■BASEBALL
Henderson, Rice inducted
Rickey Henderson, baseball’s greatest thief, and slugger Jim Rice were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. While Henderson enters the hall in his first year of eligibility, Rice waited 15 years before securing his place in Cooperstown on his last appearance on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot. Henderson, who holds the record for most stolen bases (1,406) and runs scored (2,295) tormented opposing pitchers and catchers for 25 seasons with his sprinter’s speed and slugger’s power. Rice spent his entire career in a Boston Red Sox uniform. The eight-time all-star pounded out 2,452 hits and 382 home runs over 16 seasons capturing AL MVP honors in 1978. “It’s like being welcomed at home plate after hitting a walk-off home run,” Rice said. “I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than right here, right now.”
■BOXING
Former champion murdered
Former world boxing champion Vernon Forrest was shot dead in Atlanta, the victim of an apparent robbery, city authorities and local media said on Sunday. Forrest was best known for causing an upset in 2001 against then-WBC welterweight champion Shane Mosley — regarded by many as the world’s best fighter at the time — and beating him again six months later. Forrest, who was based in Atlanta, was a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and also fought for the US at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. “The cause of death is multiple gunshot wounds involving the torso and thigh, and the manner of death is homicide,” the chief medical examiner of Georgia’s Fulton county said in a statement. Forrest was shot on Saturday as he attempted to prevent people from stealing his car at a gas station in southwest Atlanta. His girlfriend’s son was in the car at the time. The case is being investigated by the Atlanta police, the medical examiner and local media said.
■BASKETBALL
Greece defeat France
Greece defeated France 90-85 to win the men’s under-20 European championship on Sunday. Forward Costas Papanikolaou top-scored with 15 points for Greece, with six other teammates scoring in double figures. Guard Edwin Jackson scored 32 points for France, which had defeated Greece in group play in the tournament. France led 59-50 early in the third quarter, but Greece used a 21-2 run to build a double-digit lead which it held until the final seconds, when France scored successive three-pointers in a desperate comeback attempt. Seven players in Greece’s 12-member squad were part of the team that took silver at the under-19 world championships in New Zealand earlier this month, losing to the US in the final. The same players also formed the core of the Greek team that won the under-18 European Championship in 2008. Earlier Sunday, Spain defeated Italy 75-72 to capture third place.
■WATER POLO
Germany beat Montenegro
Marko Savic scored three goals, including the winner in extra time, and Alexander Tchigir made 16 saves to give Germany a 9-8 win over Montenegro in water polo at the world championships. Andreas Schlotterbeck added two goals for Germany (2-1-1) on Sunday, which will face the United States in the quarter-finals Tuesday. Also, Aaron Feltham scored three times and five teammates chipped in with goals to lead Canada past China 9-5. Robin Randall made 14 saves for the Canadians (3-1), who advanced to face Spain in the quarter-finals.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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