■ SOCCER
Juve go through to semis
Juventus completed the Italian Cup semi-final line-up after beating Napoli in a penalty shoot-out at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday following a 0-0 draw. They will play Lazio in the last four, while Serie A leaders Inter face Sampdoria in the other semi. In what was a largely dull match, Juve and Napoli barely mustered a single chance between them throughout 120 minutes. The hosts did have the ball in the net in the last seconds of normal time through David Trezeguet, but he was somewhat controversially ruled offside. So the tie went to a shoot-out, with veteran Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved the first to miss as his spot-kick was saved by Nicolas Navarro. But Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi saw his effort saved by Alex Manninger to level matters. Momo Sissoko hit the bar to give Napoli another sniff at glory, but both Matteo Contini and Walter Gargano skied their shots well over the bar.
■BASKETBALL
Bogut out with back injury
Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut will miss at least eight weeks with a stress fracture in his back. The former No. 1 overall pick went through a series of tests this week that revealed the injury. Bogut will need exercise and rest, but no surgery is scheduled. Bogut’s injury is another blow to the Bucks, who are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but have already lost leading scorer Michael Redd to a season-ending knee injury. Bogut is averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 10.3 rebounds, but started suffering back spasms after a game on Dec. 17 against Philadelphia. The Australian had missed 13 of the last 18 games and played less than 17 minutes in his last two games before missing Tuesday’s loss at New Jersey.
■SOCCER
Vannes to face Bordeaux
Second-division Vannes surprised Nice 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out on Wednesday to set up a French League Cup final against Bordeaux. Vannes became the first second-division club to reach the final since Gueugnon in 2000. Bordeaux cruised past defending champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to reach the final at Stade de France on March 29. Vannes — who also beat Metz on penalties in the quarter-finals — held Nice to 1-1 over 90 minutes and extra-time of their semi-final. Seid Khiter put visiting Vannes ahead in the 60th minute and they looked set for victory until Tunisian striker Chaouki Ben Saada equalized for Nice in the 88th minute. At Parc des Princes, David Bellion headed in Franck Jurietti’s cross for Bordeaux in the 17th minute and it remained the only goal until late and against the run of play. After defending a corner, Bordeaux’s counterattack finished with Marc Planus’ cross lobbed in by Souleymane Diawara. In the last minute, Geraldo Wendel scored to cap Bordeaux’s fine performance.
■CYCLING
Cavendish wins in Qatar
British rider Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia won the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar on Wednesday, narrowing the gap on overall race leader Tom Boonen. Cavendish defied some extremely windy conditions to win the 141km stage in a time of 4 hours, 4 minutes and 55 seconds. German rider Heinrich Haussler of Cervelo Test Team finished second and Boonen finished third. Both riders had the same time as Cavendish. “I am very happy. I only made a dash for the finish line when I could actually see it,” Cavendish said. “I had three or four guys with me, but I made it. I am delighted after the disappointing times in the earlier stages.”
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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