■BASKETBALL
Spain fires Pepu Hernandez
Pepu Hernandez was sacked as coach of world basketball champions Spain by the country’s federation (FEB) on Tuesday, just two months before the start of the Beijing Olympics. The 50-year-old had already said he was going to step down after the Olympics but fell out with FEB president Jose Luis Saez over the timing of this announcement just over a month ago. The FEB said the decision had been taken due to Hernandez’s failure to complete contractual obligations, for the lack of respect shown towards the Federation and its members and his public accusations of mistreatment and persecution. “These are not the ideal working conditions with two months to go to the most important event in the world sporting diary,” Saez told a news conference. “I have no personal dispute with Hernandez. We have always had a strictly professional relationship.”
■BASKETBALL
Pistons let Flip Saunders go
The Detroit Pistons sacked head coach Flip Saunders on Tuesday despite the teams’ success of having reached the NBA semi-finals three seasons in a row. “I think this team became way too content and did not show up with a sense of urgency to get it done,” team president Joe Dumars said. “I can’t sugarcoat it.” Detroit fired the 53-year-old coach just four days after Detroit was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in their best of seven semi-final. The Pistons were one of the NBA’s top teams again this season, going 59-23 en route to the number two seed in the Eastern Conference. Although Saunders was sent packing on Tuesday, Dumars issued a warning to the rest of the Pistons. “Make no mistake, everybody’s in play now,” Dumars said. “There are no sacred cows here. You lose that sacred cow status when you lose three straight years like this.”
■FOOTBALL
Dallas extends Owens’ stay
Wide receiver Terrell Owens signed a three-year contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday that will keep him with the team until the end of the 2011 season. The 34-year-old, a third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, has agreed to a deal estimated by local media to be worth US$27 million. “With this contract, I know I’m a Cowboy for life,” Owens told a news conference. “It was always a possibility that I could end my career with the Cowboys. Now that’s gonna happen. “This contract, for a lot of people, it signifies money and they see dollar signs, but for me, it signifies commitment.” A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens produced 166 catches for 2,535 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Cowboys.
■ICE HOCKEY
Lightning head coach fired
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella, who orchestrated the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2004, was fired by the team on Tuesday. Tortorella, the most successful US-born coach to work in the NHL, had one year remaining on his contract. “This has been a very difficult decision because of everything that John Tortorella has meant to and done for this organization,” Tampa Bay General Manager Jay Feaster said in a statement on the team’s Web site (lightning.nhl.com) “What he accomplished during his tenure in Tampa was nothing short of remarkable and our organization will always owe him our thanks, gratitude and deep respect.” Tampa Bay propped up the 15-team Eastern Conference standings last season with a win-loss record of 31-42.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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