BASEBALL
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Red Sox held an emotional 20-minute pregame ceremony honoring victims of the Boston Marathon bombings along with law enforcement officials, medical personnel, runners and race volunteers before Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
With canvasses of handwritten notes from each of the 50 states being held on the outfield warning track from the left field corner in front of the Green Monster around to the Pesky Pole, a number of victims came walking in from the left-field corner to a loud ovation.
Just over a year ago, two bombs exploded near the finish line - less than a mile from Fenway Park, killing three and injuring over 260 others. It happened about an hour after Boston had defeated Tampa Bay.
This year’s race kicks off Monday morning in Hopkinton with the elite women and men expected to finish in downtown Boston around noon.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Travis Snider were ejected Sunday after a shouting match quickly escalated into a full-scale brawl.
Several punches were thrown and a couple of players were tossed to the ground once the benches and bullpens emptied.
The problems started when Gomez paused at the plate and flipped his bat after hitting a two-out drive in the third inning off Pirates starter Gerrit Cole. The ball hit the wall and Gomez sped into third base, making a head-first slide for a triple.
Gerrit, who was near third base backing up the play, stormed toward Gomez and they exchanged words.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Clayton Kershaw threw a simulated game Sunday and reported no discomfort after topping out at 90 mph.
Kershaw, who is on the disabled list for the first time in his seven-year career, threw a combined total of 50 pitches from the windup and from the stretch. His bullpen session lasted for about 20 pitches.
The 26-year-old left-hander, who led the majors in ERA in each of the previous three seasons, hasn’t pitched since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 in the season opener in Australia. He injured himself tossing a ball on the side a few days later.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - New York Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, an injury that often requires Tommy John surgery.
Nova left Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay in the fifth inning. An MRI after the game revealed the injury and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Nova will be further examined Monday in New York by Yankees team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad. He had no discomfort in the elbow until his 82nd and final pitch Saturday when he felt a pop.
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OBITUARY
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter never surrendered hope of regaining his freedom, not even after he was convicted of a triple murder, then convicted again and abandoned by many prominent supporters.
For 19 long years, the prizefighter was locked in a prison cell far away from the spotlight and the adulation of the boxing ring. But when he at last won his biggest fight - for exoneration - he betrayed little bitterness. Instead, Carter dedicated much of his remaining life to helping other prisoners and exposing other injustices.
The middleweight title contender, whose murder convictions became an international symbol of racial injustice and inspired a Bob Dylan song and a Hollywood film, died Sunday. He was 76.
The New Jersey native, who had suffered from prostate cancer, died in his sleep at his home in Toronto, said John Artis, his former co-defendant and longtime friend and caregiver.
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PRO HOCKEY
CHICAGO (AP) - Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was suspended Sunday for three games for his hit on Blues center David Backes during their first-round playoff series.
Seabrook received a five-minute major and game misconduct penalty for a vicious elbow to Backes’ head late in the third period of Saturday’s Game 2. Backes had to be helped off the ice and did not return during St. Louis’ 4-3 overtime victory.
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PRO BASKETBALL
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The NBA said referees missed a foul call late in the Warriors’ Game 1 win that would have given the Clippers a chance to tie the score.
Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul lost the ball out of bounds with 18.9 seconds left Saturday and Golden State leading 107-105. Rod Thorn, the league’s president for basketball operations, said in a statement Sunday that the Warriors’ Draymond Green should have been whistled for a foul, which would have given Paul two free throws.
Instead, Golden State got the ball and went on to win 109-105 in Los Angeles to open the first-round playoff series.
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GOLF
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - Matt Kuchar overcame a four-stroke deficit to finally finish on top after nearly a month of close calls, his stunning chip-in on the 18th hole giving him a 64 and a one-shot victory over Luke Donald at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) - Michelle Wie rallied from four strokes back entering the day to shoot a 5-under 67 Saturday and win the LPGA LOTTE Championship.
The 24-year-old from Hawaii finished at 14-under 274 after coming into the final round trailing third-round leader Angela Stanford by four shots. It was Wie’s third career victory on the LPGA Tour, and first since taking the CN Canadian Women’s Open in 2010 - snapping a 79-event winless drought.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Lee Westwood ended a two-year winless drought with a seven-shot victory at the Malaysian Open.
After a four-hour delay due to the threat of lightning in the middle of the final round, Westwood went on to shoot a 4-under par 68 to complete an 18-under 270 at the Kuala Lumpur Country Club course for his 36th career victory.
Westwood led from start to finish in the co-sanctioned European and Asian Tour event that he also won in 1997.
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) - Miguel Angel Jimenez held off Bernhard Langer to win the Greater Gwinnett Championship, becoming only the third player to lead from start to finish in his Champions Tour debut.
Jimenez was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Masters and closed with a 67 to finish two strokes ahead of Langer. Jimenez went 32 consecutive holes without a bogey to finish the tournament at TPC Sugarloaf.
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SOCCER
LONDON (AP) - Liverpool secured a return to the Champions League on Sunday and a much bigger prize is just around the corner.
A first English championship in 24 years is within Liverpool’s grasp after a 3-2 win at Norwich, which was paced by Raheem Sterling’s two goals and a 30th goal of the season by Luis Suarez.
An 11th straight league win also ensured that the Reds will return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) - A team official says a goalkeeper has died after being kicked in the head during a championship tournament match in the West African country of Gabon.
Sylvain Azougoui of the AC Bongoville soccer club had just stopped a shot on goal, but the attacker lost his balance on the wet grass and stepped on the goalkeeper’s head.
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AUTO RACING
SHANGHAI (AP) - Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton captured his third straight Formula One race with ease on Sunday, leading from start to finish to win the Chinese Grand Prix.
Mercedes showed again that it’s in a different class from its rivals, with Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg taking second place - the third time in four races this season the pair have finished one-two.
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BOXING
WASHINGTON (AP) - Already the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest to win a unification bout Saturday night as he captured a split 12-round decision over Beibut Shumenov of Kazakhstan.
The announcement of the decision drew boos from the pro-Hopkins crowd. Two judges scored the fight 116-111 for the 49-year-old Hopkins. One judge scored it 114-113 for the 30-year-old Shumenov.
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MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Fabricio Werdum became the top contender for the UFC heavyweight title by winning a unanimous decision against Travis Browne in the main event of Saturday’s UFC card at the Amway Arena.
Werdum (18-5-1) earned his fourth victory since rejoining UFC. The judges scored it 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45 for the five-round bout, setting up a fight for Werdum against champion Cain Velasquez.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian is back home after spending 10 days in a Las Vegas hospital following a heart attack.
Danny Tarkanian says his father was “very tired” but “smiling” after being released Saturday from Valley Hospital.
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GYMNASTICS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Arkansas’ Katherine Grable captured two titles on the final day of the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships.
Grable, who was tied for second in the all-around, won the floor exercise championship in Sunday’s individual event competition and shared the vault title with LSU’s Rheagan Courville after qualifying as an individual. It was the first NCAA gymnastics title for Arkansas.
Florida’s Bridget Sloan, a 2008 Olympian, captured the third title of her career. She won the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.9375 after winning the all-around and balance beam titles last year. She had helped the Gators win a share of their second straight championship on Saturday night.
Co-champion Oklahoma also picked up one title after the first shared NCAA team championship in women’s gymnastics, courtesy of Taylor Spears on the balance beam.
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MOUNTAINEERING
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Nepal’s authorities temporarily halted climbing on Mount Everest while search teams dug through snow and ice Sunday for three Sherpa guides missing in the deadliest avalanche on the world’s highest peak that killed 13 others.
A section of the route over the dreaded Khumbu icefall, where the avalanche swept away a group of guides early Friday, has totally collapsed and a new trail has to be set, ropes fixed and aluminum ladders laid over the crevasses before climbing can resume, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Another group of Sherpas, who had already passed before the avalanche struck, were stranded on the other side and would only be able to get back to base camp once the new route is fixed, Tshering said.
Despite losing so many guides, there were no plans by expedition teams to abandon their attempt to climb the peak next month, he said.
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