BASEBALL
Kershaw in US$215m deal
Pitcher Clayton Kershaw has agreed to a US$215 million, seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a person familiar with the negotiations said, making him baseball’s first player with a US$30 million average salary. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced. Kershaw receives the most lucrative deal for a pitcher, breaking the mark of US$180 million set by Justin Verlander in March last year for his seven-year contract with Detroit. Kershaw would have been eligible for free agency after the upcoming season if the new deal had not been reached. The average salary of US$30.7 million tops the previous high of US$27.5 million, set by the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez as part of a 10-year agreement signed in December 2007. While Roger Clemens had a contract with a listed salary of US$28 million with the Yankees in 2007, he joined the team in June and actually made US$17.4 million.
SOCCER
Brett Emerton retires
Former Blackburn Rovers captain Brett Emerton has announced he is retiring from soccer, leaving the sport as Australia’s third most-capped player. Emerton played 95 times for Australia — only Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neill have played more — making his last appearance at the East Asian Cup qualifiers in December 2012. The 34-year-old played professionally for 18 years, making 247 appearances for Blackburn between 2003 and 2011. He then returned to Australian soccer’s A-League with Sydney FC, but a back injury has allowed him to play only nine times this season. Emerton will play his final game tomorrow against A-league champions Central Coast.
SOCCER
Hull sign Everton’s Jelavic
Nikica Jelavic joined Hull City from Premier League rivals Everton on Wednesday after signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Tigers. The 28-year-old Croatia striker, who has joined Hull for a reported club record ￡6.5 million (US$10.6 million) rising to ￡7.5 million if they stay in the Premier League, is set to go into Tigers manager Steve Bruce’s side to play Norwich City tomorrow. “As soon as the manager called me, I realized straight away that he was really interested in signing me and that it is a great opportunity for me to come here,” Jelavic told Hull’s Web site on Wednesday. “It is a good club, and we have a good squad. We talked a little bit, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was right for me. “It’s a newly-promoted club, but I can see straight away that there is a lot of ambition here within the club and I hope that we can build on the great start to the season and become a really strong Premier League team over the coming years.” That Jelavic was on the verge of leaving Merseyside became clear last week when Hull and Everton announced they had agreed a fee for the forward.
SOCCER
Matic returns to Chelsea
Chelsea re-signed Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic on a five-and-a-half-year contract from Portuguese giants Benfica on Wednesday, the two clubs announced. In a statement to the Lisbon stock exchange, Benfica said that they will receive 25 million euros (US$34 million) for the sale of Matic, who is now set for his second spell at Stamford Bridge. After arriving from MSK Kosice in 2009, he made three substitute appearances in the 2009-2010 season and left in January 2011 as part of the deal which brought David Luiz from Benfica to west London.
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
RSS