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(Reuters) – Detroit Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez fractured his right ankle in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks.
He was thrown out at the plate in the third inning trying to score from first on a double by Miguel Cabrera when he slid awkwardly after his foot caught the ground.
Ordonez was hitting .303 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
(Reuters) – English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur were held to a scoreless draw by the San Jose Earthquakes in the opening match of their pre-season tour of the United States on Saturday.
Both teams created opportunities, with Robbie Keane having a goal disallowed for offside then missing perhaps the best chance for Spurs, but neither was able to break the deadlock.
The north London club were missing most of their World Cup players and they looked rusty as they began their preparation for the start of the Premier League next month.
Their next game is against New York Red Bulls on Thursday, where they are likely to face a familiar foe in former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry who joined New York last week.
The final tour game will be against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon on July 25.
(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
(Reuters) – The New York Yankees smashed three home runs and drove ace pitcher Roy Halladay out of the game to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 on Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s World Series.
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The Yankees, who beat the Phillies 4-2 to win the best-of-seven World Series, scored six times off Halladay and forced the Phillies to replace him after six innings in the interleague game at Yankees Stadium.
Halladay (8-5) allowed two runs in the second inning then surrendered home runs to Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher in the third where New York took a 5-0 advantage.
“I made mistakes early on that put us in an early hole,” Halladay said. “I missed with location early on. That was the toughest part for me — I knew I was missing.
“I didn’t get away with anything.”
The Phillies (32-30) rallied with three runs in the fourth but Mark Teixeira homered in the fifth and Francisco Cervelli hit a two-run single in the seventh to help the Yankees (41-23) to the comfortable victory.
New York starter CC Sabathia struck out seven and allowed three runs to improve to 7-3 this season.
The Yankees, who were without slugger Alex Rodriguez (groin) for the fourth successive game, remained tied with the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the American League East Division with the victory.
“We’ve got a good offense,” Sabathia said. “(Halladay) has pitched well against us a lot in the past, but guys have been swinging the bat well.
“(Rodriguez) is out, but Swisher has picked up the slack. Curtis hit a big home run. We’ve got a pretty good team.”
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
California (Reuters) – American veteran Rocco Mediate earned a late entry to the U.S. Open on Sunday when he was awarded the spot reserved for the winner of the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.
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British world number three Lee Westwood, who clinched the St. Jude title in a three-way playoff, had already gained a place in the field for the year’s second major and Mediate benefited as the first alternate.
A five-times PGA Tour winner and a popular figure with the fans, Mediate lost a 19-hole playoff to world number one Tiger Woods for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in California.
The 47-year-old American, who has struggled with back injuries over the years, has competed in 14 U.S. Opens since turning professional in 1985.
The U.S. Open, being held at Pebble Beach Golf Links for a fifth time, starts Thursday. American Lucas Glover won the title last year at Bethpage Black in New York.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
South Africa, June 14 (Reuters) – South African police fired teargas and rubber bullets late on Sunday to disperse hundreds of stadium workers protesting over wages in the coastal city of Durban, Reuters witnesses said.
Riot police armed with shotguns and riot shields chased the workers, who were deployed as stewards in the ground, out of the stadium where Germany had earlier beaten Australia 4-0 in their opening World Cup game.
At least one woman was injured.
“We were mounting a peaceful protest because they were not paying us what we expected and we were surprised that the police started charging at us. They fired teargas at us,” said one of the workers, Sydney Nzoli. (Reporting by David Clarke and Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
Chinese Olympic judo champion Tong Wen has been banned for two years and stripped of her world title after failing a doping test at the world championships in the Netherlands last year.
Tong, who claimed the women’s 78kg title at the 2008 Beijing Games and won a fourth world championship at Rotterdam, had tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol, Chinese state media reported late on Saturday.
The International Judo Federation issued the ban at a council meeting in Tunis on Friday, Xinhua news agency said, citing a Chinese judo official.
Ma Wenguang, the director of China’s weightlifting, wrestling and judo administration centre, told Xinhua the sport’s governing body “would seriously deal with it”.
The International Judo Federation was unavailable for comment.
Clenbuterol is often used to treat breathing disorders, rising blood pressure and for oxygen transportation.
“(It) can boost muscle, like an anabolic steroid,” Zhao Jian, deputy director of the China Anti-Doping Agency, told Xinhua.
“We had tested Tong last year before she went to the Netherlands but found nothing at that moment,” he added.
Tong, China’s most successful judoka, won three world titles in the 78kg class between 2005-2009 and one in the open category in 2003.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne, Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Dwyane Wade scored a career playoff-high 46 points to help the Miami Heat stave off elimination with a 101-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
On the verge of being swept out of the playoffs, Wade erupted for 19 points in the fourth quarter where the Heat opened with a 25-8 run to cut the Celtics’ best-of-seven series lead to 3-1.
No team has come back from a 3-0 best-of-seven deficit to win in the playoffs, but Miami at least forced the series back to Boston on Tuesday.
“We’re always going to fight,” Wade told reporters. “We fought today and I finally had a good shooting game the way I wanted to.
“I was going to shoot all those shots no matter what happened. I got hot at the right time.”
Rajon Rondo had 23 points and nine assists while Kevin Garnett finished with 18 and 12 rebounds for the Celtics who had previously defeated the Heat in all six meetings this season.
Coming off Paul Pierce’s buzzer-beater shot to deliver the win in Game Three, Boston fell behind by 13 after the first quarter but settled in to claim a six-point advantage after the third.
But that was when Miami’s All-Star guard, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, took over by making three quick three-pointers in the final quarter on his way to a playoff franchise-record scoring total.
In other Eastern Conference action, LeBron James scored a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed to a 3-1 series lead over the Chicago Bulls.
James finished with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to guide the Cavs to a 121-98 rout of the Bulls.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles, editing by Dave Thompson/Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
North Korea’s Pak Doo-ik inflicted so much pain on Italy at the 1966 World Cup he is still referred to as “the Dentist”.
Now aged 68, Pak has urged the current North Korean side to dish out the same kind of punishment to Portugal, who ended the North’s fairytale adventure in England 44 years ago.
Pak’s goal gave North Korea a 1-0 win over the Italians in 1966, eliminating them from the tournament at the group stage.
In the quarter-finals, the North stormed to a 3-0 lead against Portugal before a Eusebio-inspired fightback earned the Portuguese a 5-3 win.
“To this day I feel disappointed about the game against Portugal in 1966,” Yonhap News agency quoted Pak as telling a Brazilian newspaper. “I want payback for that loss 44 years ago.”
North Korea are in Group G with Portugal, Ivory Coast and Brazil for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, and Pak believes they can once again cause an upset.
“I believe North Korea and Brazil will succeed in advancing to the last 16 at the World Cup in South Africa,” he said.
“North Korean soccer has come a long way and I believe we will advance to the second round.”
(Reporting by Jack Kim, writing by Peter Rutherford in Singapore; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt has been confirmed in Australia’s Davis Cup team for next month’s Asia-Oceania second round tie against Japan in Brisbane, Tennis Australia said on Saturday.
Hewitt is on the comeback trail from hip surgery following his fourth round exit at the Australian Open in January.
The 29-year-old former U.S. Open and Wimbledon winner was knocked out of the Barcelona Open by Argentine Eduardo Schwank on Wednesday. He also played the U.S. Clay Court championships in Houston earlier this month.
“I think it is a mighty effort for Lleyton to make it back,” Australia’s Davis Cup captain John Fitgerald said in a statement.
“It speaks volumes about his commitment to Australia and to Davis Cup that he has put such a focus on playing this tie and getting us back into the World Group.”
Fitzgerald and Australian Davis Cup coach Todd Woodbridge are still deliberating on the rest of the team for the May 7-9 tie on clay in Brisbane.
The winner advances to the World Group Playoffs in September.
(Writing by Greg Stutchbury in auckland, Editing by Patrick Johnston; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
(Reuters) – The Oakland Athletics scored eight runs in the final three innings to beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-4 on Sunday.
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Adam Rosales finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning to give the Athletics their first lead 4-3.
Oakland (5-2) trailed 3-1 through six innings before scoring three times in the seventh, three more in the eighth and twice in the ninth.
Starter Dallas Braden surrendered two runs to the Angels (2-5) in the first inning but settled to pick up his first win of the season after pitching six innings and allowing three runs.
“We feel like were a frontrunner, and we feel like we can compete with anybody,” Braden told reporters.
“If we can continue to do what we’ve done so far, which is win the series, we’ll be okay.
“It’s a great way to start the month and obviously a great way to start the season.”
Athletics’ reliever Tyson Ross took over from Braden in the seventh and got the save despite allowing a solo home run to Juan Rivera in the ninth.
Oakland had been slow to get going, but they exploded in the seventh when Mark Ellis sparked things with an RBI double. He also added an RBI single in the ninth and scored twice.
The Angels bullpen suffered at the hands of the Athletics’ bats, after starter Joe Saunders left having allowed four runs in six innings.
Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu both had two hits and a RBI each for Los Angeles, who are off to a difficult start to the season having won just two of their first seven games.
Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP who left the New York Yankees to join the Angels, finished 0-for-3.
“Right now, from the offensive side, we’re not getting to a point often enough where we put pressure on (other teams),” Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said.
“I think when we start to hit our stride, especially offensively, we’ll be able to define some roles.”
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles, Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
(Reuters) – The Philadelphia Flyers claimed the final Eastern Conference playoff berth on Sunday, eliminating the New York Rangers from the post-season with a 2-1 triumph in a shootout.
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Philadelphia defenseman Matt Carle tied the game at 6:54 in the third period and, after a scoreless overtime, goaltender Brian Boucher stopped shots from Erik Christensen and Olli Jokinen in the shootout for the Flyers (41-35-6).
The Flyers begin the playoffs against the New Jersey Devils.
“It was an emotional game and I think we were rewarded for the game we played,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette told reporters. Guys did everything they possibly could to make sure we were moving on. Our guys played about as hard as they could.”
The Rangers (38-33-11), who had been hoping to make their fifth straight post-season, made a late run and defeated Philadelphia 4-3 on Friday for their fifth win in six games to keep their chances alive.
“I think we gave ourselves a chance by playing the way we did down the last three weeks,” said Rangers defenseman Marc Staal.
“It would have sucked to lose 2-1 in regulation and it sucks to lose in a shootout. Either way it’s a loss.
“The format is the way it is, it’s just that this was Game 82 and the winner gets in. We lost and it sucks.”
The Rangers took the early advantage with a Jody Shelley tip-in at 3:27 in the first before Carle tied it in the third.
The Flyers had been slipping over the tail end of the season and failed to clinch their playoff spot on Friday.
Trying to seize a second opportunity, Philadelphia came out aggressively with 18 shots in the first period but were thwarted by Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped the first 35 shots he faced.
Lundqvist ended with 46 saves, though failed to stop Danny Briere and Claude Giroux in the shootout.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
(Reuters) – Thomas Vanek scored four goals to help the Buffalo Sabres snap a nine-game losing streak at the hands of the Ottawa Senators with a 5-2 victory on Saturday.
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Vanek scored two goals in each of the first and second periods as the Sabres beat the Senators for the first time since January 6, 2009. The goals boosted Vanek’s season’s total to 27.
Derek Roy had the Northeast Division winners’ fifth goal in the third. He also assisted on two of Vanek’s scores.
Chris Neil brought Ottawa within 2-1 in the second before Vanek scored his third and fourth goals.
The Senators’ Shean Donovan completed the scoring with more than six minutes to play in the third.
Both teams are playoff-bound. Buffalo are third and Ottawa fifth in the Eastern Conference heading into Sunday’s final day of the NHL regular season.
Ottawa, however, will be without key forward Alex Kovalev during the play-offs after it was confirmed he would require surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Kovalev, acquired last summer, suffered the injury in Thursday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Senators’ general manager Bryan Murray said on Saturday the normal rehabilitation period was up to four months.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
(Reuters) – Dana Eveland pitched seven-plus shutout innings to help the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 and win their fourth consecutive game on Saturday.
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Eveland, traded to the Blue Jays by Oakland in the off-season, scattered five hits in his first start with Toronto (4-1). He walked two and struck out two.
“It was actually one of the weirdest games I’ve ever pitched,” the left-hander told reporters. “I just had a good changeup (pitch).
“It was down in the zone and had a little sink to it and they (the Baltimore batters) were just beating it into the ground or popping it up.”
Toronto catcher Jose Molina admitted that had prompted him to continue to call for the pitch.
“When you have a team that is chasing a pitch you just try to keep going with it until they show you that they can make the adjustment,” Molina said.
“Tonight, the Orioles didn’t make that adjustment on him, and that’s why we took advantage of it.”
Eveland, 26, had not been expected to make the five-man starting rotation for the Blue Jays, but an 1.80 earned run average in spring training helped keep him on the roster.
“We were going to give him a shot to see if he could become one of the starters,” manager Cito Gaston said.
“If not, we thought maybe if he didn’t pan out as far as a starter, we’d put him in the bullpen.”
Molina figured in two of the Blue Jays runs. He was hit by Orioles starter David Hernandez with the bases loaded in the fourth to force in one run, then singled home Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth.
Designated hitter Adam Lind delivered Toronto’s other run with an RBI double in the ninth.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
BOSTON (Reuters) – Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was recuperating in hospital on Thursday after suffering a minor heart attack, the team said.
A 50-year-old who was appointed Celtics president in 2003, Ainge played in the NBA for Boston, the Sacramento Kings, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns.
“Danny Ainge is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital after having a minor heart attack,” the Celtics said in a statement.
“He is recovering nicely. Mr. Ainge is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.”
Ainge’s health woes capped a miserable day for the Celtics who learned earlier that their pivotal forward Kevin Garnett was unlikely to feature in the playoffs because of a knee injury.
Garnett, the former league Most Valuable Player, has had a sore right knee since mid-February and has made several aborted returns.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Minnesota Wild general manager Doug Risebrough was fired on Thursday, just five days after Jacques Lemaire resigned as coach.
“I have agonized over this decision for some time now, but ultimately, I reached the conclusion that change was in order,” Minnesota owner Craig Leipold said in a statement.
“The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. The first order of business for the incoming general manager will be to select the next head coach.
“The entire Minnesota Wild organization is forever indebted to Doug for his substantial efforts in establishing this franchise’s solid foundation and winning tradition.”
Lemaire retired after the team’s 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The Wild posted a 40-33-9 record this season but failed to make the playoffs.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Washington Nationals won for the first time in 2009, crushing the champion Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 on Thursday to snap their season-opening seven-game losing streak.
Adam Dunn belted a towering three-run homer in the first, while Josh Willingham, Elijah Dukes and Alberto Gonzalez all added solo shots for the Nationals, who pounded out 13 hits.
The Phillies (4-4) were limited to five hits against four Washington pitchers and had their three-game winning streak end on a chilly night at Nationals Park before 20,494.
Philadelphia’s runs came on an RBI single by Raul Ibanez and a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Rollins.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dallas Cowboys will host the New York Giants in the first game at their new stadium in the second week of the NFL schedule which was released in full on Tuesday.
The Giants, Super Bowl winners in 2008, will be the first visitors to the new 80,000 seater venue on Sunday, September 20.
Last season’s Super Bowl winners the Pittsburgh Steelers start their defense against the Tennessee Titans, who had last season’s best record with 13 wins and three defeats.
Quarterback Jay Cutler, who recently moved from Denver to the Chicago Bears, makes his debut for his new team at Green Bay on opening day.
Tom Brady’s anticipated return to action from a knee injury, which kept him out for the majority of the 2008-09 season, for the New England Patriots will be at home to the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills on September 14.
The NFL moves out of the U.S. to London for the Patriots v Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 25 and for the Bills ‘home’ match-up against the New York Jets on December 3 in Toronto, Canada.
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
MIAMI (Reuters) – Russian top seed Elena Dementieva eased into the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston on Tuesday with a 6-0 6-2 win over American Julie Ditty.
A convincing Dementieva won 78 percent of first serve points against the 30-year-old Ditty who is ranked 124th in the world.
Another Russian, third seed Vera Zvonareva also had a smooth passage through the second round with a 6-3 6-2 win over Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios.
Nadia Petrova, who won the 2006 tournament, had a tougher battle against Austria’s Patricia Mayr, before eventually winning 6-1 2-6 6-2.
Second seed Venus Williams starts her campaign against India’s Sania Mirza on Wednesday while Denmark’s rising talent Caroline Wozniacki takes on Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Tuesday, securing the number one overall pick in the June 26 draft.
The Islanders finished the regular season with the NHL’s worst record (26-47-9) and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings in the lottery for the top pick in Montreal in June.
They are expected to choose either high-scoring Canadian forward John Tavares or Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman.
Tavares, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American player, is the Ontario Hockey League’s all-time leading scorer with 215 goals and 218 assists and helped Canada to gold medals at the 2008 and 2009 junior world championships.
Hedman, who plays for Modo in the Swedish Elite league, is the top ranked European skater.
(Writing by Steve Keating in Detroit; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) – A.J. Burnett pitched six innings without giving up a hit before his offense broke open a close game in the New York Yankees’ 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.
Burnett (2-0), who joined the Yankees as a free agent from Toronto, kept the American League champions scoreless until the seventh when the Rays had three consecutive singles to score their two runs. The right-hander struck out nine and walked one.
“He was pretty solid for eight innings,” Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria, who was struck out twice by Burnett, told reporters. “It’s tough as a hitter to give in and tip your hat to a guy, but give credit where credit is due.”
New York’s Mark Teixeira broke the 2-2 deadlock with a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the eighth before the Yankees scored four runs in the ninth, with Derek Jeter hitting a two-out three-run homer.
Nick Swisher also homered for the Yankees, who lost to the Rays 15-5 on Monday.
Tampa Bay did not have a hit until Carl Crawford led off the seventh with the first of three consecutive singles. Carlos Pena, with the third single, made it a 2-1 game and Pat Burrell followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the score.
Burnett, who pitched a no-hitter in 2001, admitted he had been hoping for another.
“Everybody was thinking about it, even me,” Burnett said.
“I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t. I was putting the ball where I wanted to. It definitely could have happened, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Brett Gardner, whose ground-rule double provided the Yankees’ first run in the fourth, and Jeter both went 3-for-5.
J.P Howell (0-1), who pitched the eighth for Tampa Bay, was given the loss. Starter Matt Garza allowed five hits and two runs over seven innings. He struck out nine and walked two.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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