CYCLING
Brutt takes Romandie stage
Russia’s Pavel Brutt saw boldness pay off at last when he won the 172.6km first stage of the Tour of Romandie on Wednesday. The Katusha rider, known for his swashbuckling but usually unsuccessful victory bids, joined forces with three other riders soon after the start in Martigny and used the three climbs to drop them one by one and cross the line on his own in Leysin. Winner of a Giro d’Italia stage in 2008, Brutt dislodged Jonathan Castroviejo from top spot after the Spaniard won Tuesday’s prologue and now comfortably leads two of his breakaway companions overall. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Kavachuk is second, one minute behind and Belarus rider Branislav Samoilav is third, 1:22 adrift.
BASEBALL
Yankees leak account data
The New York Yankees leaked account information for about 17,000 season-ticket holders, the Major League Baseball team said. An employee “mistakenly attached an internal Yankees spreadsheet” to correspondence to several hundred ticket holders on Monday, the team said in a letter to account holders. Names, addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone and fax numbers were disseminated, along with seat numbers, Yankee account numbers, account representatives’ names and ticket package codes.
CRICKET
Youngster sets record
Wicketkeeper Barney Gibson has broken a 144-year record to become the youngest first-class cricketer in England. Aged just 15 years and 27 days, Gibson started Yorkshire’s three-day county championship match against Durham University on Wednesday. Gibson surpasses the record set by Charles Young in 1867 when Hampshire selected him at 15 years and 131 days old, according to ESPN CricInfo. Gibson told the Web site of Yorkshire newspaper the Telegraph & Argus that his school had “sent me up here with some homework.”
BASEBALL
MLB, McCourt tussle
Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt planned to continue running the club after saying on Wednesday that Major League Baseball vetoed a US$300 million media contract he had struck with Fox Broadcasting Company. McCourt, whose Dodgers franchise has been taken over by MLB due to mounting concern over its financial plight, traveled to New York to outline the deal in a bid to wrest back financial control of his team. MLB, however, later denied that any veto had taken place, saying instead it “would make no decision on any transaction until after [an] investigation into the club and its finances.” The Dodgers have been one of baseball’s top franchises, but have been gripped by in-fighting since McCourt’s wife, Jamie, filed for divorce in October 2009 after over 30 years of marriage.
BASEBALL
Coach under investigation
Major League Baseball has launched an investigation after a man on Wednesday accused Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell of “highly inappropriate conduct toward fans.” According to Justin Quinn, McDowell made homophobic comments and crude sexual gestures to three male fans sitting in the bleachers during pre-game batting practice at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Saturday. Quinn, who was also in the stands with his wife and their nine-year-old twin daughters, called out “Hey, there are kids out here,” before McDowell allegedly threatened to knock out his teeth with a baseball bat.
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
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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