■ 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.
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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