SOCCER
PSV go top in Eredivisie
PSV Eindhoven scored four first-half goals to beat De Graafschap 4-1 on Sunday and move back on top of the Dutch League on goal difference. Dries Mertens converted an eighth-minute penalty to open the scoring before Ola Toivonen, Tim Matavz and Jeremain Lens settled the match before the break. Gil Vermouth gave the visitors a consolation goal from close range in the 52nd minute. PSV have 45 points from 21 matches and are ahead of AZ Alkmaar, who beat Excelsior Rotterdam 2-0 on Saturday, on goal difference.
SOCCER
Tevez apology smooths issue
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has told Carlos Tevez that an apology over his touchline tantrum might be enough to end his exile. Tevez is reported to have said he would return to Manchester today after spending the past few months home in Argentina following his row with Mancini during a Champions League tie against Bayern Munich in September last year. The Argentina forward has not played for City since he refused to warm up during the Bayern defeat and he was expected to leave the Premier League club during last month’s transfer window, but City were unable to agree a deal with AC Milan, Inter and Paris Saint-Germain and Tevez has now indicated he is ready to resume his career with City.
RUGBY UNION
Lomu needs new kidney
New Zealand great Jonah Lomu said yesterday that medical tests had confirmed a donated kidney he received eight years ago had failed and he needs a new transplant. The former All Blacks wing said he had lost 30kg since his longstanding health problems re-emerged in September last year, telling the New Zealand Women’s Weekly “everybody has to die sometime” and revealing he needs dialysis three times a week to keep his renal system functioning. Lomu was diagnosed in 1995 with the rare kidney disorder nephrotic syndrome and underwent a transplant in 2004, receiving an organ donated by friend and New Zealand radio broadcaster Grant Kereama.
RUGBY SEVENS
Samoa beat NZ in the US
Alafoti Faosiliva scored his second try in the last moments on Sunday to give Samoa a 26-19 upset of season leaders New Zealand in the final of the US stage of the IRB Rugby Sevens World Series. The giant forward crashed in for the deciding points at the death to bring a victory in Samoa’s first Sevens series final since the Dubai Sevens in December 2010. The shocker thwarted a two-try New Zealand comeback that had pulled the favorites level only to see them denied a third consecutive series crown. New Zealand remained atop the Series after the fifth of nine rounds on 92 points to 87 for Fiji with South Africa third on 76, two ahead of England, and Samoa jumping to fifth in the chase on 69.
CRICKET
Clarke out with injury
Australia captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of Friday’s triangular series match against Sri Lanka in Sydney with a right hamstring injury, Cricket Australia said yesterday. The selectors will name the Australia squad for the next bunch of matches in the series today, where they will also have to choose a replacement captain for Friday’s fixture. “Michael Clarke sustained a low grade right hamstring strain in the ODI [one-day international] versus India in Adelaide on Sunday,” Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement.
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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