■ BASEBALL
Kuo leads online MLB poll
Taiwanese pitcher Kuo Hong-chih has taken a solid lead in an online poll on Major League Baseball’s Web site asking fans to name this year’s best setup man. As of 8pm Monday, the LA Dodgers’ Kuo had garnered 34 percent of the votes, the most among the six choices given. He was followed by Arthur Rhodes of the Cincinnati Reds, who had 20 percent, with Daniel Bard of the Boston Red Sox ranking third with 15 percent and Scott Downs of the Toronto Blue Jays with 10 percent. The lefty reliever has a 3-1 record with four saves, 17 holds and an ERA of 0.88 in 39 appearances. Kuo was voted on MLB’s Web site as the 2008 Setup Man of the Year.
■ BASEBALL
Rodriguez has torn ligament
New York Mets relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez has a torn thumb ligament in his pitching hand sustained during a fight with his girlfriend’s father at New York’s Citi Field and will need surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the season. The Mets announced the injury before Monday’s game against Houston. Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he was “disappointed, discouraged, frustrated” by the news. Rodriguez was suspended for two days following the fight outside a family room at the stadium last week. The 28-year-old closer was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment.
■ FIGURE SKATING
Former US champ sentenced
Nicole Bobek, the 1995 US women’s figure skating champion, was sentenced to five years on probation on Monday for a role in a crystal methamphetamine ring. Bobek, 32, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in June and apologized for her actions at her sentencing hearing. She was among more than two dozen people accused of creating a network that distributed US$10,000 of the drug each week. The alleged leader, Edward Cruz Jr, was sentenced to 16 years in prison earlier this month.
■CRICKET
PCB pledges flood money
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) yesterday pledged 11.42 million Pakistani rupees (US$133,400) for flood victims and said it was working to drum up further funds through an international exhibition match in England. Pakistan has been devastated by massive flooding that has affected 20 million people in the country’s worst ever natural disaster. The board said it felt duty bound to support the victims and made the pledge to the Pakistani prime minister’s flood relief fund. The donations were made by board chairman Ijaz Butt, board staff and players on the national team. Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi has also launched a campaign and is touring flood-affected areas to distribute funds and food.
■ BASKETBALL
Haslem released after arrest
Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who turned down richer offers to sign last month with the team he helped to a 2006 NBA title, is free from custody after being arrested on drug charges on Sunday. Police charged Haslem after his 2008 Mercedes sedan was stopped for speeding and smelled of marijuana. A search uncovered a bag of marijuana, leading to charges of possessing more than 20g of marijuana, a felony, and four counts of possessing drug paraphernalia. A passenger in the vehicle, Antwain Fleming, told police the marijuana belonged to him. He was charged with a misdemeanor possession charge of under 20g. Haslem has averaged 10 points and 8.1 rebounds over seven seasons, all with the Heat.
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
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
‘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
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
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