Ryu breezes to third-straight win

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Through most of the first two months of the season, Yasiel Puig batted second and Hanley Ramirez hit third for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly.Ramirez homered twice, drove in five runs and scored four times, tying career highs in all three categories and leading the defending NL West champions to a 12-2 rout of the Pi

BaseballJune 1, 2014

Coach Hong stresses defensive organization

As South Korea opened its pre-World Cup camp in Miami on Saturday, head coach Hong Myung-bo stressed the importance of shoring up the defense.Hong’s 23-man squad arrived in Miami on Friday to prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil. South Korea chose the site because the climate here is similar to that in Cuiaba, the venue for its opening group stage match against Russia on June 17, and because both cities are in the same time zone.The team will face Ghana in the last tune-up match bef

SoccerJune 1, 2014

Nadal considers tennis’ future after French Open win

PARIS (AP) ― Shortly after winning for the 61st time in his 62nd match on the red clay at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal took a moment to look at the future of tennis.And the top-seeded Spaniard doesn’t see himself in the picture. Or Roger Federer. Or Novak Djokovic. Or Andy Murray.True, Nadal advanced to the third round of the French Open on Thursday, beating a 20-year-old Austrian in straight sets. But it’s that same 20-year-old Austrian, Dominic Thiem, who is one of the men who could start winni

More SportsMay 30, 2014

Paraguay beats Cameroon 2-1 in friendly

KUFSTEIN, Austria (AP) ― Cameroon slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Paraguay after resting several leading players in a World Cup warm-up game on Thursday. Midfielder Oscar Romero put Paraguay ahead in the fourth minute and Roque Santa Cruz added a second in the 68th. Maxim Choupo-Moting pulled a goal back for Cameroon with 75th minute volley and striker Mohammadou Idrissou missed a chance to equalize in the 87th when his penalty was saved by Paraguay goalkeeper Roberto Junior Fernandez.  Cameroon

SoccerMay 30, 2014

Korea learns lesson in defeat

South Korean national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo admitted after his squad’s defeat on Wednesday night that they would have some serious challenges in Brazil if they did not work out their fatal defensive weaknesses.The 55th-ranked Taeguk Warriors did not get a victorious send-off at Seoul World Cup Stadium, instead falling to Tunisia 1-0 in their last friendly on home soil before the World Cup.Making matters worse for the team, defender Hong Jeong-ho was carried off on a stretcher in

SoccerMay 29, 2014

Ki Sung-yueng in hot water over left hand salute

Ki Sung-yeung, a member of the South Korean national soccer team, is embroiled in controversy after using the wrong hand in a ceremonial salute at the start of a friendly match on Wednesday.  (OSEN)In the World Cup send-off match against Tunisia in Seoul, Ki put his left hand over the right side of his chest during the national anthem. Under the Korean flag act, Koreans not in uniform are asked to put their right hand over the left side of the chest and look at the national flag during the anthe

SoccerMay 29, 2014

Korea loses home friendly

Kim Young-kwon fights for the ball in the international home friendly soccer match against Tunisia held on Wednesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium. YonhapThe South Korean national soccer team lost on home soil Wednesday night against Tunisia 1-0, in its last international home friendly before the World Cup.Korea held possession for most of the first half, but midfielder Zouhaier Dhaouadi scored in the 44th minute with the only goal of the match.Although coach Hong Myung-bo said the team would play

SoccerMay 28, 2014

Li Na ousted at French Open

PARIS (AP) ― Much to her dismay, Li Na is familiar with this feeling. She earns a Grand Slam championship, is heralded at home, then shows up at subsequent major tournaments and seemingly forgets how to win.Happened in 2011, after her French Open triumph made her China’s first player with a Grand Slam singles title. Happened again Tuesday, when Li was seeded second at Roland Garros but lost to someone ranked 103rd in the first round, not quite four months removed from winning the Australian Open

GolfMay 28, 2014

Twins trip Rangers with ninth-inning rally

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Eduardo Nunez’s two-out single for Minnesota had just tied the game, and the ninth inning was about to end on a routine ground ball.What happened next was anything but by the book.Texas closer Joakim Soria bobbled a slow-bouncing dribbler by Danny Santana to the left of the mound, allowing Nunez to score the winning run for the Twins in a 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday night.“I’m the guy getting comfortable on this team. I’m the new guy here. I try to help the team to

BaseballMay 28, 2014

Flirting with history

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Dodgers manager Don Mattingly got on the plane after Josh Beckett’s no-hitter in Philadelphia and teased next-day starter Ryu Hyun-jin.“You have to throw a perfect game to top Beckett,” Mattingly told the South Korean left-hander.Ryu nearly did.He retired his first 21 batters before Todd Frazier’s leadoff double in the eighth inning, and Los Angeles held on to beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Monday.“For a minute there, I thought, ‘Whew, he might do it,’” Mattingly said.The Reds h

BaseballMay 27, 2014

Tunisian coach hopes to give good test

On the eve of his team’s showdown against South Korea, Tunisian head coach Georges Leekens said Tuesday he hopes to give the home side a good test ahead of the FIFA World Cup.The 49th-ranked Tunisia will take on the 55th-ranked South Korea at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday. The kickoff is at 8 p.m. It will be South Korea’s last match at home prior to the June 12-July 13 World Cup in Brazil. Tunisia didn’t qualify for the tournament.At a prematch press conference at the venue of the match,

SoccerMay 27, 2014

Korea hopes to address ...defensive ...shortfalls

Hong Myung-bo, head coach of South Korean men’s national football team, said Tuesday he will try to address the squad’s lingering defensive issues in an upcoming friendly against Tunisia at home.South Korea, ranked 55th, will host No. 49 Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. It will be the final match at home for Hong’s squad before the World Cup.South Korea will travel to Miami on Friday and will take on Ghana there on June 9. Hong’s team will take on Russia, Algeria and Br

SoccerMay 27, 2014