■FOOTBALL
Faulk suspended for pot
New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk was suspended for one game by the National Football League on Saturday after being charges with possession of marijuana earlier this year. Faulk will miss New England’s Sept. 7 opener against Kansas City and will be fined an additional game check after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge last month and receiving one year on probation. Faulk, 32, was found with hand-rolled cigars containing marijuana while attending a rap music concert in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Feb. 22.
■RALLYING
Loeb takes third straight
World champion Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of New Zealand yesterday to extend his lead in the world rally championship drivers’ standings. The Frenchman finished 17.5 seconds ahead of Citroen teammate Dani Sordo, with Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen in third, 41.5 seconds off the lead. Hirvonen held the lead at one point on the final day but a spin on the penultimate stage put him out of contention. The win was Loeb’s third in a row following victories in Finland and Germany.
■ATHLETICS
Sahaku wins debut marathon
Yukari Sahaku won her debut marathon for a Japanese double victory with Masaru Takamizawa taking the men’s event at the Hokkaido marathon yesterday. The 19-year-old Sahaku overtook front-running teammate Hitomi Niiya at the 28.7km point and never looked back, crossing the finishing line in two hours 31 minutes 50 seconds to win the women’s race. Niiya, who won the Tokyo marathon last year, came in second in 2:32:19, followed by fellow Japanese Kaori Yoshida third in 2:33:37. Takamizawa, the runner-up here last year, broke away from a front group at the 20km mark before making a long solo run to clock his personal best time of 2:12:10.
■CYCLING
Italians lead in Spain
Italian team Liquigas won the first stage of the Tour of Spain on Saturday, a time trial of 7.7km in the southwestern city of Granada, that saw Filippo Pozzato take the first golden jersey of the race for the overall leader. The Italian side came ahead of two Spanish teams: Euskaltel by eight seconds and Caisse d’Epargne by nine seconds. “It was a nice victory for the whole team, particularly since I am leaving at the end of the season. They were nice enough to let me have it,” said Pozzato, who is heading to a new outfit, Russia’s Katusha, next year. Astana, the team belonging to race favorite and last year’s Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, finished in eighth place, 14 seconds behind Liquigas. The 3,133km Tour of Spain finishes in Madrid on Sept. 21.
■FORMULA ONE
Toro Rosso place ‘open’
Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso have told Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais he cannot take his place on the Formula One team for granted beyond the end of the season. Bourdais, France’s only current grand prix driver, joined the Red Bull-backed team this year after winning four ChampCar titles in a row in the US. However, has been overshadowed by teammate Sebastian Vettel. The 21-year-old German has scored nine points from 12 races to two for Bourdais. Asked whether Bourdais was a fixture at Toro Rosso next season, team co-owner Gerhard Berger said: “No, it’s open.” Berger said the team’s young driver program would be looked at first in the search for a replacement for Vettel and Red Bull would have the final say on next year’s lineup.
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
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