■SOCCER
Gerrard strains groin
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard pulled out of the England squad for yesterday’s friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam because of a groin strain with Aston Villa’s Ashley Young called on to deputize. Midfield dynamo Gerrard trained on Monday, but felt a slight soreness in the leg and it was decided to pull him out of the squad as a precaution. The remainder of Fabio Capello’s squad made the trip to the Netherlands and headed off the Amsterdam Arena for a training session. Goalkeeper Ben Foster has already been replaced by Joe Hart after hurting his knee in Manchester United’s Community Shield defeat to Chelsea on Sunday. Young, who has won five caps, failed to shine brightly for England last November against Germany but then featured in a thrashing of Andorra. Capello was quick to say the Aston Villa man was not expected to slip into the Gerrard role as “I cannot clone Stevie.”
■RUGBY
Women headline London bill
The All Blacks and England will play second fiddle to their national women’s teams in a rare double-header in London later this year. The New Zealand Rugby Union said England had agreed to stage both men’s and women’s tests at Twickenham on Nov. 21 — the men to play the curtain-raiser, followed by the women. “Twickenham has such great rugby history, so it will be fantastic for the Black Ferns,” New Zealand’s national women’s coach Brian Evans said in a statement yesterday.
■CRICKET
IPL to be expanded in 2011
The Indian Premier League (IPL) will have more teams and more matches from 2011, but next year’s edition in March-April will have just one additional game, organizers said on Tuesday. The third edition of the popular Twenty20 tournament will be held from March 12 to April 25 with a playoff for the third and fourth places added to the existing 59 matches. Next year’s edition, featuring the world’s top players in eight teams owned by rich businessmen and Bollywood stars, will end just five days before the World Twenty20 opens in the Caribbean on April 30. The tournament will be expanded to 10 teams from 2011, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI). “There will be 94 games in all with each franchise playing 18 preliminary matches, instead of 14 games as in the past,” the PTI quoted Modi as saying in reference to the 2011 edition. “But the window of 45 days would remain more or less the same.”
■CRICKET
Manager defends Steyn
South Africa’s team manager defended fast bowler Dale Steyn on Tuesday, saying the player had shown elevated levels of morphine in a random drugs test in April because of medication he was taking for migraines. “This is not a doping offense,” Mohammed Moosajee, the team’s manager and doctor, said after the IPL contacted Steyn about a test carried out while the world’s No. 1 Test bowler was playing in the league. “Dale had been suffering from chronic migraines and had been taking painkillers called Myprodol which contain codeine and resulted in a higher-than-normal level of morphine in his urine test,” Moosajee said. He expected the “routine matter” to be cleared up quickly. “The IPL asked Dale to write a letter explaining what medication he took, for what reason and in what dosage, which he did last week,” Moosajee said.
■GOLF
No fine for Tiger
Tiger Woods has not been fined for criticizing an official’s decision to enforce slow play rules on Woods and Padraig Harrington in the last round of the Bridgestone Invitational. US media reports had claimed Woods would be fined for his comments on Sunday after Ireland’s Harrington rushed shots on the 16th hole and took a triple bogey that cost him the lead and ultimately a title at Firestone Country Club. European Tour chief referee John Paramor put Woods and Harrington on the clock at the 16th tee. Harrington hurried three shots and saw a one-stroke lead become a three-stroke deficit. “I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle,” Woods said on Sunday. “I don’t think Paddy would have hit the pitch shot that way if he was able to take his time, look at it, analyze it. But he was on the clock.” A statement from the PGA Tour confirmed that tour officials did not consider the comments by Woods as worthy of punishment.
■INDY RACING
Montagny signs for Andretti
Frank Montagny has been hired to drive a fifth Indy Racing League car for Andretti Green Racing this month. The Frenchman will be in the cockpit of the No. 25 car at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. He made seven starts for Michael Andretti’s team in the American Le Mans Series last year and now will join Andretti’s IndyCar regulars — Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, former series points winner Tony Kanaan and Hideki Mutoh.
■FOOTBALL
Stallworth can leave home
Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth, confined to his house for a manslaughter conviction after killing a pedestrian with his car, will be allowed to leave his home to work out, a Florida judge ruled on Tuesday. Stallworth served 24 days of a 30-day jail sentence as part of his plea agreement on a charge of manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol. His sentence included two years of house arrest and eight years of probation in addition to the jail time. He was suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Tests showed Stallworth had a blood alcohol level of 0.126, above Florida’s legal limit of 0.08, when he hit and killed Mario Reyes, a 59-year-old construction worker, on March 14, court documents showed.
■BASKETBALL
Oberto joins Wizards
Argentina forward Fabricio Oberto, who helped his homeland capture gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, signed a free agent contract on Tuesday with the NBA’s Washington Wizards. Oberto averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 54 games for the San Antonio Spurs last season and was traded to Detroit after the season in a deal that sent Richard Jefferson to the Spurs. The Pistons later waived Oberto.
■RUGBY LEAGUE
Greg Inglis granted bail
Australia rugby league star Greg Inglis appeared in a Melbourne court yesterday charged with assaulting his girlfriend and was granted bail when his case was adjourned for two weeks. Inglis stood throughout his five-minute hearing in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court. He will reappear on Aug. 26. The Melbourne Storm center was charged with recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault over an incident on Sunday which allegedly left girlfriend, Sally Robinson, with a black eye. Melbourne suspended Inglis indefinitely. The club confirmed yesterday that the suspension would remain in place, casting Inglis’ immediate career in the National Rugby League in doubt.
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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