BASKETBALL
NBA postpones camps
The NBA on Friday said it had postponed training camps and canceled the first week of preseason games as it struggles to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with players. The NBA, in the midst of its first work stoppage in 13 years, said training camps scheduled to open Oct. 3 have been postponed indefinitely and 43 preseason games from Oct. 9 to Oct. 15 have been canceled. “We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”
FOOTBALL
Ravens’ Brown dies at 40
Orlando Brown, a former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle best known for shoving an NFL official in a 1999 game, was found dead at his Baltimore home on Friday. Brown was 40. Police said no cause of death has been determined for Brown, who was dead when firefighters arrived at his home after attempts to contact him proved in vain. Police said there were no signs of trauma or suspicious circumstances. Brown began his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns in 1993 and also played for the Ravens before retiring in 2005. The most notable moment of Brown’s career as an NFL blocker came in 1999 when he was playing for the Browns against Jacksonville and was accidentally struck in the right eye by a penalty flag thrown by official Jeff Triplette. Brown, whose father was blind due to glaucoma, said concern over possible eyesight damage prompted him to push Triplette. Brown was suspended for two weeks, but also spent six days in a hospital with bleeding behind his eye. The injury would cause Brown, who was nicknamed “Zeus,” to miss the next three seasons before he made a comeback with the Ravens in 2003.
BADMINTON
Injured Lin Dan withdraws
World champion Lin Dan withdrew from the Japan Open yesterday with an injured left foot, giving his teammate Chen Long a free ticket to the men’s singles final where he will face defending champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The Chinese second seed, the sport’s biggest name and the winner in Tokyo in 2004 and 2005, said the skin on his left foot came off after a tough match against another teammate, Chen Jin, in the quarter-finals on Friday. In the women’s singles, Juliane Schenk defeated Indian star Saina Nehwal to set up a final against world champion Wang Yihan of China. The German eighth seed, who eliminated All England champion Wang Shixian of China in the quarter-finals, gained another major scalp with a 21-19, 21-10 victory over the fourth seed. Wang Yihan was given a walkover into the final as fellow Chinese Liu Xin withdrew with a left leg injury.
SOCCER
Colin Klass banned
Guyana Football Association president Colin Klass became the second high-ranking official, and the fourth in all, to be banned for their part in a bribery scandal when world soccer’s ruling body FIFA suspended him on Friday for 26 months. Klass, who was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs (US$5,537), was provisionally suspended on Aug. 11 after the Ethics Committee ruled he had breached their Code of Ethics for his part in the scandal that also led to the lifetime ban for Qatari Mohammed Bin Hammam following a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union in May.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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