■BOXING
Klitschko retains titles
Ukraine’s Vladimir Klitschko knocked out American Tony Thompson in the 11th round to retain his WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles on Saturday. Klitschko, who has held the IBF belt since April 2006, was fighting for the first time since taking the WBO crown off Russia’s Ruslan Ibragimov in February in New York. The 32-year-old took control of Saturday’s fight from the fourth round, before going on to inflict Thompson’s second defeat in 33 fights. Klitschko now has a record of 51 wins and three defeats. Saturday’s fight was his first in his adopted home of Hamburg, Germany, in eight years. He and brother Vitali moved there in 1996 following his Olympic Games victory. “It was a tough fight and Thompson put on a great defensive effort,” Klitschko said. “It is not so easy to defend all the titles and it has been a while since I last had a black eye, so today I really look like a boxer. I did not expect the victory to come that hard. You could see that he really wanted to win.”
■RUGBY UNION
Du Plessis receives ban
Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been banned for three weeks for careless conduct during Saturday’s 30-28 Tri-Nations victory over New Zealand. Du Plessis was cited by match officials after he appeared to make contact with the eye area of All Blacks flanker Adam Thomson in the 11th minute of the first half. However, he was cleared of charges that he eye gouged Thomson, with judicial officer Kim Garling ruling the contact was careless and not deliberate. Garling viewed video footage of the incident, heard evidence from du Plessis and received reports from the match referee and assistant referees. Du Plessis admitted his fist had come into contact with Thomson’s lower cheek, but did not come into contact with the eye itself. Television footage confirmed that there was no visible mark to the face of Thomson as a result of the contact. Garling concluded that the contact was careless and not deliberate and therefore the punishment should be at the lower end of the scale. Du Plessis will miss only one Test during his suspension, against Australia in Perth on Saturday.
■TENNIS
Chang enters Hall of Fame
Michael Chang, who captured the French Open title at the age of 17 to end a 34-year Roland Garros drought by US men, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday. Chang won the 1989 French Open just three months after his 17th birthday, defeating Sweden’s Stefan Edberg in the final, to become the event’s youngest men’s winner after having earlier toppled top seed Ivan Lendl. “It is truly an honor,” Chang said. “I will always cherish and forever remember my experiences on tour with my family, friends and fans.” Also enshrined on Saturday were sports marketing pioneer Mark McCormack and Tennis Week publisher Gene Scott, both posthumous inductees as contributors. The Hall now has 207 members. Chang went 662-312 in a 16-year career, winning 34 titles and spending seven years ranked in the top 10, peaking when he became world No. 2 in September 1996. Chang, who also reached three other Grand Slam singles finals.
■BASEBALL
Matsui resumes practice
New York Yankees outfielder-designated hitter Hideki Matsui resumed on-field batting practice on Saturday, taking 55 swings as he continues to rehab a sore left knee. Matsui, who went on the 15-day disabled list on June 27, also hit off a tee and took part in a soft-toss session for the fourth consecutive day. Matsui is batting .323 with seven homers and 34 RBIs.
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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