■TENNIS
Taiwanese duo loses final
Japanese duo Kimiko Date-Krumm and Rika Fukiwara defeated Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei and Chen Yi in straight sets to claim the doubles title at the women’s hardcourt tournament in Tokyo yesterday. The No. 3 seeds won 7-5, 6-3 against 23-year-old Chan and 21-year-old Chen, who were the top seeds. Ayumi Morita of Japan defeated Slovakia’s Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to claim the singles title. The No. 3 seed outlasted the winner of last month’s OEC Taipei Ladies Open title to earn her first singles title of the year.
■SOCCER
Nationalism fuels violence
More than 50 people were injured in nationalistic-fueled violence at a match in southwestern Slovakia. Thirty-one people were arrested in Saturday’s rioting — 18 fans for the home team in Dunajska Streda, one of the most important centers for Slovakia’s ethnic Hungarian minority, and 13 from the away team from Bratislava, a police spokeswoman said. Violence had been feared ahead of the championship game between AC Dunajska Streda and Slovan Bratislava as hundreds of hooligans and neo-Nazis from Hungary were expected to travel to the match. Nationalistic tensions have intensified between Hungary and Slovakia recently and have been fuelled by nationalists from both sides through provocative public statements. Police numbers were increased to provide security for the match, that Bratislava won 4-0, but violence broke out between both sets of fans and with the police. A police spokeswoman said that fans from the home team had hurled stones while internet forums accused police of targeting Hungarian fans. The most serious injuries occurred in a crush of Hungarian fans that developed after a police intervention, television reports said.
■RALLYING
Loeb clinches record title
Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb clinched a record fifth world title in a row after surviving a late spin to finish third in the Japan Rally yesterday. Rival Mikko Hirvonen led Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford one-two but it was not enough to keep the title race alive. A spin on the penultimate stage almost cost the Frenchman third place and his hopes of glory in Sapporo as torrential rain made conditions treacherous. Hirvonen won by 31.1 seconds from fellow Finn Latvala. The Frenchman had wanted to secure the title in Japan in order to drive flat-out in the last race in Britain later this month in a bid to break his own record of 10 wins in a season.
■SOCCER
River horror run continues
Titleholders River Plate slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Lanus on Saturday, extending their winless domestic run to an unprecedented 11 games. The defeat guaranteed beleaguered coach Diego Simeone’s team, who have nine points from their 13 games, would finish the weekend bottom of the Apertura championship. Simeone made nine changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Newell’s Old Boys on Wednesday but saw his side fall behind after only five minutes to a goal from Diego Lagos. Maximiliano Velasquez added a second early in the second half to lift Lanus to fourth in the table. River’s next match is a Copa Sudamericana quarter-final second leg tie away to Mexican side Guadalajara on Thursday and Simeone is expected to face the sack if his side fail to overturn their 1-0 deficit. The only consolation for River, one of Argentina’s biggest clubs, is that they are in no danger of relegation, which is decided over three seasons.
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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