RUGBY UNION
Players in machete attack
Three France internationals who play for Clermont Auvergne have been injured in a machete attack by a gang in southern France, police said on Sunday. Aurelien Rougerie, Julien Pierre and Benjamin Kayser were attacked by a 12-strong gang in Millau in the early hours of Sunday morning. A club statement said none of the players’ injuries were life-threatening, adding that weapons used included machetes, knives and swords. The players had been to a nightclub and were walking back to their hotel when they were set upon by the gang for no apparent reason, police said, adding that no one was detained at the scene of the attack. Pierre, who along with Rougerie was part of the France team that lost the 2011 World Cup final, will have surgery on “deep cuts” to his hip.
MOTOR RACING
Conway wins in Toronto
Mike Conway has won the second race of IndyCar’s doubleheader in Toronto, where rain forced the series to run both races on Sunday. The first race was washed out on Saturday and run a little more than five hours before the second race. Rain again played a role as a brief shower soaked the track and forced teams to use varying tire strategies to combat the slick surface. Conway was one of the first drivers to replace the rain tires when the track began to dry and it put him in position to win a race. It was Conway’s second win of the season. Sebastien Bourdais won the first race.
ATHLETICS
Porter stuns champ Pearson
Britain’s Tiffany Porter stunned Australia’s Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson at the Anniversary Games on Sunday in a timely warning ahead of their Commonwealth Games duel. US-born Porter won the race, which was staged at London’s Horse Guards Parade, in 12.71 seconds, despite Pearson enjoying the better start. Brianna Rollins, the world champion, was second, with Pearson clocking 12.79 back in third. In the men’s 100m, Michael Rodgers of the US won in 9.91 seconds.
ATHLETICS
Bolt to run on Rio beach
Jamaican world-record holder Usain Bolt is to return to Rio de Janeiro next month to run a special 100m on the beach, he said on his Web site on Sunday. The six-time Olympic gold medalist added the Aug. 17 “Mano a Mano” 100m on Copacabana Beach to three previously announced races in what he said was his finalized schedule for this year. Bolt has delayed opening his season this year because of a foot injury and will start with a 4x100m relay with his Jamaica teammates at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Aug 1 and Aug. 2. The eight-time world champion will also run 100m races in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug 23 and at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Aug 28.
RUGBY UNION
Kevin Skinner dies aged 86
Former All Blacks captain Kevin Skinner died on Monday at his home in Auckland aged 86, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said. “Kevin was a much-admired player, regarded by many as one of New Zealand’s greatest props,” NZRU chairman Brent Impey said. Skinner made his international debut at 21 in 1949 and retired for the first time in 1954, but Impey said it was his return to the game in 1956 that earned him a place in rugby folklore. South Africa were 1-1 with the All Blacks and had dominated the scrum before Skinner was called in to take them on. The rugged forward delivered and the All Blacks won the next two Tests for their first ever series win over South Africa.
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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