■BASEBALL
Sizemore faces naked truth
Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore moved on Monday to try to prevent the displaying of sexy photographs of himself that were stolen from his girlfriend’s e-mail account. The pictures were posted on the Internet on Sunday and several feature the Major League Baseball standout partially clothed. He took them with a telephone camera while standing in front of a bathroom mirror. Sizemore, 27, has asked major league officials to investigate the matter. “We fully support Grady as he deals with this personal matter,” the Indians said in a statement. “The posted photos were stolen from his girlfriend’s e-mail account and a legal investigation is under way.”
■BASEBALL
Jeter is Sportsman of Year
New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter was named Sportsman of the Year on Monday by the US magazine Sports Illustrated. Jeter, 35, who won his fourth Gold Glove last season as best fielding shortstop in the American League, hit .334 with 18 home runs and stole 30 bases in his 15th season to lead the Yankees to the World Series championship. The award, bestowed by the magazine annually since 1954, went to swimmer Michael Phelps last year. During the Fall Classic against the Philadelphia Phillies, Jeter also received the Roberto Clemente Award, given to a Major League Baseball player who combines community service with excellence on the field.
■FIELD HOCKEY
Germans win 9-goal thriller
Germany snatched a last-minute goal to down Spain 5-4 in a thrilling contest at the men’s Champions Trophy in Melbourne yesterday. Germany got off with a first-minute bang as Benjamin Wess followed up his own pass to the right and drove home in the circle. Jan-Marco Montag flicked a penalty corner conversion four minutes later to give Germany a 2-0 lead. But Spain were quick to respond, Albert Sala and Eduard Arbos combining for a right-side challenge to Germany’s defense with a last touch by Arbos sending the ball into goal. Florian Fuchs replied for Germany seconds later, deflecting in a long pass from the midfield to give his side a 3-2 lead at the break. Field goals by Eddie Tubau and Jordi Carrera put Spain back in front early in the second half. A defensive error left Carrera with a loose ball which he drove past Jessulat to make the score 4-3 in Spain’s favor. With eight minutes to go, Fuchs retaliated with an opportunist’s goal from the top of the circle to level play 4-4. A penalty corner and three shots on goal from Germany followed, with Matthias Witthaus’s winning goal upheld by the video umpire with just 33 seconds left to play. Meanwhile, South Korea downed the Netherlands 2-1 and in the day’s final match, Australia squandered seven penalty corners before edging England 2-1 to remain unbeaten.
■FIELD HOCKEY
IHF looks for India boost
The International Hockey Federation wants to boost its income before the 2016 Olympics by cashing in on the sport’s popularity in India. Field hockey’s ruling executive meets this week to study a plan that aims to raise the game’s profile by using its biggest fan base. “Many sports want to go to India because it’s a fantastic market,” Christophe Troendle, the FIH’s director-general, said. “For us it’s maybe easier because we are part of the culture.” The FIH hopes that targeting sponsors and staging more top events in the nation of 1.1 billion people could help triple its annual budget.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
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