■SOCCER
Two killed after match
Two people were shot dead and four others were injured in a clash between soccer hooligans following Sunday’s 3-0 victory by Buenos Aires club Huracan over Arsenal. Angela Toscano, head of the Penna hospital in Buenos Aires, said on Monday the two dead men were aged about 30 and died of gunshot wounds. Two other victims of the violence remained in the hospital but were expected to survive. Two others fled after receiving treatment. Anibal Fernandez, minister of Justice and Security, said it was unclear what caused the violence. “They are delinquents. We do not see this as a sports security problem,” Fernandez said.
■SOCCER
Espanyol sign ‘the Kid’
Spanish Championship side Espanyol has signed Israeli international striker Ben Sahar from Chelsea, the Barcelona-based club said on Monday. It said the 19-year-old, nicknamed “the Kid,” was signed to a four-year deal, but did not reveal the transfer fee. Sahar was just 16 when Chelsea bought him from Hapoel Tel-Aviv in 2006. He made his first club appearance in 2007, but was subsequently loaned to Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth and Dutch side De Graafschap, where he scored 16 goals last season. Aged 17, he became the youngest ever Israeli international player when he represented his country in a friendly against Ukraine.
■SOCCER
Obama may attend Cup
The White House would not confirm on Monday whether US President Barack Obama would attend the 2010 World Cup, but top aides already seemed to be sizing up tickets for the first match. Earlier, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the president had accepted an invitation to attend the opening. “You know that heads of state are extremely busy and hopefully his schedule will allow him to attend,” Blatter told reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he could not yet say whether Obama would go to the event, but as a former college goalie, Gibbs sounded like he couldn’t wait for the possible trip. “I asked specifically ... in order to get my seat early,” Gibbs said at his daily briefing.
■CRICKET
Bangladesh sacks Ashraful
Bangladesh sacked Mohammad Ashraful as national cricket captain yesterday and replaced him with Mashrafe Mortaza for tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Bangladesh failed to progress to the Super Eight phase of the Twenty20 World Cup in England after losing both their first round matches to India and Ireland, though the Bangladesh Cricket Board said it was not a reason for Ashraful’s relegation. “The decision to replace him was taken with the intention of relieving the load on Ashraful so he can play his natural game,” BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus said in a statement. “We all know his quality and what he is capable of as a batsman. We are confident that without the burden of captaincy his batting would flourish and he would contribute more to the team.”
■CYCLING
Armstrong wins small race
Lance Armstrong won the Nevada City Classic on Sunday, holding off teammate Levi Leipheimer in the challenging one-day race in the Sierra Nevada foothills in California. Armstrong finished in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 20 seconds, sprinting away from the peloton with about six laps to go on the hilly course. Ben Jacques-Maynes finished 21 seconds behind in second place. Leipheimer was third, 1 second behind Jacques-Maynes.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
Wrexham on Monday were back in the driver’s seat for promotion from English third-tier soccer after a crunch 2-1 win over Blackpool. The road win lifted Wrexham back into League One’s top two spots for automatic promotion. After a loss by third-placed Wycombe Wanderers, Wrexham were two points above them with two rounds to go. Birmingham City have already clinched the league title. Celebrity owner Rob McElhenney was among the 2,000 Wrexham supporters in the away end to see their side break the deadlock on the hour mark. James McClean’s opening score through a crowded box was doubled three minutes later by Ollie Rathbone.
RSS