■ Soccer
US to face England
The US national team will face England in an exhibition match at Wembley Stadium in London on May 28. The Americans will be making their first visit to England in 13 years before heading to Spain for another match in early June. The England contest will be the ninth career game between the two countries and will be played at the new 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium. It will serve as preparation for both teams as they gear up for the start of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
■ Formula One
F1 returning to Beeb
The BBC has regained the British television rights to Formula One from rivals ITV in a deal starting next year, Formula One commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone announced on Thursday. The agreement will be seen as a coup for the public broadcaster, coming at a time when 23-year-old British driver Lewis Hamilton is leading the championship for McLaren after finishing last year as runner-up. ITV have broadcast the sport in Britain since the start of the 1997 season, when Britain's Damon Hill was Formula One champion. "I am delighted to conclude this new deal with the BBC," Ecclestone said in a statement issued by Formula One Management that gave no financial details.
■ Soccer
Van Nistelrooy has surgery
Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to miss six weeks after having surgery on his injured right ankle on Wednesday. Van Nistelrooy traveled to a clinic in the Netherlands to have arthroscopic surgery in a bid to stop inflammation in the ankle joint, Real Madrid said in a statement on their Web site. The Netherlands striker could still return for the club's final four Spanish league matches, which include a home date against FC Barcelona. Van Nistelrooy is expected to be available for the European Championship in June.
■ Soccer
Amateurs beat Marseille
Amateur side Carquefou pulled off one of the biggest upsets in French Cup history late on Wednesday by defeating mighty Marseille 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals. Playing in Nantes' Beaujoire stadium as their own ground was too small, the winning goal came from veteran Senegalese international Papa N'Doye after just seven minutes. Marseille besieged the minnows' goal for the rest of the game but were unable to get the equalizer that would have saved them from humiliation. The fifth division side reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
■ Soccer
Becks may not make team
David Beckham could struggle to force himself into the England team even if coach Fabio Capello recalls him for next week's friendly against France. Capello's assistant watched Beckham in preseason action for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday to assess his fitness, suggesting that the former captain may be about to make his 100th appearance for his country. But Theo Walcott, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Aaron Lennon have all been left out of next week's under-21 friendly against Poland, suggesting that they could also figure when Capello announced his squad yesterday. Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce has already hinted that Capello may be about to draft in some young players. "You never know, there might be one or two names in Fabio's squad that make you sit up and listen," Pearce said.
■ SUMO
Raging Asashoryu stumbles
Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu was upset by Kotoshogiku at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament yesterday, while fellow top ranker and compatriot Hakuho also lost. In the day's final bout at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, sekiwake Kotoshogiku handed Asashoryu his first loss after getting both hands on the belt of the Mongolian and forcing the grand champion out. Asashoryu dropped to 11-1, but still holds a one-win lead over Hakuho and lower-ranked wrestlers Baruto and Tochiozan with three days left in the tournament. Kotoshogiku improved to 6-6. Hakuho was handed his second loss of the 15-day tourney when he was slapped down by ozeki Chiyotaikai seconds after the faceoff. Chiyotaikai improved to 8-4 and wrapped up the winning record he needs to maintain his ozeki status for the next tournament.
■ TENNIS
Seles writing her memoirs
Tennis great Monica Seles is working on her memoirs. The book, currently untitled, will be published next year by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA). "I hope to share how I found balance, strength and happiness in my life after a rollercoaster ride of exhilarating accomplishment and sometimes overwhelming tragedy," she said in a statement on Wednesday. Seles, 34, won nine Grand Slams and as a teenager was the top-ranked women's player for three years. But she was also known for one of sport's most bizarre and terrifying incidents: In April 1993, at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany, she was stabbed in the back by a man who climbed out of the stands. Seles, who has struggled with weight problems, is currently a contestant on US TV's Dancing With the Stars.
■ BASEBALL
Bonds `not going to retire'
Controversial US career home run king Barry Bonds vows he will not retire at age 43 even though Major League Baseball clubs have shown no interest in him and a court hearing looms today. Bonds, whose feats were dogged by doping accusations, told the baseball league's Web site that he remains fit and ready should any team come calling even as baseball union leaders say they may look into why no clubs want Bonds. "I'm not going to retire. I don't think that's going to happen," Bonds said. "I'm working out. I'm training. If my phone rings, it rings. If it don't, it don't. I'll come back in July if I have to. It depends on the circumstances."
■ RUGBY UNION
O'Sullivan quits Ireland job
Eddie O'Sullivan resigned from the Ireland job on Wednesday, bringing an end to the reign of the country's most successful international coach. After six years in the job and winning three Triple Crowns, the 49-year-old Corkman stepped down following a disappointing Six Nations Championship that culminated in a 33-10 defeat to England on Saturday. After last year's disaster at the World Cup, commentators who had long criticized his conservative approach to team selection, tactics and coaching staff, believed a good Six Nations may be his only chance of staying in the job. O'Sullivan issued a brief statement, but made no mention of the terms of his severance. "At the conclusion of the Six Nations Championship and having given my role as national team head coach much consideration, I have come to the decision to step down," the statement 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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