SOCCER
Kean on course for title
Former Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean remains on course to win his first trophy as a manager after his Brunei DPMM side edged past Geylang International on penalties to reach Friday’s Singapore League Cup final. The Scot, chased out of the English club after some vitriolic abuse from unhappy fans in 2012, could win a rare treble in his first season in Southeast Asia, with Brunei three points clear at the top of the 12-team table and also in the semi-finals of the Singapore Cup. Kean’s side are to face Tanjong Pagar United in Friday’s League Cup final after they downed Geylang 3-0 in the shootout after 120 goalless minutes.
SOCCER
S Korea to overhaul staff
The South Korea Football Association hopes to appoint a new technical chief this week, the first step in a overhaul that will end with a new head coach after the disappointing World Cup showing in Brazil. Former skipper Hong Myung-bo stepped down as coach after the team managed just one point in their group stage exit in Brazil following losses to Belgium and Algeria, with technical head Hwangbo Kwan following him out of the door. The association met on Monday with Hwangbo’s successor the top priority, followed by a restructuring of the technical committee and the inclusion of former national team coaches to it before they appoint a new manager. Former Celtic player and head coach Neil Lennon has been linked with the role as has Croatia’s Robert Prosinecki.
SOCCER
Player attacked in Brazil
Andre Santos, a defender with struggling Brazilian top-flight side Flamengo, was attacked by fans following Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing by Internacional in what his club called a “cowardly” act. The loss left the once proud Rio side bottom of the table after a run of just one win in 11 games. The fans allegedly lay in wait for Santos, who played for English Premier League side Arsenal from 2011 until last year, after the game in Porto Alegre and kicked and punched him as the team prepared to fly back to Rio, the player said. “I was kicked and punched. I was on my own save for a security guard. The police arrived straight away and helped me a lot but I received a lot of blows before I could get into the coach,” he told the Globo newspaper. “There have been various such cases in our country but we have to take them seriously. Yesterday it happened to me — but it could happen to anybody,” Santos said.
BOXING
Dereck Chisora cancels fight
Dereck Chisora has withdrawn from his European heavyweight title fight against Tyson Fury after fracturing his hand during a sparring session. The Londoner was set to meet Fury in Manchester to contest the European belt and the vacant British title on Saturday night, but the fight is now to be rescheduled with a new date to be announced shortly. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to have to pull out of the fight against Fury, but it is on the advice of my specialist that I have to do this,” Chisora said on Friday. After a bad-tempered runup to the fight, Fury reacted unsympathetically to his opponent’s withdrawal. “Told you all what would happen find me a real man to fight the furious1,” Chisora tweeted. “If any1 feels like a fight I’m in Bolton town centre& I feel like a rumble.” Saturday’s bout was also set to be a final eliminator for the WBO world title, currently held by Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora and Fury fought three years ago, with Fury winning on points.
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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