The Korea Herald

Gyeongnam to host QPR in friendly

South Korean soccer club Gyeongnam FC will host Queens Park Rangers of the English Premier League in an exhibition game this summer, Gyeongnam officials said Monday.The K League Classic club said QPR will visit on July 19 for the match. The London-based team has two South Koreans, Park Ji-sung and Yun Suk-young, on its roster.Gyeongnam FC, based in Changwon, South Gyeongsan Province, said the exact time and venue for the match have not yet been determined, but that QPR has agreed to play Park an

SoccerApril 22, 2013

Ginobili, Parker lead Spurs past Kobe-less Lakers

Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 18 points each as the San Antonio Spurs led from early in the first quarter and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 91-79 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.Tim Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Matt Bonner had 10 points and Kawhi Leonard had eight points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Steve Nash scored 16 points and Pau Gasol added 16 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.Despite th

More SportsApril 22, 2013

Kebede wins London Marathon amid tight security

They crossed the line in front of Buckingham Palace with black ribbons on their chests and the Boston Marathon victims on their minds.Six days after bombs exploded near the Boston finish line, the London Marathon sent out a powerful message of solidarity with the U.S. city and its victims Sunday and put the spotlight back on the sport and away from terrorist fears.The men's race began with a poignant 30-second period of silence to remember Boston's dead and injured and ended with a thrilling fin

More SportsApril 22, 2013

Hockey returns to Boston as Penguins top Bruins 3-2

BOSTON (AP) ― Another emotional video tribute. Another stirring performance of the national anthem by a packed arena. Another hockey game in Boston.The sport returned to the city Saturday, a day after a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was captured, and the fans welcomed their Bruins back with cheers and greeted the Pittsburgh Penguins with jeers.The Penguins clinched home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 3-2 win in the Bruins’ second game since the bombings

More SportsApril 21, 2013

Nadal vs. Djokovic in Monte Carlo final again

MONACO (AP) ― Novak Djokovic will have a crack at toppling Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo Masters final for a second straight year.Despite their respective injury concerns, they will meet for the 16th time in a championship. Nadal leads 8-7 in their finals.“I am not the kind of player who is stupid and says, ‘I want to play against the best,’” Nadal said joking, added he would rather face an easier opponent on Sunday.Nadal can improve upon his formidable record on the Monte Carlo red clay ― win

More SportsApril 21, 2013

Anthony, Knicks handle Celtics

NEW YORK (AP) ― Carmelo Anthony started fast, struggled through the middle and finished with a flurry.And the New York Knicks, after knocking the Boston Celtics from the top of the Atlantic Division, took the first step toward knocking them out of the playoffs.Anthony scored 36 points, leading the Knicks to an 85-78 victory on Saturday in their playoff opener.“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that we got our first win of the series here on our home court, took care of that business,” Anthony sai

More SportsApril 21, 2013

Arsenal gains ground in EPL

LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal moved into third place in the English Premier League, winning 1-0 at Fulham behind Per Mertesacker’s goal on a 43rd-minute header, and Sunderland, Stoke and Norwich came away with victories Saturday that boosted their hopes to avoid relegation.Arsenal had a man advantage at Craven Cottage after Steve Sidwell received a red card in the 12th minute, but the Gunners’ Olivier Giroud was sent off the 90th. Arsenal (18-7-9) moved into third place, two points ahead of Chelsea (18-

SoccerApril 21, 2013

Emotional return to Fenway

BOSTON (AP) ― David Ortiz has been in the middle of some of Fenway Park’s greatest moments. None of them seemed more important to “Big Papi” than his role in one Saturday afternoon.Ortiz helped the Red Sox honor the victims and the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings then played in his first game since last summer, a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals capped by Daniel Nava’s three-run homer in the eighth inning.“I try to take the positive side of things and ride with it,” Ortiz said,

BaseballApril 21, 2013

Pettersen downs Salas in playoff for Lotte win

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Suzann Pettersen won the LPGA Lotte Championship on Saturday, beating Lizette Salas with a par on the first hole of a playoff after Salas chunked her approach shot into the water.Pettersen, the leader after the second and third rounds at Ko Olina, bogeyed the final hole of regulation to set up the playoff on the par-4 18th. The 32-year-old Norwegian closed with a 5-under 67, and Salas had a tournament-record 62 to finish at 19-under 269.“I thought 20 was going to do it,” P

GolfApril 21, 2013

Pettersen downs Salas in playoff for Lotte win

Pettersen leads Miyazato at Lotte

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Suzann Pettersen rebounded from her lone bogey with three back-nine birdies Thursday at wind-swept Ko Olina to take the second-round lead in the LPGA Lotte Championship.The 32-year-old Norwegian, a 10-time LPGA Tour winner ranked sixth in the world, shot a 3-under 69 in her afternoon round to reach 10-under 134. She had consecutive victories late last season in South Korea and Taiwan and won a Ladies European Tour event last month in China.Defending champion Ai Miyazato wa

GolfApril 19, 2013

Choo leads Reds to another win

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Tony Cingrani might have been a little too relaxed for his first big league start. With the way the Reds have been hitting, that’s understandable.Choo Shin-soo singled, doubled and scored twice, helping Cingrani get a victory in his starting debut, and the Reds won their fourth in a row by beating the Miami Marlins 11-1 on Thursday night. Cincinnati’s winning streak has featured stingy starting pitching. The 23-year-old Cingrani needed a lot of pitches, but kept up the trend.Mi

BaseballApril 19, 2013

Lotte Giants losing games, fans in KBO

It didn’t used to be this way for the Lotte Giants in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Busan-based Giants have been the most popular club in the nation’s top baseball league in terms of home attendance and have been to the playoffs every year since 2008.The Giants are the first KBO club to draw more than 1 million fans at home in five straight seasons. That streak is in jeopardy this year, however, as the Giants have been losing fans, not to mention games, at an alarming rate.The Giants were

BaseballApril 19, 2013

Man United held to draw

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United was slowed in its drive to a 20th English league title when it was held to a 2-2 tie Tuesday night at West Ham.Ricardo Vaz Te put the Hammers ahead in the 16th minute but Antonio Valencia tied the score in the 31st with his first goal since April 2 last year against Blackburn.Mohamed Diame gave West Ham a 2-1 lead in the 55th, and Robin van Persie retied the match in the 77th. Shinji Kagawa’s initial shot hit both posts and Van Persie ― who appeared to be in an of

SoccerApril 18, 2013

Braves’ win streak snapped

ATLANTA (AP) ― Jeff Francoeur always enjoys beating his first team.This one was especially sweet.Francoeur had an RBI single and Wade Davis made it stand up with five-hit ball over seven innings, leading the Kansas City Royals past the Braves 1-0 on Wednesday to stop Atlanta’s 10-game winning streak.Born and raised in the Atlanta area, Francoeur started his career with his hometown team before being traded in 2009. Now on his third team since his days with the Braves, he visited with dozens of f

BaseballApril 18, 2013

Kim Bo-kyung ‘happy’ with team’s EPL promotion

South Korean footballer Kim Bo-kyung said Wednesday he was “happy” to have realized his goal of reaching the English Premier League, after his second-division club earned promotion to the top-flight competition.Earlier in the day, Cardiff City in the Football League Championship, the second-tier English league, secured a spot in next year’s Premier League, following a 0-0 draw with Charlton Athletic. Each season, the top two teams from the Football League Championship, plus a winner of the promo

SoccerApril 17, 2013

Kim Bo-kyung ‘happy’ with team’s EPL promotion

Phillies and Reds game suspended due to rain

CINCINNATI (AP) ― The Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds managed only two singles apiece on Tuesday night, staying scoreless until their game was suspended because of heavy rain in the middle of the ninth inning.The game will be picked up at the same point on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., before the teams play the finale of their series no earlier than 7:10 p.m.Phillies reliever Phillippe Aumont was warming up to start the bottom of the ninth when heavy rain prompted the umpires to call for the

BaseballApril 17, 2013

Phillies and Reds game suspended due to rain

DeRozan, Gay lead Raptors past Hawks

ATLANTA (AP) ― The Atlanta Hawks want to be well-rested for the playoffs.They certainly didn’t use up any energy Tuesday night.DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Toronto Raptors ran all over the playoff-bound Hawks, 113-96.The Raptors made two-thirds of their shots in the first half, sprinting to a 68-51 lead as DeRozan scored 19 points and Gay chipped in with 17. Atlanta went mostly with backups, showing no sense of urgency to claim the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conferenc

More SportsApril 17, 2013

Thunder dispatch Kings to seal No. 1 seed in Western Conference

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook had 21 before getting ejected in the final 3 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs by beating the Sacramento Kings 104-95 on Monday night.Tyreke Evans, the Kings’ second-leading scorer, did not return after grabbing at his troublesome left knee following a drive to the basket late in the first quarter.Durant hit a 3-pointer and Westbrook set up Serge Ibaka for a two-hand

More SportsApril 16, 2013

Thunder dispatch Kings to seal No. 1 seed in Western Conference

Return of the ‘English disease’

LONDON (AP) ― A fan punches a police horse as the streets of Newcastle are turned into a battleground. Bloodied supporters brawl inside Wembley Stadium as weeping youngsters watch on. Fighting erupts at train stations as hooligans hurl racist abuse.English football has been in a time warp this weekend, with a return of the crowd trouble that stained the national game in the 1970s and 80s when its fans were the pariahs of Europe.Almost 80 fans were arrested as violence spread from stadiums to the

SoccerApril 16, 2013

London security for marathon under review

LONDON (AP) ― British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday’s London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the bombs that killed two people at the race in Boston. But there is no known specific or credible threat against the hugely popular British race at the moment, a security official said Monday.Police already were preparing a major security operation for Wednesday’s ceremonial funeral for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, an event at St. Paul’s Cathedral

More SportsApril 16, 2013