■BASEBALL
Yankees to sell sod, seats
The New York Yankees on Tuesday announced one of sport’s biggest yard sales, with artifacts at the old Yankee Stadium, from seats, sod and dirt to foul poles, home plate and lockers, going on offer to the public. “This is a chance to own a piece of history, a piece of Yankee Stadium,” Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost told a news conference. A pair of stadium seats is priced at US$1,499. A single bleacher seat costs US$399 with a pair priced at US$699. A clump of freeze-dried grass in a small display case goes for US$80, and sections of sod range from US$120 to US$280 depending on size. Demolition of the old Yankee Stadium — the 1923 “House That Ruth Built,” across the 161st Street from their new US$1.5 billion home — is expected to begin next month, Trost said. All pieces sold will be authenticated by the Yankees and Major League Baseball and are available through numerous Web sites, including yankees.com and mlb.com. The Yankees’ memorabilia partners, Steiner Sports, said only about 40,000 seats would probably be sold after they are treated to abate dangers of lead paint.
■BASKETBALL
Granger most improved
Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger was named the National Basketball Association’s most improved player on Tuesday. Granger had a career best season in 2008-2009, averaging 25.8 points per game and finishing as the league’s fifth-highest scorer. He averaged 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and played in his first career all-star game. Granger joined Jermaine O’Neal (2001-2002) and Jalen Rose (1999-2000) as the only Indiana players to win the award. New Jersey guard Devin Harris finished second in the voting by sportswriters in the US and Canada, while Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City placed third.
■FORMULA ONE
Todt to promote Malaysia
Scuderia Ferrari’s ex-boss Jean Todt is in the hot seat to get tourists racing to Malaysia, a Tourism Ministry official said yesterday. Todt, whose fiancee is Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊), will become Malaysia’s “tourism ambassador” for a year to help promote the country worldwide. Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen will hand the appointment letter to Todt in Paris this weekend, the official said on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to make public statements. She did not immediately have details of what Todt’s activities would be. Todt, 63, resigned all his positions with Ferrari in March, concluding a 16-year career with the automaker highlighted by his direction of the Formula One team. Todt is a frequent visitor to Malaysia with the Hong Kong-based Yeoh. He recently joined a Malaysian government program that provides benefits in immigration, housing and taxes to attract foreigners to live or invest in the country.
■SOCCER
Refs get anti-racism powers
Referees will be given the power to take players off the field for as long as they see fit if there is racist behavior at club or international matches organized by UEFA. The Executive Committee of European soccer’s governing body ruled on Tuesday that referees will be allowed to take “strong and decisive action” if matches are marred by racist jeering from fans. The idea will now be examined more closely and new guidelines will be given to referees after the next Executive Committee meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the beginning of July. Whether matches could be forfeited as a result of racist abuse has yet to be decided.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the