■ Boxing
Klitschko loses Kiev race
Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko conceded defeat in his bid to become the Ukrainian capital's next mayor after early results on Monday showed him trailing the front-runner. "I tried to be the leader ... that was my aim," Klitschko said in remarks broadcast on Ukraine's TV5. "But it is important to know how to win and how to lose." The 34-year-old retired boxer, who was making his first ever bid for public office, turned up at a news conference to publicly offer his congratulations to Leonid Chernovetskiy. Klitschko retired from boxing in November after hurting his knee in training and pulling out of a defense of his heavyweight title.
■ Soccer
Madrid eyes Eriksson
England's Sven-Goran Eriksson and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho are among seven names put forward as candidates to become Real Madrid's new coach. Real Madrid president Fernando Martin told Spanish news agency Efe that the shortlist also includes Juventus' Fabio Capello, Liverpool's Rafael Benitez, Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, AC Milan's Carlo Ancelotti and Italy's Marcello Lippi. "We are clear about the type of coach we want," Martin said. "We want one of the coaches that you all know we want. It will be one of these. I am not going to say them in order of preference, but they are Mourinho, Capello, Benitez, Wenger, Ancelotti, Lippi. The seventh is Eriksson, just so there's no doubt." Eriksson is the only one of the seven who is certain to be free this summer. The Swede, who had been England's coach for more than five years, is leaving the post after the World Cup.
■ Basketball
Brawl instigator convicted
The man accused of sparking the brawl between National Basketball Association players and fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 was convicted of assault on Monday for punching Ron Artest. John Green was acquitted, however, of throwing a cup at Artest -- who was playing for the Pacers at the time -- before the forward charged into the stands and began fighting with Detroit Pistons fans. Green was the last person with a case pending after the brawl, one of the worst in US sports history. He faces up to 93 days in jail and a US$500 fine. Sentencing was scheduled for May 1. The fighting began after Detroit's Ben Wallace shoved Artest following a hard foul. They were separated, and Artest lay back on the scorer's table where he was hit with a beverage. He rushed into the stands and began beating a man he apparently thought had thrown the drink. Some of his teammates joined him in the stands and clashed with fans on the court.
■ Hockey
Hordichuk suspended
Nashville left wing Darcy Hordichuk was suspended for three games by the National Hockey League on Monday after instigating a fight in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Hordichuk will lose US$6,887 in salary and miss Predators games at Phoenix yesterday, at home against Detroit tomorrow and at home against St. Louis on Saturday. The Canadian will be eligible to return next Monday against Columbus. Hordichuck, 25, received a minor penalty for roughing and a misconduct for the incident 5:08 into the second period when he started a brawl with the Kings' George Parros.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS