■ PORTUGAL
Alhinho falls to his death
Carlos Alhinho, a former Portugal international, died after falling into an empty elevator shaft in Angola, Portuguese club Benfica said. He was 59. Alhinho apparently opened the elevator door at a hotel in Benguela, Angola, and stepped in on Saturday, but the carriage was not there and he fell from the sixth floor. He died despite receiving medical attention at the hotel. Alhinho, who was born in Cape Verde but played for Portugal 15 times, made his international debut against Northern Ireland on March 28, 1973. He played for Portugal’s top three clubs in his professional career, Benfica, Sporting and FC Porto. Alhinho also coached the national teams of Angola and Cape Verde Islands.
■ TURKEY
Pamuk pans soccer culture
Nobel prizewinning novelist Orhan Pamuk said soccer in Turkey serves nationalist and xenophobic thinking, but that he would still be supporting the country’s team at Euro 2008. Pamuk said in an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel that soccer in Turkey had become “a machine for the production of nationalism, xenophobia and authoritarian thought.” However, the Istanbul-based writer, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2006, said that he was “of course, for the Turkish team at the European Championships” even though Turkey coach Fatih Terim was “an ultra nationalist.”
■ LIBERIA
At least eight die at match
At least eight people suffocated in an overcrowded stadium during a match between Liberia and Gambia on Sunday, a doctor and an aid worker said. The eight bodies were taken to the country’s main hospital, said the Liberian Football Association’s chief doctor, Sam Harris. The 33,000-seat Samuel K. Doe Stadium in Monrovia had been packed beyond capacity for the World Cup qualifying match. At one point a metal bar containing upper-level crowds broke under pressure from rowdy fans. Dozens of people fell onto spectators below, causing some to suffocate, said a Liberian Red Cross rescue worker, Emmanuel Johnson. “Other spectators tried all sorts of means to save [them], but could not help. That is why they expired,” Johnson said. He put the death toll at 10. There was no immediate way to reconcile the conflicting tolls.
■ BRAZIL
Cops, players in pitch battle
A player was arrested after being sent off in a Brazilian championship match and riot police used pepper spray and truncheons in fights with his teammates on the pitch on Sunday. Botafogo’s match away to Nautico in Recife was interrupted for 12 minutes by the fighting, which ended with Botafogo defender Andre Luis being bundled out of the stadium with his hands behind his back by around 10 officers. Andre Luis was taken to a mobile police station where he was arrested along with club president Bebeto de Freitas. Both were released after questioning. “Botafogo are outraged at the way we were treated here,” De Freitas told reporters. “Footballers are not bandits and are not to be kicked and punched. This has to stop. The player was wrong, he will be punished and suspended, we have sporting legislation to deal with this. What is not acceptable is for him to have pepper in his face or be prodded in the back with a truncheon.” The trouble broke out when Andre Luis was sent off after being given a second yellow card for a tackle from behind. As he left the pitch, the furious player made gestures to supporters and kicked a bottle into the stands.
■ GOLF
Winner helps quake victims
Amy Yang shot a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the Ladies German Open by four strokes, the South Korean teenager’s first victory as a professional. Yang, an 18-year-old who had a course-record 63 on Saturday, finished with a 21-under 267 total. After the win, she said she would donate the 39,500 euros (US$61,260) in prize money to victims of the recent earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province. “I was thinking about the China earthquake for some time. And I thought, if I win the tournament, I would give them the winnings to help them build up,” Yang said. “A few days ago they had big rains and a lot of them lost their houses. I saw a lot of news. And every time I would be thinking about it. It’s really sad.” Sweden’s Louise Stahle was second on 17 under, while Gwladys Nocera of France was another stroke back in third. Michelle Wie, meanwhile, showed a return to form with a last-round 67 to finish in sixth place, her best result in almost two years.
■ GOLF
Lee gains from collapse
South Korean Lee Seon-hwa took advantage of a monumental collapse by Sophie Gustafson to win the LPGA Ginn Tribute with a playoff victory over Australian Karrie Webb. Lee hardly seemed positioned for her third career title entering the round in Charleston, South Carolina, trailing overnight leader Gustafson of Sweden by nine shots. Gustafson, who was six shots in front of Webb at the start of play, completely fell apart. The Swede had five bogeys and two double bogeys over her final 15 holes and finished at seven-over-par 79, tying for fourth at 11-under 277. Lee made the most of her chance. She carded a 67 for a 14-under total of 274 and beat Hall of Famer Webb at the first playoff hole to claim the first prize of US$390,000.
■ TENNIS
Officials to probe claim
Japanese officials will launch a probe into comments by Akiko Morigami that a national coach asked her to throw a doubles match at the French Open. Morigami said a national team coach had asked her to deliberately lose the match as a defeat would boost partner Aiko Nakamura’s chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics by freeing her up for a tournament this week. “At this stage we are not really clear on who said what, but we will investigate the incident,” Japan Tennis Association (JTA) managing director Koji Watanabe said yesterday. “If it turns out a national coach did say that then it’s a matter for the [JTA’s] technical committee. It would be dangerous to make any decision before we have established the facts.” French Open organizers also plan to investigate Morigami’s comments after a 6-0, 6-1 first round defeat by Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung in Paris on Friday. “It wasn’t Nakamura’s coach who said it,” Morigami told Japanese media. “It was a different coach. I was angry because it’s not something you say to a player before a match.” The Japanese No 2 insisted she and Nakamura had tried their best against the Taiwanese pair despite their capitulation at Roland Garros.
■ MOTOGP
Rossi wins in Italy again
Valentino Rossi won the Italian Grand Prix for the seventh straight time on Sunday and increased his lead in the MotoGP series. It was the third consecutive victory for Rossi, who also won in France and China. Casey Stoner was second, 2.201 seconds behind followed by Dani Pedrosa, 4.867 back. Rossi leads the series with 122 points, while Pedrosa is second with 110.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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