■BASEBALL
Hanley Ramirez benched
Florida Marlins All-Star Hanley Ramirez was benched during his team’s 5-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday for showing a lack of effort, manager Fredi Gonzalez told the team’s Web site. The disciplinary action came in the second inning where shortstop Ramirez misplayed a ball, sending it into left field, where he casually jogged after it and allowed two Arizona runs. When the Marlins returned to the clubhouse from the field, Gonzalez exchanged words with Ramirez before the player was replaced by Brian Barden for the third inning. Despite being hobbled in the first when he fouled a pitch off of his shin, the manager did not accept the injury as an excuse.
■TENNIS
Nalbandian nurses injury
David Nalbandian has pulled out of the French Open with a left hamstring injury. Nalbandian announced the move on Monday on his Web site. He said he hopes to return in time to play Wimbledon, which begins on June 21. Nalbandian reached the Wimbledon final in 2002, losing to Lleyton Hewitt of Australia. The Argentine has been slowed by the hamstring problem for a month.
■TENNIS
Bondarenko beats Vinci
Sixth-seeded Alona Bondarenko beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-3, 6-1 on Monday to advance to the second round of the rain-disrupted Warsaw Open. Bondarenko’s match was delayed for several hours by heavy rainfall, and the Ukrainian’s sister Katerina Bondarenko then lost 6-3, 6-1 to defending champion Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania in the only other completed match of the day. The third match between Polish wild cards Marta Domachowska and Katarzyna Piter was halted at 1-1 in the first set and was to resume yesterday.
■TENNIS
Kubot beats Mina in Nice
Eighth-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland beat Gianni Mina of France 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Open de Nice on Monday. Kubot, a finalist in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, earlier this year, broke the French teenager three times and will next face Potito Starace of Italy. Earlier, Olivier Rochus of Belgium beat Adrian Mannarino of France 6-3, 6-1 to set up a meeting with top-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden. Leonardo Mayer rallied to defeat French qualifier David Guez 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. The Argentine hit six aces and converted all four break points. He will take on fourth-seeded Tomaz Bellucci of Brazil. Simon Greul of Germany downed local favorite Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4, while Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland beat Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-5, 6-2.
■ICE HOCKEY
Capitals sign Backstrom
Nicklas Backstrom signed a 10-year, US$67 million deal with the Washington Capitals on Monday, a major investment in a player who has rapidly developed into one of the best centers in the NHL. The 22-year-old Swede and two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin have developed a partnership that accounted for 210 points this season, making them the top scoring teammate duo in the league. “We now have two of maybe the top five players in the world playing on our team for many years to come,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. Ovechkin is about to enter the third year of a US$124 million, 13-year deal. Knowing that Ovechkin isn’t going anywhere played a part in Backstrom’s desire to commit to Washington for the long haul. “I was thinking that I wanted to play with him,” Backstrom said. “Hopefully he’ll want to play with me, too.”
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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