■SOCCER
Liga rout Fluminense
Edison Mendez’s quality hat-trick led Liga de Quito to a 5-1 rout of Fluminense in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final on Wednesday. The return leg is next Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, where Fluminense will be relieved after appearing to struggle to breathe at Quito’s 3,000m altitude. The final is a rematch of the last year’s final of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s club championship, when Liga beat Fluminense in a penalty shootout to become the first club from Ecuador to win a major tournament. In search of revenge, Fluminense made a remarkable start at the Casa Blanca Stadium. After barely 20 seconds, the ball was worked to Fred on the edge of the box and the former Lyon striker’s shot was barely parried away by goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez. Marquinho pounced on the rebound and blasted a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Liga regrouped fast and Mendez pulled the home side level in the 21st minute after receiving a quick free-kick on the right and arrowing a shot that stung the fingers of Fluminense goalkeeper Rafael. Mendez scored again in the 44th minute when his 30m free-kick rebounded off the wall and dropped invitingly into his path. The veteran midfielder launched an unstoppable drive off the underside of the crossbar to put Liga in front. In the 60th minute, Mendez arrived in the box to complete his hat-trick with a downward header from Norberto Araujo’s right-wing cross. Franklin Salas swapped passes with Mendez inside the box in the 77th minute and hit a first-time volley across Rafael for Liga’s fourth goal. De La Cruz sealed a miserable night for Fluminense with a 30m strike in the 88th minute.
■BASKETBALL
Iverson set to retire
With no apparent interest from NBA teams, Allen Iverson is set to retire, an online report says. Commentator Stephen Smith published a statement on his Web site on Wednesday attributed to Iverson. It said Iverson plans to retire, but also that “I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.” The statement also said Iverson has tremendous love for the game and the desire to play, adding there is “a whole lot left in my tank.” “His legacy would be huge,” Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James said. “He’s one of the best when you talk about guys six foot [1.83m] and under in the game of basketball. He played injured and he played hard every single night. I don’t think it should end this way, but if it does, he’s left a lot of great things behind.”
■SOCCER
Romario in emotional return
Former Brazil striker Romario came out of retirement to play 22 minutes for his late father’s favorite team America-RJ and lift the Rio de Janeiro State second division title on Wednesday. The 43-year-old Romario, who retired last year and became America’s sporting director this year, came on as a substitute in the second half of America’s 2-0 win over Artsul. The former Barcelona striker was unable to improve on his career goals tally, which he has claimed to be more than 1,000, but he did a lap of honor with the trophy.
■CYCLING
McEwen planning comeback
Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen is planning to make his comeback to professional cycling at the Tour Down Under in January. A three-time winner of the Tour de France’s sprinters’ green jersey, McEwen was sidelined for most of this year after crashing heavily in Belgium in May. Lance Armstrong of the US and Australia’s road race world champion Cadel Evans will also be competing.
Taiwan’s men’s A team last night defeated their counterpart B team 82-77 in their first showdown in the William Jones Cup at New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang Gymnasium. With four wins under their belt, Taiwan’s A squad — also known as the blue team, consisting of the national team’s main roster — lead the tournament, while Malaysia and the Philippines Strong Group-Pilipinas, who were not scheduled to play last night, are both undefeated with three wins each. Taiwanese-American teenager Robert Hinton, playing in his first William Jones Cup, led the scoring early in the first quarter, putting up nine points for the A
Taiwanese tennis ace Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jan Zielinski of Poland on Friday advanced to the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon, just one step away from clinching their first mixed doubles title at the tournament. Hsieh and Zielinski, who won the Australian Open title earlier this year and who had reached the semi-finals at the French Open, battled past second seeds Michael Venus and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand 7-6, (7/0), 6-3. In the first set, the Taiwanese-Polish duo saved a set point, pushing the set into a tiebreaker. They clinched the set by winning the tiebreaker with seven straight points. The duo
A chance encounter during a drunken night out was the unlikely catalyst for breaker Sunny Choi’s journey to the Paris Olympic Games. The 35-year-old American is to showcase her skills before a global audience in Paris when breaking makes its debut on the Olympic stage. Choi is the beneficiary of efforts to attract younger fans to the Olympics, a move that led to breaking’s inclusion for the first time. However, as Choi says, the Olympics was the last thing on her mind when she took up the sport. A freshman student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Choi stumbled into breaking
Former NFL receiver Jacoby Jones, whose 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history, has died at the age of 40. The Houston Texans, Jones’ team for the first five seasons of his career, announced his death on Sunday. In a statement released by the NFL Players Association, his family said he died at his home in New Orleans. A cause of death was not given. Jones played from 2007 to 2015 for the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, and he made several huge plays for the Ravens during their most recent Super