OLYMPICS
Taiwanese voted into IOC
The head of the international amateur boxing federation has won a spot on the powerful International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board. C.K. Wu of Taiwan, president of amateur boxing association AIBA, defeated cycling federation chief Pat McQuaid 20-8 on Tuesday in a vote of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in Quebec City, Canada. Wu will replace Denis Oswald as the ASOIF representative on the IOC board. Oswald, head of world rowing’s governing body, is stepping down as ASOIF president at the end of the year. International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti was elected unopposed on Tuesday to succeed Oswald as the head of ASOIF. Because the 70-year-old Ricci Bitti’s IOC membership expires this year, ASOIF had to nominate a full IOC member to the board. Wu’s nomination will come up for ratification at the IOC session in London in July.
BASEBALL
Wang Chien-ming activated
Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming was activated by the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, with relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus replacing the Asian hurler on the disabled list. Wang had been slated to be the fifth starter for the National League squad this season, but a strained left hamstring put an end to those plans. The 32-year-old right-hander will be used in a long relief role. In five starts with developmental-league clubs, Wang went 3-0 with a 3.52 earned-run average. Wang has been a bullpen pitcher five times during his North American career, all of them coming when he played for the New York Yankees from 2005 to 2009. The Nationals, 25-17, are one win behind the Atlanta Braves in a fight for the top spot in the National League East division.
SOCCER
Hooligans threaten players
Racing Club midfielder Giovanni Moreno and forward Federico Santander say they were threatened at gunpoint in Beunos Aires on Tuesday by hooligans who blame them for the club’s poor results. Santander, a forward with the Buenos Aires club, told a radio program that he and Moreno were accosted after practice by several hooligans who put a gun to Moreno’s leg and said they would “blow it off” if he didn’t leave the club. The hooligan gangs, known in Argentina as barrabravas, are a fixture in Argentine soccer matches, where violence takes place at almost every match. “They told us ... on Sunday we have to win. If not, things will get worse,” Santander told the radio station La Red. “Never in my career has anything like this happened.” Santander said the incident happened shortly after they left practice in Moreno’s vehicle. He said they were forced to pull over by another car and accosted at gunpoint.
SOCCER
Robben booed at home
Arjen Robben was booed by many of his home Bayern Munich fans when he made an appearance for the Netherlands in a friendly three days after he missed a penalty in the Champions League final against Chelsea. Robben’s spot-kick in extra time was saved by Petr Cech and Chelsea won the penalty shootout to lift the title at Bayern’s Allianz Arena on Saturday. Bayern won 3-2 on Tuesday in a match that was part of the settlement to a long dispute between the club and the Dutch soccer federation after Robben returned injured from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and could not play for months. Bayern demanded and won compensation from the Dutch.
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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