■SOCCER
Henry to miss Cup final
Barcelona striker Thierry Henry will miss the Copa del Rey final and might not play in the Champions League final because of his strained right knee ligament. The club said on Friday that Henry will miss the next four games, including Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao. The France striker was “undergoing specific treatment to try and ensure that he can play in Rome against Manchester United,” the club said on its Web site. Henry injured his knee during Barcelona’s 6-2 win at Real Madrid last weekend. Although he traveled with the team to London, Henry missed Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea that advanced the Spanish league leaders to the Champions League final on May 27. The 31-year-old former Arsenal striker has been one of the keys to Barcelona’s bid to become the first Spanish team to win the treble of Europe’s top club competition and the domestic league and cup double.
■SOCCER
Barca to face the Galaxy
Barcelona’s tour of the US this summer will include a match against David Beckham’s Los Angeles Galaxy. Barcelona will play an exhibition match against the Galaxy at the 90,000 seat Rose Bowl Stadium on Aug. 1. The Catalan club will also face the Seattle Sounders on Aug. 5 and a third match against a yet to be named opponent. Beckham will be back with the Galaxy by the time Barca visit under the terms of his loan agreement with AC Milan.
■NASCAR
Kenseth grabs pole position
Matt Kenseth set a Darlington Raceway record in winning his first pole in four years on Friday, while three-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson will start near the back for the Southern 500 after a qualifying crash. Kenseth had a lap at 288.89kph on the 60-year-old track to take the top spot for the race. He surpassed the mark of 288.77kph set last year by Greg Biffle, the first race after Darlington’s repavement. Johnson, a two-time Darlington winner, had the back end of his car slide into the turn two wall on his first qualifying lap. Then Johnson’s front side hit an infield wall and brought the car to a stop. Johnson was evaluated at the infield care center and released a short time later.
■CYCLING
Riders to be tested for CERA
Riders in the Giro d’Italia will be tested for the advanced blood-boosting drug CERA. Several cyclists have tested positive for the substance since last year’s Tour de France. All 198 riders entered in the Giro underwent routine pre-race tests by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Thursday and there will be 481 more controls — plus surprise tests — during the three-week race. Giro d’Italia director Angelo Zomegnan announced plans for CERA testing on Friday, but did not specify who will carry out the controls. Urine tests for insulin will also be conducted.
■GOLF
Skins game postponed
The made-for-television Skins game in Indian Wells, a Thanksgiving weekend tradition since 1983, has been postponed because of the global financial crisis. “The Skins game has enjoyed a long and successful history ... but given the current economic climate, postponing the 2009 event was necessary,” IMG media executive vice president Barry Frank said in a statement on Friday. “We look forward to working with key partners over the coming months to ensure the Skins game comes back next year in a manner befitting one of golf’s great traditions.”
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Elise Mertens on Monday notched up their first win in the doubles group stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh to keep their semi-final hopes alive, while Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova were aiming to record their first victory after press time last night. Third seeds Hsieh and Mertens came back from a disheartening opening-day loss to Australia’s Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez to defeat top seeds Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the women’s doubles world No. 3 and 4 respectively. The 6-1, 6-3 victory at King Saud University Indoor Arena
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
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