Son Yeon-jae finished sixth in clubs and qualified for the individual all-around final on Thursday at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Kiev, Ukraine.Son earned 17.566 points in clubs to rank sixth among eight finalists in the apparatus. Earlier in the day, she finished 14th in the ribbon qualification round and failed to make the final.On Wednesday, the reigning Asian all-around champion had finished seventh in both ball and hoop events.Son, however, cruised into the all-around fin

More SportsAug. 30, 2013

MONACO (AP) ― Barcelona will face seven-time winner AC Milan in the Champions League for the third straight season, while Bayern Munich begins the defense of its title in a group containing Manchester City. Thursday’s draw in Monaco put Barcelona in Group H with Milan, Ajax and Celtic ― four teams who have been European champions 16 times between them. Barcelona and Milan were grouped together in 2011-12 and then met in the quarterfinals, before facing each other in the round of 16 last season.

SoccerAug. 30, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― After four innings of watching Yasiel Puig, manager Don Mattingly had seen enough.The Cuban rookie was pulled from the game, and he then met with Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti behind closed doors after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Wednesday.Mattingly wasn’t willing to specify exactly why he pulled Puig for Skip Schumaker, saying only, “I felt I was going to get a better effort out of Skip.” Reds rout Cardinals 10-0 ST. LOUIS (AP) ― Jay Bruc

BaseballAug. 29, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― After her latest early Grand Slam exit, Venus Williams was asked what the future holds for her at the U.S. Open.In one breath, Williams brushed aside the unspoken reference to retirement, saying, “I definitely want to come back for the atmosphere.”And in the next, she added, “I mean, next year’s Open is so far away right now.”At 33, slowed the past couple of years by an autoimmune disease that saps energy, and hampered much of this season by a bad back, Williams knows by now that

More SportsAug. 29, 2013

Heo Min, the owner of the South Korean independent baseball team the Goyang Wonders, will join a North American independent league as a pitcher, the Wonders announced on Thursday.The 37-year-old entrepreneur will pitch for the Rockland Boulders in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, the Wonders said, calling Heo “the first South Korean knuckleballer to reach a U.S. league.” (Yonhap News)

BaseballAug. 29, 2013

ZURICH (AP) ― What’s left for a man who has won three sprint titles at the last two Olympics?Win all three again, of course.Usain Bolt said Wednesday he is planning to defend his 100-, 200- and 4x100-meter relay golds at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.“To actually go to Rio and win again would be a feat in itself,” he said.Bolt will run in the 100 Thursday at the Weltklasse Diamond League meet. The Jamaican is coming off a world championship sweep of the sprints in Moscow, where he talked of w

More SportsAug. 29, 2013

National soccer team defensive back Hong Jeong-ho injured his back in a recent domestic league match and may miss South Korea’s upcoming friendlies, officials said Thursday.Early in the second half of a K League Classic contest against Busan I’Park Wednesday night in Busan, 450 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the Jeju United defender injured his back while competing for a loose ball in the air. He was subsequently taken out of the match.Jeju team officials said Hong appeared to have suffered a bo

SoccerAug. 29, 2013

Son Yeon-jae on Wednesday came up short of medals in ball and hoop events at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Kiev, Ukraine.The reigning Asian all-around champion finished seventh in both apparatus finals. She earned 16.658 points in ball and 17.158 points in hoop, with both routines marred by miscues.In the qualification round earlier in the day, Son scored 17.550 points in hoop and 17.400 points in ball for a combined 34.950 points. That ranks her sixth in the individual all-arou

More SportsAug. 29, 2013

The local football governing body on Wednesday set venues and kickoff times for two upcoming friendly matches.The Korea Football Association announced that South Korea will host Brazil at 8 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.Then on Oct. 15, it will bring Mali to Cheonan Sports Complex, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, also for an 8 p.m. start.The KFA first announced last Friday that South Korea will face the two countries. It said at the time the Brazil match could be held either on

SoccerAug. 28, 2013

Choo Shin-soo of the Cincinnati Reds belted his 100th career Major League Baseball home run on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals on the road.Choo hit the milestone home run off St. Louis starter Joe Kelly in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. It was his 17th long ball of this season.In his first season with the Reds, Choo has been one of the most productive outfielders and leadoff men in all of National League. Before the game against the Cards, Choo ranked second in the NL in on-base perc

BaseballAug. 28, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The inconveniences of the daily routine in the nation’s capital will be a selling point as Washington, D.C., makes a push to host the 2024 Olympics.“We are the safest and most secure city in the world,” said Bob Sweeney, president of D.C. 2024. “The largest expense of any Olympic Games is security, and the fact that we’ve got it pretty built in to our everyday life here in Washington, we would leverage that asset tremendously to put on this high-profile event.”Sweeney announced

More SportsAug. 28, 2013

Citing an unspecified illness, Park In-bee has withdrawn from an upcoming LPGA Tour event, her management here said Wednesday.IB Sports said Park recently complained of vomiting and fatigue and decided to skip the Safeway Classic, set to start Thursday in Portland, Oregon.The agency added that Park will soon return to South Korea to rest.The next event for the world’s No. 1 female golfer will be the Evian Championship, the fifth major of the season, from Sept. 12 to 15 in France. Park is the def

GolfAug. 28, 2013

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Wayne Rooney’s headline-grabbing presence couldn’t inspire Manchester United to victory in David Moyes’ first home game in charge as Chelsea ground out a 0-0 draw Monday in the Premier League’s first marquee matchup of the season.Rooney, the subject of two bids from Chelsea over the summer, played the full 90 minutes in his first start of this season and was one of the few standout performers in a disappointing match at Old Trafford that failed to live up to its billin

SoccerAug. 27, 2013

South Korea’s youth baseball team on Tuesday vowed to bring home the winner’s trophy from the upcoming world championship in Taiwan.South Korea is set to compete at the U18 Baseball World Cup from Aug. 30-Sept. 8 in Taichung, Taiwan. The country is paired with Australia, Colombia, Cuba, Italy and the United States in Pool B. Pool A teams are Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Venezuela. South Korea’s opening game will be against Italy on Friday.“Our team will be led by strong

BaseballAug. 27, 2013

The top domestic baseball league on Tuesday announced schedules for games that were previously rained out, with an aim to finish the regular season in the first week of October.The Korea Baseball Organization said 49 rained out games, along with eight other previously unscheduled games, will be played from Sept. 16 to Oct. 3.The league said games that are canceled due to rain after Tuesday will be played on a handful of open dates. It added that it will ensure no one team will play more than sev

BaseballAug. 27, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― Serena Williams was so dominant in the first round of the U.S. Open, her opponent really wanted a hug.So midway through the second set of defending champion Williams’ 6-0, 6-1 victory Monday night, Francesca Schiavone wandered behind the baseline, found a ball boy and enveloped him in a full-fledged embrace.“I don’t need a hug in that moment,” Schiavone joked afterward. “I need a game.”It was that kind of evening for Schiavone, an often-demonstrative player who is certainly no pu

More SportsAug. 27, 2013