SOCCER
Chile beat US 3-2
Mark Gonzalez scored twice in the second half to help Chile to a 3-2 home win over the US in a friendly in Santiago on Wednesday. The US started brightly, with Brek Shea scoring after five minutes after being set up by Matt Bresler. Chile, with coach Jorge Sampaoli picking a home-based line-up, hit back fast and made it 1-1 in the 10th minute when Gonzalez crossed for Roberto Gutierrez to head home. The visitors blew chances through DeAndre Yedlin, Michael Bradley and Steve Birnbaum, but Jozy Altidore connected on a Mix Diskerud pass to beat Chilean goalkeeper Johny Herrera in the 30th minute. Chile struggled for ideas early in the second half, but got back on level terms in the 66th minute when Gonzalez blasted home. Chile, who are to host the Copa America in June, then sealed their first win over the US since 1994 when Gonzalez scored again nine minutes later. The US are to host Panama next month as part of their preparations for the Gold Cup before traveling to Europe to play Denmark and Switzerland in March. They also face Mexico in April.
SOCCER
Juve make Italian Cup semis
A goal one minute from time from Alvaro Morata gave Juventus a 1-0 win at Parma and a place in the Italian Cup semi-finals on Wednesday. Juventus, who have not won the title for 20 years, will face either AS Roma or ACF Fiorentina for a place in the final. Morata, 22, and recruited from Real Madrid for 20 million euros (US$22.61 million) last year, decided Wednesday’s tie with his fifth goal of the season. On Tuesday, SS Lazio beat AC Milan 1-0 to also make the semi-finals.
BASEBALL
Suzuki cites ‘enthusiasm’
Ichiro Suzuki says a renewed sense of enthusiasm was behind his decision to sign a US$2 million, one-year contract with the Miami Marlins. Making a rare appearance at a press conference in his native Japan, Suzuki said: “When I met [Miami] team executives yesterday, I felt incredible enthusiasm, so I wanted to respond to their enthusiasm and I believe that is something I have been looking for the last two years.” Suzuki’s deal includes US$2.8 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances: US$400,000 for 300 and the same amount for each additional 50 through 600. The 41-year-old Suzuki, a 10-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, is expected to be the team’s fourth outfielder behind Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.
GOLF
Kel Nagle dies at 94
The PGA of Australia says former British Open winner and US Open runner-up Kel Nagle has died. He was 94. The PGA said in a statement yesterday that Nagle, who won the British Open at St Andrews in 1960, its centenary year, died overnight at a Sydney hospital. It did not give a cause of death. The Australian golfer won a tournament every year for 26 years after turning professional in 1946, collecting 61 victories on the PGA Tour of Australasia and two on the US tour. He finished second to Gary Player at the 1965 US Open at Bellerive in St Louis, Missouri, losing an 18-hole playoff to the South African. Player said then that Nagle was “one of the best short-game players” he had seen. Nagle also won the Australian PGA championship a record six times.
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
RSS