CRICKET
Hughes match planned
New South Wales and South Australia are to play a Sheffield Shield match in honor of Phillip Hughes near to the former Test batsman’s home next year. Hughes died two days after being struck by a ball during a match between the two states at Sydney Cricket Ground last year, triggering a wave of mourning across Australia. “There are really no words that can describe the loss we all felt after the tragic passing of Phillip,” South Australian Cricket Association chief executive Keith Bradshaw said in a statement. “This match is but one way to remember our friend and much-loved teammate so close to his home town.” The Phillip Hughes tribute match between the two teams he represented in Sheffield Shield cricket is due to take place at the Coffs International Stadium from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28 next year.
CRICKET
Australia thrash Kent
Australia’s Ashes squad began their preparations for the forthcoming series with a convincing 255-run win over English county side Kent on Sunday. The four-day tour match ended with the tourists having made 507-8 and 322-4, before declaring in both innings, while Kent replied with scores of 280 and 294. Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith both hit centuries in Australia’s first innings, while Mitchell Marsh chipped in with a ton in the second. The bright spot for the hosts on Sunday was a combative 127 from Daniel Bell-Drummond. Australia next play Essex in another four-day game which begins tomorrow in Chelmsford. It will be their second and final warm-up before the Ashes starts against England in Cardiff a week later on Wednesday next week.
SOCCER
Bardsley in mix for semi
The swelling below England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley’s right eye has gone down substantially, leaving coach Mark Sampson confident she will be available to play in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final against Japan tomorrow. Sampson said team officials still believe the swelling was caused by an allergic reaction. He said tests have been conducted and information sent to England for analysis. Sampson spoke on Sunday after the Lionesses arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, a day after beating Canada 2-1 in the quarter-finals in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bardsley left the game early in the second half when her eye began swelling. Bardsley traveled with the England squad and showed very little sign of the swelling. “Yeah, it looks better,” Bardsley told reporters as she made her way to the team bus.
ICE HOCKEY
Lidstrom in Hall of Fame
Nicklas Lidstrom was to add Hockey Hall of Fame member to his long list of achievements yesterday. The Swedish defenseman, along with Canadian defenseman Chris Pronger and Russian forward Sergei Fedorov, are expected to highlight this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame class when it was due to be announced in Toronto yesterday. Lidstrom played 20 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. The seven-time Norris Trophy winner as defenseman of the year won four Stanley Cups in Detroit, as well as the 2002 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff Most Valuable Player. He also scored the gold medal-clinching goal for Sweden at the 2006 Olympics to become a rare Triple Gold Club member. Only 26 players have won an Olympic gold medal, a world championship and a Stanley Cup. Lidstrom won his world title in 1991.
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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