■ RUGBY UNION
Spies cleared to play
Former Springboks No. 8 Pierre Spies is en route to New Zealand to try and help slumping Super 14 champions the Bulls. Spies was cleared to play for the first time in eight months, ever since he was dropped from South Africa's World Cup squad last August, just days before the tournament that the Springboks would win. Dawie Spies, the player's uncle, told Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Sondag that specialists cleared Spies and he took the first available flight to New Zealand, where the Bulls were on tour. "It's a wonderful day for our family to get such news," Dawie Spies said. Pierre Spies coughed up blood at a Springboks practice and tests revealed blood clots on his lungs. The exact nature of his illness was never determined but he finally stopped taking blood-thinning medication at the end of last month. That allowed Spies and the Bulls to plan his return halfway through their tour. Western Force the following Friday before returning home.
■ SOCCER
Honduras grab late victory
Georgie Wilson Welcome scored in the 103rd minute to give Honduras a 1-0 victory over the US in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. In the championship matchup of North American under-23 teams that had already booked their trips to the Beijing Olympics in August, Welcome beat US goalkeeper Dominic Cervi to the far post in the first period of extra time for the decider. The Hondurans got revenge for a 1-0 round-robin loss to the US squad eight days ago on Eddie Gaven's penalty kick five minutes into stoppage time.
■ BOXING
Pacquiao returns a hero
New World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao returned home to the Philippines yesterday to a hero's welcome and said he was not ruling out a second rematch with Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez. Philippine Cabinet officials joined Pacquiao's wife and three young children in welcoming the 29-year-old slugger, a week after a bruising 12 rounder with Marquez whom he beat by a split decision to grab the title in Las Vegas. The March 16 fight was a rematch of a 2004 draw in which Pacquiao knocked Marquez to the canvas three times in the first round. Now, Marquez's camp claims errors in judging and says a second rematch would settle the matter once and for all. Pacquiao, who took home a purse of at least US$5 million from the fight, said yesterday he was looking at going up to the lightweight division to face WBC champ David Diaz. But he says that can wait and he would oblige Marquez.
■ CYCLING
Meares to miss track meet
Anna Meares, the world record holder and gold medalist in the 500m time trial at the 2004 Olympics, will miss this week's world track cycling championships, placing her Beijing Games status in doubt. Meares is still recovering from a serious race accident she suffered during a World Cup meet in Los Angeles on Jan. 20. Cycling Australia yesterday announced its final team for the world titles which begin tomorrow in Manchester, England. Meares was replaced by Kaarle McCulloch in the sprint events. Given the complexity of the Olympic qualifying process, it is unclear how Meares' absence will affect her selection chances for Beijing. The women's 500m time trial is no longer on the Olympic program, meaning that Meares would have to attempt to qualify in other sprint events for Beijing.
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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