SOCCER
FIFA mulls new laws
FIFA officials could decide this month to let teams use a fourth substitute in extra-time. The rule could take effect in July if agreed to at a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Northern Ireland on Feb. 28. FIFA said IFAB could also decide on relaxing a “triple punishment” rule where a defender can make a challenge that results in a penalty kick, a red card and suspension. The panel also plan to begin talks on “the potential use of video replays to support match officials.”
CRICKET
Faulkner faces fitness race
Australia all-rounder James Faulkner faces a race to be fit for the Cricket World Cup after scans yesterday confirmed he suffered a moderate grade abdominal strain in Sunday’s tri-series final against England. Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said Faulkner’s injury is “consistent with a typical fast-bowling side strain injury. He will receive intensive treatment for the next two weeks before we can determine when he can return to batting and bowling. He will travel with Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup squad to Adelaide on Friday to continue his treatment with team medical staff.”
CRICKET
Stokes proves his worth
Ben Stokes, controversially omitted from the England World Cup squad, struck 15 sixes during an unbeaten 151 to help the England Lions defeat South Africa A on Monday in a one-day match. Batting at No. 5, Stokes also hit seven fours off 86 balls during 117 minutes at the crease, as the visitors triumphed by 89 runs. Stokes was dropped by England after four of seven one-day internationals in Sri Lanka two months ago due to a poor all-round game, particularly his bowling. However, former England stars Ian Botham, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood have criticized his exclusion from the squad for the World Cup.
TENNIS
Stakhovsky wins in Zagreb
Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine defeated Borna Coric of Croatia 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors tournament on Monday. Stakhovsky, who won the tournament in 2008 as lucky loser, won five games in a row in the first set, and saved a break point before closing the match. Coric held serve only four times and converted two out of 12 break points. “It’s not the first time that I failed to take the chances,” Coric said. Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania also advanced, beating Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-0, 6-2 in just 41 minutes. Lacko, a runner-up in Zagreb in 2012, won only 20 out of 71 points and had constant problems returning serve.
TENNIS
Janowicz through in France
Fifth-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland served 14 aces as he rallied to beat Dustin Brown of Germany 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the first round of the Open Sud de France on Monday. Janowicz, who dropped serve three times and saved five break points, next plays either Frenchman Benoit Paire or 169th-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia. Seventh-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal had little trouble getting past wild-card entry Laurent Lokoli, beating him 6-2, 6-4 in just over one hour. He next faces Germany’s Tobias Kamke, who overcame wild-card Vincent Millot of France 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a scrappy contest. Neither managed to serve an ace and they dropped serve six times each.
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
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