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.
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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