CRICKET
Stars go home winless
The Taiwan Stars yesterday lost three games from three at the Janhong Tournament at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei, leaving them last and out of today’s finals. Taipei-based ICC made 76-2, aided by 25 extras, to overhaul the Stars’ total of 74-6 in the first of yesterday’s 12-over matches. Saurabh Hajari belted 50 not out from just 23 deliveries to power the Game Swingers to 128-5 in the second match, which was too much for the Stars’ 72-7. In the third game, the Taipei Indians made 116-3 to set up a 30-run win. Yesterday’s action completed the group stage in the five-team tournament, with the Hsinchu Titans topping the table for direct entry into today’s final. The Indians and the Swingers are to play in the morning to decide who gets the other spot in the championship match.
LITTLE LEAGUE
Girl scores a run
Stella Weaver, the only girl playing in the Little League World Series this year, singled, scored a run and was hit by a pitch, helping Tennessee to an 8-1 win over Rhode Island on Friday. Weaver is just the 22nd girl to play in the tournament’s history. The first Little League World Series was held in 1947. With the bases empty, Stella hit a hard grounder to short and beat out the throw to become the 10th girl to record a hit in tournament history. She later hustled from second to home on a bloop single, clapping her hands as she slid through the plate. “People don’t realize how fast she is,” manager Randy Huth said. “You ask any one of these guys, she can fly. She can flat out fly. She hit that ball so hard to shortstop and he still couldn’t throw her out.” Weaver also made a put-out in right field before she was pulled defensively in the fourth, maintaining her place in the lineup. Huth said he made the switch because he considered pitching her in relief of starter Grayson May. Huth said there was “definitely a chance” that Weaver would get the start in Tennessee’s game against Washington tomorrow. The Tennessee team, from Nolensville just south of Nashville, is representing the Southeast region in the US bracket. “You’re gonna see Stella,” Huth said. “She can throw it, man. She can really pitch.” Taiwan, represented by Taoyuan-based Kuei-Shan Little League, face Japan tomorrow. They won their first game at the tournament against Canada.
GAMES
Victoria to pay A$380m
Australia’s Victoria state is to pay A$380 million (US$243 million) to Commonwealth Games organizers, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said yesterday, after it withdrew as 2026 event host citing a projected cost blowout. Victoria last month pulled out of hosting the quadrennial multi-sport event, which was to have been held in four regional hubs, with Andrews saying costs could have ballooned to more than A$7 billion from a budgeted A$2.6 billion. The decision has raised the possibility that the Games might not take place for the first time since being canceled due to World War II. In a joint statement issued by Andrews, the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria said they had “settled all their disputes regarding the cancelation of the multi-hub regional Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.” The statemenst said: “The State of Victoria has agreed to pay the Commonwealth Games parties ... A$380 million.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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
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