■HORSE RACING
Jockey fined for Hitler jibe
Irish jockey John Egan was fined A$8,000 (US$5,370) yesterday for describing Australian veterinary surgeons as a “couple of tin pot Hitlers.” Egan made the remark at the weekend after vets ordered his mount Yellowstone to undergo an additional fitness test before being allowed to run in today’s Melbourne Cup. Yellowstone injured his hip in his stall last week and was eventually scratched on the eve of the race on vet’s advice. Australian racing stewards took a dim view of Egan’s remarks, charging him with bringing the sport into disrepute. Egan pleaded guilty to the offense but said his remarks were not aimed at the vets. Racing Appeals Disciplinary Board chairman Russell Lewis described Egan as an unreliable witness whose comments were reprehensible.
■SOCCER
‘Spider Hands’ returns
A year after being banned from the national team for a late-night drinking session during the Asian Cup, veteran South Korea goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae has been called up to the squad for a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia. Coach Huh Jung-moo included Lee in his 25-man squad for the Nov. 19 game in Riyadh. Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung, AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young and Borussia Dortmund defender Lee Young-pyo were also called up to the squad announced yesterday. Goalkeeper Lee was axed from the national team last year after he and three other players left the team hotel to go drinking following Korea’s shock 2-1 loss to Bahrain in the Asian Cup in Jakarta. The 35-year-old, nicknamed “Spider Hands,” was also ordered to serve 80 hours of public service and his international career looked over after the Korea Football Association said the episode had tarnished the reputation of Korean soccer.
■SOCCER
Obama defeated
A local soccer team christened Obama FC were beaten 1-0 in a tournament held in western Kenya on the weekend. The Obama Big Day Soccer Tournament was organized by Barack Obama’s step-brother Malik Obama in anticipation of the senator’s victory in today’s US presidential elections. Obama FC goalkeeper Boaz Okelo blamed a player in the opposing team of leaking to his team mates that he had an elbow injury, which they exploited in a penalty shoot out after the match ended in a draw after regular time. “The other players were kicking the ball towards my injured elbow,” Okelo said on Sunday, a day after Obama FC were eliminated in the knock-out stages of the tournament. Originally called Kogelo FC — named after the village of Obama’s Kenyan father — the team changed its name to Obama FC in 2004 when the Democrat first made headlines after giving an electrifying speech at the Democratic Party convention.
■SOCCER
Bolton climb from drop zone
Bolton scored twice in the last 13 minutes on Sunday to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-0 win over visiting Manchester City. Substitute Ricardo Gardner met a cross from the right for his first league goal since December 2002. City captain Richard Dunne then capped a poor performance by his side when he scored an own goal in the 88th minute. “It’s very important for us,” Gardner said. “We can gain confidence from this and we can do even better in our next game than we did today. It’s been a long time, but I’m just glad for the lads. We thoroughly deserved it.”
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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