BASEBALL
Chang Yu returns to field
Taiwanese infielder Chang Yu of the Cleveland Guardians on Friday fired off a single in two at-bats with Double-A affiliate the Akron RubberDucks in the first game of his rehabilitation stint. The game in Akron, Ohio, against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ affiliate the Altoona Curve came after Cleveland put Chang on its COVID-19 injury list on April 15. Chang, who signed with Cleveland in June 2013, is batting .210 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI over 130 games with the Guardians, according to MLB.com.
ATHLETICS
No Australia at Games
Australia yesterday said it would not send athletes to this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou from Sept. 10-25. The Olympic-sized event is to be held less than 200km southwest of Shanghai, which is battling a large COVID-19 outbreak. The Olympic Council of Asia had invited 300 athletes from nations in Oceania to participate for the first time in the event. “No athletes from Australian sports” will take part, an Australian Olympic Committee spokesman said. Organizers of the Games say they are developing a virus control plan, building on the Beijing Winter Olympics held in February.
CRICKET
NFL, NBA stars invest in IPL
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and NFL duo Larry Fitzgerald and Kelvin Beachum have invested in the Rajasthan Royals, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise said yesterday, underlining IPL’s growing global appeal. The popular Twenty20 league, which counts Bollywood actors and industrialists among franchise owners and attracts the who’s who of cricket, has grown into a 10-team affair this season with Gujarat and Ahmedabad paying a combined US$1.7 billion to come on board. The three Americans would be minority investors in 2008 champions Rajasthan, the franchise said in a statement without sharing details of their investment. The US is to cohost the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup, although cricket has not become popular there.
SOCCER
Lyon advances to final
Ada Hegerberg on Saturday was on target as record seven-time winners Olympique Lyonnais saw off French rivals Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to set up a Women’s Champions League final showdown with holders Barcelona. Hegerberg and captain Wendie Renard scored either side of a Marie-Antoinette Katoto strike for PSG, as Lyon won 2-1 in the second leg of the all French semi-final to go through 5-3 on aggregate. They are to play Barcelona in the final in Turin, Italy, on May 21 after the Spanish champions beat Wolfsburg 5-3 on aggregate in the other last-four tie.
FOOTBALL
Ravens draft Australian
Australian offensive tackle Daniel Faalele is to enter the NFL as the heaviest man in the league after the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the fourth round of the draft. The 2.03m, 174kg colossus from Melbourne was taken with the 110th pick by the John Harbaugh-coached Ravens after impressing at the University of Minnesota. Faalele, who grew up playing basketball and rugby, has already drawn comparisons with Kansas City’s Pro Ball offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr, who was a third-round pick for the Ravens in the 2018 draft and is similarly proportioned.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
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