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.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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