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Warriors heavy favorites over Raptors for Finals
With or without Kevin Durant, the Golden State Warriors are the favorites in the NBA Finals for a fifth consecutive year.
Caesars Sportsbook installed the two-time defending champion Warriors as -320 favorites to beat the Toronto Raptors in the Finals. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday in Toronto. Golden State opened as a 1-point road favorite in Game 1.
The Warriors are entering their fifth consecutive Finals. They were favored in the past four Finals series, all coming against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and won three of the past four titles.
Durant missed all four games of the Warriors' sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals with a calf injury. He is unlikely to play in Game 1, Golden State said Thursday. Regardless, the Warriors are heavy favorites.
Late Saturday night, the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas opened Golden State as a -275 favorite in the Finals. SuperBook executive director John Murray told ESPN that the price reflected the possibility of Durant playing in the series. The Warriors have won 31 of their past 32 games when Stephen Curry plays and Durant does not. They are 34-4 in those games overall.
The SuperBook raised the price on Golden State to -310 minutes after posting.
"[We] took a bet at -275 right away," Murray said in a text message.
Toronto opened as a +260 underdog in the series at Caesars Sportsbook. In the past eight Finals, only last season's Cavaliers were larger underdogs to start than the Raptors.
Toronto erased an 0-2 deficit to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals and advanced to the franchise's first NBA Finals with a comeback victory in Saturday night's Game 6.
The Raptors won both meetings with the Warriors this season: 131-128 in overtime in Toronto on Nov. 29 and 113-93 in Oakland, California, on Dec. 12.
After struggling through his shortest outing of the season, Angels right-hander Matt Harvey was placed on the 10-day injured list with an upper back strain.
Harvey gave up eight runs on seven hits, including four home runs, in just 2⅔ innings against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
The 30-year-old deemed the "embarrassing" loss one of the worst starts of his career, but did not blame his struggles on an injury immediately following the game.
Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, told The Los Angeles Times on Saturday that the righty developed a muscular issue in his upper back during his start Thursday, but said it was "not anything long term."
Angels manager Brad Ausmus also told reporters Saturday that Harvey's back started acting up during the start, but said Harvey kept the injury to himself.
Harvey signed a one-year, $11 million deal in the offseason. His 7.50 ERA would rank highest among American League starters, though he doesn't have enough innings pitched in his 10 starts to qualify among the leaders.
In a series of other moves involving right-handers Saturday, the Angels reinstated Luis Garcia, recalled Taylor Cole from Triple-A and optioned Luke Bard to Salt Lake.
Garcia returns after going on the injured list May 13 with a lumbar spine muscle spasm.
Cole was sent down to Salt Lake only Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will call up right-hander Mitch Keller, the organization's top pitching prospect, to make his major league debut Monday, according to multiple reports.
According to MLB.com, which first reported the news, the Pirates plan to start Keller in one of the games of Monday's doubleheader at the Cincinnati Reds.
Keller, 23, was ranked as the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball by ESPN's Keith Law in January. Law ranked him second in the Pirates' system behind third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (No. 18 overall).
Pittsburgh selected Keller in the second round of the 2014 draft. He's 5-0 in nine starts with a 3.45 ERA for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.
Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price exited Saturday night's start at Houston in the first inning with flu-like symptoms, the team said.
Price threw just 15 pitches. He retired the first two batters before giving up a single, after which manager Alex Cora came to the mound for a discussion, and Price left the game.
It was his second start after returning from a stint on the injured list with elbow tendinitis, though Cora reaffirmed during an interview on Fox's game broadcast that Price's early exit was not due to any arm injury.
"It's not his arm. He's been battling the flu for four days and his progression throughout the week wasn't the right one," Cora said. "We were proactive."
Price said after the game, a 4-3 Boston loss, that he wanted to keep pitching when Cora came out to visit the mound.
"I could have just ducked this start from the get-go. I didn't want do that; I didn't want to put is in that position," Price said. "I went out out there are tried to take the ball and AC didn't like what he saw so he took me out of the game. I wanted to stay in the game.
Cora said Price was "too valuable" to risk a further setback, saying the pitcher had been ill since before his first start following his return from the IL.
"He's been battling since the start in Toronto. It wasn't a normal week for him. I talked to him before the game and said, 'We don't need heroes here.' ...
"When he came in after he warmed up Sandy (Leon) talked to me a little bit. (Pitching coach) Dana (LeVangie) talked to be a little bit. I saw him and talked to him. As soon as he went out there and threw the first pitch my mind started spinning. We didn't need this. This guy is too valuable. ...
"There was no energy. He was trying to compete with that. I appreciate that like I told him, but there's a bigger picture here. We need this guy to be right. Shame on me if he makes a pitch and something happens. That was going to be on me."
Colten Brewer replaced Price out of the bullpen and got out of the inning.
ESPN's Joon Lee contributed to this story.
Athletes ready to race for masters mile titles in London
Angela Copson could break a UK record as the Vitality Westminster Mile incorporates the British Masters Championships
While the major attention will be on the senior performances by the likes of Laura Muir and Chris O’Hare, Sunday’s Vitality Westminster Mile also holds the British Masters Championships and there are separate men’s and women’s masters races with a record entry of 278 runners.
The British Masters Athletic Federation (BMAF) only recently set up record times over the road mile and there should be a number of UK records at Westminster.
The main men’s race should be competitive but there is little chance of records given the previous fast quality runs of James Thie and Anthony Whiteman.
A time of 4:30 is likely with M35 Andy Graham, M40s Mick Hill, Mark Wynne and Craig Sharp and M45 Simon Coombes all capable of that sort of time on their best track form.
Also likely to be close to the front is world masters indoor 800m and 1500m champion Mark Symes and the UK M50 record looks on borrowed time with Andrew Haines also capable of bettering the 4:44 mark.
The M55 race looks competitive with little between Rob Andrew, Chris Ireland, Tony Tuohy and Anthony Roper.
One other men’s record in danger is the M65 mark with Nigel Gates, who set an indoor 3000m mark in winning the British title in the winter, though the 800m and 1500m champions Kevin Archer and Dave Bedwell are also capable of records if Gates falters.
The women’s race is likely to see a battle between last year’s winner Charlene Jacobs-Conradie and world masters indoor 1500m and 3000m champion Zoe Doyle.
One interesting entry is Olympic marathoner Alyson Dixon who hopes for a time of around five minutes but is not known for her speed and is making a step up to ultra running.
Last year, Clare Elms was only a fraction behind Jacobs-Conradie in setting a W50 record and the W55 mark should be well within her range this time.
The most sure fire record though will be in the W70 category as Angela Copson (pictured) could take close to a minute off the current record and she will be a huge favourite for the overall age-grading award given to the top male or female.
Other favourites include M60 Alastair Walker, M85 Richard Pitcairn-Knowles, W50 Sue McDonald, W60 Anna Garnier and W65 Ros Tabor.
Full details of the results of these races will be given on the AW website and in the magazine.
Men’s UK road mile records
M35 James Thie 4:09 Cardiff 24.5.14
M40 Anthony Whiteman 4:08 London 24.5.15
M45 Anthony Whiteman 4:08 London 28.5.17
M50 Andrew Ridley 4:44 Cardiff 3.10.15
M55 John Thomson 4:48 Markinch 6.5.14
M60 Martin Rees 5:00 Cardiff 2.5.14
M65 Peter Molloy 5:27 Cardiff 4.10.14
M70 Brian James 5:47 Ealing 2.6.17
M75 Victor Shirley 6:16 Scunthorpe 17.8.18
M80 Edmond Simpson 7:38 Cardiff 30.9.17
M85 Eric Shirley 9:29 London 29.5.16
Women’s UK road mile records
W35 Helen Clitheroe 4:39 Newcastle 18.9.10
W40 Helen Clitheroe 4:35 London 24.5.14
W45 Clare Elms 5:00 Battersea 20.6.10
W50 Clare Elms 5:16 London 27.5.18 (chip time 5:13
W55 Jane Clarke 5:38 London 14.6.15
W60 Breege Nordin 6:06 London 19.6.16
W65 Ros Tabor 6:15 London 24.5.15
W70 Patricia Gallagher 7:31 Cardiff 1.10.16
W75 Anne Martin 7:39 Cardiff 4.10.14
W80 Ruth Anderson 10:16 South Shields 3.11.15
Ethan Hussey among athletes to impress at Manchester BMC GP
PB performance at the British Milers’ Club Grand Prix puts the teenager second on the UK under-17 1500m all-time list
Teenager Ethan Hussey moved to second on the UK under-17 1500m all-time list after improving his personal best to 3:46.45 at the British Milers’ Club Grand Prix meeting at SportCity, Manchester, Kevin Fahey reports.
Running in the A race the 16-year-old from Leeds finished strongly to carve almost four seconds from his personal best set last year and move up 16 places – overtaking the likes of Steve Cram and Charlie Da’Vall Grice in the process – in the British rankings with only Matthew Shirling ahead of him on 3:44.11.
Hussey finished sixth in the race which was won by Matthew Wigelsworth in a PB of 3:44.03.
Another top performance came in the men’s 800m as 18-year-old Oliver Dustin not only raced to his first Grand Prix A victory but also set a PB of 1:48.01 which took him inside the European U20 Championships qualifying standard of 1:49.00
Runner-up Alex Botterill also finished inside that standard, clocking 1:48.46.
Other juniors to achieve qualifying standards for the European U20s in Sweden included Erin Wallace in the 1500m (4:18.94), Grace Brock in the 3000m (16:08.82) and Rory Leonard in the 5000m (14:16.35), with the latter pair both making their debuts at the distance.
The men’s 5000m was won by Petros Surafel, whose PB of 13:52.79 was inside the European U23 Championships qualifying standard of 13:53.
British internationals Lynsey Sharp and Jess Judd were both winners, Sharp winning the 800m in 2:06.56 and Judd holding off a spirited challenge from Claire Duck with 15:39.00.
Chengdu the ultimate destination, Bora Bora the start of journey
by Ian Marshall, Editor
Third place in 2016 when the tournament was staged in Melbourne, Jian Fang Lay seeks three in a row, she won in 2017 in Fiji and last year in Vanuatu.
In Bora Bora, she appears in a group alongside New Zealand’s Cheng Zhiyin, Fiji’s Grace Rosi Yee and Tahiti’s Cyrine Sam; in the adjacent group the names are those of New Zealand’s Zhou Jiayi, Australia’s Parleen Kaur, Fiji’s Sally Yee and Tahiti’s Melveen Richmond.
Jian Fang Lay is the clear favourite but as in the men’s singles event there is an opportunity to recover; the players finishing in the first three places advance to the second phase played on a knock-out basis. Additionally a play-off for third place will be held.
Also very much at the vanguard of the host nation’s hopes last year in Gold Coast, the irrepressible Heming Hu starts the favourite in the men’s singles event. Likewise his ultimate goal is Chengdu and a place in the Men’s World Cup, also to be held in October.
He appears in the same group as New Zealand’s Dean Shu, Tahiti’s Ocean Belrose and New Caledonia’s Arthur Mas. In the counterpart group, very much the name to note is that of New Zealand’s Nathan Xu, a familiar face on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit. He lines up alongside Australia’s Rohan Dhooria, Vanuatu’s Yoshua Shing and Vicky Wu.
Meanwhile, in addition to the ITTF-Oceania Cup, the Pacific Cup will be once against staged, an event for which players from the two major land masses of Australia and New Zealand are not eligible.
A total prize fund at the ITTF-Oceania Cup of AU$40,000.00 (US$ 27692.00) is on offer.
Bangkok highlights: Frenchman repeats first week form
Meanwhile, in the men’s doubles and women’s doubles events the finalists were determined; in the under 21 men’s singles and under 21 women’s singles competitions, the champions were crowned.
Men’s Singles
…………The no.10 seed, Frenchman Andrea Landrieu caused the biggest upset; after overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yan-Cheng (8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7), he accounted for Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira, the no.2 seed (11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 12-10).
…………Korea Republic’s Seo Hyundeok, absent in recent times from the international scene, underlined his undoubted talent; he ended the progress of Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw (11-5, 1012, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8), before ousting colleague, Cho Jaeun (11-7, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7) to reserve his place in the semi-finals.
…………Yuta Tanaka, the no.13 seed, emerged from the precipice of defeat in the fifth game against Japanese colleague Mizuki Oikawa, the no.4 seed (11-8, 7-11, 12-14, 4-11, 15-13, 11-9, 11-7), before recording a quarter-final success in opposition to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tai-Wei (11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7).
…………Germany’s Ruwen Filus ended day the highest ranked player to reach the penultimate round but he almost came to grief. The no.3 seed, prior to overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Yeh Chih-Wei (11-5, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9), he had to recover from a three games to nil deficit against Abdel-Kader Salifou of France (11-5, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9).
…………In the penultimate round Seo Hyundeok faces Yuta Tanaka, Ruwen Filus confronts Andrea Landrieu.
Women’s Singles
…………Hitomi Sato, justified her top seeded position; she beat Korea Republic’s Yoon Hyobin (11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-2) and Japanese colleague Mitsuho Kimura (11-7, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4) to reserve her penultimate round place.
…………Honoka Hashimoto, the no.3 seed, broke Thai hearts; after overcoming compatriot Ayane Morita (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9), by the very narrowest of margins, she ousted Orawan Paranang, the no.14 seed (8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9).
…………Sakura Mori caused the biggest quarter-final surprise; following success against French teenager Camille Lutz, the no.7 seed, she overcame Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut, the no.4 seed (11-8, 11-5, 12-10, 11-5) and thus guaranteed an all Japanese semi-final line up.
…………Saki Shibata, the no.2 seed, made intentions clear; she accounted for Korea Republic’s Hwang Jina (12-10, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9) and colleague Ayami Narumoto (11-3, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-4) to reserve her semi-final place.
…………At the semi-final stage Hitomi Sato meets Honoka Hashimoto; Saki Shibata opposes Sakura Mori.
Men’s Doubles
…………Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin and Wang Tai-Wei, the no.8 seeds, meet Germany’s Ruwen Filus and Steffen Mengel, the no.5 seeds in the final.
…………At the semi-final stage Feng Yi-Hsin and Wang Tai-Wei beat Japan’s Mizuki Oikawa and Kohei Sambe, the no.6 seeds (11-6, 11-7, 12-14, 5-11, 11-4). Ruwen Filus and Steffen Mengel ended the hopes of the host nation. They overcame Padasak Tanviriyavechakul and Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon, the no.3 seeds (11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4)
Women’s Doubles
…………An all Japanese final awaits; qualifiers Ayane Morita and Yuka Umemura meet Satsuki Odo and Saki Shibata, the no.2 seeds.
…………In the penultimate round Ayane Morita and Yuka Umemura caused a major upset, they beat colleagues Hitomi Sato and Honoka Hashimoto, the top seeds (13-11, 6-11, 11-2, 12-10.
Under 21 Men’s Singles
…………Chinese Taipei’s Li Hsin-Yu, required to qualify, emerged successful. After overcoming Korea Republic’s Oh Minseo (13-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7), he accounted for Japan’s Masaki Takami (15-13, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7) to secure the title.
Under 21 Women’s Singles
…………Japan’s Yuka Umemura, the no.8 seed, accounted for 14 year old Prithika Pavade of France, qualifier (11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8) to secure the top prize. At the semi-final stage Yuka Umemura had beaten compatriot Maki Shiomi, the top seed (6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9).
Camille Serme Joins Egyptian trio in British Open finals
Nouran Gohar savours the moment as she beats Nour El Tayeb to reach the Allam British Open final
Studies help Nouran Gohar to focus on her squash
By SEAN REUTHE in Hull
France’s World No.4 Camille Serme will be the only non-Egyptian in action on finals day at the 2019 Allam British Open as she overcame England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry at Hull’s Allam Sports Centre earlier today to earn her spot in the title deciders alongside Egyptian trio Nouran Gohar, Ali Farag and Mohamed ElShorbagy.
Serme became the first Frenchwoman ever to win the sport’s longest-running tournament when she beat former World No.1 Laura Massaro in 2015, and she will have another opportunity to etch her name into the history books after getting the better of World No.6 Perry by a 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11 scoreline.
Perry, the 2017 champion, had her chances and led 7-3 in the fourth, but a tenacious performance from Serme saw her take a win which sees her reach a first PSA World Tour Platinum final since January 2017. Serme will play 2016 runner-up Gohar in the women’s final.
“It was difficult today, she had a lot cheering, but the crowd were very fair, they enjoy good squash, and even though the English player didn’t win, they clapped at the end,” said Serme.
“Sarah-Jane was playing better [in the fourth], she was finding her length and I was trying to get in front of her again. It seems I play better when I’m behind.
Sarah-Jane Perry leads the applause as Camille Serme wins their semi-final battle
“She [Gohar] has been playing very well for the last few months and she’s in very good form. I’m looking forward to a good battle, and I’ll be ready for it.”
Gohar followed up a semi-final dismantling of World No.1 Raneem El Welily with a superb display against World No.3 Nour El Tayeb to earn a place in a second Platinum tournament in a row.
The World No.7 has been in fine form recently after advancing all the way to the El Gouna International title decider last month and the hard-hitting 21-year-old outplayed El Tayeb to earn an 11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9 victory.
Gohar, a construction engineering student at the American University in Cairo, sat her final university exams in the build up to the tournament, but says her lack of preparation for the tournament has been a blessing in disguise rather a hindrance.
“I had my final exams before coming here, so I wasn’t playing that much squash, I was just studying a lot,” the Egyptian said.
“I think it helped today and throughout the week. Sometimes when you don’t play so much squash, you’re really fresh, moving on court fast and have new ideas. I think that was the case today.”
Ali Farag (right) battles past Paul Coll to reach his first British Open final
In the men’s draw, the world’s top two players – Ali Farag and Mohamed ElShorbagy – will do battle after they defeated World No.6 Paul Coll and World No.4 Karim Adel Gawad, respectively.
Farag will appear in his 10th PSA final of the season – and third in a row – after prevailing in a thrilling 77-minute encounter with New Zealand’s Coll to reach the British Open final for the first time.
The duo put on a semi-final clash befitting of one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, with Coll playing some accurate squash to take the opener. Farag stayed calm though and some incredible retrieving from the 27-year-old saw him finally get the better of his opponent by an 10-12, 11-7, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7 scoreline.
“It is unfair to talk about it [this match] in just a few sentences. It is one of those matches that you are going to remember forever,” Farag admitted.
“Win or lose, you would have been proud to have been a part of it. I think Paul and I represented our sport very well and we did our sport proud. Also, what an occasion to do it, on semi finals day at the British Open.”
Mohamed ElShorbagy laps up the applause after winning his semi-final
Farag and ElShorbagy will now meet for the fifth time this season after ElShorbagy displayed some of his best squash against Gawad to earn an 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 victory.
Gawad was suffering with a shoulder injury sustained during his 89-minute quarter-final with Germany’s Simon Rösner and never really got going as he fell victim to an immaculate performance from ElShorbagy, World No.2.
ElShorbagy hasn’t dropped a game all tournament and will appear in his fourth British Open final after winning the event in 2015 and 2016, and reaching the final last year against Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez.
“Ali had to go through a lot of tests today, and again he passed the test,” said ElShorbagy.
“At the end of the day, he is the one in the final and I am the one who has to face him. You have to forget the rest of the tournament and now there is one big match tomorrow and there will only be one winner.”
2019 Allam British Open, University of Hull Sports and Fitness Centre, Hull, England.
Men’s Semi-Finals:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [4] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7 (77m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (47m)
Men’s Final:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
Women’s Semi-Finals:
[7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9 (45m)
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11 (52m)
Women’s Final:
[7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [4] Camille Serme (FRA)
Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA PR and Media Manager). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
Pictures courtesy of PSA
England narrowly missed out on reaching the Cup quarter-finals as they hosted the latest World Rugby Sevens Series event in London.
England needed to beat New Zealand by at least 10 points in Saturday's final game but had to settle for a 17-12 win.
That meant New Zealand and Ireland progressed from Pool C for Sunday's Cup knockout stage at Twickenham.
It also saw New Zealand join the United States and Fiji in clinching qualification for the 2020 Olympics.
There is still one place available via the World Rugby Series, with the London Sevens the penultimate event of the 2018-19 series.
But South Africa are ahead of England in the overall standings in fourth and won all three games on Saturday to reach the Cup quarter-finals as Pool A winners.
If England fail to finish in the top four they can still earn Team GB a place at Tokyo 2020 via a European qualifying tournament in July.
The hosts suffered a losing start to the day as they were upset 21-17 by Ireland, who were invited to take part before becoming a core team for the 2019-20 series.
England won their next two games to finish level on points with New Zealand and Ireland while Scotland, who are 10th in the overall standings, were bottom of Pool C after losing all three games.
Wales are 14th and beat Spain 21-17 to avoid finishing bottom of Pool D. The team that finishes 15th - the lowest core team - will be relegated for 2019-20.
Japan are currently 15th and they face Wales in Sunday's Challenge Trophy quarter-finals, while England play Samoa and Scotland take on Kenya. Ireland face three-time series winners Fiji in the Cup quarter-finals.
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