■FRANCE
Bordeaux leave it late in Cup
Ligue 1 champions Girondins Bordeaux needed a late penalty to beat third division Rodez 1-0 in the French Cup round of 64 on Saturday. Bordeaux worried their fans until Jaroslav Plasil was fouled in the box and Wendel converted the resulting penalty 13 minutes from time. In the only all-Ligue 1 clash Le Mans beat visitors Valenciennes thanks to a first-half goal by Anthony Le Tallec. Monaco survived a few scares at home to second division Tours in a match that ended 0-0 after extra time. The hosts won the shootout 4-3. Olympique Lyon qualified in more impressive fashion with a 3-1 win at second division Racing Strasbourg. Several matches were called off because of wintry conditions.
■TURKEY
Club suspend midfielder
First division side Kayserispor said on Saturday that it had suspended midfielder Bilal Aziz Ozer after a newspaper report implicated him in the match-fixing scandal. “Unfortunately, our player Bilal Aziz has been accused of manipulating a match against Eskisehirspor. We won the said match with a goal assisted by the said player,” the club said in a statement on its Web site. “Despite this, we have suspended Bilal Aziz ... so as not to give rise to any rumors,” it said. The announcement came after the Milliyet newspaper published a report filed with German prosecutors that named Ozer as one of three Kayserispor players that tried to fix an Oct. 4 league match against Eskisehirspor.
■PORTUGAL
Benfica top after 1-0 win
Javier Saviola’s goal led Benfica to a 1-0 victory over Rio Ave that kept them joint-leaders as the Portuguese league resumed on Saturday after a three-week break. The Argentine’s goal sent Benfica to the top of the standings ahead of Braga on goal difference. It was Rio Ave’s first home loss this season. Sporting took advantage of its man advantage to beat Lexoies 1-0. Bruno Gallo was shown a red card in the 70th minute before Antonio Vilar headed home the winner with six minutes left. Also, Henrique Sereno’s goal led Guimaraes to a 1-0 win over Maritimo.
■ZAMBIA
Copper Bullets beat S Korea
Zambia sent out a strong message ahead of their departure for the African Nations Cup finals in Angola by beating South Korea 4-2 in a friendly on Saturday. Felix Katongo, Rainsford Kalaba, James Chamanaga and Noel Chivuta scored as the Copper Bullets took advantage of Korean errors. Katongo and Kalaba had Zambia two up before Kim Jung-woo pulled one back in the 34th minute. Chamanga extended the lead just before the hour and Chivuta added a fourth on 71 minutes. Korea got a late goal from Koo Ja-cheol. South Korea were in South Africa for a week of high altitude training and now head to Spain for two more internationals. Zambia play Tunisia in their opening match at the Nations Cup in Lubango on Wednesday.
■CAMEROON
Webo on target in 3-1 win
Achille Webo scored twice as African Nations Cup hopefuls Cameroon beat Kenya 3-1 in a warm-up match on Saturday. Cameroon stretched their unbeaten run to eight games despite going behind in the 20th minute to a James Situma goal. Webo equalized eight minutes before half-time and then put his side in the lead 11 minutes into the second half. Two minutes later Mohammadou Idrissou grabbed a third. Cameroon play their opening Group D match against Gabon on Wednesday.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and 2022 drafts, on Thursday won for the first time in the major leagues. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his major
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