■SKIING
Italian dies in K2 descent
Legendary Italian mountaineer Michele Fait died on Tuesday while skiing down K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in Pakistan, blogs and specialist Italian Web sites reported on Wednesday. The 44-year-old disappeared into a crevasse before the eyes of his Swedish companion Fredrik Ericsson, the Corrierre dello Sport Web site reported. The accident occurred on a section of the Cesen route, on the southeast face of K2, which is 8,611m high, according to mountaineers who traveled to base camp to provide support. Fait had around 50 extreme descents under his belt, undertaken in the Alps as well as the Andes and the Himalayas.
■SOCCER
Iran denies banning players
The head of Iran’s soccer federation has denied punishing players for wearing green wristbands in a show of support for the opposition during a World Cup qualifier, local media reported yesterday. “The comments in foreign media are nothing but lies and a mischievous act,” Ali Kafashin was quoted as saying. “The federation has not banned any player from the national team.” FIFA wrote to the Iranians to seek answers over alleged punishments meted out to players who wore green wristbands during the 2010 World Cup qualifier against South Korea last week, reflecting their support for opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Star striker Ali Karimi and skipper Mehdi Mahdavikia were among six players who wore the wristbands. On Wednesday, both players resigned from the national team, known as Team Melli, saying they wanted to clear the way for younger players, ISNA news agency reported. British media have reported that the two players were told they would never play for Iran again because of their political stance.
■BASEBALL
Yankee games going online
Cablevision Systems Corp, Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees cable network said on Wednesday they reached a multiyear deal for live streaming of online Yankees games in the team’s home market. Under the agreement, Cablevision Internet customers who receive the Yankees’ YES Network will be able to buy a package to see the games live on the Internet, the companies said. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
■SOCCER
Brazilian cops foil thieves
Two South African robbers were on Wednesday sentenced to five years in jail for breaking into the hotel room of two Brazilian police officers on observational duty at the Confederations Cup. The two men broke into the Pretoria hotel room at 3am on Tuesday and were arrested by the Brazilians, who are in South Africa to observe police operations ahead of their country’s hosting of the 2014 World Cup.
■RUGBY
Tokyo hosts Bledisloe clash
Tokyo has been confirmed as the host city for this year’s fourth Bledisloe Cup match between Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese Rugby Football Union said yesterday the match would go ahead at Tokyo’s national stadium on Oct. 31, a week before the Australian and New Zealand teams kick off their annual end-of-season European tours. Australia and New Zealand are already scheduled to play three Bledisloe Cup matches as part of this year’s Tri-Nations, but have added an extra game to raise revenue. The US and UK had also offered to host the match, but Australian and New Zealand officials had previously indicated that Asia was their preferred choice.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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