MOTOR RACING
Bianchi starts rehabilitation
French Formula One driver Jules Bianchi remains unconscious, but has begun a program of rehabilitation therapy, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. Bianchi, who suffered a serious F1 race injury when he crashed into a recovery tractor in the wet at the Japanese Grand Prix on Oct. 5, was transferred to a hospital in Nice last month. “It was a significant and very comforting step for us to be able to bring Jules home to France last month, to continue his rehabilitation surrounded by his family and friends. This is very important for Jules and also for us,” the statement said. Bianchi has been treated in the Intensive Care Unit of Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice and is now at the hospital’s rehabilitation center. “Jules’ neurological status remains unchanged; he is unconscious, but able to breathe unaided,” the family added.
SOCCER
Zelalem made US citizen
German-born Gedion Zelalem, a 17-year-old standout midfielder for Arsenal, has become a US citizen and plans to play for the country, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said on Tuesday. “Gedion Zelalem is now a US citizen. At his request, we have started the FIFA process which would allow him to be eligible for the USMNT,” Gulati said in a Twitter posting. Zelalem, whose parents are Ethiopian, played high-school soccer in Washington before being tapped by an Arsenal scout in 2013. While Zelalem had played for several German national youth squads, none was in a FIFA event, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the star prospect being seen near the White House on Monday at a US passport office. Zelalem, the first Arsenal player born after Arsene Wenger took charge of the Gunners, could boost US prospects at next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, as well as the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
FOOTBALL
Michigan U signs Harbaugh
American football coach Jim Harbaugh formally accepted the head coaching position at the University of Michigan on Tuesday, two days after parting company with the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh has been signed to a seven-year contract, university interim athletics director Jim Hackett said while introducing the 51-year-old in Ann Arbor as the school’s 20th head coach. According to media reports, Harbaugh’s deal is worth about US$5 million a year. “To come back as football coach, I have dreamed about that since the time I was a young lad. Now it’s time to live that,” said Harbaugh, who played college football at Michigan in the 1980s before embarking on a 14-season career in the NFL.
FOOTBALL
Suh wins suspension appeal
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh won his appeal on Tuesday of a one-game suspension by the National Football League and is available for Sunday’s first-round playoff game at Dallas. League appeals officer Ted Cottrell overturned the one-game ban imposed on Monday by NFL vice president of football operations Merton Hanks, instead imposing a US$70,000 fine upon the Detroit defender. Suh was punished after stepping twice on the injured leg of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a victory by the Packers over the Lions on Sunday at Green Bay. Suh backed into Rodgers and knocked him to the ground during a pass play in the fourth quarter. After stepping backward once onto Rodgers leg, Suh made another step backward onto the area between Rodgers’ ankle and calf, an area which was injured in the second quarter so badly that Rodgers had to be helped off the field.
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
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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