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.
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’
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
Donyell Malen on Monday scored in each half as AS Roma beat Cagliari 2-0 to stay in touch with the chasing pack at the top of Serie A. Leaders Inter are eight points clear of city rivals AC Milan and nine ahead of reigning champions SSC Napoli. Roma are three points further back along with Juventus. Dutch centerforward Malen had scored only once in four appearances since joining on loan from Aston Villa last month, but he proved his worth on Monday with two excellent finishes. He ran on to a clever through-ball from Gianluca Mancini and his deft chip over the goalkeeper
RSS