SOCCER
PSG thrash Rennes 4-0
Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two goals and set up another as the runaway Ligue 1 champions thrashed Stade Rennais 4-0 on a wet evening in Paris on Friday. Four second-half goals at the Parc des Princes allowed PSG to equal their own record for the most points in a Ligue 1 season — 89 — with two games remaining. Ibrahimovic joined in a second-half scoring frenzy when he picked up a cross from Argentina winger Angel di Maria and sent it beyond the reach of goalkeeper Benoit Costil in the 54th minute.
Four minutes earlier, the Swedish striker had helped to set up Maxwell for the opening goal and Ibrahimovic scored again himself with a left-footed drive in the 78th minute to take his league-leading tally to 34, his best ever in a season. Edinson Cavani added the fourth goal in injury time.
SOCCER
Gijon defeat Eibar 2-0
Jonathan Rodriguez scored one goal and set up another to help Real Sporting de Gijon beat Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 2-0 on Friday, provisionally lifting them out of the La Liga relegation zone with the season reaching its close. Eibar dominated until Gijon went ahead with their first attempt on goal, as Carlos Carmona headed in Rodriguez’s cross two minutes before halftime. Eibar reinforced their attack with Borja Baston, and fellow striker Sergi Enrich almost equalized in the 72nd minute when goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar pushed his long strike onto his post. The ball then rolled across the goalmouth, but refused to go in. Rodriguez sealed the points in the 82nd minute when Eibar defender Antonio Luna mistimed his jump to clear a long pass. Rodriguez took the ball, sped into the area and slotted a shot under goalkeeper Asier Riesgo. The loss left Eibar in 11th place before the rest of the weekend’s matches.
TENNIS
Bacsinszky to face Erakovic
Top seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland advanced to the final of the Grand Prix SAR, beating fifth seed Timea Babos of Hungary 6-4, 7-5 on Friday.
Bacsinszky was last night to face world No. 186 Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, who defeated former champion Kiki Bertens of the Nertherlands 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5.
BASKETBALL
Walton to coach Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers on Friday reached an agreement with their former player and current Golden State assistant coach Luke Walton to become their head coach, choosing a leader for their new era after Kobe Bryant. The Lakers grabbed Walton just five days after they fired Byron Scott, who led the 16-time NBA champions to the two worst seasons in franchise history. Walton spent nine seasons with the Lakers, winning two championship rings as a smart, steady contributor. Three years after his retirement, the 36-year-old is back to become the 26th head coach in franchise history. Walton seemed to be the ideal candidate for the Lakers from the start, given his equal fluency in the Lakers’ history and the Warriors’ cutting-edge brand of basketball. He is to have the chance to mold the Lakers’ on-court approach in any way he chooses, with the franchise ripe for reinvention after the 20-year career of Bryant. Walton, who got a multiyear contract, is to join the Lakers after the Warriors’ playoff run. That could take several weeks, because Golden State are headed for the second round with designs on a second straight championship.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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