■OLYMPICS
Medal designer dies
Leo Obstbaum, a designer of Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic medals and mascots, died suddenly at age 40, Games organizers said on Monday. The cause of his death at his home on Thursday evening has not been released. As design director for the Games, Obstbaum led a team that created the yet-to-be-unveiled 2010 Winter Olympic medals, as well as the torches and mascots.
■SOCCER
Everton sign Bilyaletdinov
English Premier League side Everton have signed Lokomotiv Moscow skipper Diniyar Bilyaletdinov on a five-year deal, the railway-backed side announced on their official Web site on Tuesday. The 24-year-old midfielder, who has played for Lokomotiv since 2004, signed a deal with Everton late on Monday in Hamburg, Germany, where he had undergone a medical examination. No financial details of the deal were disclosed.
■BASKETBALL
Beasley checks into rehab
The Miami Heat’s troubled forward Michael Beasley has checked into a Texas rehab facility, the Miami Herald reported on Monday. The newspaper said that Beasley had spent the last two weeks in a Houston rehab as part of the NBA’s substance abuse program to address concerns over his mental state and drug abuse. The paper said the team was concerned about pictures and messages posted to the player’s Twitter page. The photos show Beasley showing off a tattoo on his back in front of a mirror with two bags on either side that were rumored to be filled with marijuana. The messages reportedly indicated Beasley writing that life was not worth living. Both the picture and the posts have been removed, the paper said.
■SOCCER
Man charged over stabbing
A 25-year-old man was charged on Monday with stabbing West Ham defender Calum Davenport, who remained hospitalized in serious condition with leg wounds. Davenport and his 49-year-old mother were attacked on Friday night at her home in Bedford, 92km north of London, and the centerback needed emergency surgery. The 26-year-old player’s condition was described as serious but stable. Bedfordshire police said on Monday that 25-year-old Worrell Whitehurst, from Derby, was charged with grievous bodily harm to Davenport and also assaulting the player’s mother. Whitehurst was due to appear in court later on Monday, while a 19-year-old man who was also arrested on Sunday has been released on bail. No motive for the attack was given.
■RUGBY UNION
Australia delay naming team
Lock Nathan Sharpe and center Berrick Barnes have been ruled out of Australia’s team to play South Africa in the Tri-Nations on Saturday. The pair joined a mounting casualty list that forced the Wallabies to delay the naming of their team by 48 hours. The selectors were due to name their side yesterday, but had to postpone the announcement until tomorrow because of the heavy injury toll from last weekend’s 19-18 loss to New Zealand in Sydney. Four players, Sharpe, Barnes, teenage fullback James O’Connor and flanker Rocky Elsom, missed Monday’s training session in Perth to seek medical treatment. Sharpe was then ruled out of the match because of a shoulder problem while Barnes was overlooked after suffering concussion and injuring his neck against the All Blacks last weekend. Elsom is nursing an ankle injury while O’Connor limped off the field after hurting his leg, although X-rays later cleared him of any fractures.
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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