CRICKET
Aussies sweep T20 series
England’s sorry tour of Australia finally ended with a whimper on Sunday — a crushing 84-run defeat to give the hosts a clean sweep of the three-game Twenty20 series. Australia, with man-of-the-match George Bailey smashing an unbeaten 49 off 20 balls, scored 195-6 after winning the toss in Sydney. The hosts then dismissed the psychologically scarred tourists for 111 in the 18th over to sweep the series. It marked the end of a disastrous 103-day tour for England, who lost the Ashes Tests 5-0 and the one-day international series 4-1, meaning Australia won 12-1 across the three formats. In between the losses, the international careers of spinner Graeme Swann and coach Andy Flower have been ended.
TENNIS
Makarova wins in Pattaya
Ekaterina Makarova won her second career title on Sunday, claiming a 6-3 7-6 (9/7) victory over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic at the Pattaya Open. The Russian left-hander, whose only previous title came when she won in Eastbourne, England, in 2010, withstood a strong challenge in both sets, but her greater consistency and more aggressive play in the tiebreak earned her the victory. In a dramatic finale, Makarova built a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak, but faced set point at 6-5 after she netted a smash. Pliskova, though, hit her only double fault of the match and also failed to win a second set point at 7-6, before Makarova secured victory on her first match point.
GOLF
Stadler captures first title
Kevin Stadler captured his first PGA Tour title in his 239th start on Sunday, firing a final-round 68 for a one-shot Phoenix Open win over Bubba Watson and Graham DeLaet. Stadler’s three-under effort gave him a 16-under total of 268. Stadler and 2012 Masters winner Watson were tied heading into the 72nd hole at 16-under. Stadler found the fairway off the tee, while Watson was in the right rough. Watson flew the green as Stadler landed his second shot 11 feet from the pin. Stadler just missed his birdie putt and tapped in for par. Watson, who chipped on, missed a five-footer and settled for a bogey and a share of second place.
BASKETBALL
Celtics snap losing streak
Rajon Rondo had season highs with 19 points and 10 assists as the Boston Celtics ended a four-game losing streak with a 96-89 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Jared Sullinger scored seven of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who let a 12-point lead slip to one in the final period, before pulling away at the end. Brandon Bass had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Avery Bradley scored 17 on his return after missing five games with a sprained ankle.
ICE HOCKEY
Capitals edge Red Wings
Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 39th goal on a power play 2 minutes, 37 seconds into overtime as the Washington Capitals beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 on Sunday to earn a split of a home-and-home set, tightening things up in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle was no match for goaltender Jimmy Howard, who had only three teammates on the ice with him after Brendan Smith was sent off for tripping 1:26 into the extra period. In Montreal, Michael Frolik scored in the third period to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Tobias Enstrom also scored for the Jets, while Al Montoya stopped 30 shots.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
A man fell from the 6.4m-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. The team issued a statement shortly
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
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