BASEBALL
Chen to start in opener
Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly on Sunday named Taiwanese left-hander Chen Wei-yin as their opening game starting pitcher for this year’s MLB season. Chen is to take the mound in a season opener for the first time in his North American career when the National League Marlins host the American League’s Detroit Tigers on April 5. The 30-year-old southpaw signed a five-year deal worth US$80 million with Miami in the off-season after spending his first four North American seasons with the American League’s Baltimore Orioles. Chen, the Orioles’ first player from Taiwan, went 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA last season and overall in Baltimore was 46-32 with a 3.72 ERA and 547 strikeouts. Chen played for Taiwan in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and spent eight seasons with the Japan League’s Chunichi Dragons from 2004 through 2011.
BASEBALL
Ball strikes Liriano in face
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Rymer Liriano was stretchered off and taken to a hospital after being struck a horrifying blow to the face while batting against Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Matt West in a pre-season game on Sunday. West’s pitch in the eighth inning struck Liriano flush on the left side of his face, just below the brim of his batting helmet and he crumpled to the ground, his arms and legs flailing. Team trainers and medical staff tended him before he was immobilized then driven off the field to a waiting ambulance and taken to a hospital. “Rymer Liriano suffered multiple facial fractures during today’s game and will remain in the hospital for further testing and observation,” the Brewers wrote on Twitter late on Sunday. Earlier, Brewers manager Craig Counsell had said that Liriano was conscious, but added: “It’s serious. He got hit in the head. I can’t give you many details.”
ATHLETICS
Kotlyarova fails drug test
Russian 400m runner Nadezhda Kotlyarova said she has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Kotlyarova tells Russia’s Tass agency that she failed a drug test at last month’s Russian indoor championships and is protesting her innocence. She said the spate of positive tests for the endurance-boosting meldonium, which was added to the banned list from Jan. 1, is “injustice,” adding that she intends “to see this situation out to the end.” Kotlyarova, 26, raced at last year’s world championships in Beijing, reaching the semi-finals, and was also part of the Russian relay team that won silver in the 4x400m at the 2013 European indoor championships.
CRICKET
Bangladesh appeal ban
Bangladesh have appealed to cricket’s world governing body to lift the suspension on paceman Taskin Ahmed, who was ruled out of the ongoing World Twenty20 in India due to an illegal action. Taskin and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were on Saturday suspended from bowling in international cricket after being reported by match officials following Bangladesh’s qualifying match against the Netherlands in Dharamsala, India, on March 9. While Sunny’s elbow extension for the majority of his deliveries exceeded the 15o limit, not all of Taskin’s balls were found to be legal, the International Cricket Council said while announcing their suspensions. Bangladesh, who came through the qualifiers to reach the Super 10 stage, lost to Pakistan in their opening Group Two match on Wednesday last week.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
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