Baseball: Canada is moving on
Chris Robinson, Adam Loewen and Jimmy Van Ostrand smacked home runs to lead Canada over Germany 11-1 yesterday to win a four-nation qualifying tournament for next year’s World Baseball Classic. Canadian pitcher Andrew Albers allowed the hosts only one hit in six innings for the victory in advancing to the 16-team field for next March’s global showdown of top talent, including North American Major League Baseball players.
Also advancing from a qualifying tournament was Spain, which edged Israel 9-7 in 10 innings to advance at Jupiter, Fla. South Africa and France were eliminated there while Britain and the Czech Republic were ousted in Germany.
HOOPS: Mystics say goodbye to Lacey
Trudi Lacey is finished as the general manager and coach of the Washington Mystics after a 5-29 season. The Mystics announced they will not renew Lacey’s contract after finishing this season with the WNBA’s worst record.
* Tony DiLeo was introduced as the Philadelphia 76ers’ new GM and he says he has the experience and ideas that can make the Sixers winners in the East. He’ll work alongside team president Rod Thorn.
SOCCER: Roma awarded 3-0 win
Roma has been awarded a 3-0 victory in its game at Cagliari, which was postponed on Sunday for safety reasons after the Sardinian club defied orders to play the Serie A match in an empty stadium. The Italian league announced its decision to punish Cagliari yesterday, saying that the club’s actions were “a blatant violation” of its rules.
* AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has been handed a one-match ban for insulting the referee at the end of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Udinese,
* Dynamo Kiev fired coach Yuri Semin.
lLee Nguyen has undergone shoulder surgery after being the only member of the New England Revolution to play in all 30 games this season.