ICE HOCKEY
Champions suffer first loss
Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog redirected a shot by Nathan MacKinnon into the net 22 seconds into overtime for his second goal of the game, giving the Avalanche a 4-3 win at Pittsburgh on Monday. Landeskog tied the game with 6 minutes, 32 seconds left in regulation with a power-play goal and his overtime winner handed the defending Stanley Cup champions their first loss of the season. New York’s Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist for the third straight game, helping the Rangers beat San Jose 7-4. Detroit’s Mike Green scored his first hat-trick and Darren Helm had two goals to help the Red Wings defeat Ottawa 5-1. Boston’s David Pastrnak scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season in three games as the Bruins downed Winnipeg 4-1.
SOCCER
Wolfsburg sack Hecking
VfL Wolfsburg parted ways with coach Dieter Hecking on Monday after their disappointing start to the Bundesliga season. Hecking, who took over in late 2012 and led Wolfsburg to second place and victory in the DFB Pokal last year, has seen his team glean just six points this season, despite making significant new signings, such as Germany striker Mario Gomez. The 2008-2009 German champions won only the first of their seven games and have lost three of their past four. “Obviously, I am disappointed, but that is part of this business, to expect such separations when there is no success. Unfortunately that was the case recently,” Hecking said. Under-23 coach Valerien Ismael is to take over the first team on an interim basis.
SOCCER
Torino triumph, go fourth
Torino moved into fourth place with a 4-1 win at US Citta di Palermo on Monday, ruining the Sicilian hosts’ celebration of their 1,000th Serie A match. After Bulgaria midfielder Ivaylo Chochev put Palermo ahead early, Torino responded with two goals from Adem Ljajic, and one each from Marco Benassi and Daniele Baselli. Extending their unbeaten run to five matches, Torino moved level on points with SSC Napoli, but ahead on goal-difference. Palermo, who have lost all four of their home matches, remained third from the bottom. Half of the lights at the Stadio Renzo Barbera went out with a few minutes remaining. After suspending the match briefly, the referee decided to play the final minutes, despite the limited visibility.
SOCCER
Osasuna edge Eibar 3-2
Sociedad Deportiva Eibar scored less than a minute into the game, but went on to lose to promoted CA Osasuna 3-2 in La Liga on Monday. Argentine midfielder Gonzalo Escalante opened the scoring for the hosts, before Osasuna rallied with a pair of goals by Sergio Leon in the 29th and 32nd minutes. Sergi Enrich equalized for Eibar just before halftime, but Roberto Torres scored the winner with a 58th-minute goal in pouring rain at the Estadio Ipurua. Osasuna claimed their first league victory of the season after losing five of their first seven games. They have six points and remain 19th in the standings. Eighth-placed Eibar are seven points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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