■ Soccer
Critical director resigns
A Liverpool club director who criticized the leadership and transfer dealings of manager Rafa Benitez resigned from the club's board on Tuesday. Liverpool said Noel White resigned with immediate effect after 21 years on the board. He quit after admitting he was the anonymous director who had made criticisms of Benitez to a British newspaper last week. "The board considers that the statements made do not reflect its own views and that this is not the Liverpool way of doing business," Liverpool chairman David Moores said. "The proper place for debate is around the boardroom table."
■ Soccer
Lippi turns down Qaddafi
Italy's World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi turned down an offer from Lybian leader Muammar Qaddafi to manage the Libyan national team, and says he only wants a club job, excluding him from any interest by Mexico as well. "He [Qaddafi] wanted me, it's true," Lippi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by online newspaper quotidiano.net. "I received 10 or so offers after the World Cup from very important federations, but I declined the various proposals," he said.
■ Baseball
Agent accused of smuggling
A sports agent was indicted by the federal government on Tuesday in a scheme that allegedly involved smuggling elite Cuban baseball players to the US. Gus Dominguez, of Los Angeles-based Total Sports International, was indicted along with four others with organizing and financing the smuggling ring. Geoffrey Rodrigues, Robert Yosvany Hernandez, Ramon Batista, and Guillermo Valdez were charged along with Dominguez. Law enforcement officials accuse Total Sports of sneaking several baseball players off the communist island in August 2004. Some of the players are playing for minor league clubs. Federal prosecutors allege Dominguez and the others used speed boats to transport the players and civilians to Florida.
■ Soccer
Club linked to cocaine cartel
Colombian second-division soccer club Cortulua is a front company for one of the South American country's four most wanted cocaine kingpins, US officials assert. They are freezing any US assets that belong to the team. In a news release, the US Treasury Department identified Cortulua among 10 companies and seven individuals who allegedly operate on behalf of Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla, one of the four leaders of the Norte del Valle cartel, the country's biggest. The team is based in Tulua near the southern city of Cali, long a hotbed of Colombia's narcotics trade. Cortulua qualified for the Copa Libertadores in 2002, has played in the Colombian first division as recently as last year and appears ready to return to the top flight next season.
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
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