■MOTOGP
Rain washes out Qatar race
The season-opening Qatar MotoGP was postponed on Sunday because of adverse weather. Qatar’s Losail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha was lashed by heavy rain on Sunday, forcing the postponement of the night-time race to last night. The 125cc race and 250cc Grand Prix were shortened, but the main showpiece was unable to get underway. “For safety reasons it was not possible to race in the night due to the reflection of the lights on the track,” Claude Danis, Road-racing Commission president for the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), said in a statement posted on the FIM’s Web site.
■CYCLING
Spectators mob local hero
Local Greg Minnaar was mobbed by spectators after winning the downhill race on Sunday at the World Mountain Bike Cup in Pietermaritzbug, South Africa. He received a reception normally reserved for South African soccer, rugby and cricket stars after pipping Australian Mike Hannah for first place on a forest-lined course near the KwaZulu-Natal city. Competition was fierce, with 28 finalists cracking the four-minute barrier, and Minnaar clocked 3:43.44 after sailing over jumps and pedaling furiously through flatter sections. Hannah was last to race and finished 2.25 seconds slower to settle for second spot ahead of Englishman Steve Peat on a 3km course littered with sharp drop-offs and jumps. Tracy Moseley of England turned 30 in style by winning the women’s downhill race in 4:20.15 after Emmeline Ragot and Sabrina Jonnier of France surrendered the lead. The first world mountain bike event to be staged in Africa attracted 16,000 spectators over a holiday weekend to far exceed organizers’ expectations.
■CRICKET
Vaughan suffers setback
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan suffered a setback in his attempts to force his way back into the Ashes reckoning when he made just 12 playing for the MCC against county champions Durham on Sunday. The 34-year-old is determined to claim the No. 3 spot for the coming series against the West Indies and Australia, but with the squad to face the West Indians in the first Test due to be named next weekend, time is running out. Vaughan’s only consolation was that Ian Bell, another No. 3 hopeful, was also out for 12 as the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season ended in a rain-affected draw at Lord’s. Yorkshireman Vaughan was dismissed by former Headingley colleague Mitchell Claydon — an Australian now qualified for England by virtue of his British passport — who believes the former skipper has a role to play in the Ashes.
■RUGBY UNION
Bakkies awaits his fate
The decision in the judicial hearing for Northern Bulls lock Bakkies Botha over an incident during a weekend match against the NSW Waratahs will be announced today, SANZAR said. Judicial officer Dennis Wheelahan held over his decision pending further consideration, a statement by the ruling body for Rugby Union in the southern hemisphere said. The Springbok forward was cited and charged with striking in an incident in Saturday’s Super 14 match between the Bulls and the NSW Waratahs at Sydney Football Stadium. Botha appeared before Wheelahan in Sydney on Monday, along with members of the Bulls’ team management and legal representatives, SANZAR said. Evidence tendered at the hearing included video footage supplied by the match broadcasters.
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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