■ATHLETICS
Olympian shot dead
David Laut, who won a bronze medal for the US in the shot put at the 1984 Olympics, was shot to death after confronting intruders outside his California home, authorities said on Saturday. He was 52. Laut was gunned down early on Friday when he went outside to check on a noise in the yard, Oxnard Police Sergeant Ken Klopman said. Police on Saturday hadn’t made any arrests or identified suspects. Laut also won a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games. He was favored to win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics after throwing 21.59m at the US Olympic trials. He won the bronze instead with a mark of 20.97 on his final attempt at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In 1985, he was ranked the No. 7 shot-putter in the world and the No. 1 American. But his career nearly ended the following year when he tore tendons in both knees during an agility test to become a fireman.
■ALPINE SKIING
Toni Sailer laid to rest
Austria on Saturday said goodbye to three-time Olympic alpine ski champion Toni Sailer who passed away after a lengthy illness. The 73-year-old was buried in his home town of Kitzbuehel after a two-hour long mass attended by several hundred mourners. Sailer’s coffin was covered in white and red flowers and a photograph of him during his heyday as a successful champion stood among the flowers. Sailer, who is considered as one of the best-ever alpine skiers, won three Olympic gold medals and seven world titles between 1946 and 1958 and became a successful actor and singer after his active skiing career.
■CYCLING
Cancellara wins first stage
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara clocked 5 minutes 20 seconds on Saturday to win the 4.8km opening stage of the Spanish Vuelta. Belgium’s Tom Boonen finished nine seconds behind at the Assen MotoGP circuit to take second place, while American Tyler Farrar was third, 12 seconds adrift. Alexandre Vinokourov, back after serving a ban for blood doping during the 2007 Tour de France, finished seventh, 18 seconds behind Cancellara. Defending champion Alberto Contador skipped the race after winning this year’s Tour, and rival Lance Armstrong, third in the Tour, also withdrew.
■MARATHON
Shimahara wins in Hokkaido
Asian Games silver medalist Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan won the Hokkaido marathon yesterday, with Kenya’s Daniel Njenga taking the men’s title. Shimahara, whose previous best finishes were second in the 2004 Tokyo and 2005 Hokkaido marathons, pulled away from teammate Akemi Ozaki at the 12km mark and crossed the finishing line in two hours 25 minutes, 10 seconds. Ozaki was never in a position to challenge Shimahara’s lead and had to settle for second place in 2:27:23, ahead of Satoko Uetani in 2:33:55.
■VOLLEYBALL
Japan wins third of three
Japan saw off South Korea yesterday for a third win out of three to advance with Iran to the world men’s volleyball championships. The Japanese, who finished eighth in the 2006 championships, coasted to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 victory to finish top in the four-team round robin competition. Earlier in the day, Iran defeated Kazakhstan 25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-16 for a second win against one defeat, and then waited for the outcome of the Japan-South Korea clash to ensure they were through. South Korea ended third with a 1-2 win-loss record, ahead of winless Kazakhstan.
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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