■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.
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
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,
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
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