Cycling
PRAIA A MARE, Italy – Italian rider Diego Ulissi won the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday by attacking on a climb shortly before the finish, while Tom Dumoulin crossed second to reclaim the overall lead.
Returning to Italy after three stages in the Netherlands, Ulissi put an Italian stamp on the race after the Dutchman Dumoulin took the opening time trial and Marcel Kittel of Germany won the first two sprints.
Ulissi, who rides for the Lampre team, stood up out of his saddle and attacked on the steepest section of the short Fortino climb with 6.2 miles to go. He then maintained his lead on the descent to the finish along the Calabrian seaside.
Horse Racing
NEW YORK – NBC’s audience for Nyquist’s victory in the Kentucky Derby fell by a half-million viewers a year after American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
Although racing was hoping for a rise in popularity on the heels of a Triple Crown, NBC said Tuesday that Saturday’s Derby averaged 15½ million viewers with 9.0 rating and 21 share. The 2015 Derby drew an average of 16 million viewers and a 9.6/23.
Nyquist, named for hockey player Gustav Nyquist, may have helped NBC’s ratings for Game 5 of the Penguins-Capitals NHL playoff series. Televised after the Derby, it ranked as the second most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final game in at least 23 years, averaging 4.2 million viewers.
MLB
WASHINGTON – Major League Baseball said it will review Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper’s confrontation with an umpire to decide whether he should be disciplined.
Harper was ejected by plate umpire Brian Knight while in the dugout during the ninth inning of Washington’s 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
When someone is tossed from a game in the majors, he is required to leave the dugout.
Moments after Monday’s ejection, pinch hitter Clint Robinson hit a tiebreaking, game-ending home run, and Harper ran onto the field with his teammates to celebrate. Harper pointed toward Knight and cursed at the umpire.
Soccer
GENEVA – Despite FIFA’s ongoing image crisis fueled by corruption cases, membership of the organization remains a goal being pursued with passion.
Still, joining soccer’s world body – gaining entry to World Cup qualifying and million-dollar FIFA funding – can create new political problems on and off the field, including for players.
On Friday, the 209 national soccer federations who make up FIFA should add two more members at a meeting in Mexico City.
Kosovo and Gibraltar can expect to join the club, and then be fast-tracked into the 2018 World Cup qualifying groups which kick off in September.
Kosovo’s case is the more complex, posing the question of who is able to play for the largely ethnic Albanian former enclave of Serbia.
It could see a wave of transfer requests to FIFA from players who opted to represent countries, including Albania and Switzerland, before Kosovo started to get international soccer recognition just two years ago.
The Swiss federation led calls to delay taking Kosovo into UEFA. Its European Championship squad next month should have several Kosovo-eligible players, including midfield stars Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, aged 24 and 23, respectively.
Associated Press
