■ARGENTINA
Maradona battles bulge
Argentina coach Diego Maradona is in Italy to receive medical treatment to combat his weight increase and rising stress levels following his team’s two straight losses in World Cup qualifying. ANSA reported on Tuesday that Maradona traveled to the Alpine town of Merano to a beauty farm after Argentina lost 3-1 to Brazil and 1-0 to Paraguay. ANSA quoted unidentified hotel personnel saying that Maradona intends to stay for a couple of weeks for strict dieting.
■BOLIVIA
Players quit national team
Bolivia’s players have resigned from the national team indefinitely and are demanding reforms in the game from their federation (FBF) and the government, their union (Fabol) said on Tuesday. The move could leave Bolivia without a squad to face Brazil at home and Peru away in their remaining World Cup qualifiers next month. “Bolivian soccer is in a deep crisis and as long as our suggestions are not taken into account and implemented ... the country’s professional soccer players resign indefinitely from representing the national team,” Fabol said in a statement. Bolivian President Evo Morales proposed last week that the state take charge of the game because of the national team’s poor results. Bolivia are second-bottom of the 10-team South American group with 10 points from 16 games. The union wants the game to be governed by a single executive body with an equal say for “the real actors in soccer, the players, coaches and referees” and more money injected into the game by the government. Bolivian soccer is run by three separate entities, the FBF, the League and the national associations.
■ENGLAND
FA charges City’s Adebayor
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been charged with violent and improper conduct during Saturday’s 4-2 Premier League win over visitors Arsenal, the English Football Association (FA) said on Tuesday. “Under the fast-track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries,” an FA statement read. “Adebayor has also been charged with improper conduct following his actions when turning and running the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters after scoring.” Greater Manchester Police have written to the FA with their views on the incident at the City of Manchester stadium and a separate date will be arranged for a commission to consider Adebayor’s goal celebration. The forward, who joined City from Arsenal in July, angered fans after what van Persie described as a “mindless and malicious stamp” by Adebayor went unpunished. “Referee Mark Clattenburg has advised the FA that he did not see this incident, but has confirmed that had he done so, he would have sent Adebayor off for violent conduct,” the FA statement said. Adebayor’s goal celebration also sparked crowd trouble among Arsenal fans leading to a steward being injured.
■CONCACAF
Cruz Azul stay unbeaten
Mexican club Cruz Azul remained undefeated in the CONCACAF Champions League, rallying from a two-goal deficit on Tuesday to draw 3-3 with the Puerto Rico Islanders in Group C. In other games on Tuesday, D.C. United defeated San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad 1-0 in Port-of-Spain on Christian Gomez’s penalty in Group B, and Arabe Unido of Panama defeated Metapan of El Salvador 1-0 in Group A.
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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