■Boxing
Tyson denies rape rap
Mike Tyson hasn't lost his penchant for saying the outrageous. In a television interview scheduled for broadcast today, Tyson again denied he raped Desiree Washington in 1991 in an Indianapolis hotel room. But he said the burden of being labeled a convicted rapist makes him want to do it now. "I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don't know," Tyson said. "I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her." Tyson made the comments during a recent interview in Miami Beach with Greta Van Susteren, who was taking a look back at the circumstances of Tyson's 1992 trial that ended with him convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He served three years of the sentence before being released on parole. A call for comment to Tyson's adviser, Shelly Finkel, was not immediately returned. The interview will be shown tonight on the Fox network.
■ Baseball
Molestation victims settle
Seven men who said they were molested as bat boys at the Boston Red Sox spring training camp settled their lawsuit against the team for an undisclosed amount. The men were seeking more than US$3 million in a 2001 federal lawsuit. The case was scheduled for trial in the fall, but US District Court records said a settlement was reached and the case was dismissed in December. Red Sox attorney Daniel Goldberg declined to comment on the case. Attorneys for the defendents could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. Court records say the terms of the settlement are confidential. Former clubhouse manager Donald James Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty in May 2002 to reduced charges of attempted sexually battery on a child under 12 and paid four of the men US$10,000 each in restitution.
■ Athletics
Elana Meyer questioned
Top South African runner Elana Meyer will face a hearing next month after a backup analysis confirmed she tested positive for excessive amounts of caffeine. Meyer, silver medalist at 10,000m at the 1992 Olympics, was suspended from competition after failing a drug test at a 10,000-meter race in Bali, Indonesia, on Feb. 2. Her B sample also came back positive for caffeine earlier this week. Meyer will appear before the Athletics South Africa doping commission on June 12. "If she is found guilty, she will receive a public warning," Athletics South Africa chief Banele Sindani said Wednesday. Meyer will also forfeit her US$3,000 prize money from the race, he said. Caffeine is classified as a stimulant.
■ Rugby
Barbarian beat Scotland
The Barbarians defeated Scotland 24-15 on Wednesday with tries from Scott Staniforth, Darren Edwards, Ollie Le Roux and Aurelien Rougerie. Argentine Felipe Contepomi added two conversions for the winners, who defeated England 49-36 on Sunday. The Barbarians face Wales on Saturday. James McLaren and Glenn Metcalfe scored the tries for Scotland, which trailed 24-8 at halftime. Australian wing Staniforth scored after just two minutes as he cruised in for the opening try with Contepomi adding the conversion. Scotland tried to rally in the second half but its finishing couldn't match the build-up work. The Scots broke through in the 67th when Metcalfe scored of a quickly taken Mike Blair penalty.
Agencies
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
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