■BASEBALL
ALCS Game 6 postponed
Game 6 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels was postponed because of rain on Saturday. The game was rescheduled for yesterday at Yankee Stadium. Game 7, if necessary, was rescheduled for tomorrow in New York. New York lead the series 3-2 and needs one victory to clinch their 40th league pennant and reach the World Series for the first time since 2003. Rain has been falling off and on in New York since late on Friday. A steady drizzle, with occasional spurts of heavy downpour, kept the tarp on the field all afternoon. The game was called by Major League Baseball nearly two hours before the scheduled start.
■BASEBALL
Kikuchi to pass on MLB
Japanese high school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi has decided not to play in the US major leagues for now, opting instead for Japan’s professional leagues. The 18-year-old left-hander, who throws a fastball that has been clocked as high as 155kph, said yesterday he wasn’t yet ready for the majors. “I don’t think I have what it takes to complete at the world level yet,” Kikuchi said at a press conference.
■BASEBALL
Stadium shows faults
The New York Yankees might look rock solid, but the concrete at their new stadium is drawing extra scrutiny amid a probe of construction companies. Concrete ramps at the US$1.5 billion ballpark have been troubled by cracks this summer. The New York Times reported that the team was trying to determine whether there was something wrong with the cement, or the ramps’ installation or design. A team spokeswoman says the cracks are a cosmetic issue and the ramps are safe.
■ATHLETICS
Gay groin surgery successful
World 100m silver medalist Tyson Gay has successfully undergone surgery on a painful groin problem that hampered him during much of the athletics season, his manager said on Saturday. Mark Wetmore told reporters surgery had taken place on both sides of Gay’s groin in Philadelphia on Friday. “The doctor [William Meyers] was really, really happy with the surgery and Tyson should start walking today,” Wetmore said. He said the American sprinter should be fully recovered in time for next year’s outdoor season.
■HOCKEY
Ruutu suspended for hit
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Tuomo Ruutu was suspended for three games on Saturday by the National Hockey League for a boarding infraction on Friday that injured Colorado’s Darcy Tucker. The 26-year-old Finn was given a major penalty and game misconduct with 5:26 remaining in the second period for slamming Tucker into the boards during a 5-4 Avalanche home victory over Carolina. Ruutu forfeit US$59,000 in salary and missed a game on Saturday at Minnesota as well as games on Wednesday against St Louis and next Saturday at Philadelphia. Ruutu will be eligible to return on Sunday when the Hurricanes face San Jose. Tucker’s face smashed into the glass and he fell unconscious and bleeding onto the ice, where Colorado team trainers and doctors treated him, applying a neck brace and strapping Tucker to a backboard before carrying him off. Tucker, second on the Avalanche with four goals this season, suffered a concussion, but was alert and taken to a hospital. He was released on Saturday night but will remain out of action indefinitely.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
‘EVERYONE SAW’: The visitors were left fuming after Jules Kounde was fouled by Claudio Echeverri in the buildup to the winning goal and it went unpunished Spanish champions Barcelona on Monday fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Girona to leave them trailing Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga. Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad on Saturday to overtake the Catalans and Hansi Flick’s side could not defeat Girona in an gripping derby clash to reclaim the lead. Teenage star Lamine Yamal missed a penalty for Barcelona, who took the lead through defender Pau Cubarsi just before the hour mark. However, goals from Thomas Lemar and Fran Beltran helped Girona, 12th, mount an impressive comeback. “In the end Girona deserved it, they had a lot of
Stade Rennais, four days after firing coach Habib Beye, stunned Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Friday, snapping the defending champions’ seven-match winning run in French Ligue 1. Second-placed RC Lens could leapfrog the champions and retake top spot last night after press time if they beat Paris FC in the capital. PSG started brightly, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue carving openings to no avail. Rennes fired Beye on Monday and promoted his assistant Sebastien Tambouret, and the same players who had lost four games on the bounce seemed transformed. Jordanian forward Mousa al-Tamari bagged the opener, unleashing a fierce strike
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
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