■TENNIS
Venus out of Rogers Cup
Venus Williams withdrew from next week’s WTA tournament in Montreal on Friday, citing an injured left knee that is hampering her preparation for the US Open. The No. 4-ranked Williams already had pulled out of this week’s hard-court event in Cincinnati, another warm-up for the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, which begins Aug. 30. In a statement issued by the Montreal tournament, Williams said she was looking forward to playing there for the first time, “but the pain that I am experiencing in my knee has unfortunately not gone away.” The seven-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played a singles match on tour since June 29, when she was upset in the Wimbledon quarter-finals by 82nd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. Williams was seeded third for the Rogers Cup and her withdrawal caused four seeded players to be moved on the draw sheet. An extra player will make the main draw from this weekend’s qualifying tournament.
■SOCCER
City snap up Balotelli
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini completed the signing of Italian striker Mario Balotelli from Inter on Friday. Balotelli agreed a five-year contract with the Premier League club after flying into Manchester for a medical earlier in the day. The 20-year-old was a long-term transfer target for Mancini, who worked with the player during his spell in charge at Inter, and it is believed he has cost City about £24 million (US$37.5 million). He is City’s fifth big-money signing since the end of last season, taking their spending to more than £100 million after the arrivals of Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov.
■SOCCER
Chelsea sign Ramires
English Premier League champions Chelsea on Friday completed the signing of Brazil midfielder Ramires from Benfica for a fee thought to be about £17 million. The 23-year-old has joined the Stamford Bridge side on a four-year contract having received a work permit and passed a medical. The former Cruzeiro player was to miss yesterday’s opening Premier League game against West Brom. “Every player in the world would love to play for Chelsea and it’s a great opportunity that was given to me, I will give my best to repay this chance and I am very happy,” Ramires told Chelsea’s Web site. “He is a fantastic player, a fantastic midfielder, he is very young and will be the future of the Brazilian national team and I hope he will be the future of Chelsea,” Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti said.
■SOCCER
Star says he’s overweight
Ronaldo, sporting a large belly and little pace, acknowledged on Friday he is overweight and out of shape as he tries to return to Corinthians after a thigh injury sidelined him for three months. The 33-year-old Ronaldo, a three-time FIFA Player of the Year, said on Twitter that he could be in shape to play in 15 days. Ronaldo trained on Thursday against a Corinthians youth team and showed few of the skills that made him one of the world’s top players at the height of his career at Barcelona, Inter and Real Madrid. Corinthians play today against Avai and Ronaldo will be on the substitute’s bench. “Ronaldo won’t play,” coach Adilson Batista said. “He’s a long way from what’s needed to get through the game. He hasn’t played in three months so we have to be careful.”
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
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