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Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time Sunday, defeating Nicolás Almagro, 6-4, 6-3, for his fourth title of the year. This latest victory, with the French Open approaching next month, is a promising sign that Nadal is getting back to full strength after a knee injury that sidelined him for several months.
After trailing, 3-0, in the first set, Nadal found his form and broke his fellow Spaniard in three of his next four service games to take command in a final played in a drizzle. He has made six straight finals since returning.
¶ Maria Sharapova beat Li Na, 6-4, 6-3, to retain her WTA Porsche Grand Prix title in Stuttgart, Germany, in a final between the last two French Open champions. ¶ The former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone won her first title in nearly a year, beating Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-1, 6-3, in the Grand Prix SAR final in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Interviews, insight and analysis from The Times on the competition and culture of college football.
No more "Legends." And no more "Leaders." The Big Ten is following a more conventional route for its division names. The conference is going with "East" and "West" instead and switching to a nine-game scheduling format after presidents and chancellors approved the moves. The new division alignments will begin in 2014 when Rutgers and Maryland join the conference.
The Times's soccer blog has the world's game covered from all angles.
Robin van Persie of Manchester United faced his former club in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League. Reading and Queens Park Rangers will be demoted after they drew, 0-0, leaving just one more spot to be determined in the drop zone.
Booed relentlessly in his return to Arsenal, van Persie gave away the ball that resulted in newly crowned champion Manchester United's conceding an early goal. He then made a penalty kick to clinch the draw.
¶ Paris St.-Germain closed in on the French league title with a 1-0 victory at Evian that featured the dismissal of P.S.G. midfielders David Beckham and Marco Verratti. A mass brawl erupted after the final whistle.
Billy Horschel shot an eight-under 64 in the final round of the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La., maintaining his composure through a pair of weather delays for his first PGA Tour victory.
Horschel, 26, began the day two shots behind the third-round leader, Lucas Glover, and surged into the lead with six straight birdies after the first delay. He finished at 20 under, holding off D. A. Points, who shot a 65.
¶ After finishing second twice, Jeff Sluman won the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf with a new teammate. Sluman, a two-time runner-up with Craig Stadler at the Champions Tour's team event, partnered with Brad Faxon for a one-stroke victory in Savannah, Ga.
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Jordan Zimmermann was terrific in his second complete game of the season, and the Washington Nationals limited the Cincinnati Reds to one hit for the second straight game in a 1-0 victory in Washington on Friday night.
Zimmermann (4-1) struck out four and walked one while improving to 3-0 with a 1.36 earned run average in five career games against Cincinnati. Zimmermann threw 91 pitches in his third career complete game.
It was the first time the Reds managed only one hit in consecutive games since July 5 and 6, 1900, against Brooklyn, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau that the team provided. The Houston Astros, on Sept. 14 and 15, 2008, were the last team with such a streak.
Xavier Paul led off the third with a single to center for Cincinnati's only hit off Zimmermann.
On Thursday night, Washington's Gio Gonzalez pitched eight innings of one-hit ball in an 8-1 victory. Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati's only hit.
The Nationals' only run came in the third. Bryce Harper tripled to right and scored on Jayson Werth's single to right.
TIGERS 10, BRAVES 0 Anibal Sanchez struck out 17 in eight innings for host Detroit.
Sanchez (3-1) set a team record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game, and he had a chance to tie the major league mark of 20 when he was pulled after eight innings and 121 pitches.
Matt Tuiasosopo homered, singled and drove in five runs.
CARDINALS 9, PIRATES 1 Lance Lynn (4-0) pitched seven innings of one-run ball to extend his winning streak to nine games, and Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate and drove in three runs for host St. Louis.
Matt Carpenter and Beltran started the game with home runs for the Cardinals. Two batters later, Pittsburgh starter Jonathan Sanchez (0-3) hit Allen Craig with a pitch and was ejected. Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle was then ejected in an ensuing argument.
CUBS 4, MARLINS 2 Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs and drove in four runs to power Chicago at Miami. Rizzo has eight homers, the most by a Cubs left-handed hitter in April.
RED SOX 7, ASTROS 3 David Ross homered twice, and David Ortiz hit his second homer as the host Red Sox improved to 16-7, tied with the Texas Rangers for the best record in the majors.
WHITE SOX 5, RAYS 4 Jake Peavy (3-1) pitched well into the seventh inning, and host Chicago supported him with home runs by Hector Gimenez, Tyler Greene and Conor Gillaspie.
RANGERS 4, TWINS 3 Justin Grimm (2-0) pitched seven scoreless innings, and Adrian Beltre hit his fourth home run for visiting Texas.
VERLANDER O.K. The Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is expected to make his next start despite a blister on his pitching thumb that caused him to leave Thursday's game.
The Tigers' trainer, Kevin Rand, said Verlander's blister was something he had dealt with in the past.
Verlander left Thursday's game against Kansas City after seven innings. The Tigers led, 3-2, when he was taken out. They went on to lose, 8-3, in 10 innings.
CARDINALS ROOKIE ON D.L. The rookie Matt Adams of the Cardinals, who is batting .542 in eight games, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle.
Adams, 24, has 3 home runs, 8 runs batted in and a 1.042 slugging percentage in 24 at-bats as the backup first baseman.
Stay on top of all the news, on and off the court, on The Times's college sports blog.
Connecticut guard Shabazz Napier, who led the team in scoring, will pass on the N.B.A. draft and return for his senior season. UConn was 20-10 last season but was barred from the Big East and N.C.A.A. tournaments after failing to qualify academically. Two other top Huskies, the sophomores Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, will also return.
If it happens on ice and it involves hitting and scoring, The Times's Slap Shot blog is on it.
Thomas Vanek scored the lone goal in a shootout to give the Buffalo Sabres a 2-1 victory over the visiting Islanders in the regular-season finale for both teams. Keith Aucoin scored for the Islanders.
Gregory Payan/Associated Press
The Chiefs made Eric Fisher the top pick of the N.F.L. draft and the first Central Michigan player to go No. 1 over all.
Usually after the first round of the N.F.L. draft, football fans in Michigan can proudly point to players selected who wore maize and blue or green and white during their high-profile Big Ten careers.
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
Before Eric Fisher was selected as the No. 1 pick on Thursday, the last Chippewa player selected by a professional league was running back Carl Volny, chosen by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League in the fifth round in 2011.
When the Kansas City Chiefs took offensive tackle Eric Fisher with the first overall pick Thursday, the draft board was illuminated with unfamiliar hues: maroon and gold, the colors of the Central Michigan Chippewas.
The 6-foot-7, 306-pound Fisher entered his senior season with little fanfare. He was a third-team all-Mid-American Conference selection as a junior. He was hardly a household name, even to those in the greater Mount Pleasant area. Now, after leading the Chippewas to a victory in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in December, Fisher will be counted on to protect the blind side of Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick himself.
To have a player from my alma mater picked anywhere in the N.F.L. draft was worth a pat on the back from privileged friends who root for "major" football programs. But first over all? Central had a better chance of producing Mr. Irrelevant, the last player chosen.
"At the beginning of the year, N.F.L. scouts said they saw him as a potential first-round pick," Fisher's college coach, Dan Enos, told mlive.com. "And we were like, 'Cool!' Then at the end of the season they said he could be a top-10 pick, and after the Senior Bowl it was that he could be the top pick. It's been unreal."
Before Thursday, the last Chippewas player selected by a professional league was a running back named Carl Volny, chosen by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League in the fifth round in 2011. In the 2010 N.F.L. draft, quarterback Dan LeFevour (Chicago, 181st over all) and wide receiver Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh, 195th over all) were sixth-rounders — a coup by Central standards.
Joe Staley, a Pro Bowl offensive tackle for the 49ers, is Central's only other first-round pick. The success of Staley, the 28th overall pick in 2007, may have lessened the Chiefs' anxiety about choosing a player from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference. Quarterback Byron Leftwich, drafted out of Marshall with the seventh pick in 2003, had been the highest choice from the MAC. Fisher was only the third player in the last 20 years from a non-B.C.S. program to be drafted No. 1 over all, joining Utah's Alex Smith (2005) and Fresno State's David Carr (2002).
So it was no wonder that social media links were atwitter with "Fire Up Chips!" posts Thursday when the ESPN pundits Mel Kiper Jr. and Jon Gruden uttered "Central Michigan" more times in a 15-minute span before the draft than it had been uttered on the network in the previous 15 years.
Fisher hopes to follow in the footsteps of the three other offensive tackles chosen first over all — the Hall of Famer Ron Yary (1968) and the perennial Pro Bowlers Orlando Pace (1997) and Jake Long (2008).
At the end of Thursday night, fans of the Wolverines and the Spartans were still waiting for one of their players to be chosen. There's always the second round.
Wayne Kamidoi, an art director at The Times, is a 1987 graduate of Central Michigan, and left most Chippewa football games by halftime to watch Michigan or Michigan State games on television.
Stability breeding consistency doesn't seem to be an adage favored by La Liga clubs, although the facts should perhaps be given more thought by trigger-happy presidents. Last season's three relegated clubs — Villarreal, Sporting Gijon and Racing Santander — all changed managers at least once during the season. One would be forgiven, then, for being unforgiving of Deportivo la Coruña's Primera Division status when in February, languishing at bottom of the league, they appointed their third manager of the campaign.
José Luis Oltra, the man who steered the club out of La Segunda last season, was the first coach to part with the Galician club. He was dealt a cruel twist on Christmas cheer when he was handed his pink slip over the winter break, to be replaced by old Sporting Lisbon boss Domingos Paciencia. Paciencia, a former Portuguese international, lasted a mere six weeks though and, by the time Fernando Vázquez was appointed, Deportivo looked certain to be on track for a return ticket into Spain's second tier.
It's not just the management structure which has been reeling at the Riazor though. On January 10 the club entered receivership — the 19th of 42 club's in Spain's top two divisions to have done so since 2004 — with debts of €156 million (just over $200 million). The debts have been spiraling out of control for a while; for five years the club sent no reports to the Mercantile Registry and, when there was no room left for maneuver, they stopped paying their taxes. It's safe to say relegation would be disastrous for the club.
No pressure then for El Professor, the nickname given to manager Vázquez, a former English teacher with no professional playing experience. The 58-year-old Vázquez had been out of soccer, more or less, since 2007 when he ended has tenure as manager of Deportivo's fierce rivals, Celta Vigo. That is where the bad news ends, at least for now, and the good news begins, because a 3-1 win against their Galician neighbors in March sparked a run of results which has seen Deportivo navigate out of the bottom three.
Before the derby Deportivo was without a win in nine games, since a victory over Malaga in the first match of 2013, the first of Paciencia's reign — but one that proved his only win. The three points against Celta were not just huge because of the rivalry connotations, nor just because the clubs are in a battle at the bottom together, but because of the run of wins it spawned. Mallorca and Real Zaragoza — who are both now in the bottom three — were next to fall, before Deportivo thumped Levante, 4-0, to record their fourth straight win; their longest stretch of wins ever in La Liga.
Superdepor is still a suggested nickname for the club, and elements of the team that won La Liga and got to the semifinals of the Champions League a decade ago remain. Fullback Manuel Pablo and midfielder Juan Carlos Valerón — who despite his lack of pace and aging legs still remains a key figure — are both 37 and contribute to an older squad that includes the 12-goal forward Riki, 32.
With six games to go, Deportivo la Coruña looks intent on staying up their way: by attacking. The earlier four-game winning streak brought 13 goals, and the club has scored 43 this season — the ninth highest total in La Liga, far above their current overall position, 16th. The problem has been conceding goals (64, tied for the most).
Riki, Valerón, Bruno Gama and Pizzi — who is Atlético-bound in the summer — are an attacking quartet causing problems, while players such as midfielder Abel Aguilar and fullback Silvio — signed on loan from Atlético in January — have created balance in the starting 11.
For now the route to survival under Vázquez seems based on thinking that Deportivo can score more than the opposition. If it can't, and the club tumbles back down into La Segunda, the financial repercussions might not be worth thinking about.
Samuel Marsden is a freelance journalist who lives and works in Barcelona. Find him on Twitter @samuelmarsden.
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Interviews, insight and analysis from The Times on the competition and culture of college football.
The first championship game in the College Football Playoff will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex., which edged Tampa, Fla., in the bidding. The game is scheduled to be played on Jan. 12, 2015. The Cotton Bowl, Chick-fil-A Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will be part of the six-bowl rotation for the semifinals, joining the previously announced Rose, Orange and Sugar Bowls. The Rose and Sugar will host the first semifinals Jan. 1, 2015.
The Mets scratched their way back late Wednesday, to the point where a simple fly ball would have been enough to give them an unlikely come-from-behind win. They got one, and then some, as Jordany Valdespin crushed a game-ending grand slam that attached a stirring exclamation point onto the their 10-inning, 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field.
"He gets all pumped up for those opportunities," Manager Terry Collins said of Valdespin. "He just relishes the big moment during the game."
The Mets won even though Matt Harvey did not pitch to the lofty standard he has set for himself this season. Harvey had pitched seven innings or more and allowed one run or fewer in each of his first four starts.
His effort Wednesday night at Citi Field — six innings, three runs, four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts — was a quality start by baseball's accepted definition, but not his own.
"I have to be better," Harvey said. "Tonight was about winning the game, and we did that."
Credit for that was spread generously after the game. Valdespin was the obvious star. With men on first and second and only one out, the Dodgers intentionally walked Lucas Duda, loading the bases. After taking two balls from Josh Wall, Valdespin blasted a fastball to right field and over the fence. He paused to admire the shot, then raced around the bases before embracing his teammates.
"I'm ready for any situation," Valdespin said afterward. "I'm waiting for my time."
It was the Mets' sixth game-ending grand slam and their first since Kevin McReynolds did it on June 25, 1991. In a memorable Mets moment, Robin Ventura hit a ball out of the park with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th inning in a postseason game in 1999, but he never made it around the bases after his teammates mobbed him near second base.
Valdespin said it was Mike Baxter who provided the key to the victory one inning earlier with a leadoff double. With the Mets trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth, Baxter lined a sinker from Brandon League into left field. Carl Crawford failed to corral the ball cleanly, and because Baxter was hustling out of the box, he was able to take an extra base.
"Mike Baxter knows how to play the game of baseball," Collins said.
Two outs later, with Baxter on third, David Wright laced a single to right, sending Baxter home and tying the score, 3-3.
The dramatic finish was necessary because, for the first time this season, Harvey got himself into early trouble. In the first inning, Mark Ellis and Adrian Gonzalez hit back-to-back singles to right field, and Ellis scored when Matt Kemp rolled a grounder to shortstop. Before Wednesday, Harvey had not allowed a hit before the third inning in any game.
Ted Lilly, a 37-year-old left-hander who may sit on the opposite end of Harvey on baseball's figurative spectrum of starting pitchers, silenced the Mets for the first four innings.
When the Mets did score, it was Harvey who jump-started it. He banged a ball off the left-field wall and slid into second base to start the fifth inning. He scored when Ruben Tejada slipped a single inside the right-field foul line. It was opportune timing for Tejada, who was hitless in his previous 18 at-bats.
The next inning, after giving up a two-out walk to Gonzalez, Harvey left a 2-0 fastball over the plate for Kemp, who drove the ball toward the right-field corner. There was some confusion as the umpires initially said Kemp's blast stayed inside the park. But after a 2-minute-29-second review, it was ruled a two-run homer. Kemp jogged home from third, and the Dodgers went up, 3-1.
Justin Turner's sixth-inning sacrifice fly cut the Dodgers' lead to 3-2, close enough for the Mets to make their late surge.
"It was nice to be able to pick him up," Wright said of Harvey, "especially after what he's done for us so far."
INSIDE PITCH
Jon Niese may have to push back some of his normal workouts, but he plans to make his next start Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Niese was knocked out of the game Tuesday when a comebacker caught him on the right ankle.
One side says the hijab is oppressive. The other calls it liberating. Room for Debate asks: Are both overplaying it?
Change to an outdated food aid restriction would allow the United States to feed more people at the same cost.
Taking women's names off the list of American novelists makes it harder to gain equality in the literary world.
Stay on top of all the news, on and off the court, on The Times's college sports blog.
Russ Smith of Louisville and C. J. Fair of Syracuse will return for their senior seasons. Smith led national champion Louisville with 19 points a game this season, including a 22-point average in the N.C.A.A. tournament. Fair was the Orange's leading scorer and rebounder last season.
Barton Silverman/The New York Times
The Mets' Matt Harvey pitched six innings Wednesday night against the Dodgers, allowing three runs.
At heart, baseball players are fans too. Though they are highly paid, and often engrossed in their own world of slumps and streaks, players aren't immune to the biggest story lines in the sport.
"Certain games, you get a little bit more excited for," Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis said Wednesday about facing the Mets' Matt Harvey. "It's definitely fun to face the best. He's young, but he's gotten a lot of hype."
Although, Harvey, who allowed three runs in six innings, did not get a decision in the Mets' 10-inning, 7-3 win against the Dodgers, he pitched well enough to leave an impression. His biggest mistake of the night was hardly a mistake at all. With two outs in the sixth and a runner on first base, Harvey unleashed a high 95-miles-per-hour fastball that Matt Kemp hit to right field for a home run — an impressive piece of hitting from the Dodgers outfielder.
"It was kind of power on power," said Kemp's manager, Don Mattingly said.
The perfectionist Harvey said of the pitch: "I tried to go away, and the ball was up and middle. A guy like that is going to put the ball in play."
In less than a month, Harvey's starts have become can't-miss events for both fans and opposing players. The Dodgers' hitters came away impressed by Harvey's ability to pitch within the strike zone with his power fastball, slider and bewildering changeup. They were equally impressed by the poise he displayed in mixing those pitches.
"It's amazing how guys that are coming up now, young guys, are more polished than I remember," Dodgers third baseman Jerry Hairston said.
In Hairston's first at-bat, Harvey threw him a curveball and two sliders before retiring him on a groundout to first on a fastball. Hairston was amazed that such a young pitcher would have the nerve to use something other than his best pitch to begin the at-bat.
"I never faced him before," Hairston said. "And he throws me three breaking balls to start the at-bat. I just started laughing."
After the game, a glum Kemp, who had deferred questions about his home run because the Dodgers lost the game, asked about Harvey's age. Told that was 24, Kemp said, "Oh, yeah, he's going to be good."
Dodgers catcher Tim Federowicz marveled at Harvey's evolution into a power pitcher. At the University of North Carolina, Federowicz was the starting catcher during Harvey's freshman season in 2008.
"He was really confident," Federowicz said. "That was the type of attribute you needed to become a successful pitcher."
While Harvey was a star recruit, he threw in the low 90s, and his main secondary pitch was the curveball. He also occasionally threw a changeup. Federowicz believed then that Harvey's curve would carry him into the majors. Instead, Harvey, who increased his strength while he was in college through the team's conditioning program, became a power pitcher who featured a devastating slider.
Federowicz learned firsthand about Harvey's transformation when he faced him at a minor league all-star game last year. Although Federowicz had worked the count to 3-1 after Harvey had begun the at-bat with a slinky slider, Harvey put away his former battery mate with a two-seam fastball that went inside on Federowicz and broke his bat.
"He definitely has a lot more velocity than he had in college," Federowicz said.
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Chris Gayle put up a record-breaking score of 175 not out Tuesday in the Indian Premier League, beating the highest previous score in Twenty20 cricket of 158. He struck 17 sixes, cricket's equivalent of a home run, equaling the record, and raced to 100 runs from only 30 balls, the fastest ever. In the process he propelled his team, Bangalore, to 263 runs, also a Twenty20 record. "It is unbelievable. I've played cricket for 20 years and never seen anything like it," his teammate Muttiah Muralitharan said.
The Justice Department laid out its case in a lawsuit against Lance Armstrong, saying he violated his contract with the United States Postal Service and was "unjustly enriched" by cheating to win the Tour de France. The government previously announced it would join the whistle-blower suit brought by a former teammate Floyd Landis.
Stay on top of all the news, on and off the court, on The Times's college sports blog.
Eddie Jordan returned to Rutgers and took over as coach of the scandal-marred basketball program, promising to move forward and restore the dignity, pride and integrity to a university embarrassed by abuses that forced the firing of Mike Rice.
Kevin Garnett was a solid defender when he was on the court Tuesday. The problem for Garnett and the Celtics was that he only played in half of Boston's 87-71 loss in Game 2.
Garnett finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but was saddled with foul trouble. With Garnett on the bench, the Knicks were able to penetrate for easy baskets. Tyson Chandler forced Garnett to the sideline midway through the third quarter with his fourth foul on a successful pick-and-roll play with Pablo Prigioni.
The Celtics went on to score only one basket when Garnett was on the bench in the third quarter. The Knicks had a 10-2 run during that stretch to take a 64-52 lead. From there, the Celtics were never able to cut the Knicks' lead to single digits.
The Knicks made it a point to attack Garnett the entire game.
Carmelo Anthony drew the first foul on Garnett by driving to the basket. On the next possession, Garnett received his second personal when he pushed Iman Shumpert going for an offensive rebound.
Even though the Celtics had a 48-42 halftime lead, Coach Doc Rivers was not pleased Garnett that had three fouls.
"I thought the fouls on Kevin — first off they were horrendous — and secondly they had a huge effect on us," Rivers said. "Him not being on the floor, playing 24 minutes and never getting your rhythm where you could see he looked like he was going to have a game, it hurt us."
Garnett did not play well Saturday's 85-78 loss in Game 1. He finished with 8 points on 4-of-12 shooting. He did lead the Celtics with nine rebounds, but he also recorded five fouls.
"At times it's frustrating," Garnett said of being in foul trouble. "Fouls are a part of the game. I have to be consistent and put the onus on the refs and position myself not to foul so much."
Garnett was the main reason for the Celtics' only victory this season over the Knicks, a 102-96 decision at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 7, in which he scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and frustrated Anthony to the point where he was suspended a game for confronting Garnett outside the Boston locker room and later at the Celtics' team bus.
This time, with the Knicks distancing themselves from the Celtics — both on the scoreboard and in the series — Garnett showed his frustration.
Garnett lowered his shoulder into Raymond Felton while setting a screen in the fourth quarter. Felton stumbled backward. The referee blew his whistle and called an offensive foul on Garnett, his fifth.
When Garnett walked to the bench, the fans taunted him by chanting his name along with a slur. Garnett took the verbal abuse, put on a green T-shirt and watched the final six minutes on the bench.
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The Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam acknowledged a blow to the credibility of the family-owned Pilot Flying J truck stop chain after F.B.I. allegations of the widespread fraud of customers.
Haslam announced at the company's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., that he had suspended several members of the sales team after an affidavit filed in federal court disclosed secretly recorded conversations in which Pilot staff members boasted about taking advantage of trucking company customers.
"I, more than anybody, understand the damage that's been done to our reputation, our brand and our relationships in the trucking community," Haslam said.
¶ Safety Kam Chancellor, 25, and the Seattle Seahawks agreed on an extension that will keep him with the team through the 2017 season. Last season, he recorded a career-high 92 tackles.
¶ Scott Fujita, the Super Bowl-winning linebacker later enmeshed in the Saints' bounty scandal, signed a one-day deal with New Orleans and then retired. Fujita, 33, signed the document while on a trip to Peru. He finished his playing career with Cleveland.
Stay on top of all the news, on and off the court, on The Times's college sports blog.
The Atlantic Coast Conference presidents have agreed for the league to retain media rights for a university that leaves the conference. The A.C.C. said each of the current and future universities has signed the deal, which is effective immediately. The grant of rights would appear to make the league more stable by essentially locking all 15 universities into the A.C.C. through the length of a TV deal, including the new arrivals Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Notre Dame and Louisville.
The powerful racing outfit Godolphin came under scrutiny after it was revealed that 11 of its horses had tested positive for anabolic steroids. Godolphin, the brainchild of the Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, said an urgent review would be carried out.
BERLIN — To say Uli Hoeness led a charmed life does not do him justice.
He won soccer's World Cup on his home soil as a player in 1974. The son of a butcher, he grew rich as the co-owner of a bratwurst factory in Nuremberg.
This year, as president of one of Europe's most-storied sports teams, FC Bayern Munich, Mr. Hoeness has overseen a record season on the field and record revenues off it. He even managed to walk away in 1982 from a plane crash that killed the other three on board.
Now, though, the former soccer striker renowned for his speed finds himself embroiled in a scandal that has transfixed a nation and left his reputation for rectitude and generosity in tatters. He faces up to 10 years in prison after turning himself in to Munich prosecutors for keeping a secret bank account in Switzerland that he admits to having used to evade taxes.
On Monday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on its Web site that the money in the Swiss bank account had come from a former chief executive of Adidas, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who provided about $13 million in cash and guarantees to Mr. Hoeness to invest. Though Mr. Hoeness paid Mr. Louis-Dreyfus back, Adidas also was allowed to buy a stake in the athletic team's soccer business.
A record number of viewers tuned into German public television's flagship Sunday talk show, the Günther Jauch show, to hear a panel of tax experts and sports analysts debate Mr. Hoeness's ethical and legal failings. Left-wing politicians condemned him, and friends in conservative circles, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, sought to distance themselves.
"Many people in Germany are now disappointed in Uli Hoeness," Ms. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said at a news conference Monday. "The chancellor is one of those people." After hammering Cyprus, the tiny Mediterranean island, over money laundering during the debate over bailing it out this spring, the many photos of her next to an admitted tax cheat are especially uncomfortable for Ms. Merkel.
In this election year, tax evasion already had emerged as a significant issue. The left-wing opposition scuttled an accord between the German and Swiss governments that would have offered amnesty to people like Mr. Hoeness in exchange for back taxes. Instead of the chance to anonymously pay what he owes, he has become the poster boy for an economic system believed to be rigged against the little guy.
Mr. Hoeness is hardly the first prominent German caught up in a tax scandal. Boris Becker, the Wimbledon tennis champion, was convicted of tax evasion in 2002 and was sentenced to two years of probation after a court found he was living in Munich while pretending to reside in Monaco, a tax haven. In 2008, the authorities raided the home and office of Klaus Zumwinkel, a former head of Deutsche Post, a mail service, because he used a foundation in Liechtenstein to avoid more than $1 million in taxes. He also received a sentence of probation.
Tax evasion has become more emotional as the gap between rich and poor has widened in recent years. The labor-market reforms that led the German economy to greater competitiveness, with employment and export figures that are the envy of a stagnant Continent, also pared back the social-welfare state and forced many into low-paying jobs.
Rampant speculation over how many millions of dollars Mr. Hoeness, 61, squirreled away south of the border — neither he nor the prosecutor is saying — have only fueled interest in Mr. Hoeness's story.
After telling Focus, a magazine, that he had indeed turned himself in, Mr. Hoeness has largely declined to comment. But he threatened in an interview with a local Munich newspaper, Münchner Merkur, to sue news media outlets for irresponsible reporting.
A spokesman for Vontobel, a Swiss bank, where Mr. Hoeness reportedly kept his money, would neither confirm nor deny that he had an account there. Focus reported that investigators had raided his home in Bavaria after he informed the authorities in January about his Swiss account.
"An investigation was initiated," said Ken Heidenreich, a spokesman for the Munich prosecutors, speaking by telephone on Monday. Investigators were looking into the "completeness and validity" of Mr. Hoeness's voluntary declaration.
Mr. Hoeness had to come clean about all of his overseas accounts and all the money in them to avoid criminal prosecution. If an investigation into his finances were already under way before he turned himself in, the voluntary declaration would be moot and he could still face jail time.
Experts say it will be months before the legal and political ramifications are clear, but casual fans have begun asking how much of a distraction the scandal will be for the club. Bayern Munich hosts Spanish powerhouse Barcelona on Tuesday in a semifinal of the European Champions League. Bayern officials banned questions about the investigation at a news conference in Munich on Monday.
Victor Homola and Chris Cottrell contributed reporting.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Making game-winning shots in the final seconds is one reason the Los Angeles Clippers brought Chris Paul to town. He came up big with a tenth of a second left against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Paul's running jumper against Tony Allen's defense gave the Clippers a 93-91 victory and a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
"Tony played as good as defense as you can," Paul said. "I looked up at the clock and thought I better get a shot off."
Both teams stayed on the court while the referees reviewed the play. It was declared good, leaving Memphis a tick of the clock to inbound the ball but not enough to get off a final shot.
"It hurts," said Mike Conley, who scored a playoff-career high 28 points for Memphis. "We wanted to come here and steal one."
Paul finished with 24 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 21 points and eight rebounds and Jamal Crawford scored 15 points on the day he finished second to J.R. Smith of the Knicks for the league's Sixth Man of the Year award.
"We were on him, the kid made a tough shot," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of Paul. "He's a great player and he made a big shot."
Paul carried the Clippers in the final 3:46, scoring eight straight points, including a basket that gave them a 91-89 lead with 1:20 to play.
"The way Conley was blowing by me at the other end, the least I could do was make a couple shots," Paul said.
Conley led the Grizzlies' fourth-quarter charge that came up just short. He had 10 points in the period, while Darrell Arthur scored five straight when Randolph was on the bench to pull Memphis into an 89-all tie.
Conley found Marc Gasol alone in the paint and the big man dunked to tie the game 91-all with 13 seconds left.
Griffin won a hard-fought jump ball, but Paul missed a 3-pointer. He redeemed himself and set off a raucous reaction — with longtime Clippers fan Billy Crystal pumping both arms in the air — when he drove the right baseline against Allen and banked in the game-winner.
"I was supposed to send him back to the left. He got right and that's what he does in close games," Allen said. "I definitely let my team down by not sending him back to his weak hand.
"The guy made an amazing shot and all you can do is just deal with the results."
Gasol added 17 points, Allen had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Randolph had 13 points while racking up five fouls for the second straight game.
Game 3 is Thursday in Memphis.
The Clippers' bench started the fourth quarter and ran off eight straight points for the game's first double-digit lead, 81-71. Eric Bledsoe and Matt Barnes had four points each.
Conley answered with five straight points to close the Grizzlies within seven points.
Griffin and Paul joined the second unit, and Griffin scored on a driving dunk for an 85-76 lead. The Clippers returned to their high-flying ways after Lob City managed just one dunk in the series opener.
"My teammates got me open shots and easy looks and that gets me going," Griffin said. "We kept moving the ball."
The Clippers led by seven points early in the third before the game turned into a back-and-forth affair. Memphis briefly regained a one-point lead and then tied it 59-all on Arthur's dunk before Paul scored six of the Clippers' final 13 points to send them into the fourth leading 75-71.
Neither team led by more than eight points in the first half, with the Clippers ahead 50-44 at halftime. The Grizzlies led most of the first quarter before the Clippers tied it late on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Crawford.
Los Angeles controlled the second quarter, when Crawford got hot. He was 6 of 6 for 13 points before missing a shot.
NOTES: The Clippers have won nine in a row, including seven straight to end the regular season. ... The Clippers owned a 40-38 edge on the boards for the second straight game. ... Los Angeles County Coroner's officials said Monday that the son of Clippers owner Donald Sterling died from a pulmonary embolism after injecting narcotic medication meant to be taken orally. The report also listed diabetes as a significant condition in the death of Scott Ashley Sterling, who was found in his Malibu apartment on Jan. 1. He was 32. ... Former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt made a rare public appearance at the game.
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Roberto Hernandez pitched six effective innings Sunday for his first win since he was known as Fausto Carmona, and the host Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with an 8-1 victory.
Hernandez (1-3) allowed one run and struck out seven batters in his first win since Sept. 20, 2011, when he was with Cleveland. Hernandez, a 32-year old right-hander, was arrested as Carmona in January 2012 in the Dominican Republic on false-identity charges. They were dropped after he completed a work program.
One day after having a D.J. play music in the clubhouse to help relax his team, Rays Manager Joe Maddon had a magician doing card tricks Sunday.
ROYALS SWEEP RED SOX Alex Gordon, who had homered, singled in the 10th inning and scored on a bases-loaded walk as Kansas City won the second game of a doubleheader in Boston, 5-4.
In the first game, Ervin Santana pitched seven strong innings, and the Royals ended the Red Sox' seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory.
Until Sunday, Red Sox starters had allowed three runs or fewer in their first 16 games, tying an American League record.
RANGERS 11, MARINERS 3 Nelson Cruz hit his fifth career grand slam, one of four home runs by host Texas, which completed a three-game sweep of Seattle.
ANGELS 4, TIGERS 3 Mark Trumbo homered leading off the bottom of the 13th, and host Los Angeles swept Detroit. The Tigers left-hander Phil Coke (0-2) had gotten out of the 12th by intentionally walking Albert Pujols with two outs and striking out Josh Hamilton on three pitches.
TWINS 5, WHITE SOX 3 Josh Willingham atoned for a miscue in the outfield with a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh inning as Minnesota won at Chicago, its fourth straight.
INDIANS 5, ASTROS 4 Mark Reynolds's seventh home run of the season put Cleveland on top in the seventh inning, and the Indians held on for a win at Houston. Cleveland hit four solo homers.
DODGERS 7, ORIOLES 4 Mark Ellis drove in three runs, and visiting Los Angeles beat the erratic Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta to snap a six-game losing streak.
Arrieta (1-1) allowed two singles in four innings, but he walked five and hit a batter.
PHILLIES 7, CARDINALS 3 Erik Kratz broke the game open with a three-run homer in the eighth off Mitchell Boggs (0-2) as Philadelphia defeated visiting St. Louis.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 4 Didi Gregorius hit his second major league home run and singled to start a two-run rally in the ninth as visiting Arizona ended Colorado's eight-game winning streak.
The Rockies had runners at first and third in the ninth before J. J. Putz got Eric Young Jr. to ground out to end the game.
BREWERS 4, CUBS 2 Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer before being ejected for throwing his bat after striking out, and host Milwaukee won its seventh in a row.
PIRATES 4, BRAVES 2 Clint Barmes, who was batting .093, hit two run-scoring singles to lead host Pittsburgh to its third straight win over Atlanta.
The Braves have lost four of five after a 12-1 start, and starter Kris Medlen (1-2) lost for first time in 29 regular-season starts in which he had the lead.
REDS 10, MARLINS 6 Brandon Phillips drove in the go-ahead run for the second straight day, and Joey Votto homered as host Cincinnati beat Miami for its sixth win in seven games.
GIANTS 5, PADRES 0 Barry Zito (3-1) and Chad Gaudin combined on a six-hitter, and San Francisco completed a three-game sweep at home against San Diego.
Graeme McDowell defeated Webb Simpson on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to win the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C., for his second career victory on the PGA Tour.
McDowell, the 2010 United States Open champion, trailed by four shots at the start of the round but rallied with a two-under-par 69 to finish at nine-under 275. Simpson, last year's United States Open winner, shot a 71. McDowell struck his approach on the extra hole about 15 feet away and two-putted for par. Simpson missed about a 10-footer for par.
¶ Bernhard Langer shot five-under-par 67 to win the Champions Tour's inaugural Greater Gwinnett Championship in Duluth, Ga. Langer finished 10 under, three strokes ahead of Tom Lehman (67) and Tom Pernice Jr. (70).
The latest news and analysis from all of the 2011 major tournaments.
Venus Williams needed eight match points to beat Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 7-5, and give the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Sweden in a Fed Cup World Group playoff in Delray Beach, Fla. The American team is guaranteed a spot in the 2014 Fed Cup World Group. Earlier, Serena Williams defeated Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2, 6-1.
¶ Russia rallied from a 2-0 deficit and beat Slovakia, 3-2, in a Fed Cup semifinal in Moscow. In November's final, Russia will face Italy or the Czech Republic. Italy led the other semifinal, 2-1, when rain prompted a suspension until Monday. (AFP)
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
The NBC Sports announcer Al Michaels was arrested Friday night on suspicion of drunken driving in Santa Monica, Calif.
Michaels, 68, was pulled over after officers saw him make an illegal U-turn, the Santa Monica police said Sunday. Michaels, the play-by-play broadcaster on "Sunday Night Football," registered a blood alcohol level over the 0.08 percent legal limit, the police said. He was booked, held and released.
Some things get better with age, but soccer players are generally not among them. Claudio Pizarro may be an exception. Despite only starting nine games in all competitions this season and making most of his appearances off the bench, Pizarro has been a crucial part of Bayern Munich's successful and record-breaking campaign.
Pizarro, a 34-year-old striker, was initially brought in on a free transfer from Werder Bremen to provide cover for Mario Gomez and the newly signed Mario Mandzukic. Bayern officials were adamant about bringing him back to the club for a second time; he had already enjoyed a spell in Munich between 2001 and 2007. The hope was that his experience would add much-needed depth and competition to the roster and that it would give Jupp Heynckes with additional options in a congested schedule.
Before the start of the season, instead of flying to Peru for an international match, Pizarro decided to stay in Munich to work on his fitness. Bayern's sporting director, Matthias Sammer, said the veteran striker still had a lot of work to do to regain his form. Some were skeptical that a player who was then approaching 34 would be able to help a team with the ambitions of a treble. Heynckes, though, was confident that Pizarro would add a lot to the team and give him an outlet that was lacking.
Pizarro worked himself back to full fitness and has improved as the season progressed. His form in the last month has been impressive. Pizarro scored four goals and assisted two in Bayern's 9-2 dismantling of Hamburg in March. He added two more goals and assists in their 6-1 rout of Hannover this weekend. Against Hamburg, he became the first Bundesliga player since 2001 to be directly involved in six goals in one match, and his brace against Hannover was the 31st of his career, a record among active players.
Heynckes' belief and trust in Pizarro have been rewarded.
"For me he is not only a great goalscorer but an excellent footballer, and he showed that today," he told the German publication Welt earlier this week. "He is going to help us a lot, especially in tight games when we need goals. We didn't have an option like that last year in the Champions League final."
Although he was brought in to back up Gomez and Mandzukic, Pizarro has turned into a contender to start key games and turned the striker hierarchy into a three-player competition for the sole spot up front. "There is no second choice for me," Heynckes said before this weekend's game against Hannover. "All three strikers are my No. 1s."
But Pizarro is more than just another body Heynckes can throw up top to get goals. Earlier this season he accommodated Gomez by playing off him and in the "hole" that Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller have occupied over the years. Against Nürnberg, Pizarro started there and assisted a goal in a 4-0 victory. Against Hannover, Pizarro again started as the No. 10 and was directly involved in four of the team's six goals.
And his pedigree goes beyond just the Bundesliga. He scored a hat trick earlier in the season against Lille in the Champions League group stages and came in against Juventus in the second leg of the quarterfinals, scoring Bayern's second goal.
With Mandzukic suspended for the first leg of the semifinals against Barcelona on Tuesday, Heynckes now has an important decision to make. But the fact that there is even a discussion speaks volumes about Pizarro's ability to compete against younger strikers who have had more consistent playing time.
In 2010, Pizarro became the Bundesliga's top foreign goal scorer. He is tied for ninth over all in career goals scored in the league — 166 in 350 appearances. He has overtaken legendary players like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Rudi Völler and Uwe Seeler.
Quality in squad depth has been a key factor in Bayern's ability to maintain a high level of performance and results this season, and Pizarro has been integral to that.
Pizarro turns 35 in October and signed a one-year deal last summer. Several clubs around the league have already expressed an interest in signing him, including Hamburg. Bayern officials said they would not make a decision about a contract extension until the end of the year, but another season with Pizarro would not be the worst thing for the club.
After all, Pep Guardiola needs options too.
Cristian Nyari is a New York City-based soccer writer and analyst and the editor in chief of BundesligaFantatic.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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Salt Lake City marathoners paused for a moment of silence Saturday, then joined in a rousing rendition of "Sweet Caroline" to honor Boston's bombing victims. Many wore blue-and-yellow ribbons and official Boston Marathon gear from previous races, including the race Monday in which two blasts killed three people and injured nearly 200.
The Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took the pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari for an event held amid anti-government protests in the divided nation.
Rosberg had a time of 1 minute 32.330 seconds to finish 0.254 in front of Vettel, the three-time defending Formula One champion, and 0.337 ahead of Alonso.
The race, which is Sunday, has been criticized by rights groups, who have accused the government of trying to gloss over abuses. The groups have held almost daily protests over demands for a greater voice in the country's affairs.
Researchers have uncovered a nearly 100-year-old home movie of a baseball game in south Georgia, a piece of film they say may represent the earliest moving images of the sport in the state. The 26-second film clip captured the employees of the Pebble Hill Plantation near Thomasville playing ball. The footage appears to have been shot around 1919, based on photographs of Pebble Hill teams and other films on the reel, University of Georgia archives experts say. The Pebble Hill athletes are playing a team from Chinquapin Plantation, researchers said.
Keep up with the latest news on The Times's baseball blog.
"It is believed to be the only existing moving image of a baseball game between teams made up of African-American employees on Southern hunting plantations," Margaret Compton, the moving image archivist at the University of Georgia, said in a statement announcing the film.
¶ Outfielder Dayan Viciedo has been placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Chicago White Sox because of a strained left oblique. Viciedo was batting .229 (11 for 48) with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in.
Emirates Team New Zealand won both fleet races to take a 5-point lead over Oracle Team USA Slingsby heading into the final day of the America's Cup World Series.
As winds picked up in the bay in Naples, Italy, conditions were the most challenging of the week, but Emirates' Dean Barker had no trouble. The Naples leg of the World Series is the last before the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers begins on July 4 in San Francisco.
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The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
The Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on Friday said he had not done anything wrong and would not step aside amid a federal investigation of the business practices of his company, Pilot Flying J. The company is being investigated after allegations of customer rebate fraud.
Keep up with the latest news, on the court and off, with The Times's basketball blog.
The N.B.A.'s board of governors will not vote on the sale of the Sacramento Kings until the week after next at the earliest, Commissioner David Stern said. The finance and relocation committees are still gathering information about the competing bids to buy the club, and they will probably recommend a winning bid to the board of governors toward the end of next week. The board of governors then must take seven business days to consider the recommendation.
One group wants to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle, while the other wants to keep them in Sacramento.
¶ Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk, an all-American, will skip his senior season to enter the N.B.A. draft. (AP)
Roy Halladay pitched a two-hitter over seven innings, and host Philadelphia won a rain-shortened game over St. Louis, 8-2, on Friday to end a four-game losing streak.
Halladay (2-2) allowed two runs, walked two and struck out six to record a complete game. He has had consecutive strong outings after starting the season with two poor ones.
"Today was as close as I've felt to where I want to be," Halladay said.
Jimmy Rollins, Ben Revere, Humberto Quintero and John Mayberry Jr. each had two hits for the Phillies, who broke out of their slump with five runs off Jaime Garcia (1-1) in the first.
The game was called after a 35-minute rain delay before the bottom of the seventh.
BREWERS 5, CUBS 4 Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer, and Jean Segura produced some bizarre base running in the eighth inning for host Milwaukee. Segura somehow wound up safe at first base after attempting to steal third, only to later be thrown out attempting to steal second base for the second time in the inning.
PIRATES 6, BRAVES 0 Wandy Rodriguez faced the minimum while throwing seven innings of one-hit ball for host Pittsburgh.
Atlanta's Tim Hudson came up short in his first attempt at his 200th career win.
ROCKIES 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Jhoulys Chacin pitched effectively into the seventh inning in Denver and became the first Rockies starter to throw 100 pitches in a game since last June before leaving with an injury. Chacin (3-0) was seen grabbing his lower left back after throwing his fourth pitch to Arizona's Cody Ross with one out in the seventh inning.
MARLINS 2, REDS 1 Justin Ruggiano hit a solo homer off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning to lift visiting Miami.
It was a stunning moment for the Marlins, who have the worst record in the majors at 4-13 and had only four homers — the fewest in the majors — when Ruggiano connected off Chapman, the Reds' spotless closer, for his second homer in two games.
Chapman (2-1) had not allowed a run in eight previous appearances, giving up only three hits while striking out 13. Ruggiano connected on a 3-1 pitch, driving it deep to center for his third homer. No one else on the Marlins has more than one.
RANGERS 7, MARINERS 0 Yu Darvish struck out 10 while allowing only three hits in seven innings as Texas won at home. In his first start in a week, and 33rd in the major leagues, Darvish (3-1) had his 10th career 10-strikeout game.
RAY 8, ATHLETICS 3 Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer, and Ben Zobrist had two run-scoring singles for host Tampa Bay. Jose Lobaton also drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single.
ASTROS 3, INDIANS 2 J. D. Martinez and Rick Ankiel hit back-to-back homers in the second inning for host Houston, which ended a five-game losing streak.
THREE GAMES POSTPONED The Minnesota Twins' series opener in Chicago against the White Sox was postponed because of a forecast of cold, windy weather. It was the third time this week that bad weather had kept the Twins off the field. On Sunday, the Twins' home game against the Mets was washed out, and on Wednesday their series finale against the Los Angeles Angels was called off amid a steady rain that was turning to snow. ... The Dodgers-Orioles game was rained out, and the Royals-Red Sox game at Fenway Park was postponed because of the manhunt for a suspect in Monday's marathon bombing.
Kevin Streelman, Charley Hoffman and the rookie Steve LeBrun were tied at six under par for the lead in the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C. Luke Donald and Bill Haas were a stroke back.
¶ Suzann Pettersen shot a four-under 68 to maintain a one-stroke lead after the third round of the L.P.G.A. Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii. Hee Kyung Seo was second after a 66. (AP)
New York Road Runners has increased security at its four-mile race this weekend in Central Park in response to the bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon. In an e-mail message to club members, Road Runners told entrants in the City Parks Foundation Run to arrive early on Sunday and expect to go through a security screening. Runners were asked to avoid taking bags to the race. Those who do will have the contents transferred into clear bags.
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After years of discussion, goal-line technology will be implemented into the soccer world next season.
It has been a long time coming. After years of discussion among managers and players, England's Premier League and FIFA have yielded. But, amid goal-line technology's acceptance, there are still people who believe the best technology system is no system at all.
Three years ago, the FIFA president Sepp Blatter — who has said goal-line technology would be used in this year's Confederations Cup and then in the 2014 World Cup — laid out eight reasons he thought goal-line technology should not be introduced. Today, the FIFA president would find it hard to keep his case for seven of eight points. Blatter asserted that the financial implications of installing the technology were too high; additional testing was required; that technology would interrupt the flow of the game; and even, that people like to debate controversial decisions. Now, the technology has been tested; it will not interrupt the flow of the game.
But as is often typical, FIFA has settled on one company to supply its system (the German-based manufacturer GoalControl) while the Premier League has chosen another (the British-inventedHawkeye).
But Blatter's first point stands. "The game must be played in the same way no matter where you are in the world," he said. "If you are coaching a group of teenagers in any small town around the world, they will be playing with the same rules as the professional players they see on TV." Goal-line technology removes this aspect; it creates a different set of the rules, providing something to clubs and players at the top of the pyramid that probably will not be available to those below.
Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, is a long-time opponent of goal-line technology, has already talked about the difficulties wide-scale implementation could cause. Last month, Platini said that in 280 stadiums used for Europe's top club competitions the technology would cost about $71 million "over five years" — money the Frenchman believes could be better spent elsewhere, on youth development and infrastructure, for example.
Platini is quick to defend the five-man officiating teams that oversee Champions League and Europa League matches, which have been criticized in recent seasons. No one is exactly sure what they do. Call penalties? Rule on goal-line issues? Indicate corner kicks or goal kicks? What they have in their favor is that they are humans, not machines, and assigning additional officials at every level is less of a challenge than a requirement for expensive hardware.
Ultimately, who gets to use the new toys? Surely teams in the second, third, fourth, and fifth divisions and beyond will be unable to bear the cost. So forget it Barnet, Bari and Bochum. The imposition of technology also raises questions about competitions like the F.A. Cup where teams like Arsenal and Newcastle travel to places like Crewe Alexandra and Torquay. Smacks of the who American League-National League interleague designated hitter fiasco.
The choices of FIFA and the Premier League appear to be a Betamax vs. VHS moment. Which system will win out in the long run? No one knows, particularly since neither has been used in competition. In the United States, opening the door to video replay in the N.F.L. has now led to every scoring play (nearly every play) subject to video review. They may get it right, but who has the time?
How necessary is goal-line technology?
The last controversy in a World Cup final was in 1966 when, coincidentally, England was the beneficiary, depending, of course, whose side you are on. Then again, when there is a question about the ball crossing the line, the imbroglio lives on and on and on (see Frank Lampard's shot against Germany in the 2010 World Cup. As Platini, a former star player said, these issues occur "once in a blue moon."
A strong case can be made to keep the game human, keep the game universal, and, in what is perhaps soccer's greatest appeal over sports that have adopted technology, keep the beautiful game simple.
What is your view of goal-line technology? Does it open a Pandora's box to more widespread use of technology in soccer? What were some of the more egregious goal-line calls you have seen or that you remember?
Jack Williams, a native of Wales, is pursuing a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University. Follow him on Twitter.
Rob Carr/Getty Images
The Orioles' Matt Wieters after his game-ending grand slam.
Matt Wieters hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning, and host Baltimore beat Tampa Bay, 10-6, on Thursday. It was Baltimore's 17th straight extra-inning victory, including 16 last season.
Nolan Reimold and Steve Pearce also homered for the Orioles, who took two of three games from the Rays.
Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, Jose Molina and James Loney each hit a solo home run for Tampa Bay.
RED SOX 6, INDIANS 3 Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings as visiting Boston beat Cleveland for its sixth straight win.
Indians Manager Terry Francona, who managed Boston for eight seasons and led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, was swept in the first series against his former team. MARINERS 2, TIGERS 0 Kyle Seager hit a two-out, run-scoring double off Justin Verlander in the seventh inning to help give host Seattle a victory over Detroit. Verlander (2-2) struck out 12.
BREWERS 7, GIANTS 2 Yovani Gallardo homered and struck out six in his first start since being arrested on a drunken-driving charge, and host Milwaukee beat San Francisco for a three-game sweep.
Gallardo (1-1), who had been arrested early Tuesday, allowed five hits, one walk and one earned run in six innings. BRAVES 6, PIRATES 4 Pinch-hitter Evan Gattis connected for a two-run homer in the eighth inning to help visiting Atlanta beat Pittsburgh. The Braves improved to a major league-best 13-2.
CARDINALS 4, PHILLIES 3 Adam Wainwright pitched seven solid innings, Carlos Beltran hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth and St. Louis escaped a ninth-inning jam for a victory at Philadelphia.
CUBS 6, RANGERS 2 Alfonso Soriano hit his first home run of the season, Anthony Rizzo also homered and Chicago beat visiting Texas at soggy Wrigley Field.
REDS 11, MARLINS 1 Shin-Soo Choo singled, doubled and scored twice, helping the left-hander Tony Cingrani get a victory in his first major league start as host Cincinnati beat Miami.
Coach Mike Woodson and Raymond Felton expect Pablo Prigioni to miss Game 1 of the Knicks' first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
Prigioni, a 35-year-old rookie, sprained his right ankle in Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Atlanta Hawks. He was on crutches as he watched Thursday's practice. It was unclear whether Prigioni would be available for Game 2 on Tuesday.
Woodson will have a traditional starting lineup for Saturday's game instead of the smaller, two-point-guard lineup that he used for most of the season. Woodson said he could start Chris Copeland, who averaged 7.7 points in three games against the Celtics, at small forward.
Iman Shumpert will be the shooting guard, Carmelo Anthony will be at power forward and Tyson Chandler, who missed the last six games, will play center.
"Chris has shown that he can start and come off the bench," Woodson said. "That's been a plus for us."
Woodson made it clear Jason Kidd would stay on the bench, because he still needs a backup for Felton.
"We're definitely going to miss Pablo," Felton said. "Hopefully we get him back for the second game."
Woodson has paired Felton with either Prigioni or Kidd throughout this season. The strategy improved ball movement and spacing on the court, and has given Woodson more shooters on the perimeter to surround Anthony.
According to John Schuhmann, who does statistical analysis for NBA.com., the Prigioni-Felton combination was by far the Knicks' best backcourt this season. When they were on the court together (266 minutes), the Knicks had their highest offensive rating (points per 100 possessions), 118.2. The Knicks' defensive rating with Felton and Prigioni was 105. The net rating of those two statistics was the team's biggest in Schuhmann's point guard analysis.
Woodson paired Prigioni with Felton on March 18 against the Utah Jazz. The Knicks went on to win 13 consecutive games.
The Knicks are a better team when Woodson pairs Felton with a second playmaker next to him. When Felton is the only point guard on the court (871 minutes), the Knicks have the same offensive and defensive rating (107.9).
"If Raymond is the solo point guard starting out, he has to defend that spot," Woodson said. "He has to apply pressure just like Pablo does. We have to extend our defense. Nothing changes. We just have to duplicate what Pablo does until he gets back."
Woodson emphasized that Felton was not the only player responsible for ensuring the Knicks have good ball movement. Anthony, Chandler, Shumpert and every other Knick will have to do his part.
"Everybody touches the ball one time or another in our system," Woodson said. "You got a shot, then take the shot. If you don't have the shot, you have to sacrifice the ball for ball movement and body movement."
The playoff game Saturday will be Felton's first at Madison Square Garden. He expects that the Celtics will be physical and that Woodson will allow him to be aggressive on offense.
REBOUNDS
Mike Woodson was named Eastern Conference coach of the month. The Knicks were 8-2, tying Miami for most wins in the league. Five were against playoff teams: Atlanta (twice), Indiana, Miami and Milwaukee. Woodson is just the fourth Knicks coach to win the award and the first since Pat Riley in March 1994. ... Marcus Camby (plantar fasciitis) participated in practice, but Woodson said he was unsure whether he would play against the Celtics.
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The Yankees' Joba Chamberlain reacting after the Diamondbacks' Cody Ross was called safe in the eighth inning.
For the first time since 1995, the Yankees will probably play more games without Derek Jeter than with him.
Jeter, the Yankees' captain and most popular player, will most likely be out until after the All-Star Game because of a small fracture in his surgically repaired left ankle. He originally fractured the ankle in October, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, but he had vowed to try to return to the lineup by opening day.
His ambitious rehabilitation schedule encountered setbacks in spring training, and now he will most likely rest for four to eight weeks before restarting any baseball activities.
Without their franchise shortstop, the Yankees are 8-6 after Thursday night's 6-2, 12-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees tied the score in the ninth against Arizona's closer, J .J. Putz, on Francisco Cervelli's home run, but lost when the Diamondbacks scored four runs against reliever David Phelps in the 12th. The biggest blow was a three-run double by Eric Chavez, a Yankee the previous two seasons.
In the one bright spot for the Yankees on Thursday, the struggling Phil Hughes had his best outing of the season, allowing two runs and no walks in seven innings to lower his earned run average to a still-high 6.43.
"I felt more like myself," Hughes said. "I was being aggressive, attacking hitters. I certainly felt I was back to doing what I do."
Still, the game was overshadowed by Jeter's injury. Brian Cashman, the Yankees' general manager, said the latest fracture was revealed by a CT scan during an appointment with Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. Cashman said the fracture was a new injury and not a recurrence of the fracture Jeter sustained last year. Cashman added that he believed that the crack occurred with an accumulation of physical activity rather than as a result of a single event.
At this point, Cashman said, the team will not look outside for shortstop help, in part because of the lack of options on the trade market this early in the season and because the Yankees are satisfied so far with the play of Jeter's replacements, Jayson Nix and Eduardo Nunez.
"I'm happy with Nixy and happy with Nuney," Cashman said. "But I'd be happier with Derek."
Entering Thursday, Yankees shortstops this season had combined to hit for a .606 on-base plus slugging percentage, which ranked 10th in the American League. Jeter's lowest O.P.S. in a full season was .710, in 2010.
Nunez made his first error of the season in the eighth inning Thursday night, committing a throwing error on a ground ball by Martin Prado.
"I hope he comes back this year healthy," Nunez said of Jeter, 38, before the game. "But I've prepared myself to play every day all year long."
Jeter's readiness to play has hung over the Yankees since the start of spring training. After a promising start in camp, Jeter received a cortisone shot in the ankle on March 20 after being scratched from an exhibition game the previous day. On March 21, the Yankees announced that Jeter would not play in any more spring training games. On March 24, Cashman told reporters that Jeter would most likely begin the season on the disabled list.
"He's had some issues, but obviously it's gone on longer than you'd expect," Cashman said.
Joe Girardi, the Yankees' manager, said: "I know it's extremely disappointing for him because he's so used to being with us. Some guys will have to step up in his absence."
Cashman said he was told the injury was most likely not career threatening. Jeter is scheduled to visit Anderson again next week while the Yankees, who will also be without the starters Mark Teixeira (wrist) and Alex Rodriguez (hip) for a lengthy period, are at the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeter will rejoin the team when it returns to New York next week.
Throughout the recovery process, Jeter, a 13-time All-Star, defiantly said he would be back sooner than the prognostications indicated, and the Yankees were hesitant to label any potential problem as a setback. But now the Yankees will have to play a significant amount of time without the man who has been their most dependable player for more than 15 years.
