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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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