SOUTH AMERICA
CONMEBOL to back Blatter
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) will support Sepp Blatter’s re-election bid as FIFA president in May, a CONMEBOL source said on Tuesday. Blatter, who has headed FIFA since 1998, flew into Asuncion on Tuesday to attend CONMEBOL’s congress that will hand its president, Paraguayan Juan Angel Napout, another four-year term. The source, who asked not to be named, was at CONMEBOL’s executive committee meeting on Tuesday where South America gave Blatter its support as he seeks a fifth term in office. The Swiss is running against Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, former Portugal great Luis Figo and FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who are all expected at the congress.
GERMANY
Ticket allocation announced
About one-third of the 70,500 tickets for this year’s UEFA Champions League final in Berlin will be reserved for soccer officials, sponsors and corporate hospitality, UEFA said on Tuesday. European soccer’s governing body said 20,000 tickets would be allocated to supporters of each of the two finalists, with another 6,000 going on sale to neutral fans via UEFA’s Web site. “As usual, fans and the general public are being allocated the majority of the tickets for the final,” UEFA said in a statement. “The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organizing committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality program.” UEFA said prices for the match at the Olympiastadion on June 6 would range from 70 euros (US$78) for category four tickets to 390 euros for category one.
ENGLAND
Terry gets extended deal
Chelsea captain John Terry is to be awarded a contract extension to keep him at the club beyond the end of this season, manager Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday. Terry’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the campaign, but Mourinho said the 34-year-old centerback’s form this season has persuaded the club to offer him a new deal. “What I can guarantee is he will be a Chelsea player next season,” Mourinho told a press conference on Tuesday. “No doubts he’s going to get his contract.” Terry, a graduate of the Chelsea academy, was named man of the match after scoring the opening goal in his side’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s League Cup final at Wembley in London.
SPAIN
Pique fined for abuse
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique was fined 10,500 euros (US$11,740) by a judge on Tuesday for abusing police after the car he was traveling in was given a parking ticket. Pique wrote an apology to the court hearing in Barcelona for the public order offense that took place on Oct. 13 last year. Judge Maria Asuncion Gonzalez fined Pique for “disrespectful behavior and being verbally aggressive.” The centerback’s brother was given a ticket for leaving his car in a bus lane.
ENGLAND
Ref East back in action
Referee Roger East returned to action in the Premier League on Tuesday, a day after the Football Association ruled he mistakenly dismissed Sunderland defender Wes Brown at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday. East was the fourth official when Southampton hosted Crystal Palace, having come in for heavy criticism for sending off Brown at his former club at the weekend for a foul on Radamel Falcao. Replays showed it was John O’Shea who committed the foul.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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