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.
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
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