■ Baseball
Clemens ponders future
Roger Clemens is still deciding whether to pitch again next season. "I'm very close to retirement," Clemens said yesterday. "I haven't made the decision for the upcoming season yet." Clemens is in Japan for an eight-game tour with other major league stars. He was scheduled to start the opening game at Tokyo Dome on Friday. The 42-year-old Clemens won twice in the playoffs for Houston last month. He had a sixth-inning lead in Game 7 of the NL championship series at Busch Stadium but gave up a go-ahead homer to St. Louis' Scott Rolen and wound up with a season-ending loss.
■ Hockey
Lecavalier goes to Russia
Vincent Lecavalier signed with Russia's AK Bars Kazan on Thursday to play during the NHL lockout and said Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Brad Richards will be joining him. AK Bars Kazan already signed other NHL stars such as Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk, the Rangers' Darius Kasparaitis, Anaheim's Ruslan Salei, Columbus' Fred Brathwaite, and Pittsburgh's Alexei Morozov. "I've always wanted to play in Europe, and especially in Russia," Lecavalier told The Canadian Press. "It's a great opportunity to play with some great players like Ilya Kovalchuk, and with Brad coming too, it's even better."
■ Olympics
China nuts about eight
China is taking no chances as host of the summer Olympics in 2008 and has picked an auspicious 8pm start on Aug. 8, 2008 -- or 8/8/8/08 -- for the opening ceremony. Eight is a lucky number in China, because it sounds like the word for good fortune. The IOC, though, has inauspiciously turned down China's application to make wushu a medal sport in 2008.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
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