■SOCCER
Robbers lock Frau in trunk
Robbers posing as police locked up Lille striker Pierre-Alain Frau in the boot of his Mercedes in the early hours of Monday before releasing him in another part of town and stealing the car. Police said that as Frau was getting into his car, he was approached by hooded men in a car with flashing lights who presented themselves as police. He was on his way home from a dinner after Lille’s 2-1 defeat by Lorient on Sunday. The attackers released Frau on the street in a residential area before making off with his vehicle, credit card, mobile phone and hundreds of euros. It is the second time in 10 months that Frau has been targeted by carjackers after a vehicle was stolen from him in October.
■SOCCER
Cavanagh suspended
Accrington Stanley defender Peter Cavanagh has been fined £3,500 (US$5,800) and suspended from soccer for eight months for betting on a match involving his team, the English FA said on Monday. Cavanagh was charged with betting on Accrington’s final League Two (fourth division) match of the 2007-2008 season. “These were repeated deliberate breaches of The FA’s betting rules which are vital to maintain confidence in the integrity of the game,” the FA’s Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its Web site.
■SOCCER
Nehru dumps Palestine
Indian soccer authorities have dumped Palestine from next week’s Nehru Cup tournament for fielding a club side instead of the full national squad. Palestine were roped in to replace Thailand, who were also scratched for fielding a weaker side. The event would now become a five-team affair, the federation said in a statement. Syria, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka and India feature in the Aug 19 to Aug. 31 tournament, organized mainly to prepare the hosts for the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.
■CRICKET
Mortaza out after surgery
Bangladesh’s injured captain Mashrafe Mortaza will be out of action for six weeks after undergoing surgery on both knees in Australia on Monday, officials said. An arthroscopic surgery was conducted on him by surgeon David Young at the Avenue Hospital in Melbourne, the Bangladesh Cricket Board said. “Dr Young is confident that Mortaza would be able to start running after three weeks and should return to cricket action after six weeks of rehabilitation.” Mortaza hurt his right knee in the first Test match against the West Indies at Kingstown, St Vincent, last month.
■BOXING
Kameda to fight for title
Daiki Kameda, the middle brother of Japan’s infamous “brat pack” boxing family, will challenge Thailand’s Denkaosan Kaovichit for the WBA flyweight title in October, his gym said on Monday. Kameda will be making his second bid for a world title in Osaka on Oct. 6 and his first since he was banned for a year for violent behavior in a failed bid for the WBC crown in 2007. Kameda has won 13 of his professional fights with only one defeat — against countryman Daisuke Naito in a WBC fight that ended in farce and multiple suspensions. Kameda, who had branded Naito a “cockroach” in the build-up to the fight, was banned for a year after picking up the champion and slamming him to the canvas. His father and former trainer Shiro was booted out of the sport for abusing the referee and elder brother Koki escaped with a warning after TV microphones caught him telling Daiki to elbow Naito in the eye.
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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