BASEBALL
Marrero, 102, dies in Cuba
Cuban baseball legend Conrado “Connie” Marrero, who played in the US big leagues in the 1950s and was the oldest living Major League Baseball (MLB) veteran, died on Wednesday in Havana just two days shy of his 103rd birthday. “Early this afternoon, Conrado Marrero Ramos, one of the best pitchers in Cuban baseball history, passed away,” official news portal Cubadebate said. No cause of death was listed. However, at 102, the MLB has said he was its oldest living ex-player. Marrero, who hailed from the central province of Villa Clara, played with the now-defunct Washington Senators from 1950 to 1954, after getting his (late) start in the Cuban league. In Cuba, where baseball inspires passions like few other sources of pride and joy, Marrero was nicknamed “Guajiro,” or country boy, since he hailed from a ranch. In the US major leagues, his mates called him “Connie.”
BASKETBALL
Dragic gets NBA honor
Phoenix guard Goran Dragic, whose career-high 20.3 points a game helped the Suns win 23 more games this season than last, was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player on Wednesday. The 27-year-old backcourt standout received 408 of 1,134 possible votes in a North American media poll. Indiana’s Lance Stephenson was a distant second with 158 points, three more than Anthony Davis of New Orleans. The Slovenia international, who averaged only 9.5 points before this season, added 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds a game, as well as sinking a career-best 50.5 percent of his shots from the floor. His stats included 40.8 percent scoring from three-point range — making him the only NBA player with 50 percent overall accuracy and 40 percent success from beyond the arc. The Suns went 48-34, but missed the playoffs, finishing one game behind Dallas for the last berth in the Western Conference. Dragic started 75 games.
ICE HOCKEY
Wild’s Cooke suspended
Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke was slapped with a seven-game suspension for kneeing Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie in a playoff contest on Monday, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced on Wednesday. Cooke was given a minor penalty for sticking his knee out to trip Barrie just over two minutes into the second period of Monday’s 1-0 Minnesota victory in game three of the first-round playoff series. The NHL’s disciplinary officials reviewed it and decided to increase the penalty. Barrie was later diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament and is scheduled to miss up to six weeks. If Cooke’s full suspension is not fully served during the playoffs, the remaining games will be added onto the beginning of the 2014-2015 regular season.
CRICKET
Farbrace to assist Moores
Paul Farbrace has been appointed England assistant coach, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday. Former Sri Lanka coach Farbrace is to work alongside new director of cricket Peter Moores. The 46-year-old led Sri Lanka to this year’s Asia Cup and the World Twenty20 title in Bangladesh, the country’s first global trophy since 1996. “It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity to work with your own country’s national team and this was an offer that I could not turn down — much as I have enjoyed working with the Sri Lankan players and sharing in their recent success,” Farbrace said. England play home Test series against Sri Lanka and India this year.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
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