RUGBY UNION
Japan obliterate UAE 111-0
Japan pulverized the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 111-0 to capture the Asian Five Nations for the fourth time in a row and with a game to spare, Japanese rugby officials said on yesterday. The “Brave Blossoms” exploded for 17 tries in Friday’s game in Dubai to make it a perfect three wins from three and move to an unassailable 18 points. Japan, warming up for this year’s World Cup in New Zealand which kicks off on Sept. 9, play Sri Lanka in their last match next weekend. Lock Hitoshi Ono, whose family’s dairy farm has been threatened by collapse by the current nuclear crisis at the crippled power plant north of Tokyo, was given the captain’s armband for the game.
Photo: Reuters
ICE HOCKEY
Canadian player found dead
Canadian professional hockey player Derek Boogaard was found dead on Friday in his Minneapolis, Minnesota, apartment. He was 28. The New York Rangers announced the forward’s death on Friday night, but gave no details. Boogaard had signed a four-year, US$6.5 million deal with the Rangers in July last year and appeared in 22 games with them last season. He had a goal and an assist to go with 45 penalty minutes. One of the most feared fighters in the NHL, Boogaard missed the last 52 games of the regular season with a concussion and shoulder injury and did not play in the playoffs. The Saskatchewan native began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 games with the Wild from 2005 to 2010.
SWIMMING
Phelps flounders in free
Switzerland’s Dominik Meichtry beat Michael Phelps and four other Olympians to win the 200m freestyle on Friday at the Charlotte UltraSwim meet. Meichtry finished with a time of 1 minute, 48.55 seconds, overtaking early leader Ryan Lochte and edging Ricky Barens, who finished second in 1 minute, 49.25 seconds. Austria’s Markus Rogan was third in 1 minute, 49.47 seconds. Phelps finished in sixth place, 1.34 seconds behind Meichtry. The race was Phelps’ first since he finished a surprising fourth in the 200m butterfly at a meet in Michigan last month, ending a winning streak in the event dating back to 2002. Phelps, who has been training intensely for the upcoming world championships in Shanghai in July, was in an outside lane after posting a slow time in the heats.
BASKETBALL
Rivers extends with Celtics
Doc Rivers has agreed to a fresh five-year deal to remain head coach of the Boston Celtics, the NBA team said on Friday. Rivers’ existing contract was set to expire at the end of this season and he had initially planned to take a break from coaching after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday. However, the 49-year-old changed his mind and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the team’s Web site that Rivers would return for next season. No further details of the new deal were disclosed, but local media estimate the contract extension to be worth US$35 million. Rivers, an NBA All-Star as a player with the Atlanta Hawks in 1988, led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship and also to last year’s Finals.
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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