■TENNIS
Lu triumphs in Tenerife
Top seed Lu Yen-hsun downed Dominik Meffert of Germany in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Tenerife Challenger hard court tournament. The first set went to a tie-break that Lu won without dropping a point. The second set was also close but the Taiwanese No. 1 prevailed 6-4 over the 1.98m-tall world No. 216 to set up a third round clash with Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli. The Swiss defeated Andrea Stoppini of Italy 6-1, 6-4 in their second round match.
■ATHLETICS
Bolt’s BMW skids off road
Jamaican Olympic sensation Usain Bolt suffered only minor injuries on Wednesday when his BMW skidded off the road and overturned in a ditch. “I am good,” Bolt told fans as he limped away from hospital with small bandages on his feet. Bolt’s manager Norman Peart said the athlete’s feet were pricked by thorns when he exited the vehicle. “He was taken to the Spanish Town Public Hospital, where he was treated. He has been sent home for recovery,” Peart said. Bolt, 22, won gold medals in the 100m, the 200m and the 4x100m relay at the Beijing Games last August, setting world records in all three events. Police said Bolt’s vehicle was extensively damaged after apparently skidding on a rain-slicked road. He was treated in hospital along with his brother and a female companion. The leader of Jamaica’s parliament, Andrew Holness, said the country could breathe a sigh of relief. He was supported by the leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller, who expressed “joy that nothing happened to Usain.”
■FOOTBALL
Super Bowl MVP on charge
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Santonio Holmes was arraigned on a misdemeanor marijuana charge on Wednesday that stemmed from a traffic stop last year. Holmes’ lawyer, Robert Delreco Jnr, appeared at the brief court hearing, but Holmes, who was not required to attend, did not. DelGreco said he planned to challenge the constitutionality of the traffic stop, but gave no further details. Pittsburgh police said they found marijuana in Holmes’ car when he was pulled over on Oct. 23. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin sidelined the receiver for a game in the wake of the incident, in which Holmes wasn’t arrested. In February, Holmes earned MVP honors in the National Football League title game against Arizona for his game-winning tip-toe touchdown catch that helped the Steelers to an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title.
■CYCLING
Armstrong finishes eighth
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong tested his surgically repaired collarbone on Wednesday and pronounced himself satisfied with his progress in the wake of a crash last month. “Better than I thought I would be,” Armstrong said of where he stands in his recovery after finishing eighth in the opening stage of the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on Wednesday. Armstrong required surgery on his right collarbone after a fall in the Vuelta Castilla y Leon in Spain on March 23. The Texan had a stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted to stabilise the bone. “There’s so much hardware in there, it’s not going to move,” he said. Armstrong rode largely in support of Astana teammate and stage winner Levi Leipheimer. Armstrong, Leipheimer and Chris Horner are riding in the event as independents.
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
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,
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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