■ Basketball
Villanueva out
The Milwaukee Bucks will have to press on without power forward Charlie Villanueva who has a torn ligament in his left elbow and will be sidelined at least four weeks. Villanueva, 22, suffered the injury in the second quarter of Milwaukee's 103-101 NBA win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. Villanueva is averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in eight games this season.
■ Golf
Clarke to miss PGA
Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke has pulled out of next month's Australian PGA Championship so he can spend more time with his children following the death of his wife. Clarke's wife Heather died of breast cancer in August. The Northern Ireland golfer informed tournament organizers that he is not up to making the trip to Australia. "He's just emotionally exhausted and he needs to spend time at home with his children," tournament spokesman John Dunlop said yesterday.
■ Baseball
Santana nabs AL Cy Young
Johan Santana won the AL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second time in three years, and the Minnesota Twins' ace was a unanimous choice once again. Santana received all 28 first-place votes for a perfect total of 140 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Santana separated himself from the competition during a dominant season, going 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts to lead Minnesota to the AL Central title.
■ Rallying
Gronholm ahead in NZ
Finland's Marcus Gronholm won all five stages on the first day of the 17-stage Rally of New Zealand yesterday to close in on his fourth New Zealand title and tighten Ford's grip on the world manufacturers' crown. By the end of the fifth stage, a 3.14km super special at the rally's Mystery Creek headquarters near Hamilton on New Zealand's North Island, Gronholm led Hirvonen by 31.2 seconds. Seven-time world motorcycling champion Valentino Rossi, driving a privately-owned Subaru, spun on the first stage, completing the 20.38km section more than 2 1/2 minutes slower than Gronholm. By the end of the day, Rossi was almost 11 minutes behind.
■ Boxing
Velazquez takes WBC title
Hector Velazquez of Mexico beat Bobby Pacquiao of the Philippines by disqualification in the 11th round on Thursday to capture the WBC super featherweight championship. Velazquez won after suffering a low blow at 2:56 of the 11th round, which prompted the referee to halt the close bout. Pacquiao had one point deducted in the third and fifth rounds for low blows, helping precipitate the referee's decision. Pacquiao, who had a five-inch reach advantage, knocked down Velazquez in the third round with an uppercut to the head. Velazquez now has a record of 46-11-2 with 32 KOs.
■ Soccer
FIFA rejects requests
FIFA, world soccer's governing body, has rejected requests by Turkish club Galatasaray for 10 million euros (US$12.8 million) compensation after French international midfielder Franck Ribery left them, his club Marseille said in a statement on Thursday. In June last year, Galatasaray requested that Ribery should return, denying he had not been paid for three months by the Istanbul club. Galatasaray had signed Ribery in January last year for three and a half years from French first division club Metz but he joined Marseille in June, when he was still just an under-21 international, on a four-year contract.
■ Soccer
Sanchez to coach Mexico
Former Real Madrid striker Hugo Sanchez was appointed Mexico's national team coach on Thursday, selected in a unanimous vote of Mexico's 18 first-division clubs. Sanchez was chosen after Argentine Americo Gallego withdrew his name from consideration late on Wednesday, said Decio de Maria, secretary-general of Mexico's soccer federation. Considered by many the best player in Mexican history, Sanchez lobbied hard for the position.
■ Cricket
Clarke vows to regain place
Michael Clarke has vowed to fight his way back into the Australian team after being left out of the squad for the first Ashes Test against England next week. The 25-year-old said he was not surprised at being omitted after the selectors opted for all rounder Shane Watson as a counter to England's Andrew Flintoff. "The type of person I am I expected not to be picked, so it wasn't too much of a surprise -- a couple of sleepless nights waiting to find out," he told reporters yesterday. Clarke, regarded as Australia's brightest new hope since scoring a century on his Test debut against India two years ago, said he had spoken to the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch about what he needed to do to play Test cricket.
■ Rugby
Dates set for 2011 Cup
The 2011 World Cup in New Zealand will take place in September and October, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday. The exact dates of the tournament have not yet been decided. "We are committed to staging the best Rugby World Cup possible. The confirmation of the tournament timing is ideal for us in terms of weather considerations and the opportunities to showcase New Zealand at that time of the year," New Zealand 2011 Ltd chairman Jock Hobbs said in a statement. France will stage the sixth Rugby World Cup next year, with the hosts playing Argentina in the first match on Sept. 7 in Paris.
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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