BOXING
Ali’s condition improves
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s condition is improving and he is expected to be released from hospital soon, his spokesman said in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday. Bob Gunnell said two days ago when Ali was admitted to hospital, that the 72-year-old’s pneumonia condition was caught early and his stay would be a short one. “Muhammad Ali has vastly improved since being admitted to the hospital over the weekend with a mild case of pneumonia. Ali’s team of doctors hopes to discharge him soon,” Gunnell said on Monday.
SOCCER
Clarke Carlisle hit by truck
Former Burnley, Leeds and Queens Park Rangers defender Clarke Carlisle was airlifted to hospital after being hit by a truck on Monday, British media reported. The BBC reported the 35-year-old former chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association was in hospital and that his injuries were not life-threatening. England soccer body the Football Association wrote on Twitter: “The thoughts & prayers of all at The FA are with Clarke Carlisle & his family at this sad time.”
BOXING
Klitschkos’ ex-trainer dies
Fritz Sdunek, who was the trainer for Ukrainian heavyweight boxing brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, has died aged 67, following complications after a heart attack, SID reported. Sdunek, who also trained former world light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski, suffered the heart attack in the Canary Islands before being transported to Hamburg, Germany, where he died, Web site express.de announced. Sdeunek, a former amateur boxer, had had to reduce his training responsiblities in recent years as he battled heart problems and skin cancer. It was from his Hamburg base that he trained Vitali Klitschko, now mayor of Kiev, during his stellar 16-year career. Younger brother Wladimir was under his wing for eight years. “Wladimir and Vitali learnt the news from the family,” Wladimir’s manager Bernd Bonte told SID. “They are upset and very sad... He was a close friend to us all, we owe him a lot.” While Vitali, who was twice WBC champion and also WBO titleholder, has retired to focus on a political career in Ukraine, Wladimir, 38, holds three of the heavyweight championship belts (IBF, WBA and WBO), with his goal to become the first pugilist in history to hold all four by taking the WBC version next year.
BASKETBALL
Carl Herrera out of ICU
Former NBA player Carl Herrera is out of the intensive care unit (ICU) and improving following a weekend shooting, the team he coaches and one of his sons said on Monday. The Gigantes de Guayana team said in a series of Twitter posts that Herrera, the first Venezuelan to play in the NBA, is no longer in critical condition “and is improving day by day.” Herrera, 48, was shot on Saturday last week during an apparent robbery attempt at a restaurant on Margarita Island off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.
CRICKET
Watson hit by bouncer
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was forced to cut short his training session in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets yesterday after being hit on the helmet by a bouncer, three days before the start of the third Test against India. Watson, under pressure for his place at No. 3 in the batting order, was knocked to the ground when a short ball from James Pattinson hit him flush on the helmet.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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