BASKETBALL
Smart defends collision
The Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart said that he was not a “dirty player” after a collision on Wednesday with Steph Curry that injured the Golden State Warriors star. Curry left the game in San Francisco in the second quarter after Smart dived for a loose ball and crashed into the Golden State talisman’s left leg. Curry was undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging scan on his foot following the Warriors’ 110-88 defeat to assess the extent of the injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr described Smart’s actions as “dangerous play.” Smart said he understood Kerr’s criticism, but insisted he would never intentionally hurt a fellow professional. “Me and Steve have a relationship from USA basketball, so he knows I’m never trying to hurt anybody,” Smart said.
ATHLETICS
Russia banned from Euro
Athletes from Russia and Belarus were on Wednesday formally banned from the multi-sport European Championships in August. Organizers of the Aug. 11 to 21 championships in Munich, Germany, said they supported decisions by officials from the nine individual sports not to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials. “We are united in our condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine,” organizing committee chairman Libor Varhanik said.
BASEBALL
Cubs, Suzuki agree to deal
The Chicago Cubs and star Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki have agreed to a US$85 million, five-year deal, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The person, confirming several reports, spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending. The agreement signals the Cubs hope to speed up the rebuilding process after breaking up their 2016 championship core before last season’s trade deadline. The 27-year-old Suzuki was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner over nine seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball
FIGURE SKATING
Chen drops out of worlds
Olympic champion Nathan Chen on Wednesday withdrew from the world championships because of what he called a “nagging injury” that he has been dealing with after winning at the Beijing Games. The three-time reigning champion would be replaced on the US team by Camden Pulkinen next week in Montpellier, France. “I have a nagging injury that I’ve been dealing with, and I don’t want to risk further injury by practicing and competing next week,” Chen said in a statement. The 22-year-old Chen clinched a gold medal in the free skate at Beijing and helped the US team win a silver medal, which could become gold pending the outcome of a doping investigation involving the Russian team.
SKIING
Shiffrin wins overall title
Mikaela Shiffrin of the US yesterday won the overall women’s World Cup title for the fourth time, bouncing back from a disastrous performance at the Winter Olympics. Shiffrin finished second in the Super-G in Courchevel, France, to give her an unassailable 236-point lead over her closest rival, Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, with two races left this season. At 27, Shiffrin equals the record of her retired compatriot Lindsey Vonn by winning the overall title for a fourth time.
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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