■BASKETBALL
Wizards try to forget Arenas
Even as the Washington Wizards went to great lengths to erase all traces of Gilbert Arenas from the Verizon Center, one teammate gave a nod to his suspended NBA teammate on Sunday. DeShawn Stevenson took the court for pre-game warmups with the words “AGENT” and “ZERO” written in red on tape wrapped just above his shoes as the Wizards prepared to play the New Orleans Hornets. “Agent Zero” is a nickname for Washington’s gregarious playmaker, who was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday in the wake of an incident involving unloaded guns that he brought to the Wizards arena and stored in his locker. Arenas remains under investigation by authorities over the firearms and NBA commissioner David Stern was clearly angered that Arenas appeared to be taking the situation lightly. In suspending Arenas, Stern said he was “not currently fit to take the court.” NBA rules forbid players from bringing guns to league facilities or when traveling on league business. Four other Wizards players have been fined for making light of the situation prior to a game last week.
■TENNIS
McEnroe pans suspension
John McEnroe has criticized the handling of tennis match-fixing claims, saying the suspension of Russia’s Ekaterina Bychkova does not make sense. Last week, the Tennis Integrity Unit fined Bychkova US$5,000 and barred the Russian from playing for 30 days, saying she failed to report that she was asked to provide inside information and throw matches. McEnroe called match-fixing a “huge concern” for tennis and said Bychkova had been suspended after turning down an illegal approach, which he said would dissuade other players from being honest.
■SOCCER
Who should stop the game?
Italy’s soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete has clashed with Interior Minister Roberto Maroni about who should halt matches in the case of racist chants. Italian soccer has a severe problem with fans singing racist chants, particularly aimed at Inter Milan’s Italian-born black striker Mario Balotelli. Both the government and federation agree matches should be suspended immediately if racist chanting is heard, but Abete said the referee could not act alone. “As long as the rules are as they are, the federation, and therefore the referee, can do nothing against racist chants because right now the power to stop a game lies with the police,” Abete told reporters. Teams are frequently fined for fans’ racist chants and Juventus had to play a game behind closed doors last season, but threats to suspend a match have not been followed through.
■BOXING
Pacquiao to fight in Dallas
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will defend his title against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on March 13, the Filipino’s promoter and the Cowboys owner said on Sunday. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum finalized the deal after talks of a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr fizzled out over Mayweather’s demand for a rigorous dope testing procedure. “I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “Manny Pacquiao is boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound attraction and the world champion,” Jones added.
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
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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