BASEBALL
The Portland Sea Dogs were pushed to the brink of elimination from the Double-A Northeast playoff race Wednesday night, as their eight-game winning streak ended with a 14-7 loss to the Hartford Yard Goats, in Hartford, Connecticut.
Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes, making a rehab appearance for the Sea Dogs as he recovers from COVID-19, allowed two runs in the first inning. Hartford then broke it open with seven runs in the second inning against Chris Murphy and Emmanuel DeJesus.
Portland’s Ronaldo Hernandez homered twice and drove in four runs, and Ryan Fitzgerald hit a two-run homer for the Sea Dogs.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: Homestead-Miami Speedway will return to the playoff portion of the season in 2022, St. Louis was awarded a Cup Series race, and NASCAR will race on Easter Sunday for the first time in more than three decades in schedule changes released Wednesday.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway will again host one NASCAR Cup race, on Sunday, July 17.
Homestead hosted the season finale from 2002 through 2019 but was bumped to an early season race date last year as NASCAR began experimenting with long overdue schedule changes. Phoenix Raceway was awarded the finale in 2020 and is slated to host it for a third consecutive season next year. Homestead was given a second chance for 2022 with an Oct. 23 race date in the middle race of the third round of the playoffs. The track located 40 miles south of Miami Beach is beloved by drivers but lost its cache after 17 years of hosting the finale.
World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois across the Mississippi River from St. Louis will make its Cup debut on June 5. The 1.25-mile oval has held NASCAR national series races since 1997 and IndyCar the past six seasons. It is the only new track added to the 2022 Cup schedule.
The Cup Series schedule will again be 36 races, but Pocono Raceway lost one of its two dates. Pocono hosted two races a year from 1982 through 2021, but the races have been doubleheaders held on the same weekend the last two years.
COLLEGES
FIELD HOCKEY: Babson (2-0) scored three goals after a weather delay to pull away for a 4-1 win over the University of New England (2-2) in Biddeford.
UNE got a goal from Jillian Lachapelle and 12 saves from Lindsay Pych.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Gina Lukoskie, Madeline Khaw, Alianna West-Rodrigues and Katie Wojcik scored a goal apiece for Emerson (3-0) in a 4-1 win over St. Joseph’s (2-3) in Boston.
Madison Michaud tucked home a goal in the first half for St. Joseph’s. Monks keeper Adia Grogan made eight saves.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Paris Saint Germain’s formidable attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé was left frustrated by a spirited Club Brugge in a 1-1 draw in Brugge, Belgium.
• Jordan Henderson capped Liverpool’s second-half comeback with a brilliantly controlled finish to clinch a 3-2 win at home against AC Milan.
• Jack Grealish scored in his Champions League debut to help Manchester City earn a wild 6-3 win at home against Leipzig, despite a hat trick by Christopher Nkunku in the opening group-stage game.
• With Antoine Griezmann loudly jeered by the home fans, Atlético Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw against Porto.
Griezmann, back with Madrid after two seasons with rival Barcelona, came off the bench in the second half but couldn’t spark the hosts to victory. He was booed before the match and when he came onto the field, with most in the crowd at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium expressing their discontentment with how the France forward left the club.
Inter Milan was made to pay for its profligacy as a late goal from substitute Rodrygo saw Real Madrid snatch a 1-0 win in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
• Erling Haaland scored again to help Borussia Dortmund to a 2-1 win at Turkish champion Beşiktaş.
• Rodrygo scored in the 89th minute on what was only Real Madrid’s second shot on target, giving the visitors a 1-0 victory at Inter Milan.
• Sebastien Haller found the net four times for Ajax in a 5-1 win at Sporting Lisbon.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Jonquel Jones had 18 points and 13 rebounds, DeWanna Bonner also scored 18 points and the league-leading Connecticut Sun beat the visiting New York Liberty 98-69 for their 13th straight victory.
HOCKEY
NHL: Tyler Bozak re-signed with the St. Louis Blues, inking a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum of $750,000.
Bozak, now 35, was with the Blues in 2019 when they won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. He put up 13 points during that championship run.
Injuries, including a concussion, limited him to 31 games during the shortened 56-game season in 2021.
GOLF
RYDER CUP: Henrik Stenson will still have a role for Europe at the Ryder Cup despite failing to make the team.
The Swedish player was selected by European captain Padraig Harrington as the fifth and final vice captain for the event at Whistling Straits from Sept. 24-26. Stenson, 45, has played in five Ryder Cups, including the last three.
It will be Stenson’s first stint as a vice captain, and he joins Robert Karlsson, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell as assistants to Harrington.
OLYMPICS
KENYA CORRUPTION: Kenya’s former sports minister was convicted of corruption and abuse of office relating to the misuse of more than $800,000 that was meant for the country’s 2016 Olympic team.
Hassan Wario and former Kenyan Olympic committee official Stephen Soi, the 2016 team’s chef de mission, were both found guilty after some of the money set aside to pay for flights and accommodation at the Rio de Janeiro Games and fund the team’s preparations was misappropriated.
Magistrate Elizabeth Juma scheduled a sentencing hearing for Wario and Soi for Thursday. The two remained in custody.
Former Kenyan Olympic committee secretary general Francis Paul and three other sports ministry officials were acquitted.
There were allegations that corruption in the buildup and during the Rio Games was rife among Kenyan government and sports officials, who were accused of stealing money from the $5.7 million Olympic budget and some of the $700,000 given to the track and field federation by sponsor Nike.
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