GOLF
Bae faces military issue
The burgeoning USPGA Tour career of South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon appears on hold after the 28-year-old was ordered to return home to complete military service. Bae, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, had his overseas travel permit extension request rejected by the South Korean Military Manpower Administration, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, quoting his mother. The world No. 84, who has qualified to compete in the US Masters in April, must return to South Korea at the end of January or he could risk criminal charges as his current permit expires in the coming days, his mother added. All South Korean men between 18 and 35 must complete two years of military service, with the country still technically at war with North Korea after a peace treaty went unsigned following the 1950-1953 Korean War. Bae, who won the Frys.Com Open in October, is the highest ranked South Korean golfer and would be expected to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 when the sport makes its return to the Olympics.
BASKETBALL
Prices rise on coach rumor
The prospect of spotting Jim Harbaugh, reported to be on the brink of becoming the University of Michigan’s next football coach, has caused ticket prices to more than double for the school’s basketball game tonight. Harbaugh, 51, who mutually agreed to part ways with the San Francisco 49ers following four National Football League seasons and a Super Bowl appearance last year, will be introduced today at his Ann Arbor, Michigan, alma mater, ESPN reported, citing a person who spoke with the school’s top boosters. The university issued a statement late yesterday saying interim athletic director Jim Hackett would have a news conference today at noon “to make a major announcement regarding Michigan football.” The average resale price paid in the past few days for a ticket to the Wolverines Big Ten conference basketball opener against Illinois was US$116, more than twice the US$48 average paid last week, according to secondary market ticket aggregator SeatGeek.
YACHTING
‘Wild Rose’ wins handicap
The Wild Rose was yesterday named the overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart race, following doubts about the results after some boats diverted to search for a crashed light plane. Supermaxi Wild Oats XI on Sunday won a record eighth line honors title, becoming the most successful yacht in the history of the 628 nautical mile (1,163km) competition when it crossed the line in 2 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes and 26 seconds late on Monday. Wild Rose, which was also formerly named Wild Oats, won the handicap honors with a corrected race time of 3 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 43 seconds. The handicap honors take into account the size, weight and length of each boat and the time they took to complete the race.
SKI JUMPING
Kraft outpoints Cup leader
Stefan Kraft of Austria won the opening event of ski jumping’s Four Hills tour in Oberstdorf, Germany, on Monday after it was postponed for a day because of bad weather conditions. Kraft soared 136.5m for the first-round lead and held his nerve with a jump of 129m in the second. He finished with 291.9 points, 6.9 more than compatriot Michael Hayboeck, who jumped 137.5m and 132.5m. Hayboeck took the overall World Cup lead by 1 point from Norway’s Anders Fannemel, who placed sixth with 270.7 points. Slovenia’s Peter Prevc was third, with 283.9 points.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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