■ Golf
Netherlands take the lead
Will Besseling shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to help the Netherlands take a two-stroke lead over the US, Canada and Wales after the third round of the World Amateur Team Championship in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Joost Luiten added a 70 to give the Netherlands a 15-under 417 total. Tim Sluiter shot a 75, with only the top two scores counting in the team total. Chris Kirk and Trip Kuehne had 70s for the US, the three-time defending Eisenhower Trophy champion and 13-time winner overall. Jonathan Moore shot a 72.
■ Motorsport
Race driver shot dead
An amateur race car driver was shot dead at a track near the Colombian capital on Saturday minutes before taking his position at the starting line, the police said. Witnesses said German Neira's assailant entered the pits at a race track in Tocancipa, north of Bogota, and using a firearm equipped with a silencer shot Neira four times, in the head and back. The victim died shortly after being taken to a hospital, said Colonel Cesar Rojas, the local head of police. Police chased and captured the alleged assassin and an accomplice, both minors, but other men waiting for the two in a motorcycle and car escaped. "The assailant tried to escape through the back entrance of the race track, but an alarm call was immediately sounded and the police were able to detain him," Fernando Escobar, the manager of the track, told reporters.
■ Rugby Union
Umaga to retire next year
Former New Zealand captain Tana Umaga was to make his club debut for second division Toulon against Lyon yesterday. He is reported to be pocketing around 300,000 euros (US$382,374) for playing for Toulon until January, when he is to return home to play for the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super-14 tournament. Umaga, who was declared an honorary citizen and received a medal of honor on his arrival, said that he would play one more season in the Super 14 and then retire completely from rugby. "I'm very privileged and honored to be here, and a little bit embarrassed to be given this medal," Umaga said
■ Soccer
Matches rocked by violence
More violence accompanied German soccer matches over the weekend, with police on Saturday releasing injury and arrest totals from two separate incidents the previous day. Twenty-three police officers were injured, four of them requiring hospitalization, after they clashed with hundreds of Dresden fans at Friday's regional league game at Hertha Berlin II. Injuries ranged from bruised ribs, ankle and wrist injuries to suspected bone splinters. Reports said 15 fans were injured. In Augsburg, 56 fans were hospitalized on Friday after police also used pepper spray to halt rampaging 1860 Munich supporters at a second-division game against FC Augsburg. Augsburg police reported 21 arrests, while Berlin police said 22 Dresden fans were taken into custody.
■ Basketball
Celtics' Red Auerbach dies
Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died on Saturday. He was 89. Auerbach won 938 games with the Celtics and was the coach with the most wins in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him in the 1994-1995 season. As general manager, the straight-talking Auerbach was also the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more titles in the 1970s and 1980s. He died of a heart attack, an NBA official said.
■ Baseball
Jones to play in Japan
Chicago Cubs outfielder Jacque Jones was added on Saturday to US Major League Baseball's roster for its All-Star tour of Japan, completing the 27-man squad. Jones hit .285 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs this year, his first with the Cubs. The Japan All-Star Series 2006 will consist of five games in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka from Nov. 3 to Nov. 8. The US MLB team also will face the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo on Nov. 2. New San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy will manage the team.
■ Triathlon
Aussies dominate at Noosa
Australians Craig Walton and Felicity Abram won the Olympic-distance Noosa Triathlon in Australia yesterday while world and Commonwealth Games champion Emma Snowsill placed third despite an injury. Walton, who is recovering from glandular fever, led throughout the men's race to finish in a time of 1 hour, 47 minutes and 46 seconds for the 1,500m swim, 40km cycle and 10k run. New Zealanders Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell placed second and third. Australian Snowsill finished behind Abram -- the world bronze medalist who won Sunday in 2:00.23 -- and Australia's Annabel Luxford. Snowsill, who was trying to win her fourth Noosa title in a row, suffered a badly sprained ankle in a training run on Friday.
■ Hockey
Bomb threat halts game
Police stopped a game in Sweden's first-division ice hockey league during the third period and evacuated the packed arena after receiving a bomb threat. The game between Farjestad and Modo in Karlstad in southern Sweden was stopped with less than eight minutes to go in the third period with host Modo leading 2-0. Police said two bomb threats against the arena were called in during the game, which caused officials to stop play and evacuate the 8,250 people in Lofbergs Lila arena. "In this case, the threat was deemed serious," police spokesman Christer Loof said. It was unclear whether Modo would be awarded the win or if the game would resume at a later date. Police dogs were called in to search the arena during the evening, but no bomb was immediately found.
■ Boxing
Trevor Berbick found dead
Former heavyweight boxing champion Trevor Berbick was found dead in a church courtyard on Saturday with chop wounds to his head in a suspected homicide. Berbick, who was believed to be 52 and was beset by legal problems following his retirement from the ring, lost his heavyweight title to Mike Tyson and was the last boxer to fight Muhammad Ali. Berbick's body was discovered at about 6:30am in his hometown parish of Portland, Jamaica, constable Beverly Howell said. Police have arrested a man whom they are interrogating at the Port Antonio police station, Constable Sheldon Francis said.
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
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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