■ BASEBALL
Saito agrees to new deal
Japanese right-hander Takashi Saito agreed to a US$2 million, one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, a day before the team's pitchers and catchers report for pre-season spring training. "I'm very relieved to clean everything up," he said through a translator. "It just feels a lot better not having to worry about my contract. I'm just very happy that the Dodgers consider me a very important part of the team." Saito was 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA and 39 saves in 43 chances with the Dodgers last season, and made the National League All-Star team. Saito signed a US minor league contract with the Dodgers two years ago after playing 14 seasons for Yokohama of the Japanese Central League.
■ GOLF
Three share NZ PGA lead
Canadian David Hearn and Americans Darron Stiles and Matt Bettencourt shot 6-under-par 66s yesterday to share the lead after the first round of the New Zealand PGA Championship. The leading trio was one shot clear of three golfers with 67s -- Americans D.A. Points, Rick Price and Dave Schultz -- in the tournament co-sanctioned by the Australasian PGA and US Nationwide tours. Kiwi Michael Campbell, the 2005 US Open winner, shot 70 and was among 49 players within four shots of the lead. Hearn had six birdies and no bogeys and Stiles gave up the chance for the outright lead when he double-bogeyed the par-four 13th along with eight birdies. Bettencourt held the lead at seven-under until he double-bogeyed the par-four 17th, then birdied 18 to reclaim his share of the lead.
■ TENNIS
Moya rallies to earn victory
Top-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain bounced back from a first-set scare to rout Olivier Patience of France 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 in the Brasil Open second round on Wednesday. Moya lost his serve only once to lose the first set. Patience won his opening serve of the second then Moya reeled off the last 12 games, allowing Patience just eight points in the third set. He advanced to the quarter-finals where he will face countryman Oscar Hernandez, who defeated Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Italian up-and-comer Fabio Fognini reached his second successive ATP quarter-finals when he upset eighth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain 7-5, 6-3. Also, Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic defeated Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 to make his first ATP quarter-finals since July 2005.
■ TENNIS
Blake wins in straight sets
Top seeded American James Blake beat Robert Kendrick 7-5, 7-5 to reach the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championship on Wednesday. Play was interrupted by a six-hour rain delay and resulted in a pair of singles matches getting postponed until today. Unable to get in a groove early due to the delay, Blake fell behind in the second set but rallied to close things out in straight sets. Qualifier Amer Delic battled back to eliminate Donald Young, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Young had a 5-0 lead in the first set before unravelling. Sixth-seeded veteran Vince Spadea moved on with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over German Denis Gremelmayr. Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori also advanced to the second round and led German Florian Mayer, 6-0, 4-3 when Mayer retired with a left leg injury.
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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