BELGIUM
Mechelen thrashed by Gent
Taiwan international Javier Chen’s KV Mechelen were on the wrong end of a hammering on Friday night in the Belgian Jupiler League as they fell to a 6-2 defeat away to KAA Gent. The hosts were 1-0 ahead at the break after Mechelen’s Maxim Biset put into his own net after 19 minutes and they doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Elimane Coulibaly scored the second. However, Mechelen drew level just three minutes later after Boubacar Dialiba Diabang (58) and Julien Gorius (59) scored for the visitors to make it 2-2. Gent went back in front in the 74th minute when Tim Smolders converted and it got worse for the visitors as Gent ran away with the game.
GERMANY
Mainz beat Stuttgart 3-1
Nigerian forward Anthony Ujah scored his first two Bundesliga goals as struggling FSV Mainz 05 came from behind to beat VfB Stuttgart 3-1 in a match featuring two red cards on Friday. Mainz, without a victory in nine outings, turned the form book inside out to defeat sixth-placed Stuttgart. The home team had Eugen Polanski sent off in the 83rd minute and Stuttgart defender Maza was also dismissed in stoppage time. Cacau put visiting Stuttgart in front six minutes after the break, but two minutes later 21-year-old Ujah headed the equalizer. Mainz went ahead on the hour following a harshly awarded penalty for handball by Maza that was converted by midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz. Four minutes later the Austrian set up Ujah for his second goal.
ITALY
Inter game postponed
Inter’s Seria A game in Genoa today has been postponed after deadly storms hit the Italian port city. Flash flooding on Friday after heavy rainfall left six people dead. Five of the victims, including two children, died when the lobby of an apartment block in which they had sought shelter flooded and a woman was apparently crushed by cars being swept away by the water.
ENGLAND
FA to appeal Rooney ban
The Football Association (FA) is to appeal Wayne Rooney’s ban that has ruled the Manchester United striker out of the Euro 2012 group stages. Rooney put his Euro participation in danger when he blatantly kicked Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic, yet he has been assured by England manager Fabio Capello that he will figure in his Euro squad. Rooney claims the punishment, which would scupper his chances of featuring in the tournament at all should England fail to reach the knockout phase, was “a bit harsh.” And that view has been endorsed, in writing, by Dzudovic, and it is thought that will provide the central component of the FA’s appeal to UEFA.
FRANCE
PSG woo David Beckham
Paris Saint-Germain went on the charm offensive on Friday in their bid to lure David Beckham to the French league leaders. Qatari investors have plowed millions of euros into PSG since buying the club in May and the 36-year-old former England captain, whose Los Angeles Galaxy contract ends in the coming weeks, is seen as a key target. “David Beckham goes beyond the sport. He is an ambassador, he is a brand, he is an example to others,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi told www.lequipe.fr. “But he is also still a very good football player whose age is not a problem.” The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan winger has said he is yet to decide on his future and will wait for the Major League Soccer season to end.
BASEBALL
Cardinals veteran dies
Bob Forsch, who took the mound and cheerfully threw out the first pitch of Game 7 of the World Series on Friday last week, died at his home in Tampa, Florida. He was 61. Forsch collapsed at home on Thursday and died from an aneurysm in his upper chest, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Friday. Forsch is the pitcher with the third-most wins in Cardinals history and had two career no-hitters. The death is sobering news for St Louis, who are still celebrating their World Series title. Forsch won 163 games for the Cardinals from 1974 to 1988. He played his last season in Houston, retiring in 1989.
RUGBY UNION
Samoan back in hot water
Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu faces an English Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary hearing for recent comments on his Twitter account, which could also activate a suspended six-month ban from the International Rugby Board (IRB). The Gloucester center was cited by the RFU for alleged derogatory comments about Saracens opposite Owen Farrell following their Premiership club match last weekend, for being critical of the judicial process, the World Cup and IRB. While representing Samoa at the World Cup, Fuimaono-Sapolu was handed a suspended six-month ban by the IRB last month for accusing Welsh referee Nigel Owens of being racist and biased. The RFU charged Fuimaono-Sapolu with “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.” It specified insulting or provocative comments about Farrell, critical or sarcastic comments about the disciplinary process and critical comments about the World Cup and IRB that he tweeted or retweeted from Tuesday last week to Monday.
FOOTBALL
New helmets not safer: study
Modern helmets are no more effective in protecting high-school and college players from injury than the leather helmets used nearly 100 years ago, according to a new study by the Cleveland Clinic. Researchers conducted impact tests on the latest, high-tech helmets and low-tech old ones that mimicked the hits young players routinely suffer on the field and that lead to thousands of concussions each year. “What we tested were common, everyday hits,” lead researcher Adam Bartsch said. “We didn’t test the really severe NFL kill shots.” The researchers discovered that for most impacts and angles, today’s polycarbonate helmets are no better at reducing injury than the “leatherheads” of old. And in some cases, the old helmets offered slightly better protection. Bartsch called the results “really surprising.” He said they raised serious questions about the effectiveness of a helmet with a hard outer shell and a fairly stiff interior padding in protecting players from hits that over time could lead to head, neck and brain injuries. The researchers, whose finding are published online in the Journal of Neurosurgery, said they hope the study would prompt helmet manufacturers to re-examine design.
BOXING
AIBA mulls skirts for women
Amateur boxing’s governing body will sound out competitors and the public before deciding whether women should wear skirts instead of shorts in the ring at the London Olympics. AIBA spokesman Sebastien Gillot said on Friday the world body had never suggested skirts should be compulsory and the association was surprised at the way a clothing controversy had snowballed in the past week. Several women boxers have criticized attempts to encourage them to wear skirts for what seemed to be purely aesthetic reasons.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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