BADMINTON
Chou nabs semi-final spot
Taiwanese ace Chou Tien-chen yesterday defeated Malaysian Lee Zii Jia 21-18, 22-20 to advance to the men’s singles semi-finals at the Yonex German Open. The quarter-final was Chou’s chance at revenge after he lost to Lee in the first round of the men’s singles at the Indonesia Masters. Yesterday in an intense match that lasted 49 minutes, Chou overcame a six-point deficit to claim the first set and came back to win the second after Lee set up the game point. World No. 3 Chou is to play Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the semi-finals. They have faced each other three times before, with Chou prevailing each time.
BRIDGE
Top player fails doping test
World No. 1 Geir Helgemo has been suspended after failing a drug test, the World Bridge Federation said on its Web site on Friday. Helgemo, who is Norwegian, but represents Monaco in events, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and female fertility drug clomifene at a World Bridge Series event in Orlando, Florida, in September last year, the federation said. After accepting he had breached anti-doping rules, Helgemo was suspended until Nov. 20. He also had all titles, medals and points from last year’s series revoked. Norwegian Bridge Federation president Kari-Anne Opsal said that the drugs were “not performance enhancing.” The federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and abides by World Anti-Doping Agency rules.
BASEBALL
CEO filmed wrestling wife
The MLB is looking into a physical confrontation between San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and his wife that was captured on video. The league “is aware of the incident and, just like any other situation like this, will immediately begin to gather the facts,” it said in e-mailed statement. News site TMZ on Friday posted a video of the incident, describing it as a physical altercation. In the short clip, Baer wrestles with his wife over what appears to be a phone. She falls out of her chair onto the ground. Police are interviewing witnesses, including the person who took the video, TMZ reported. Baer and his wife, Pam, released a statement saying that they were “deeply embarrassed by the situation and have resolved the issue.” Later, Larry Baer issued a follow-up statement. “I am truly sorry for the pain that I have brought to my wife, children and to the organization,” he said. “It is not reflective of the kind of a person that I aspire to be, but it happened and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I never behave in such an inappropriate manner again.”
SOCCER
Rule to stop wall jostling
Defending against a free-kick might become a little less disruptive. A change that was up for approval yesterday attempts to stop attacking teams jostling and jumping in defensive walls. They would not be allowed in the barrier alongside defenders, with the change forcing them to keep a minimum 1 yard (0.91m) distance. Referees would be freed from focusing on shoving in the wall. While defenders would still have to be 10 yards from the free-kick, attackers would remain able to form a wall on their own in front, although that would further inhibit the space for the free-kicker to bend the ball into the net. The change would be introduced from June if approved by the International Football Association Board. Also on the agenda was a change to reduce uncertainty on handballs by specifying when an incident is not deliberate.
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,
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
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