■ CRICKET
ICC error saved Harbhajan
An administrative mistake by the International Cricket Council (ICC) saved Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh from a possible suspension, the judge who heard his case said yesterday. Harbhajan was fined half his match fee after pleading guilty to using offensive language against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second Test in Sydney earlier this month. However, New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen said Harbhajan might have received a tougher penalty had the ICC correctly informed him about all his prior convictions. Hansen said the ICC told him Harbhajan had only one prior offense, but after he had handed down his penalty, he discovered the Indian spinner had four previous offenses. The most serious of these occurred in South Africa in 2001 when Harbhajan was given a suspended sentence for showing dissent and trying to influence an umpire. "If I had been aware of the serious transgression in November 2001 I would have required more extensive submissions as to the offense in mitigation which could have led to a different penalty," Hansen wrote in his 49-page judgment released yesterday.
■ BASEBALL
Exhibition game to be last
The US Baseball Hall of Fame Game, an annual tradition in Cooperstown for more than six decades, will end after this year's contest between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Hall of Fame officials say Major League Baseball decided keeping the game was too difficult because of the complexities of the major league schedule and "all its inherent challenges." The first Hall of Fame Game was in 1940, and its the last surviving in-season exhibition game on the major league schedule. This year's game is slated for June 16.
■ RUGBY UNION
All Blacks to support US
The US rugby team will get help from one of the best and well-organized outfits in the sport, the New Zealand All Blacks. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday it had signed a five-year memorandum of agreement with USA Rugby to promote rugby in the US and look into joint sponsorships and merchandising agreements. "The rugby world wants to see the game grow in the United States and we're taking concrete steps to help USA Rugby," NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said in a statement. Tew said as a first step, the NZRU will give coaching background and other resources to USA Rugby at no charge, supporting the US union's youth, referee and coaching development programs. The two groups also plan to "explore opportunities for high-profile matches" in the US as well as age-grade competition between the two countries. No further details on where or when the matches would be played was provided.
■ SOCCER
Galaxyto visit Asia
David Beckham will lead the Los Angeles Galaxy into South Korea and China in March as part of a pre-season Asia tour announced on Tuesday by the Major League Soccer club. Galaxy will meet FC Seoul on March 1 at the World Cup stadium and visit Shanghai on March 5 to face a China All-Star Union side of young talents, each stop capitalizing on Beckham's incredible popularity in Asia. Manchester United and Real Madrid also made several Asian tours with Beckham in the line-up. "These are important games in our club's preparation for the MLS season and I expect fans in Seoul and Shanghai will remember the LA Galaxy visiting their cities for a very long time," Galaxy assistant general manager Tom Payne said.
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
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
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
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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