SOCCER
Real Madrid celebrate title
Real Madrid yesterday celebrated its La Liga title with fans, meeting with government officials and parading through the streets of the capital. Madrid clinched its 36th league title last weekend, with four rounds to spare, but it could not celebrate the triumph right away because it still had to play the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Madrid rallied with two late goals by striker Joselu to defeat Bayern Munich 2-1 on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, advancing 3-2 on aggregate to the final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London. “I’m sure that in three weeks we will be back here,” Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said, while addressing the crowd yesterday.
OLYMPICS
Torch relay has issue
The Paris Olympics torch relay had its first glitch on Saturday when the cauldron, which is lit at the end of each day, stubbornly refused to ignite. On the third stage of its 78-day journey at Manosque to the north of Marseille, French swimmer Ophelie-Cyrielle Etienne, a bronze medalist from the 2012 Olympics in London, twice tried without success to ignite the cauldron with the flame. Officials said there was a technical problem even though the cauldron had been lit successfully on the two previous evenings in Marseille and Toulon. The torch relay, which would reach Paris in time for the opening ceremony on July 26, had taken place without incident on Saturday as it made its way through the rural and mountainous setting of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
BOXING
Lomachenko wins title
Ukrainian boxing great Vasiliy Lomachenko clinched the International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight world title yesterday after producing a supreme performance to stop Australian George Kambosos in the 11th round in Perth, Australia. In the main event at a sold-out 15,000 RAC Arena, heavy favorite Lomachenko defied the rowdy home crowd and dominated throughout. Lomachenko left the Australian bloodied and sealed the belt in the 11th round after dropping Kambosos several times before the fight was stopped by the referee. It was the first IBF lightweight belt in the glittering career of former World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council lightweight champion Lomachenko, who has also won world titles featherweight and super featherweight.
SOCCER
Al-Hilal win 19th title
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr missed out on the Saudi Pro League title for the second consecutive season when Al-Hilal on Saturday defeated Al-Hazm 4-1 and clinched first place. Two goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic, signed from Fulham in the English Premier League in the summer last year, did the damage. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored and an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid completed the win for Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal collected a record-extending 19th league title. It was 12 points ahead of Riyadh rival Al-Nassr with three games remaining. Ronaldo is still set to top the goal-scoring chart. On Friday, he notched his 33rd goal in a 3-2 win at Al-Okhdood and was nine clear of Mitrovic in second. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is just a goal behind the league record set by Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2019.
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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