BOXING
Williams’ title win panned
Rugby World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams won the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association’s heavyweight title, but his fight against an overweight US opponent who showed little skill or interest in fighting has been disparaged at home. Williams, 26, won the belt with a first round technical knockout over Clarence Tillman in Hamilton, New Zealand, on Wednesday. The fight lasted less than three minutes, with the grossly overweight Tillman showing little enthusiasm for the fight or any technical skill when Williams managed to land his shots, forcing referee Lance Revill to stop the bout. Boxing commentator and historian Bob Jones disparaged the fight, calling Tillman a “joke opponent” and the bout itself a farce.
TENNIS
Sanchez Vicario lashes out
Former Spanish tennis ace Arantxa Sanchez Vicario blames her parents for losing the roughly 45 million euros (US$60 million) she earned throughout her career, in a new book published this week. The 40-year-old, who retired in 2002 after winning four Grand Slam titles and once holding the No. 1 ranking, said she no longer speaks to her parents, whom she accuses of mismanaging the money she earned through endorsements and tournament wins. “They left me with nothing,” she wrote in the book of memoirs called Let’s Go! Memories of a fight, a life and a woman, which hit bookstores in Spain on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL
Magic, Bird hit Broadway
Showtime is about to have a whole new meaning for Magic Johnson. The story of the NBA Hall of Famer’s rivalry and friendship with Larry Bird is coming to Broadway in Magic/Bird, set to open in April. The two consulted in its production, and Johnson cannot wait to watch their story told. His “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s were a Hollywood hit, and now he is ready to see his name in Broadway’s lights. Johnson said: “I guess it’s the real Showtime.” It is the second in a planned series of sports-themed plays from producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser, the team behind Lombardi. Kirmser says they wanted to tell the story of Johnson and Bird, who started as rivals in college and ended as Olympic teammates and friends.
SKIING
Maria Hoefl-Riesch injured
Double Olympic champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch said she was battling with a “very painful” rib injury ahead of this weekend’s giant slalom and slalom World Cup races in Andorra’s Soldeu--Grandvalira. Last season’s overall World Cup winner took a tumble in training on Tuesday, leaving her with bruising on the left side of her ribcage and an injury to her left shoulder, but no broken bones. “Skiing is currently only possible with painkillers and I hope that I won’t be too impaired, especially in the slalom,” she said.
MOTOR RACING
Plunging driver a hit
An Australian driver flew off a road at 130kph and landed in a riverbed, but was not injured during the Tasmanian state rally. The incident involving 24-year-old George Miedecke, who has driven in some NASCAR developmental series races in the US, occurred on Jan. 28, but has become popular on Internet video sites since a film clip was released this week. Miedecke was driving his father Andrew’s 1970 Ford Capri Perana as it rounded a corner in the Targa Rally and crashed into the Huon River south
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
RSS