BASEBALL
Rays win 12th straight
The Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday won their 12th straight game to start the season, one short of the major-league record, as Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer in a 9-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves both opened 13-0, tying for the best mark in big-league history. Tampa Bay’s 12-game winning streak matches the team record set in June 2004. Taj Bradley (1-0) won his MLB debut for the Rays. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed three runs and struck out eight over five innings. Arozarena made it 3-0 with an opposite-field homer off Chris Sale (1-1) in the first.
ICE HOCKEY
Islanders clinch playoff spot
Brock Nelson scored twice on Wednesday as the New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 to wrap up a playoff spot. The Islanders were awaiting the outcome of the Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes game to determine their first-round opponents. Hudson Fasching and Anders Lee also scored for New York, while Ilya Sorokin made 16 saves to close out the regular season. Elsewhere, Wyatt Johnston scored twice, and Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars beat the St Louis Blues 5-2 to take the Central Division lead, while the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 to finish fifth in the Pacific Division.
RUGBY UNION
Japan eyes 2030s events
The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) on Wednesday said that it wants to host the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in 2035 and 2037. Japan reached the quarter-finals as hosts of the men’s showpiece in 2019, the first time the tournament was held outside the traditional powerhouse nations. Australia is to host the men’s event in 2027 and the women’s tournament two years later, while the US is to stage the 2031 and 2033 tournaments. “We’ve informed them [World Rugby] that we are aiming to host at the earliest [2035 and 2037], and we will go forward looking at when the conditions will allow us to really stage it,” Kyodo news agency quoted JRFU chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi as saying. France is to host the men’s World Cup in September and October, while England is to stage the next women’s event in 2025.
SOCCER
Referee attack earns ban
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya midfielder Ibrahim Bayesh has been suspended for two years for trying to attack a referee after being sent off in a game on Sunday, the Iraqi Football Association said. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya lost 3-2 to Al-Kahraba after a last-gasp goal, to drop to second place in the league. “Ibrahim Bayesh mocked the referee as he was shown a second yellow card, and after that a red card, as a result [the player] ran towards the referee and tried to attack him, and he threatened and insulted the referee,” Iraq’s federation said in a statement on Wednesday. Hammadi Ahmed, a member of the club’s administrative board, also received a two-year ban after he pushed the referee and directed “harsh and obscene words” to the refereeing staff, the federation said. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya have to play three home matches without fans and were ordered to pay a fine of 10 million Iraqi dinars (US$7,637) after their fans rioted after the game.
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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