ICE HOCKEY
Bouwmeester dealt to Blues
Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who has yet to play a single post-season game in his 10 seasons in the National Hockey League, was dealt by the Calgary Flames to the St Louis Blues on Monday. The Flames received defenseman Mark Cundari, goaltender Reto Berra and a first-round draft pick in exchange for Bouwmeester, who has six goals in 33 games this season for Calgary. The 29-year-old was a former first-round pick of the Florida Panthers, but has been on the move the last few years. This is the third team in the last five years for Bouwmeester.
BASKETBALL
Ginobili out with injury
Guard Manu Ginobili is expected to miss up to four weeks because of a strained right hamstring, the San Antonio Spurs said on Monday. Ginobili, of Argentina, sustained the injury during the first quarter of Friday’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, causing the 11-year veteran to miss Sunday’s 88-86 loss to Miami. In 59 National Basketball Association games this season, Ginobili averaged 11.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. Spurs forwards Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, both suffering from sore left knees, also did not play in San Antonio’s 92-90 loss to Memphis on Monday. San Antonio have already locked up a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
FOOTBALL
Colt McCoy joins 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers acquired quarterback Colt McCoy from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for two undisclosed picks in this month’s NFL Draft. McCoy gives the 49ers the mobile backup to starter Colin Kaepernick they have been seeking since dealing Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs last month. McCoy started 13 games for the Browns in 2011, but he played in just three games last year, completing nine of 17 passes.
ATHLETICS
Powell forced to withdraw
Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell has been forced to withdraw from his first meeting since last year’s Olympic final because of a hamstring injury, Athletics Australia said yesterday. The 30-year-old Jamaican, who has run the 100m in less than 10 seconds more times than any other sprinter, was scheduled to race at the IAAF World Challenge in Melbourne on Saturday. The injury also forced Powell to pull out of the final of Monday’s Stawell Gift, a 131-year-old handicap race run on grass in a small town in Australia’s Victoria state. Powell suffered a groin injury in the Olympic final in London last year and trailed home last as his compatriots Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake won gold and silver.
BOXING
Ministry seeks investigation
The Indian sports ministry has asked the national anti-doping body to conduct an out-of-competition test on a boxer after claims from police and local media he uses heroin. The ministry says the unusual move is necessary because if the claims about Vijender Singh are true it “may have a debilitating influence” on other athletes. Vijender, who won middleweight bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, denies using drugs. Athletes are normally only tested for recreational drugs during events, while out-of-competition tests are conducted for performance-enhancing substances. Vijender has refused police permission to undergo tests to establish whether he is linked to a batch of heroin worth more than US$25 million that was confiscated from an international criminal network.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
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