■ GOLF
Seve speaks to family
Five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros has spoken to his family as he makes progress in his recovery from a third operation on a brain tumor. “Seve Ballesteros continues to evolve favorably. He is conscious, is breathing spontaneously and can talk with his family,” said a statement from Madrid’s La Paz hospital on Monday. “He has begun to receive rehabilitation treatment in the intensive care unit.” The 51-year-old Spaniard underwent his third operation on a brain tumor just over a week ago. His family also posted a statement on the golfer’s official web site on Monday, thanking everyone for their messages of support. “Seve is putting as much positive strength in this battle as he is capable of,” said the family. “With the help of God, the neurosurgeons and their teams, and those who are keeping watch over his state of health at the intensive care unit, we trust with unquestioning faith Seve will come out successfully from this hardship.”
■ SOCCER
Coach slams spitting Messi
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has criticized the team’s star forward Lionel Messi for spitting at an opponent during a Spanish league game with Malaga on Saturday. Television cameras caught Argentina’s Messi spitting at midfielder Sergio “Duda” Barbosa after a collision between the players during Barcelona’s 4-1 victory. “It’s not right for these things to happen. We will try to avoid this type of thing,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by the Web site of sports daily Marca on Monday.
■ SOCCER
Star quits clean-up effort
Former Greek star striker Demis Nikolaidis this weekend announced he was quitting a four-year effort to clean up finances and curb hooliganism at Athens powerhouse AEK Athens. Nikolaidis, who had a rocky relationship with AEK’s organized supporters after he fronted a group of alleged club hooligans three years ago, quit on Sunday when the team was booed after a narrow 2-1 home victory over Asteras Tripolis. “I had hoped to change the mentality of the fans but I did not succeed,” the former AEK idol told reporters. “I cannot be the chairman of a team booed by its fans after it scores.” Nikolaidis had been hailed as a breath of fresh air in Greece’s violence-ridden soccer scene after he spearheaded an investor effort to rescue AEK from bankruptcy in 2004. Within a year, he ordered the photos of alleged AEK hooligans published in an unprecedented step to secure arrests after a serious clash between fans and police during a match in Livadia, central Greece.
■ BOXING
Olympic champ to turn pro
China’s first Olympic boxing gold medalist Zou Shiming has shelved plans to defend his title in London in 2012 and will instead turn professional next year, local media reported on Monday. Zou claimed gold in the light-flyweight category at August’s Beijing Games. “I want a professional golden belt for my country. I think I am capable,” the 27-year-old Zou told the Beijing News. “The professional contests are easier and more attractive to watch.” Zou earned the country’s first Olympic boxing medal with a bronze at the 2004 Athens Games and China has gone from strength to strength on the amateur stage. However, while Zhang Xiyan won the women’s World Boxing Council crown in 2006, the men have struggled on the professional circuit.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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