■BASEBALL
Schilling calls it a day
Curt Schilling, who won World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks, announced his retirement on Monday on his Internet blog. Schilling, 42, signed a one-year deal with Boston after helping them to a 2007 World Series crown but missed the entire 2008 Major League Baseball campaign with a shoulder injury. “After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official,” Schilling wrote. “This party has officially ended.” Schilling was part of the Arizona squad that upset the New York Yankees in 2001, the Diamondbacks going the maximum to capture the best-of-seven championship series. In 2004, Schilling helped the Red Sox snap an 86-year World Series title drought, famously playing with a foot injury that saw blood seep onto his sock, turning it red during a victory at Boston’s Fenway Park. Schilling went 216-146 for his career with a 3.46 earned-run average and 3,116 strikeouts over 569 games with the Red Sox, Diamondbackers, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles.
■SOCCER
Player charged with assault
Hibernian’s Darren McCormack was charged on Monday in connection with an alleged assault on Calum Elliot, a striker who plays for Hibs’ bitter Edinburgh rivals Hearts. McCormack, a defender, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning, following an incident in Edinburgh city center. Hibernian, confirming that McCormack had been charged, said in a statement: “It would not be appropriate to comment further on any action that may or may not be taken through due legal process. The club takes an extremely serious view of such incidents and will take internal disciplinary action as appropriate.”
■SOCCER
Tough guy shows emotions
Brazil coach Dunga, usually seen as a tough, uncompromising figure, touched on a personal drama and came close to tears in a television interview on Monday. Dunga, a hard-tackling former midfielder, became emotional when he was asked about the pressures involved in his job. The coach, who has been heavily-criticized since taking over as coach in 2006, used the example of his parents to put the situation into perspective. “Nobody suffers more pressure than my mother,” said Dunga in the program Painel RBS. “My father has had Alzheimer’s for eight years and she’s always by his side, she has not at any moment weakened, so I’m not going to be the one who becomes weak. People can say what they want, there’s nothing worse than that,” he said, holding back tears.
■CRICKET
Miandad praises potential
Javed Miandad believes China has the potential to become a major cricket market within the next decade after the former Pakistan Test captain returned from a fact-finding mission to the country. “The enthusiasm and interest I saw there from government officials to university students is encouraging,” Miandad said yesterday of last week’s visit to Beijing in his newly appointed role as Pakistan’s cricket ambassador to China. “They definitely have potential, the interest and resources to become a respected cricket playing nation.” Miandad said China represented an ideal platform from where the International Cricket Council could globalize the sport. The Asian Cricket Council and ICC currently provide technical assistance and equipment to China.
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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