French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic tries to win his 23rd Grand Slam title; he’ll play Casper Ruud

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic tries to win his 23rd Grand Slam title; he’ll play Casper Ruud PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic will be seeking his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title in the French Open final.Casper Ruud will be seeking his first.They meet Sunday at Court Philippe Chatrier.Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, wants to break a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major championships by a man. Another triumph would also make Djokovic, who won at Roland Garros in 2016 and 2021, the first man in tennis history with at least three trophies from each Slam event.This will be Ruud’s third final in the past five majors. Last year, the 24-year-old from Norway was the runner-up to Nadal at the French Open and to Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open.The No. 3-seeded Djokovic owns a 4-0 head-to-head record against No. 4 Ruud and has won all eight sets they’ve played against each other.WHEN IS THE MEN’S FINAL?Play begins in Djokovic vs. Ruud at Court Philippe Chatrier at about 2:30 p.m. local time in Paris, which is 8:30 a.m. EDT. That will be preceded by the wo...

Honduras opens embassy in China after breaking off ties with Taiwan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Honduras opens embassy in China after breaking off ties with Taiwan BEIJING (AP) — Honduras opened an embassy in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, months after the Central American nation broke off relations with Taiwan to form diplomatic ties with China.China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina took part in the inauguration of the embassy on Sunday morning, China’s official CCTV said. The report said Honduras still needed to determine the embassy’s permanent location and would increase its number of staff.The symbol of the two sides’ strengthening diplomatic ties came during Honduran President Xiomara Castro’s six-day visit to China.Honduras established formal relations with China in March, becoming the latest in a string of countries to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan. China sees self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary, and prohibits its own diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei.Castro arrived in Shanghai on...

Colorado Rapids reduced to nine men in 2-0 loss to Orlando City as team feels “snake bitten” by red-card decisions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Colorado Rapids reduced to nine men in 2-0 loss to Orlando City as team feels “snake bitten” by red-card decisions The Colorado Rapids have so much fuel and tenacity when they step onto the field that, at times, can spill over and can stand in the way of getting results.Saturday night against Orlando City was one such instance as the Rapids had two players, Braian Galván and Lalas Abubakar, who were shown red cards and were reduced to nine men as Colorado lost 2-0, its seventh loss in its last eight games.It was the second successive week in which the Rapids were reduced a man and the fourth time this season, half of which came Saturday. In 2022 Colorado had six players sent off which was tied for most in MLS and the team was second in yellow-cards earned (94). While the makeup of the team has changed, the ability to scrap for every challenge, tooth-and-nail, is part of the club’s DNA.After the game, Rapids head coach Robin Fraser was asked if discipline has come at the cost of compromising their style of play, he adamantly rejected the idea that discipline was an issue at all. Fraser said...

CHP Patrol cars slam into La Puente home during high-speed pursuit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

CHP Patrol cars slam into La Puente home during high-speed pursuit A high-speed pursuit of a motorcyclist ended with two California Highway Patrol cars slamming into a La Puente home on Saturday night.Officers attempted to pull over a motorcyclist for speeding around 4:40 p.m. When the suspect didn’t yield, a pursuit began. At around 4:52 p.m., the patrol cars lost control and slammed into the front area of a home near the intersection of Ector Street and Hacienda Boulevard.Video from the scene shows the vehicles completely destroyed a brick wall with an iron gate on top that was surrounding the home. Motorcycle pursuit ends with CHP patrol cars crashing into a La Puente home on June 10, 2023. (KTLA)Motorcycle pursuit ends with CHP patrol cars crashing into a La Puente home on June 10, 2023. (KTLA)Motorcycle pursuit ends with CHP patrol cars crashing into a La Puente home on June 10, 2023. (KTLA)Motorcycle pursuit ends with CHP patrol cars crashing into a La Puente home on June 10, 2023. (KTLA) Video captures family of coyote pups playing outside...

Sizzling second-half goal leads Earthquakes past Philadelphia Union

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Sizzling second-half goal leads Earthquakes past Philadelphia Union A strike from defender Miguel Trauco in the 57th minute proved to be the difference as the San Jose Earthquakes stayed hot at home with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday before an announced crowd of 15,512 at PayPal Park.Trauco’s go-ahead goal came off an assist from Carlos Gruezo as his shot from outside the penalty area found the upper corner past the body of Union goalkeeper Andre Blake. It was Trauco’s third goal of the season as San Jose ended the Union’s nine-match unbeaten streak.With the win, the Earthquakes improved to 6-0-2 at home this season. San Jose has a 2-0-2 record in its last four games overall and with 26 points, remains tied for third place in MLS’s Western Conference.Jeremy Ebobisse scored in the eighth minute off an assist from Cade Cowell to give the Earthquakes (7-5-5) an early lead. Cowell dribbled the ball deep into Philadelphia’s zone before he found a trailing Ebobisse, who one-timed a left-footed shot past Blake for his sevent...

Kerolin hat trick powers Courage to 5-0 win over Red Stars

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Kerolin hat trick powers Courage to 5-0 win over Red Stars Kerolin scored a hat trick as the North Carolina Courage beat the host Chicago Red Stars 5-0 in the National Women’s Soccer League. Kerolin started the scoring in the 11th minute, redirecting a back pass from Mille Gejl into the right corner of the goal. Gejl also scored in the first half, spinning around her defender and shooting into the far post. Denise O’Sullivan assisted on the goal.Kerolin got her second goal in the 34th, running onto a long ball over the top and cutting around goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher before chipping the ball into the goal.O’Sullivan scored North Carolina’s fourth in the 52nd minute, and Kerolin got her hat trick eight minutes later with a right-footed shot in the box. Her seven goals now lead the league.While Chicago (3-7-1) had eight shots, none of them were on target.North Carolina (5-4-2) became the first team in NWSL history to score five or more goals in multiple road wins, as they also had a 6-0 win at Portland in 2019.REIGN 2, ...

Gauld’s late PK goal rallies Whitecaps to 1-1 draw with Cincinnati

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Gauld’s late PK goal rallies Whitecaps to 1-1 draw with Cincinnati VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Gauld scored on a late penalty kick for the second straight week to help the Vancouver Whitecaps earn a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati on Saturday night.Gauld’s PK equalizer for Vancouver (5-5-7) came in the 89th minute after he subbed in for Andrés Cubas in the 73rd. Luciano Acosta had just given Eastern Conference-leading Cincinnati (12-1-4) the lead with a goal in the 83rd minute. Gauld, who has three goals this season, had a PK goal in the 88th minute of a 1-1 tie with Sporting Kansas City last week, snapping the Whitecaps’ club-record 35-match streak with a PK score.Acosta’s eighth goal of the season for Cincinnati came with an assist from Matt Miazga. It was the 50th goal of Acosta’s career, making him the ninth Argentinian player to accomplish the feat. No other country outside of the U.S. has more than four players on the list.Yohei Takaoka saved two shots for the Whitecaps. Roman Celentano had two saves for Cincin...

Amanda Nunes beats Irene Aldana to retain bantamweight title at UFC 289, then announces retirement

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Amanda Nunes beats Irene Aldana to retain bantamweight title at UFC 289, then announces retirement VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Amanda Nunes beat Irene Aldana by unanimous decision at UFC 289 on Saturday night to hold on to her bantamweight title before announcing her retirement.Nunes dominated the fight, landing far more hits than her opponent, while Aldana’s corner repeatedly encouraged their fighter to go on the offensive.Charles (Do Bronxs) Oliveira won by TKO in the co-main event against Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout.Also, Aiemann Zahabi won by knockout against Aoriqileng, and Mike Malott beat Adam Fugitt by submission. Diana Belbita won in the preliminary fight stage while Nelson and Zahabi won in the preliminaries. Marc-Andre Barriault won his middleweight bout on the main card before Malott’s win in the welterweight class.Source

Crawford has 4 hits, Rodríguez homers in Mariners’ 6-2 victory over Angels

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

Crawford has 4 hits, Rodríguez homers in Mariners’ 6-2 victory over Angels ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — J.P. Crawford tied a career high with four hits, Julio Rodríguez was 3 for 5 with homer and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 on Saturday night despite Shohei Ohtani going deep for the third time in five games.Eugenio Suárez also had three hits as the Mariners set a season high with 16 hits.Ohtani is tied for third in the majors with 18 home runs. He has gone 12 for 28 during a seven-game hitting streak.It is the third time in his seven years in the majors that Crawford has had four hits. It also came at a good time after he was mired in a 1-for-17 slump in his last five games. Suárez also was struggling, with only two hits in 22 at-bats during the first six games of the trip.Gabe Speier (2-1) got the win.Rodríguez started the scoring with a two-run shot off Patrick Sandoval (3-6) in the third inning. The Mariners center fielder, who was last season’s AL Rookie of the Year, is batting .366 over his last 16 games (26 for 71) with five h...

White and Morgan each hit 2 HRs, Skenes has 9 Ks; LSU beats Kentucky in Game 1 of super regional

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:58 GMT

White and Morgan each hit 2 HRs, Skenes has 9 Ks; LSU beats Kentucky in Game 1 of super regional BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Tommy White and Tre’ Morgan each hit two of LSU’s six home runs, Paul Skenes allowed just four hits and a walk over 7 2/3 scoreless innings and the Tigers beat Kentucky 14-0 Saturday night at the Baton Rouge Super Regional.LSU can clinch a berth in the College World Series with a win Sunday in Game 2 of the best-of-3 super regional. Game 1, which was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. local time, was delayed more than 7 hours due to inclement weather.Morgan, went 4 for 4, and White (3 for 5) each had three RBIs and scored three times. Gavin Dugas hit a home run in the fourth inning and Josh Pearson hit a lead-off homer to spark a six-run bottom of the fifth that gave LSU a 12-0 lead. Skenes (12-2), one of the top prospects in the 2023 class, struck out nine Kentucky batters — just the fourth time in 16 starts this season that the junior, who transferred to LSU after two seasons at Air Force, was limited to single-digit strikeouts. Morgan hit a solo home ru...