SOCCER
Barcelona crush Betis 6-2
Lionel Messi and hat-trick hero Luis Suarez were in sensational form on Saturday as they helped Barcelona start their title defense with a crushing 6-2 win over Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou. Messi scored twice and set up another goal, dominating proceedings, while Suarez added three of his own after Arda Turan’s opener. Ruben Castro struck a brace for Betis, but at no stage of the game did it seem like the visitors had enough to prevent Luis Enrique’s team from running amok on the opening day of the new La Liga season. Villarreal drew 1-1 at Granada, while Sevilla beat RCD Espanyol 6-4.
CYCLING
Sky take early Vuelta lead
Chris Froome had a successful start to the Vuelta a Espana, with Sky winning the team time trial as the grand tour got underway on Saturday. Sky picked up from helping Froome win his third Tour de France last month by completing the 27.8km trial in 30 minutes, 37 seconds, just ahead of rivals Movistar. While Nairo Quintana’s Movistar held their own, the Tinkoff team of three-time Vuelta champion Alberto Contador came in 52 seconds off Sky’s pace. “Starting the Vuelta with a 50-second deficit on your main rivals is difficult, but I’m satisfied with how we raced. It will be a long Vuelta,” Tinkoff sport director Steven De Jongh said. “Alberto was feeling good, which is the most important thing for us and we now look to tomorrow’s stage.” Sky rider Peter Kennaugh was yesterday to wear the red leader’s jersey during the second stage, a 160.8km ride from Ourense to Baiona, which includes one category-three climb at the midway point. Kennaugh said that his team’s strong start to the team trial was key to taking the race initiative.
SOCCER
Cologne beat Preussen 7-0
Cologne on Saturday routed sixth-division, Berlin-based BFC Preussen 7-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, as newly promoted RB Leipzig were the only Bundesliga team to suffer a shock defeat. Leipzig are to make their debut in Germany’s top flight when the new season starts this weekend. However, they were dumped out of the cup by neighbors and rivals Dynamo Dresden on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Second-division Dresden came from 2-0 down at home to take the game to extra time. In the shoot-out, Leipzig captain Dominik Kaiser, who had converted a penalty to put his side 2-0 up in the first half, missed the fourth spot-kick to hand Dresden victory. Later, VfL Wolfsburg, last year’s DFB-Pokal winners, had a few anxious moments before they sealed a 2-1 win at third-division FSV Frankfurt. Borussia Moenchengladbach squeezed past fourth-division Drochtersen/Assel 1-0 with a second-half goal. Schalke 04 eased to a 4-1 win at sixth-division Villingen.
GOLF
Kim extends Wyndham lead
South Korea’s Kim Si-woo on Saturday extended his lead to four strokes at the Wyndham Championship by shooting a six-under 64 in the third round. Kim, 21, was not as dominating as a day earlier when he fired a course-record 60, but he managed to stay at the front of the pack for all of Saturday’s round at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Kim rolled in a birdie on No. 18 to reach 18-under 192 after 54 holes. First-round coleader Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain moved up to second place with a 65, while the US’ Jim Furyk (67), Kevin Na (67) and Luke Donald (64) were five shots back in a tie for third.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as
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