■FOOTBALL
Stadium blown into history
Texas Stadium, longtime home of the Dallas Cowboys until their move to the state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium last season, was dynamited into history on Sunday. The stadium, famous for the circular opening in its roof that fans liked to say was there “so God can watch his team,” was given a festive send-off before a tonne of dynamite tore the structure down. A fireworks display preceded the main event and hundreds of fans counted down until 11-year-old Casey Rogers — who won an essay contest to earn the honor — pushed a button to trigger the implosion. In less than a minute, the stadium was reduced to a massive pile of rubble.
■RUGBY UNION
Toulouse reach Cup semis
Toulouse offered an impressive combination of power and style to crush French rivals Stade Francais 42-16 on Sunday and set-up a Heineken Cup semi-final clash against holders Leinster. Toulouse, who had humbled Stade Francais 29-0 in the French championship last month, did it again, this time on the European stage, stepping up a few gears after a tight first half. A try by center Yannick Jauzion converted by flyhalf David Skrela, who also added two penalties, gave Toulouse a slim 13-10 lead before a 32,000 home crowd at the interval. Stade Francais mounted a brave challenge at first, scoring the first try of the match through powerful Argentine prop Rodrigo Roncero, while No. 10 Lionel Beauxis gave the Parisians five points in the first half from a conversion and a penalty. The second half, however, was totally one-sided, the visitors managing just two Beauxis penalties, while Toulouse ran in two more tries, by lock Patricio Albacete and wing Cedric Heymans, and scored 19 more points from Skrela’s accurate boot. Munster will visit French side Biarritz in the other semi-final.
■RUGBY UNION
Palu out for rest of season
Wallabies No. 8 Wycliff Palu will need reconstruction surgery on a knee injury and will be out for the remainder of the season, the Waratahs said yesterday. Palu ruptured his right anterior cruciate ligament in the 61st minute of the Waratahs’ 20-13 Super 14 defeat to the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
■MOTOGP
Rossi triumphs in Qatar
Valentino Rossi began the defense of his MotoGP world title with victory in the floodlit Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after Australian Casey Stoner crashed out early on. The Italian took the lead on the sixth of 22 laps when Stoner, who had started on pole position and was chasing his fourth successive Qatar win, fell while holding a two second advantage. From there Rossi controlled the pace, pulling clear of the pack only in the final few laps to win by 1.022 seconds. Rossi’s Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo worked his way through the pack to finish second.
■CURLING
Canada win World crown
Canada added the World Championship crown to their recent Olympic gold medal with a 9-3 win over Norway on Sunday. In a repeat of the Olympic final, Kevin Koe registered a double-takeout to clinch the match for the Canadians, ending the game in eight ends. Canada were quickly ahead, taking a 3-0 lead after the first end, and went 5-1 up at the end of the third, before staying in control to seal the victory. Scotland won the bronze medal with a 6-4 victory over the US.
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
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
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,
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
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