■ Soccer
Davis improving after stroke
Luton defender Sol Davis was making a "steady improvement" on Monday after suffering a stroke while traveling to a Football League Championship match. The 27-year-old was undergoing further tests on his heart and brain at a hospital in Cambridge, which is en route to Ipswich. Davis was taken ill on Saturday on the team bus -- a day before Luton's 5-0 defeat at Ipswich. Doctors expect Davis to make a full recovery, Luton manager Mike Newell told the club's Web site. "The early indications that they've given us were that it could be anything between three and six months, but they did also say it could be less than that," Newell said. Newell said the MRI scan showed the stroke was caused by a blockage to the brain. "The most important thing is that he makes a full recovery," Newell said.
■ Boxing
Berbick suspect's mom held
The mother of a 20-year-old suspect is being questioned in connection with the brutal murder of former world heavyweight boxing champ Trevor Berbick, police said. The woman has been involved in a running land dispute with Berbick, Radio Jamaica reported on Monday. Both were being held on "reasonable suspicion" Jamaican police said. No one has been charged. Earlier news reports said that police may have found the murder weapon. Berbick's body was found in a pool of blood early on Saturday morning outside a church next to his home in the Norwich District, 64km northeast of Kingston. Berbick finished his boxing career with a record of 50 wins, 11 losses and one drawn.
■ Olympics
EBU protests finals decision
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has formally protested the IOC's decision to hold some Olympic swimming and gymnastic finals in the morning during the 2008 Beijing Games. The International Olympic Committee announced the changes last week in a concession to US broadcaster NBC, but the EBU said the timing of the finals will put them in the middle of the night in Europe. "With this decision the IOC ends the tradition of staging these finals in the evening," said the EBU, which represents public service broadcasters in Europe and neighboring regions. The EBU said it told the IOC that the decision meant "viewers in Europe as well as the vast majority of the global TV audience will be disadvantaged." The events will be staged during prime viewing hours in the US.
■ Basketball
Yao out of China squad
Houston Rockets superstar Yao Ming has not been included in China's Asian Games basketball squad, which is led by former Miami Heat player Wang Zhizhi. Yao is committed to the Rockets and his multimillion dollar endorsement deals with the regular season starting this week, leaving 2.14m center Wang as their key player. Sun Yue, Liu Wei, Yi Jianlian, Du Feng, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng, Li Nan, Zhang Jinsong and Mo Ke form the core of their 16-man squad, which won last year's Asian Championships. Wang is back in the fold after refusing to play for China as he pursued a four-year NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat, which meant he missed the last Asian Games in Busan in 2002. A public apology in April this year saw him return to national duty as China seek to regain the Asian title they lost four years ago in a thrilling final won by South Korea 102-100 in overtime.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
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
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS