BASEBALL
Taiwan thrashes Lithuania
Taiwan overwhelmed Lithuania in Taipei on Monday to improve their record to 3-1 at the first International Baseball Federation under-12 Baseball World Championship. Taiwan defeated the Eastern European team 18-0 in a game that lasted only four innings instead of the regulation six because of the 10-run rule. Taiwan head coach Wu Ying-tzu said he gave his team complete freedom to play as they saw fit beginning in the third inning, in which the home team rallied for 14 runs and the winning pitcher in Sunday’s victory over Japan hit another home run. Lithuania managed only one hit and one walk in four innings, but pulled off an interesting ploy by sending a girl to pinch hit in the bottom of the fourth. She earned big applause from the crowd despite striking out. Taiwan next face Brazil tomorrow and Hong Kong on Friday.
BASKETBALL
‘Jellybean’ to coach Sparks
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, father of NBA standout Kobe Bryant, has been appointed head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, the Women’s National Basketball Association team said on Monday. Bryant senior, who previously served as Sparks head coach from August 2005 until the end of the 2006 season, will replace Jennifer Gillom in the role. “Joe’s familiarity with the Sparks organization puts us in the best possible position to compete going forward and should make for a seamless transition,” Sparks general manager Penny Toler said in a statement.
SOCCER
S Korean coach arrested
A South Korean coach has been arrested for allegedly taking cash to conceal a player’s involvement in the match-fixing scandal that has engulfed the country’s professional soccer league, according to a local media report yesterday. The head coach of K-League side Sangju Sangmu Phoenix, took 10 million won (US$9,451) from the parents of the player, promising to conceal his role in the worst scandal in the league’s 28-year history, the Yonhap news agency reported without identifying the name of the official. The player was among the 46 arrested last week in relation to the attempted fixing of 15 matches from June to October last year. The coach had also demanded money from the parents of other players, the report added.
BASEBALL
Funeral held for Rangers fan
A baseball fan who plunged 6m to his death while trying to catch a ball tossed into the stands by a Texas Rangers player was remembered by family and friends on Monday in Dallas. Shannon Stone, a 39-year old Texas fireman, died on Thursday at the Rangers’ ballpark while attending the game with his six-year-old son Cooper. He lost his footing and flipped over the railing while trying to catch the ball thrown into the outfield stands by Rangers’ Josh Hamilton. More than 1,000 people, including family, friends, fellow firemen, police officers, other emergency workers and Rangers team personnel, filled the First United Methodist Church for an hour-long funeral service.
SOCCER
Maradona uninjured in crash
Former Argentine soccer player and coach Diego Maradona was taken to hospital for routine checks after his car was involved in a road accident near Buenos Aires on Monday, local media reported. Maradona was taken to a hospital near his home in the city’s Ezeiza suburb and a medical official said he was “perfectly fine.” His girlfriend, Veronica Ojeda, was also undergoing routine tests.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
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