■BASKETBALL
Players to visit Kaohsiung
Reigning dunk champion Nate Robinson will head a group of eight NBA players who will take part in a dunk competition in Kaohsiung in late August, organizers said on Thursday. The competition will be the first time an NBA dunk contest has been held in Taiwan, said Chen Han-chuan, marketing manager of Bros Sports, the sports marketing company that organized the first NBA exhibition game in Taiwan in October last year. Robinson, who plays for the Boston Celtics, is the first three-time dunk contest winner in NBA history. He will meet a pair of semi-finalists at this year’s NBA dunk competition in Kaohsiung — Demar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers. The other participants will be Nick Young of the Washington Wizards, Will Bynum of the Detroit Pistons, Dahntay Jones of the Indiana Pacers, Carl Landry of the Sacramento Kings and Terrence Williams of the New Jersey Nets.
■ICE HOCKEY
Hart Trophy finalists named
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will have to settle their simmering rivalry at the ballot box instead of on the ice. The Pittsburgh Penguins star and his Washington Capitals counterpart joined Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday as finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. The winner will be announced on June 23 in Las Vegas. Crosby and Ovechkin have traded verbal jabs — and some real ones — over the past few years as they combined to win three consecutive Hart Trophies. The last two have gone to Ovechkin, who has made a name for himself as perhaps the most dynamic goalscorer since Wayne Gretzky, winner of a record eight straight awards from 1980 to 1987. Their teams were expected to meet in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and Crosby did his part by helping Pittsburgh defeat the Ottawa Senators in six games, but the Capitals blew a 3-1 lead against the Montreal Canadiens and were eliminated in Game 7 on Wednesday.
■ICE HOCKEY
Czechs beat Swedes
Goalkeeper Ondrej Pavelec stopped all three of Sweden’s shootout tries and secured victory for the Czech Republic in the opening round of the four-nation Sweden Hockey Games on Thursday. The teams were 1-1 going into the shootout. Pavelec, a goalie for the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, finished with 29 saves, while Jakub Klepis scored the only goal in the shootout. Lukas Kaspar, for the Czechs, and Sweden’s Victor Hedman scored in regulation. In Finland, teenager Mikael Granlund finished another first-day shootout with an artistic move in his senior debut to lead the hosts past Russia 5-4 in the opening game. The teams were 4-4 after regulation time and overtime.
■BASKETBALL
China hires Donewald Jr
Bob Donewald Jr of the US accepted one of the toughest jobs in Chinese sport yesterday when he was named head coach of the national basketball team. The former assistant coach of New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA led the Shanghai Sharks to the final four of the domestic league in his first season, after being hired by club owner and NBA All-Star Yao Ming. “There will be setbacks and difficulties, but I believe I can overcome them,” he told a news conference. “I am excited.” Donewald’s predecessor Guo Shiqiang, pilloried after a humiliating performance at the Asian championships last year, will be retained as an assistant coach.
■SOCCER
Bayern appeal Ribery ban
Bayern Munich are appealing Franck Ribery’s three-match ban which would see him miss this month’s Champions League final, UEFA confirmed on Thursday. The Frenchman was shown a straight red card for treading on the foot of Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez in the first-leg semi-final, which Bayern won 1-0 in Munich. He then missed Tuesday’s 3-0 second-leg win while serving part of the ban. UEFA’s decision means he will miss the final in Madrid on May 22 against Italian side Inter. The appeal date has not yet been fixed.
■SOCCER
Helsingborg stay unbeaten
Helsingborg remain unbeaten in the Swedish league after Mattias Lindstrom’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win over defending champions AIK on Thursday. After nine rounds, Helsingborg are five points clear of Malmo FF, and another five ahead of third-placed Elfsborg. Malmo beat IFK Goteborg 2-0 away, with goals from Daniel Larsson and Guillermo Molins, while Johan Larsson scored in Elfsborg’s 1-0 win over Brommapojkarna. Newcomers Atvidaberg jumped two places at the bottom of the table after beating Trelleborg 3-0 and Djurgarden scored late to clinch a 1-0 win against Mjallby. On Wednesday, Icelandic midfielder Eyjolfur Hedinsson scored twice as GAIS beat Hacken 2-0, Kalmar crushed Orebro 4-1 and Anselmo headed in the winner as Halmstad beat Gefle 1-0.
■SNOOKER
Robertson opens up lead
Neil Robertson, bidding to become Australia’s first world championship finalist in 35 years, opened up a 6-2 lead over England’s Ali Carter in the semi-finals on Thursday. The 28-year-old Robertson made the most of having finished his quarter-final on Wednesday afternoon, while Carter completed a marathon win over Shaun Murphy in a final-frame, late-night thriller. Carter got to sleep at 3.30am and when he arrived at the Crucible for his 2pm start against Robertson the 30-year-old’s start to the best-of-33-frame semi-final was sluggish and he quickly slipped 4-0 down. Eddie Charlton was Australia’s last World Championship finalist in 1975 when the tournament was staged in Robertson’s home city, Melbourne. In the other semi-final, Scotland’s Graeme Dott was leading Mark Selby of England 5-3.
■BOXING
Arizona law angers WBC
The Mexico-based World Boxing Council (WBC) says it will not schedule any bouts featuring Mexican fighters in Arizona to protest what it called the state’s “shameful, inhuman and discriminatory” immigration law. Arizona has passed a new law that makes it a crime to be in the state illegally. WBC president Jose Sulaiman said the ban on Arizona fights involving Mexican fighters had also been approved by the Federation of Boxing Commissions of Mexico. The ban starts today. Critics fear the law will lead police to practice racial profiling, asking anyone who looks Mexican for their migration documents.
■MOTOGP
Rossi still suffering
World champion Valentino Rossi is still suffering back pain after a motocross accident last month and does not expect to be fully fit for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. “My back still hurts and tomorrow [Friday] we will see if I can stay on the bike. Definitely I will not be 100 percent,” the Italian told reporters. The Yamaha rider, who won the season-opening race in Qatar, could have missed the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend had it not been postponed.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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