OLYMPICS
Cyclist murdered near venue
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has expressed confidence in the security arrangements for next year’s Olympics, a day after a cyclist was stabbed to death near the main venue for rowing and canoeing at South America’s first Games. Paes on Wednesday said that crime is a social problem and “not an issue about the Olympics.” He added that it is an issue about the people of Rio “and the way we conduct our lives.” Paes was speaking at Rio’s Olympic headquarters, where top members of the International Olympic Committee began two days of meetings to examine the city’s readiness to host the Games. IOC officials began their meeting as a brief labor strike has prevented work at some Olympic venues and also infrastructure projects being built for the Olympics.
OLYMPICS
Rio drops water polo venue
The venue scheduled to host water polo at next year’s Olympics will be dropped from the Games, after months of construction delays and a funding shortfall, officials said on Wednesday. The Julio Delamare aquatic park, near the famed Maracana soccer stadium, had been scheduled to host first phase matches. However, the US$20 million needed to refurbish the venue has not been secured, and state government chief of staff Leonardo Espindola said the project would have to be scrapped as it is “just too costly.” Espindola said organizers tried to secure the funding from a third-party consortium that funded the multimillion Maracana stadium redo last year, but it refused to back the project. The state government also said it did not have the money, Espindola told reporters on the sidelines of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting to assess Brazil’s readiness to host next year’s Games. The water polo events could be relocated either to the Olympic park where diving and swimming events are taking place, or to the Deodoro venue in northern Rio de Janeiro, Espindola said.
BASEBALL
Ryu Hyun-jin to have surgery
Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of South Korea was to undergo surgery on his troublesome throwing shoulder yesterday. The team made the announcement on Wednesday before a game against the San Francisco Giants. The arthroscopic surgery will be performed by orthopedist Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Ryu, who had been the team’s projected No. 3 starter, has not pitched this season because of inflammation. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman on Tuesday said that surgery was an option, given that Ryu has not responded to prolonged rest. Ryu was 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA last year. He signed a US$36 million, six-year deal in December 2012.
FOOTBALL
Germany, Mexico mulled
A future regular-season NFL game in Mexico or Germany was discussed by NFL owners on Wednesday. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said both countries have reached out about hosting games, and there is “renewed interest” among the owners. The league is intent on expanding its international series, and it is to have three games in London this season for the second straight year. Arizona hosted San Francisco in Mexico City in 2005, drawing a record crowd of 103,467 for a regular-season game. There have been five pre-season matches played in Germany, none since 1994. Goodell also says Rio de Janeiro has shown interest in staging a Pro Bowl.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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