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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS