■BOXING
Zuyeu lasts just 35 seconds
Olympic super heavyweight champion Roberto Cammarelle needed just 35 seconds on Friday to knock out Viktar Zuyeu and reach the final of the world championships. The Italian defending world champion landed a heavy left hook on Zuyeu that forced the Belarusian’s corner to throw in the towel after a standing count by the referee. Cammarelle’s opponent in the final will be Ukraine’s Roman Kapitonenko, who beat Olympic silver medalist Zhang Zhilei of China 5-2.
■CYCLING
Zabriskie wins fifth stage
American David Zabriskie won the time trial in the fifth stage of the Tour of Missouri and took the overall lead. Zabriskie, riding for the Garmin-Slipstream team, completed Friday’s flat, fast 31km course in 36 minutes and 30 seconds. Gustav Larsson of Team Saxo Bank finished second, 30 seconds behind. American Tom Zirbel, of Bissell Pro Cycling, finished third and Marco Pinotti, of Team Columbia-HTC, finished fourth.
■TRIATHLON
Brownlee takes 2009 title
Britain’s Alistair Brownlee sprinted the final 500m of the run leg to win the ITU triathlon world championship series grand final in Gold Coast, Australia, yesterday, taking the 2009 overall title. Brownlee, who won four of the seven world championship series events this year, came into the final with a 351-point lead over Javier Gomez of Spain. The Gold Coast final was worth 1,200 points, and Brownlee needed only a top-five finish to clinch the championship. The 21-year-old former junior and under-23 world champion finished in an official time of 1 hour, 44 minutes, 51 seconds. Gomez was six seconds behind, while Beijing Olympic gold medalist Jan Frodeno of Germany finished third.
■FOOTBALL
Williams brothers to play
A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for Minnesota Vikings Pat Williams and Kevin Williams to play all season, despite the NFL’s attempts to suspend them for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The NFL had already said the two defensive tackles could play in today’s season-opener at Cleveland because their court fight over the suspensions would not be decided in time. The fight isn’t over, but a three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld earlier decisions from a federal district court — including one that says the remaining legal issues must be resolved in state court. The judge there has issued an injunction prohibiting the NFL from suspending the players, and he has said a state trial during this season was unlikely.
■TENNIS
Rain delays US Open
A steady rain on Friday forced the cancelation of play at the US Open, meaning it will spill over to tomorrow for the men’s final, tournament officials said. Thursday’s rain-suspended quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez was set to begin yesterday’s program. When rain halted play on Thursday, Nadal led Gonzalez 7-6, 6-6 with the Chilean serving at 2-3 in the tiebreak. That match would be followed by the women’s semi-finals, with Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark facing Belgian Yanina Wickmayer and Serena Williams playing Kim Clijsters. Since Nadal and Gonzalez were to be completing their match yesterday, the men’s semi-finals have been rescheduled for today with the final to be played tomorrow, officials said. The women’s final is scheduled for today.
■CRICKET
Flower confident on Flintoff
England coach Andy Flower is confident injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will sign the incremental contract he was awarded on Friday for the next 12 months. Flintoff, 31, who is recovering from knee surgery and is not expected to be fit until February at the earliest, did not qualify for a full central contract as he has retired from Test matches. Signing the incremental contract would give Flower a say in when and where Flintoff plays. Flower said: “First up I would like to see him fit again because we don’t know how long that is going to take. I don’t think there are going to be huge negotiations over what type of games he plays. ‘Fred’ will be available for one-day international and Twenty20 cricket for England. Simple as that.”
■SOCCER
Bilardo backs Maradona
Diego Maradona’s faltering reign as Argentina coach would only be ended by the arrival of either Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, team manager Carlos Bilardo said on Friday in a bizarre exchange with reporters. “If Jesus Christ returned or the Virgin Mary, then I’d accept it. Otherwise, no,” Bilardo said. Maradona skippered Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title when Bilardo was coach, but the 48-year-old has come under intense pressure with the team’s 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign threatening to fall apart. Since he took over, Maradona has overseen four defeats in six qualifiers, two of which came in the last week against Brazil and Paraguay.
■SOCCER
Capello to keep WAGS out
Wary of the distractions accompanying soccer players’ celebrity lifestyles, England coach Fabio Capello will only allow players’ partners to visit the squad for a single day after each game at next year’s World Cup. Seeking to avoid a repeat of what defender Rio Ferdinand called “a circus” when the glamorous wives and girlfriends — the so-called WAGS — stayed near the players at the 2006 tournament in Germany, Capello is set to take a tougher stance than his predecessors. “I hope we will be there for a very long period, but the players will have one day with their family, with the girls and with their friends,” Capello said. “We are there to play football, not for a holiday.”
■SOCCER
Viduka set to return home
Former Middlesbrough and Newcastle United striker Mark Viduka is returning home to live in Australia, his agent told an Australian Web site yesterday. Uncertainty had surrounded the former Socceroo’s future since Newcastle were relegated from the English Premier League last season. The 33-year-old had been linked with a possible move to English clubs Portsmouth, Fulham and West Ham United, but his agent, Steve Kutner, ruled out another contract in Europe. “I can confirm that Mark will not be seeking another contract in England or Europe and is coming home to Australia to live,” Kutner said.
■RUGBY UNION
Scrumhalf Kelleher arrested
Former All Blacks scrumhalf Byron Kelleher was arrested after allegedly being involved in a drink-fueled scuffle following a road accident in the early hours of Friday morning, it was claimed. The ladepeche.fr Web site said Kelleher, who plays for French side Toulouse, injured his shoulder in the altercation, which occurred at around 3am, and could be out of action for up to two months. Kelleher, 32, was released from custody on Friday afternoon, Toulouse prosecutor Michel Valet said.
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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