MLB: Eight ejected after Mariners and Angels stage brawl

LOS ANGELES -- A Major League Baseball melee between the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners delayed Sunday's game and ended with the ejection of the manager and three players from each club.

Tensions regarding inside pitches thrown over the past two days boiled over when Seattle batter Jesse Winker was struck on the right hip by a 91.1-mph fastball from Angels pitcher Andrew Wantz in the top of the second inning at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Players cleared both benches and relief pitchers emptied the bullpens to join the ugly brawl in front of the Angels dugout down the third-base line.

The first skirmish lasted more than six minutes; the next resumed on the field and play was halted for about 17 minutes in all.

Issues swelled Saturday when Angels star Mike Trout dodged a 95-mph fastball from Seattle relief pitcher Erik Swanson, and then rose again Sunday when Wantz hurled a 92.9-mph fastball behind Seattle rookie Julio Rodriguez in the first inning, sparking warnings for both teams.

After outfielder Winker was struck by the ball, he held up his left hand and exchanged words with Wantz, and then took a few steps toward first base before running to the Angels dugout.

Home plate umpire John Bacon and third-base umpire Adrian Johnson tried to restrain Winker, who escaped them and ran to Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon. 

They threw their hands to each other's faces as players from both teams raced onto the field to join the fray.

The shoving and pushing saw multiple players dragged to the turf and once the fracas finally ended, players exchanged verbal taunts while the punishments were being determined.

Mariners manager Scott Servais and Angels interim manager Phil Nevin were ejected. So were Angels players Wantz, Raisel Iglesias and Ryan Tepera, and Seattle players Winker, Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford.

Jose Suarez, who was the original Angels pitcher before Wantz was inserted into the lineup Sunday, entered after Wantz was ejected and threw six innings in the Angels' 2-1 eventual victory.

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Swimming to set up 'open category' for transgender athletes

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Swimming intends to set up an 'open category' to allow transgender athletes to compete in a separate class at the elite level, Husain Al-Musallam, president of governing body FINA, announced on Sunday. 

The policy will, however, exclude many transgender athletes from women's elite swimming. 

"I do not want any athlete to be told they cannot compete at the highest level," Al-Musallam told an extraordinary congress of his organization. 

"I will set up a working group to set up an open category at our meets. We will be the first federation to do that." 

He was speaking after FINA unveiled a policy on inclusivity which was then approved by the members. 

Brent Nowicki, FINA's CEO, said the organization was determined to maintain separate men's and women's competition. 

He added that FINA "recognizes that certain individuals may not be able to compete in the category that best aligns with their legal gender alignment or gender identity." 

Under the rules, he said, male competition would be open to all.

But "male-to-female transgender athletes and intersex athletes can only compete as female athletes in FINA competition, or set a world record, if they can prove they have not experienced any element of male puberty." 

In the debate that followed, Dr Christer Magnusson, a Swedish member of FINA's medical committee, was among those who complained that the implication was that boys aged as young as 10 would have to decide to start transitioning. 

Last year, the International Olympic Committee announced guidelines but asked federations to produce their own 'sport-specific' rule. 

FINA set up three expert committees, one medical, one legal and one of athletes, to look at the issue. 

The medical committee found that men who transitioned to woman retained advantages. 

"Some of the advantages males acquire in puberty are structural and are not lost with hormone suppression," said Dr Sandra Hunter of the Marquette University in Milwaukee. 

"These include larger lungs and hearts, longer bones, bigger feet and hands." 

The legal experts concluded that the policy of excluding most transgender swimmers would be legal. 

They were "necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate objective," said London-based barrister James Drake. 

For the swimmers, Cate Campbell, an Australian four-time Olympic gold medalist said: "My role is to stand here today and tell trans people we want you to be part of the broader swimming community ... but also to stand here and say... 'listen to the science'." 

In the United States, swimming has moved to the center of the debate over transgender women competing against natal women, as Lia Thomas has become the face of the issue. 

Thomas, a freestyle specialist, competed for the University of Pennsylvania, men's team from 2017-19. 

After transitioning and undergoing required hormone therapy, she raced on the women's team this season. 

Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win an elite US collegiate title when she edged Olympic medley silver medalist Emma Weyant in the 500m freestyle in Atlanta in March. 

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Tennis: No sweat as impressive Kyrgios sees off Tsitsipas

HALLE WESTFALEN, Germany -- Nick Kyrgios impressively rallied past Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Halle grass court tournament on Wednesday to hammer home his status as a Wimbledon threat but only after a spat with the chair umpire over sweating.

Kyrgios defeated world number six Tsitsipas 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach a second successive quarter-final after also making the last eight in Stuttgart five days ago.

The 27-year-old smashed his racquet after losing the opener after saving three set points.

He then got into a minor spat with the chair umpire in the third game of the second set, landing himself with a warning for time-wasting.

"He said I was playing too slow - statistically I'm one of the fastest," Kyrgios said. 

"I had to walk to the sidelines to get my towel, there is this thing called sweat in 30 Celsius heat that runs down onto your hands.

"I needed to wipe my hands and he gave me a warning."

Kyrgios immediately sat down mid-game on his bench and thrashed the point out with the chair before returning to the court amid cheers.

"The support I get from crowds around the world is amazing. They want me to go out and put on a show," he said.

Kyrgios called what he judged a frivolous warning "an unnecessary part of the game. It's not needed in a stadium full of people".

"I later hit two aces just to prove my point."

Kyrgios, who has played only five events this season outside of Australia, said he is proud of winning on his own terms - without a coach and playing only when it suits him - while still keeping his ranking at its current 65th.

"There needs to be more grass events for sure, I've been talking about it for ages," he said after defeating the second seeded Greek while saving seven of eight break points in just over two hours.

"If we had six grass court tournaments in Australia, I'd never leave the country."

Kyrgios will play a Friday quarter-final against Pablo Carreno Busta after the Spanish sixth seed beat Sebastian Korda 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

The Australian said that his lack of a massive tennis work ethic is actually a help to his game.

"If I can beat some of the best players in the world and play at this level with as few events as I play, I'm pretty happy.

"I've got a lot of people whom I'm playing for back home and they all want me to keep winning matches like this. This just proves that you can do it all your own way."

Agence France-Presse

Justin Bieber says he's suffering from facial paralysis

NEW YORK — Justin Bieber on Friday told fans in a video posted on Instagram that he's been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which is causing him partial facial paralysis.

The 28-year-old pop singer recently announced he was pausing his Justice World Tour due to illness, hours before his first slated concert in Toronto.

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is a complication of shingles that occurs when an outbreak impacts the facial nerve near one ear. In addition to facial paralysis, it can cause hearing loss.

"As you can see, this eye is not blinking, I can't smile on this side of my face, this nostril will not move," Bieber explained in a video.

"So, there’s full paralysis on this side of my face. So for those who are frustrated by my cancellations of the next shows, I'm just physically, obviously, not capable of doing them. This is pretty serious, as you can see."

The "Peaches" singer said he was doing facial exercises and taking time to "rest and relax and get back to 100 percent so I can do what I was born to do."

He did not give an estimated timeline for his recovery.

It's the third instance Bieber's tour has been postponed, the first two due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

Lettuce shortage forces Australia KFC to switch to cabbage

SYDNEY, Australia - Fried chicken chain KFC said Tuesday that high lettuce prices in Australia have forced it to switch to a cabbage mix in burgers and other products, prompting customers to complain the result is less than "finger lickin' good".

The local price of the verdant leaf has soared by as much as 300 percent in recent months, forcing the fast-food chain to tweak the Colonel's recipe in some stores.

"We're currently experiencing a lettuce shortage. So, we're using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice," the company told customers.

The company blamed widespread flooding in the country's east for the problem.

But supply chain expert Flavio Macau of Edith Cowan University said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was also a factor, pushing up diesel and fertilizer prices.

A single head of iceberg lettuce in Sydney or Melbourne that once sold for about $2 now goes for close to $8.

The company told customers: "If that's not your bag, simply click 'customise' on your chosen product and remove lettuce from the recipe :)"

The change was certainly not the "bag" of some social media users.

"The fact that you are replacing lettuce with cabbage makes me rethink my whole meal at KFC. There's 4 or 5 other things I would eat before cabbage Its such a weird choice," said one disgruntled tweeter.

"Feels like a sign of the apocalypse," said another.

Agence France-Presse

Haney blasts Kambosos as ‘not a true champion’ after missing weight

George Kambosos was slammed Saturday as not “a true champion” after initially failing to make the weight for his clash with Devin Haney to become the unified and undisputed lightweight world champion.

Unbeaten American Haney, the long-time WBC title holder who holds a 27-0 record, hit the scales at 134.92 pounds (61.19 kg) for Sunday’s blockbuster bout in Melbourne.

But when Australian Kambosos, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, stepped up he was 0.36 pounds overweight for the 135-pound limit fight.

After first changing his underwear then stripping naked in a bid to make the grade, he was given the mandatory two hours to lose the extra ounces.

Kambosos, also unbeaten at 20-0, returned 75 minutes later to weigh in at 134.49, but Haney was incredulous.

“He sucked up, he’s dry. But I’m a true champion and true champions make weight,” said the American who also got a huge boost with his father and lead trainer Bill granted an 11th hour visa.

Bill Haney had initially been denied permission to enter Australia over a three-decade-old drug conviction.

Haney, who easily defended his WBC title for a fourth time in December, winning by a unanimous decision over challenger Joseph Diaz, is considered favorite for the bout at Marvel Stadium in front of an expected 50,000 fans.

On the line are the lightweight titles of the sport’s four sanctioning bodies — WBA, IBF, WBO and WBC — for the first time in modern boxing history.

Whoever wins will be crowned the first undisputed lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker in 1992 and the first ever in the four-belt era, which began in 2004.

Kambosos, who honed his craft as a former sparring partner of the great Manny Pacquiao, is currently the WBA, IBF and WBO champion after stunning Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in November.

He claimed coming in overweight was part of his plan to unsettle Haney.

“Art of war, baby. Deception. Let them believe everything,” he said. “Everything is for a cause, everything is for a process.

“It changes his mindset now. Bring it on, I’m ready.”

Kambosos had originally been in talks to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko in his first title defense, but the plans fell through when the Ukrainian opted to stay in his homeland after Russia invaded.

Agence France-Presse 

Tennis: Zverev downs Alcaraz to reach French Open semi-final after thriller

PARIS, France -- Alexander Zverev beat Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic four-set clash on Tuesday to secure a French Open semi-final meeting with Rafael Nadal.

The German third seed claimed a 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory over 19-year-old Spanish sensation Alcaraz after three hours and 18 minutes.

Zverev moved into his second straight last-four match at Roland Garros with his first-ever Grand Slam win over a top-10 player.

"I hope I can win it before he starts beating us all and we have no chance," said Zverev.

"The match was swinging his way. I'm extremely happy to win the tie-break."

The 2020 US Open runner-up will face 13-time champion Nadal in the semis on Friday.

Alcaraz has won four titles this year, including two Masters 1,000 events, but made 56 unforced errors as he missed the chance to reach a first major semi-final.

Instead, Olympic champion Zverev reached the last four at a Slam for the fifth time in his career to maintain his bid for a maiden title at one of the sport's four biggest events.

It also gave him a measure of revenge for the heavy defeat he suffered against Alcaraz in the Madrid Masters final earlier this month.

Alcaraz delighted the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd with a rally to take the third set.

A dramatic fourth set saw Zverev miss a chance to serve out the tie, but he sealed victory on his second match point in the tie-break.

- Zverev holds off fightback -

Alcaraz paid for making 16 unforced errors as Zverev took the opener thanks to the only break in game five.

It was the world number three who drew first blood in the second set too, as Alcaraz netted on a second break point in the seventh game, before a confident hold to love gave Zverev a 5-3 advantage.

Alcaraz managed to lift himself for an attack on Zverev's next service game, but the German saved a break opportunity and managed to close it out for a two-set buffer on his third set point with an ace.

The crowd tried to lift Alcaraz as he started his attempt to come back from two sets down and win for the first time in his young career.

He did improve slightly and held his first four service games without trouble, before digging deep to save a break point in the ninth game of the third set to edge 5-4 in front.

That brush with the exit door energised the youngster, and he quickly brought up two set points with a brilliant passing shot.

He needed just one to force a fourth set, breaking Zverev for the first time as the 25-year-old prodded wide.

Alcaraz looked the more likely to make a breakthrough for much of the next set, but Zverev, aided by one incredible backhand, made a move in the ninth game when his opponent double-faulted on a second break point.

But Zverev failed to serve out the match, as Alcaraz hammered a magnificent return into the corner and then whipped away a backhand to break straight back.

A tie-break of the highest quality ensued, with both players hitting a series of breath-taking winners.

A stunning backhand up the line gave Alcaraz the first set point, but he mishit into the net.

Zverev netted on his first match point but quickly brought up a second, which he took with a thunderous backhand return.

Agence France-Presse