The Korea Herald

Liverpool, Arsenal tighten EPL race

LONDON (AP) ― The Premier League title race is shaping up to be a tight four-way fight after Liverpool and Arsenal both earned away wins at their main traditional rivals on Sunday.Liverpool convincingly beat Manchester United 3-0 while Arsenal won 1-0 at Tottenham, taking full advantage of leader Chelsea’s loss at Aston Villa a day earlier to tighten the gap.In Spain, Messi appeared to be back to his best as he netted a hat trick to set another scoring record for Barcelona in a 7-0 win over Osas

SoccerMarch 17, 2014

Dodgers, D-Backs off to Australia

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (AP) ― “G’donya” to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers.They’re off to Australia to open the major league baseball season.Both teams played a spring training game Sunday, then boarded their chartered planes for a flight of 15 hours or so to Sydney.Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick, who never has been to Australia, called it “a great adventure.”The teams opened spring training early to get ready for the trip. When they return, they’ll have a handful of spring games

BaseballMarch 17, 2014

Shim wins women's overall title at short track world championships

South Korean teenager Shim Suk-hee was crowned the women's overall champion at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal on Sunday.Shim earned 102 total points by virtue of winning three races, becoming the first South Korean overall champ in the women's competition since Cho Ha-ri in 2011.Another South Korean, Park Seung-hi, finished second overall with 73 points.Shim, 17, won three medals in her first Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, last month. She anchored the 3,000ｍ rel

More SportsMarch 17, 2014

Yoon shines in Orioles debut

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) ― South Korean right-hander Yoon Suk-min threw one shutout inning in his debut with the Baltimore Orioles, who got a home run from Chris Davis in a 2-1 victory over a New York Yankees’ split-squad Saturday.The 27-year-old Yoon didn’t exactly face a Murderer’s Row of Yankees, who sent most of their stars to Panama for an exhibition game.Yoon entered in the seventh with the score tied at 1. He gave up a single to Ramon Flores, then retired Mason Williams and Kyle Roller on f

BaseballMarch 16, 2014

Practice held at stadium hosting World Cup opener

SAO PAULO (AP) ― The stadium set to host the opening World Cup match in less than three months opened for a brief practice session on Saturday, with construction workers taking a break to watch players step on the field for the first time.Although the Itaquerao stadium isn’t expected to be ready before mid-April, Brazilian club Corinthians trained in a closed session open only to journalists.The Itaquerao was one of the six stadiums expected to be finished by the end of 2013, but a crane collaps

SoccerMarch 16, 2014

Garrigus’ lead down to one at Innisbrook

PALM HARBOR, Florida (AP) ― Robert Garrigus missed two short par putts over the last seven holes Saturday, and just like that, his four-shot lead dwindled to one in the Valspar Championship.That’s about the only thing that went quickly.On a gorgeous afternoon at Innisbrook, pace of play on the PGA Tour reared its ugly head again.Garrigus had to settle for a 1-under 70 when he missed short par putts on the 12th and 18th holes, giving him a one-shot lead over Kevin Na, who labored and fidgeted his

GolfMarch 16, 2014

New face emerges as unlikely hero for Nexen in preseason

A virtually unknown outfielder has emerged as an unlikely hero for the Nexen Heroes so far this preseason in the Korea Baseball Organization.Kang Ji-kwang, a 23-year-old pitcher-turned-outfielder, has taken the league by storm, barely a week into the preseason. On Thursday, the right-handed batter belted two home runs and drove in three runs as the Heroes defeated the SK Wyverns 6-0. Both of the long balls were hit off SK’s former Major League Baseball starter Jo-Jo Reyes.Kang now leads the leag

BaseballMarch 14, 2014

New face emerges as unlikely hero for Nexen in preseason

Russia set to play 3 tune-up matches

Russia, grouped with South Korea in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, will play three tune-up matches in the days leading up to the big tournament and train at home before leaving for South America, a football official from Moscow said on Friday.In a phone interview with Yonhap, the official with the Football Union of Russia said the country will host Slovakia on May 26 at a yet-to-be-determined venue, travel to Norway for another match there on May 31 and return to Moscow to play Morocco on

SoccerMarch 14, 2014

Suwon to host Eindhoven in exhibition match

South Korean club Suwon Bluewings announced Friday they will host the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in an exhibition match this spring.The K League Classic club match against PSV Eindhoven, featuring South Korean icon Park Ji-sung, will take place at 8 p.m. on May 22 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, about 45 kilometers south of Seoul.Park, 33, grew up in Suwon and has a street and a youth football training center named after him. The versatile midfielder is regarded as one of S

SoccerMarch 14, 2014

Pistorius trial: The ‘trail of blood’

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ― Prosecutors in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial on Thursday displayed a sequence of photos showing the blood stains and blood spatter found on the floors, walls, stairs and chairs in the athlete’s house after he fatally shot his girlfriend.In one photograph displayed on TV monitors in the courtroom, spots of blood were seen right next to some of the double-amputee Olympian and multiple Paralympic champion’s golden trophies. The TV screen next to Pistorius, who at ti

More SportsMarch 14, 2014

Lee among leaders at Innisbrook

PALM HARBOR, Florida (AP) ― Matt Every made the best of the worst conditions Thursday at Innisbrook. Danny Lee, finally, seems to be playing good golf in any weather.They were among a four-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the Valspar Championship, a day so challenging that 3-under 68 was the highest score to lead after the first round in the 14-year history of this event.Pat Perez and Greg Chalmers also had 68s to share the lead.Every was the only one among the leaders to play in

GolfMarch 14, 2014

Barca, PSG reach quarters

BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year, shaking off a slump that has dropped it to third place in the La Liga standings.Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals in a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday night that completed a 4-1 aggregate victory.“We had some pretty big setbacks, especially in the way we were playing ― but today we got back to playing the way we know, the Barca people love,” Messi said. “Even thoug

SoccerMarch 13, 2014

Underachieving righty to start first game at Kia’s ballpark

An underachieving right-hander was tabbed Thursday to start the first official game at the new stadium for the Kia Tigers in the top domestic baseball league.The Korea Baseball Organization club said Song Eun-beom will start the preseason game against the Doosan Bears on Saturday at the new Gwangju-Kia Champions Field.The ballpark is named after the Tigers’ home city of Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul. The Tigers as a franchise have the most championships in the KBO’s 32-year histor

BaseballMarch 13, 2014

Golfer Lee sets sights on Olympics

HAIKOU, China (AFP) ― Teenage sensation Lee Min-jee said she is in no rush to follow New Zealand’s Lydia Ko by turning professional as she plots a path to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.The 17-year-old Australian has assumed Ko’s former crown by becoming the world’s top-ranked amateur and making waves with her performances at professional events. Last month, Lee won the Victorian Open by six strokes and was runner-up to Tiger Woods’ niece Cheyenne at the Australian Ladies Masters.She tied f

GolfMarch 13, 2014

Four Korean clubs remain undefeated in AFC

With two matches apiece in the books, four South Korean clubs at the top Asian competition remained undefeated this week.Ulsan Hyundai of the K League Classic picked up its second win in the group stage on Wednesday at this year’s AFC Champions League, beating Kawasaki Frontale at home 2-0. Ulsan leads Group H with six points.Also on Wednesday, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors played Melbourne Victory to a 2-2 tie in Group G action on the road, and it now sits at four points. Guangzhou Evergrande, the 201

SoccerMarch 13, 2014

Coca-Cola award honors Kim Yu-na, Lee Sang-hwa

Despite heavy-heartedly settling for second place at the Sochi Olympics in the ladies’ figure skating ― one of the most controversial and criticized results of this year’s Winter Olympics ― at home, the Korean figure skating queen Kim Yu-na is still recognized as Team Korea’s athlete of the year, alongside two-time speed skating gold medalist Lee Sang-hwa.At the 19th annual Coca-Cola Sports Award ceremony on Wednesday, Kim and Lee were awarded with the Grand Prize plaque for their individual acc

More SportsMarch 12, 2014

Coca-Cola award honors Kim Yu-na, Lee Sang-hwa

Bayern into Champions quarters

MUNICH (AP) ― Club president Uli Hoeness’ trial overshadowed a subdued performance as Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Arsenal to reach the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 aggregate win from the round-of-16 on Tuesday.With his trial for alleged tax evasion grabbing the headlines in Germany, Hoeness attended the game and was probably glad the spotlight left him, albeit temporarily.“Good luck to Bayern. They’re a good side but this side is more vulnerable than last year’s,” Arsenal coach Arse

SoccerMarch 12, 2014

Torrey Pines picked to host 2021 U.S. Open

SAN DIEGO (AFP) ― Torrey Pines, where Tiger Woods won the most recent of his 14 major titles, has been selected to host the 2021 U.S. Open golf championship pending city approval, according to reports Tuesday.The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper’s website and Golf Channel reported that the course, which hosts the U.S. PGA Tour’s $6.1 million Farmers Insurance Open each January, has been invited by the U.S. Golf Association to host the 2021 event, the next U.S. Open without a named host course.B

GolfMarch 12, 2014

Djokovic, Li, Jankovic win at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) ― Novak Djokovic defeated Alejandro Gonzalez 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to end the Colombian’s surprising run to the third round at the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday.Djokovic, a two-time champion at Indian Wells, earned the only two breaks of the third set, including a seven-deuce game that he closed out with a clever backhand drop volley.Gonzalez had never won an ATP Tour-level match in six tries before Indian Wells. He won third-set tiebreakers in his first two matches here befo

More SportsMarch 12, 2014

Djokovic, Li, Jankovic win at Indian Wells

Tiger Woods has lost his intimidation factor, ex-caddy says

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Outspoken caddy Steve Williams says former employer Tiger Woods has lost his intimidation factor, as the New Zealander revealed he will quit full-time golf this year.Williams, who was sacked by Woods in 2011 after helping him win all but one of his 14 major titles, added that he had yet to reconcile with the world number one, but hopes to one day.“There’s just personal things and differences of opinion about how things went down. He thinks one thing and I think another,” Williams,

GolfMarch 12, 2014