RUGBY UNION
Tokyo celebrates World Cup
Sports fans yesterday gathered in Tokyo’s Shibuya entertainment district to mark two years until Japan hosts the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the first time the tournament will be held outside the traditional rugby-playing countries. Rugby World Cup tournament director Alan Gilpin unveiled the Webb Ellis Cup, saying “this vibrant and special nation will be the center of the sporting universe for an amazing six weeks.” To promote the tournament, the trophy, which is awarded to the winning team, will make a 46-day tour of the host nation. On Sunday, Gilpin told local organizers that their preparations are not progressing as smoothly as they should.
SOCCER
Giggs, Scholes no-show
Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have angered Indian fans by failing to turn out for a futsal tournament in which they were billed as the star attractions. The Hindu newspaper said the pair were “understood to be ‘tired’” on their arrival in Bangalore for the event on Tuesday. Scholes, 42, is meant to be captain of the Bangalore team and Giggs, 43, for Mumbai in the Premier Futsal tournament. Scholes did participate in the Mumbai leg of the tournament on Saturday, but the pair were not even on the bench for the first game in Bangalore and fans were not impressed. With the tickets costing as much as US$156, including a “meet and greet session with the legends,” disgruntled fans were quick to dismiss the event as a money-making exercise.
SOCCER
Brazil snub Matildas
The Australian women’s soccer team have taken a dim view of the handshake snub they received from Brazil players after beating the South Americans 3-2 in a home match on Tuesday. At the end of a heated contest in Newcastle, Australia, some Matildas players were ignored as they approached their opponents to shake hands, triggering a storm of criticism on social media. “Not shaking hands, it’s not an Australian thing, but I’m not really going to comment on it because it’s not something I think is very... I don’t really like it, but whatever,” Australia striker Sam Kerr told local media. Matildas coach Alen Stajcic agreed the Australians had rattled Brazil. The sixth-ranked Matildas have won their last five international matches and clinched the inaugural four-team Tournament of Nations in the US last month.
BASEBALL
Gordon hits season record
The Kansas City Royal’s Alex Gordon hit MBL’s record 5,694th home run of the year on Tuesday night, breaking a season record set in 2000 at the height of the steroids-era. Gordon’s home run off the Toronto Blue Jay’s Ryan Tepera, which cut the Royals’ deficit to 5-2, was his eighth this season and the 159th of his 11-year big league career. It was the 17th of the night and came just after the Detroit Tiger’s Alex Presley tied the record when he connected at home against the Oakland Athletic’s Daniel Gossett. There were 5,610 homers last year, an average of 2.31 per game, and this year’s average of 2.53 entering Tuesday’s action projects to 6,139. That would be up 47 percent from 4,186 in 2014. Power subsided after the start of drug testing with penalties in 2004. The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS