■SOCCER
Silvestre signs for Arsenal
Manchester United’s French defender Mikael Silvestre has signed for Arsenal on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee, British media reported on Wednesday. Silvestre had spent nine seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, but his move south to North London means he joins up with manager Arsene Wenger, whose defensive options will have increased with his signature. The United contract of the 31-year-old, who missed a large part of last season with knee ligament damage, was set to expire next season. He had been linked with a move to Bordeaux and Manchester City during the summer but opted to move to the capital city instead. Silvestre is the first player to leave United for Arsenal since Brian Kidd 34 years ago.
■BASEBALL
Instant replay deal signed
Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires and management signed an agreement on Wednesday that will introduce instant replay to help determine calls on the field. The deal was signed by lawyers for the commissioner’s office and the World Umpires Association (WUA) one day after a WUA spokesman went public with complaints over negotiations. “We reached an agreement. Final decision with respect to moving ahead has not been made yet, but we have an agreement with the umpires,” said Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president of labor relations. MLB had already started installing equipment in ballparks, hoping to get the replay system running this month. It would be used for boundary calls, such as determining whether balls cleared fences for home runs and whether potential homers near foul poles were fair.
■CRICKET
Scots to replace Zimbabwe
Scotland will replace Zimbabwe in next year’s World Twenty20 in England, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday. Zimbabwe withdrew from the event last month to avert demands that they be suspended because of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s government. Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed its decision at a meeting with senior ICC officials at the ruling body’s Dubai headquarters. “This allows the ICC the opportunity to plan with certainty the ICC World Twenty20 2009, as well as giving Scotland ... plenty of preparation time ahead of the tournament,” ICC president David Morgan said in a statement on the organization’s Web site after the meeting. Zimbabwe was persuaded by the ICC executive board last month to stay away from next June’s event. An ICC statement said the Zimbabwe board recognised the British government was unlikely to issue visas for the team, having already canceled next year’s bilateral series between England and Zimbabwe.
■CRICKET
Sarwan guides Windies win
Ramnaresh Sarwan hammered an unbeaten 49 to guide the West Indies to a crushing six-wicket victory over Bermuda in the second match of the Canada Cup Tri-Series in King City, Ontario, on Wednesday. Man-of-the-match Sarwan struck five fours and a six in 58 balls as the West Indies totaled 159 for four in reply to Bermuda’s 158-9 at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club. Left-hander Shawn Findlay weighed in with a whirlwind 41 to help the tournament favorites cruise to victory with 18.1 of their 50 overs to spare. The West Indies face hosts Canada today before the two sides meet again in the tournament final on Sunday.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
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