■ Cricket
Warne ready for action
Australia leg spinner Shane Warne, banned for a year after a positive drugs test, will return to the national side today for a warm-up match against a Sri Lanka President's XI. Warne, 34, missed last year's World Cup after he was suspended for taking a diuretic. He was recalled to the Australia side for their tour of Sri Lanka after one first class match. "It's good to have him back around us again," captain Ricky Ponting told reporters yesterday. "Everyone understands that it has been a pretty tough 12 months for him. He has worked exceptionally hard, looks in great shape and is apparently bowling very well. He is one of the all-time greats and if you can slot those kind of guys back into your side then you will have a bit more of an aura when you take the field."
■ Soccer
Goalkeeper dies in match
Guatemala international goalkeeper Danny Ortiz died Sunday after colliding with an opponent during a Guatemalan league soccer match. Ortiz, who was playing for Municipal, crashed into Comunicaciones forward Mario Rodriguez, suffering a hard blow to the chest that left him briefly unconscious on the field. The 27-year-old was taken to a hospital, where he was said to be in stable condition, but he later died. "Unfortunately, his heart did not respond," said team physician Dr. Jorge Jerez in a joint news conference with hospital doctors. Comunicaciones won the match between Guatemala's two most popular clubs 2-0. Ortiz debuted in the first division in 1998, and also played for Comunicaciones. Two years ago, Municipal player Johnny Aldana died during a training session.
■ Motor racing
Hornish wins Indy 300
The IRL season opener turned into a Penske shootout, with newcomer Sam Hornish passing teammate Helio Castroneves on the last lap to win Sunday's Toyota Indy 300. "I just got the right move at the right time," said Hornish, a two-time IndyCar Series champion and now a three-time winner in four tries at Homestead Miami Speedway. The 200-lap race on the 2.4km oval was filled with passing and two- and three-wide racing that kept fans on their feet. Castroneves recalled that Hornish passed him on the outside on the last lap of the 2002 season at Texas to take away the series championship. "I said, `This guy's not going to beat me on the outside,"' Castroneves said. "If I let him go on the outside, I would not sleep today. Unfortunately, he beat me on the inside anyway."
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
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