■CYCLING
Armstrong trails Rabon
Lance Armstrong’s hopes of a Vuelta de Murcia victory were all but dashed when he finished more than a minute behind leader Frantisek Rabon in Saturday’s time-trial. Armstrong trailed Team HTC-Columbia rider Rabon by 1 minute, 23 seconds ahead of yesterday’s flat 121km stage, where few serious breakaways were possible. The seven-time Tour de France champion spent much of the offseason trying to improve his time trial performance, but he finished eighth on Saturday after clocking 26 minutes, 28 seconds along the 22km course. Denis Menchov of Russia was second in the time trial and trails Rabon by 38 seconds overall. Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins, a Tour front-runner, was third with a time of 25 minutes, 58 seconds to sit 53 seconds behind the Czech leader. Armstrong’s teammate Andreas Kloden is fourth overall, 57 seconds behind Rabon.
■BOXING
Alexander KOs Urango
Devon Alexander of the US knocked out Colombia’s Juan Urango with a right uppercut after 1 minute, 12 seconds of the eighth round to unify the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Alexander (20-0, 13 knockouts) made a successful defense of his WBC title, while taking away the IBF title from Urango. Urango had won the sixth round on all three judges’ cards and carried the action in the seventh, but Alexander abruptly turned the fight around and ended it in the eighth. First, he knocked down Urango with a startling right uppercut. The Colombian, however, got up quickly, but appeared dazed. Alexander pounced with the right cross that wobbled Urango and then followed up with the uppercut that finished the job.
■TENNIS
Hantuchova beats Cibulkova
Daniela Hantuchova came from a set down to defeat fellow Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Monterrey Open. Second-seeded Hantuchova is looking for her fourth WTA title in the final against either third-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or unseeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova at the outdoor hard-court event. Pavlyuchenkova and Sevastova were to play their semi-final early yesterday after their scheduled match on Saturday was postponed because of heavy rain.
■GOLF
Villegas takes Honda lead
Camilo Villegas emerged from a shaky back nine with a three-stroke lead after shooting a three-under 67 during the third round of the Honda Classic on Saturday. The in-form Colombian, joint overnight leader with Anthony Kim of the US, charged out of the blocks with four birdies on the front nine, before stumbling with three bogeys to fall back into the pack at the PGA National Championship course. Villegas recovered with two birdies, however, to finish with a total of 11-under.
■GOLF
Noh wins Malaysian Open
South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul demonstrated nerves of steel to win the Malaysian Open by one shot yesterday after a magical final-hole birdie. The 18-year-old floated a superb chip shot from behind a hospitality marquee to within four feet as his four-under 68 edged out compatriot K.J. Choi, who closed with a 69. Noh finished with a winning total of 14-under 274 in Kuala Lumpur as joint overnight leaders, Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Britain’s Rhys Davies, slipped back with 71s.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
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