CRICKET
Pakistan beat Zimbabwe
Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez with 139 runs and Imran Farhat with 75 formed a record-breaking opening partnership of 228 runs against Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Sunday to secure an overwhelming win in the second one-day international (ODI) to take the three-match series. Their combination beat the previous mark set by Saeed Anwar and Ramiz Rajah of 204 against Sri Lanka. The Pakistani pair stayed together for the entire 42.1 overs necessary to record a 10-wicket victory over a hapless home side who had scraped together 225-6 in their 50 overs. Hafeez, who recorded his third ODI century and was later named man of the match for the second time on this tour, needed only 147 balls while Farhat’s 75 required 106 balls.
CYCLING
Da Costa wins Montreal GP
Portugal’s Rui Faria da Costa launched a timely attack in the finale of the Montreal Grand Prix to upset the favorites and win the 205.7km Canadian World Tour race on Sunday. Hyperactive in the last two of 17 laps around the Mount Royal park, the Movistar team rider, 24, broke with Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo and Austria’s Stefan Denifl and kept enough strength to hold the peloton at bay until the finish line. On the line, the winner of the eighth stage of the Tour de France in Super Besse in July narrowly beat Fedrigo while world No. 1 Philippe Gilbert managed to dislodge Denifl from third place thanks to a blistering finishing sprint.
CYCLING
Cavendish wins first stage
Mark Cavendish made a winning start to the Tour of Britain with a classy sprint finish victory in the opening stage in Scotland on Sunday. Cavendish, who has won 20 stages of the Tour de France and took the green jersey this year, was the star attraction in Dumfries and treated fans who braved some nasty weather to a powerful finish as he came out on top in a bunch sprint. In high winds and driving rain, Cavendish was helped home by his HTC-Highroad lead-out man Mark Renshaw to make a perfect start to a race he last contested in 2007. Cavendish, one of the big favorites for the world road race title in Copenhagen at the end of the month, led the pack home in a time of four hours, 41 minutes and six seconds, with Australian Renshaw in second and Dutchman Theo Bos in third.
BASKETBALL
Argentina beat Brazil
Argentina defeated Brazil 80-75 on Sunday to win the championship game of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament for the Americas. Luis Scola led Argentina with 32 points and Carlos Delfino added 16. Marcus Vinicuis had 17 for Brazil. The game was mostly for pride, since both teams had already won their semi-final matches on Saturday, which gave them two automatic berths in next year’s London Olympics. The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 103-89 in Sunday’s third-place game.
ATHLETICS
Blake sets 100m meet record
World champion Yohan Blake equaled his personal best of 9.82 seconds on Sunday to set a new 100m meet record at the ISTAF event. The 21-year-old Jamaican, who clocked the same time at the Weltklasse in Zurich on Thursday, comfortably beat Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who finished in 10.01 seconds. “That’s why they call me the beast,” Blake said. “There were some very good guys in this field, so it wasn’t easy to win. I pushed myself to run faster. It’s a wonderful feeling to win here ... Life changed a bit after the world championship.”
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
Sumo is walking a “tightrope” as it prepares to stage events outside Japan for the first time in 20 years while also trying to preserve its ancient traditions, experts say. The sport is to hold exhibition tournaments in London in October and in Paris in June next year, the first time the Japan Sumo Association has been abroad since Las Vegas in 2005. Sports such as soccer, baseball and football play domestic games overseas in a bid to gain new fans in emerging markets. John Gunning, a former amateur sumo wrestler who commentates on the sport in English on Japanese television, says its
Cole Perfetti on Friday scored three goals for his first NHL hat-trick as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Utah Hockey Club 5-2. Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists to reach 500 points for his career, while David Gustafsson also scored for Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck had 17 saves. Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah, while Connor Ingram stopped 25 shots. Perfetti gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead when he lifted the puck over a fallen Ingram on a pass from Vladislav Namestnikov 5 minutes, 51 seconds into the third period. Ehlers stole the puck at his own blue line and raced down
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