■ Soccer
Mpenza let go by Schalke
Schalke has released Belgian international striker Emile Mpenza, who is returning to his previous club Standard Liege, the Bundesliga club said Friday. "Emile told us that he didn't want to play for Schalke anymore. We have no use for such people," Schalke manager Rudi Assauer said in a report posted on the club's Web site. Mpenza scored 28 goals in 79 games for Schalke, but had a troublesome relations with the German club and its managers. Club officials often questioned his professional attitude.
■ Rugby
Kempson to miss Cup
Springbok prop Robbie Kempson was ruled out of the Rugby World Cup because of an elbow injury Friday, a day before the South Africa squad was to be named. It is the second straight World Cup Kempson will miss because of surgery. He missed the 1999 Cup after a hernia operation. Kempson will undergo an operation on Tuesday to repair a nerve injury in his left elbow, which flared during a training camp. He will be out for at least three months. The World Cup starts in six weeks. Friday marked the end of Kempson's four-week suspension for a high, late tackle against Australia in the Tri-Nations.
■ Soccer
Manchester City gets Reyna
US soccer captain Claudio Reyna signed for Manchester City Friday in a ?2.5 million (US$3.92 million) three-year deal. Reyna, 30, leaves relegated Sunderland where he had been since December 2001. He only played a handful of games for the club last season before damaging knee ligaments last October which required surgery and a lengthy layoff. He's unlikely to feature in the Manchester City's match against Arsenal today.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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