GOLF
Play abandoned in Madeira
The first round of the Madeira Islands Open was abandoned without a ball being hit on Thursday after heavy fog enveloped the Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra. The 1,500th tournament in European Tour history was set to see two rounds of action yesterday at a venue which stands at 700m above sea level. “We abandoned play because five of the holes have been unplayable all day due to the fog,” tournament director Jose Maria Zamora said. “Basically, 13 of the holes have been playable for much of the day, but five of the holes higher up the mountain — one, nine, 10, 11 and 18 — have had no visibility all day.”
TENNIS
Federer to play French Open
Roger Federer will take part in the French Open, despite earlier suggesting he may take time out to be with wife Mirka, who gave birth to the couple’s second set of twins this week. Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick told the ATP Tour Web site that the Swiss star intends to feature at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros in Paris on May 25, where he would stretch his consecutive run of Grand Slam events to 58. “Roger plans on playing Roland Garros and he will make a decision at the last minute if he will play Rome [next week] depending on how everything is going with his family,” Godsick said. Mirka Federer gave birth to two sons, Leo and Lenny, on Tuesday. The couple already have twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Ri, who will be five in July. Federer, 32, has played in a record 57 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, this past January eclipsing the mark previously set by Wayne Ferreira in 2003. He will be making his 16th straight appearance at the French Open, where he won the title in 2009 to complete a career Grand Slam
BASKETBALL
Snake unnerves Trail Blazer
The Portland Trail Blazers had a snake in their locker room on Thursday. Not a backstabbing, treacherous teammate — a real live snake. The reptile, believed to be a baby rattlesnake, was found coiled up in reserve forward Thomas Robinson’s locker ahead of their playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. Robinson, who stands 2.08m and weighs 107.5kg, was unnerved by the find. “I screamed,” he said. “I saw something curled up. I screamed. I jumped. I yelled.” Security personnel removed the snake from the locker. Robinson scored only two points on Thursday as the Trail Blazers were beaten 114-97 to fall 2-0 behind in their best-of-seven Western Conference semi-finals series.
ANTI-DOPING
Former cop to head agency
Australia has appointed a former federal police officer to head its anti-doping agency amid ongoing investigations into the links between organized crime and drugs in sports. Sports Minister Peter Dutton yesterday announced the appointment of Ben McDevitt, who has held high-ranking positions in the federal police and the Australian Crime Commission over a 28-year career in law enforcement, as chief executive of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority. The authority is still considering whether individual Australian rules or rugby league players should be charged after a 13-month investigation into the use of banned substances in the top national leagues. An investigation into supplements programs in the leagues has already resulted in a AS$2 million (US$1.87 million) fine for Australian Football League club Essendon and a AS$1 million fine for National Rugby League club Cronulla.
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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