■OLYMPICS
IOC drops Kuwait threat
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would not suspend Kuwait on Saturday after the country committed itself to amend a local law that had threatened the autonomy of its sports organizations. The IOC had tried for two years to find a solution with authorities over the independent operation of Kuwait’s National Olympic Committee and the nation’s sports bodies but had previously said deadlines had not been respected. It had warned Kuwait it could be suspended if changes to the law were not completed by the end of the year. The IOC said late on Tuesday it received a letter from Kuwait’s social affairs and labor minister giving its commitment to review the national sports law to make it compatible with the Olympic Charter.
■BASEBALL
Red Sox retire Rice jersey
Jim Rice added another honor to his name on Tuesday when the new member of the Hall of Fame had his No. 14 uniform retired by the Boston Red Sox. Rice, inducted with Rickey Henderson at Sunday’s Cooperstown ceremonies, joins fellow Hall-of-Famers and Fenway Park left-fielders Ted Williams (9) and Carl Yastrzemski (8) among Red Sox to have their numbers retired.
■TENNIS
Nadal back in training
Rafael Nadal says treatment on his painful knees has been going well enough for him to have started training seriously, and he hoped to defend his Montreal title in two weeks. Speaking for the first time since he withdrew from Wimbledon and didn’t defend his title at the All England Club, Nadal said he had grown tired of always playing tennis with searing pain in his knees. “I had spent several months like this and when I came back from Miami [in April] it really hurt badly, especially my right knee, and the truth is that it was a different pain,” Nadal told Spanish TVE1 television on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 said he had become used to playing with pain, relying on anti-inflammatories, and decided after failing to win a fifth successive French Open that it was time to try and solve the problem. He said he had played Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid with the pain (and won the first three).
■SUMO
Bulgaria honors Kotooshu
Kotooshu, the Bulgarian wrestler known as “the David Beckham of sumo,” was awarded his country’s highest state order on Tuesday for earning star status in Japan. Kotooshu, the first European to reach the rank of **ozeki, the second-highest level in sumo, was awarded the first-rank Stara Planina order by President Georgy Parvanov at a ceremony in Sofia. Parvanov hailed the 26-year-old wrestler, whose real name is Kaloyan Mahlyanov, as one of the “brightest” symbols of Bulgaria in Japan — along with Damask roses and Bulgarian yoghurt. Kotooshu recently announced his engagement to 29-year-old Japanese Asako Ando, who accompanied him on Tuesday along with his parents.
■GOLF
Ballesteros aims for Trophy
Five-times major winner Seve Ballesteros, who underwent four operations to remove a brain tumor, is aiming to recover in time to captain Europe at next year’s Royal Trophy against holders Asia. “I sincerely hope to captain the European team ... this is a competition that means a lot to me,” the 52-year-old Spaniard said in a statement released on Wednesday. The next edition will take place from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10 at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, east of Bangkok.
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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