’ ban women
Lazio’s “ultra” fans have caused outrage by telling women to avoid their “sacred space” in the club’s Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The die-hard supporters distributed flyers ahead of their team’s Serie A opener at home to Napoli. “The Curva Nord represents for us a sacred space, an environment with an unwritten code to be respected,” read the flyer. “The first few rows, as always, have been experienced like the trenches. In the trenches, we do not allow women, wives and girlfriends,” it added. Lazio spokesman Arturo Diaconale on Sunday told Italian news agency ANSA that “it is not the position of the club, we are against any discrimination.” Some Lazio fans caused outrage last season when they littered the Stadio Olimpico with images of Anne Frank — the young diarist who died in the Holocaust — wearing a jersey of city rival Roma. Lazio was fined 50,000 euros (US$57,100 at the current exchange rate) by the Italian soccer federation, because of the anti-Semitism displayed by the team’s fans.
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
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
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely