TENNIS
Nadal pulls out of Open
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal yesterday pulled out of the Australian Open with a “micro tear on a muscle” barely a week after making his comeback from a year-long injury absence, but said he remained positive. The 37-year-old had been out of the game since injuring his hip at last year’s Australian Open, undergoing surgery before making his comeback at the Brisbane International. “During my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news. Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of five-set matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”
SOCCER
Brazil mourns Zagallo
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday declared three days of national mourning for four-time World Cup-winning legend Mario Zagallo, a day after his death at age 92. Zagallo, who played alongside Pele in Brazil’s 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams and later won the trophy as a coach, died on Friday of multiple organ failure, said the Barra D’Or Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been treated for a series of health problems in the past few months. Lula led a flood of tributes to the man known as the “Old Wolf,” who coached Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning side starring Pele — considered by many the greatest team in history — and served as assistant coach when the “Selecao” repeated the feat in 1994. “He was one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time,” Lula said in a statement. “Courageous, passionate ... [he] leaves a lesson of love, dedication and the will to overcome for our country — and for world football.” Current and former players also paid their respects, including Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldinho, Romario, Bebeto, Taffarel and Cafu. “Thank you for everything, Professor!!! Rest in peace,” Ronaldinho posted on Instagram, alongside a photograph of him and Zagallo. “He’s as important as Pele,” Romario told journalists. “Today is a sad day for football.”
BASKETBALL
Draymond Green reinstated
The NBA on Saturday reinstated Draymond Green from his suspension after the Golden State Warriors star missed 12 games for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12. The league said Green “demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players” during his suspension, which began on Dec. 14. He has met with a counselor as well as had multiple joint meetings with representatives of the league, the Warriors and the National Basketball Players Association. Those meetings would continue throughout the season, the league said. The Warriors have gone 7-5 without Green, who also was suspended for five games in November last year for placing Minnesota center Rudy Gobert in a headlock. After agreeing to a new US$100 million deal with the Warriors in the summer last year, Green lost nearly US$1.9 million in salary during the suspension.
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
RSS