■ BASEBALL
Hideki Matsui on the mend
Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui has been slowed by neck stiffness and hoped to resume taking batting practice in Tampa, Florida, yesterday. Matsui hasn't hit since experiencing tightness in his neck while hitting on Sunday. "It's much better now," Matsui said through a translator on Tuesday. Matsui, recovering from right knee surgery in November, could make his Major League Baseball spring training debut next week. "The faster the better with the knee," Matsui said. "Probably another week or 10 days." Matsui expects to ready for opening day. "It's still not a setback," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I still expect him to play next week."
■ BASEBALL
League threatens boycott
The president of the Dominican Republic's baseball league said the nation will pull out of next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC) if it is not chosen as a host site. "If they do not give us the opportunity of being a host, like we have requested, the Dominican Republic will not participate," league president Leonardo Matos Berrido said at a news conference on Monday. The tournament is jointly run by US Major League Baseball and its players' union. Both declined comment. When the WBC began in 2006, the sites were Anaheim, California; Kissimmee, Florida; Phoenix; San Diego; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Tokyo. Tournament organizers have said next year's event will include the same 16 teams that contested the 2006 tournament, which was won by Japan.
■ SOCCER
Ramos gets off lightly
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was handed just a two-match ban despite one of the worst displays of abusing a referee in recent seasons, the Spanish soccer federation confirmed on Tuesday. Ramos turned on referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez after he received his second yellow card, and his marching orders, early in the second half during the Spanish league leaders' 3-2 win at Recreativo Huelva on Saturday. "Shit, you are a shit, you've been shit," yelled the Spanish international defender and he had to be restrained by his teammates from physically threatening Iturralde Gonzalez. However, Ramos and Real will consider they got off lightly. Most Spanish commentators were expecting between a three and six match ban for Ramos's astonishing display which was caught on camera by TV broadcasters.
■ RUGBY UNION
Argentina told to wait
Argentina, third at last year's Rugby World Cup, must wait at least four more years before they can join a major annual international tournament, an International Rugby Board (IRB) official said. The only top 10 nation not involved in either the Six Nations or Tri-nations, Argentina had long hoped to be included in the elite European tournament because the leading Pumas play their club rugby in the northern hemisphere. But Mark Egan, head of IRB Rugby Services, said in an interview that Argentina's likelier destination was the Tri-nations competition with world champions South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. "The natural fit is for Argentina, which lies in the south, to play in the southern hemisphere. Broadcast and commercial agreements really mean that the earliest mooted time would be post Rugby World Cup 2011. "It requires a transition period of planning and development and the first step is to increase the number of Tests the Pumas play while SANZAR reviews its tournament structures," he 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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