■ AUTO RACIN
Latvala leads Swedish Rally
Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland retained the lead in the Swedish Rally on Saturday, taking a 49.8-second advantage over Ford Focus teammate Mikko Hirvonen into the final day. Latvala, who finished out of the points in the season opener in Monte Carlo last month, had a total time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 53.7 seconds after 14 stages. The 22-year-old Latvala won six of seven stages on Friday, but was winless on the penultimate day of the world championship event. "It was difficult being first on the road through the opening stage because there was a lot of slush for the first 3km and we did a lot of moving from snowbank to snowbank," Latvala said.
■ FIELD HOCKEY
N Zealand headed to Beijing
New Zealand will play in the men's field hockey tournament at August's Beijing Olympics after beating Argentina 3-2 in double overtime in the final of a six-nation qualifying tournament yesterday. Brad Shaw scored the winning goal eight seconds from the end of extra time after New Zealand had twice come from behind in regulation to tie the game 2-2. "It's an unbelievable moment," coach Shane McLeod said. "It's very difficult to describe when you understand all the effort the guys have put in." Argentinian players slumped on the field in tears as Shaw slammed home a rebound in the dying moments of the second overtime.
■ FOOTBALL
Redskins hire Zorn as coach
The Washington Redskins hired Jim Zorn as their coach on Saturday, a surprise ending to a monthlong search for a replacement for Joe Gibbs. "I've always dreamed of being a head coach with a franchise rich in tradition like the Redskins," Zorn said in a team news release. "As a player who had to fight Redskins teams at RFK [stadium] as well as at our home field, I know about the history of this franchise as well as the passion of its fans. I won't let you down." The Redskins said the 54-year-old Zorn agreed to a five-year contract. He was scheduled to be introduced at a news conference yesterday.
■ SKIING
Vonn wins milestone victory
Lindsey Vonn has joined Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves as the most successful US downhill skiers. Among current competitors, she has no equal. Vonn blew away the field in Sestriere, Italy, on Saturday for her fourth win in seven downhills this season. It was the ninth downhill victory of her career, matching Street and Rahlves. "Lindsey is pretty much unbeatable now," US downhill coach Alex Hoedlmoser said. "The only thing that could have beaten her here was herself." Using a much straighter line than any other skier, Vonn covered the 2.965km Kandahar Banchetta course in 1 minute, 38.86 seconds. The race announcer yelled, "She's a speed train!"
■ SKIING
Reinfried Herbst returns
The Austrian put together the fastest times in both runs to win a men's slalom on Saturday to cap his comeback from a serious knee injury. Herbst beat Manfred Moelgg of Italy by 0.65 seconds on a sun-drenched Gudiberg course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Although he led by nearly half a second after the first run, the 29-year-old Austrian did not hold back in the second heat and attacked the course all the way to post his second World Cup victory. "What happened today is exactly what I had in mind at the start of the season: to show what I can do," Herbst said. "The feeling is simply great.
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
STAR IN DOUBT: After partially dislocating his shoulder in a feetfirst slide into second base, the status of Japanese slugger Ohtani is uncertain for Game 3 as he undergoes tests Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Saturday walked back to his dugout and made the slightest tip of his cap to cheering fans. He left Japan for moments like this, an opportunity to put the Los Angeles Dodgers in control of the World Series. Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6-1/3 innings and Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night as Los Angeles beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 Series lead. However, the Dodgers head to New York uncertain whether Shohei Ohtani can play after their biggest star partially dislocated his left shoulder on a slide at second base. “We’re going to get
Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto on Saturday led a Japanese podium sweep at Skate Canada, locking up a second straight Canadian women’s title despite two falls in her free skate. Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short program, looked a little tight during her jazzy free skate, falling on a Salchow jump and again on a triple flip while fighting to hang on to a few other moves. Her second-best free skate score of 126.24 was enough for gold in the second Grand Prix event of the season in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She finished with 201.21 points, well ahead
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on Monday combined for 63 points as the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers tumbling to their first defeat of the season. Booker bagged 33 points and Durant 30 to give the Suns a thrilling 109-105 win at Phoenix’s Footprint Center, avenging the Lakers’ 123-116 win over the Suns in Los Angeles on Friday last week. The Lakers arrived in Phoenix buoyed by an impressive 3-0 start to the campaign under new head coach J.J. Redick. They looked poised to keep that run going after making a blistering start, sprinting into an early 26-8
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