Cycling
With two stages left, Horner takes Spanish Vuelta lead
OVIEDO, Spain – American veteran Christopher Horner took the overall lead of the Spanish Vuelta in a mountainous 19th stage won by Joaquim Rodriguez on Friday.
Entering the day in second place behind overnight leader Vincenzo Nibali, the 41-year-old Horner pulled away from the Giro d’Italia champion over the final uphill ascent to turn a 3-second deficit into a 3-second lead with just two days to go.
With Alejandro Valverde trailing by 1:06 in third, the event appears to have become a two-rider race.
Rodriguez, the Catalan rider for Katusha, got his first stage victory of this event with a winning time of 4 hours, 16 minutes, 13 seconds. Rodriguez is 1:57 off Horner’s pace in fourth, followed by Nicolas Roche at 3:49 back.
Next year’s Giro now has a finish to go with a start
TRIESTE, Italy – Next year’s Giro d’Italia will conclude with an ascent of the ultrasteep Monte Zoncolan in the penultimate stage, followed by a ride into the northeastern port city of Trieste.
Organizers unveiled the final two stages Friday after already announcing the race will begin May 10 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Stage 20 on May 31 will finish with the 6.3-mile climb up Monte Zoncolan, featuring an average gradient of 11.9 percent with stretches as steep as 20 percent. Riders also will face two difficult climbs before the Zoncolan in the 104-mile stage.
The race will end June 1 with a 105-mile stage from Gemona to Trieste, finishing on a city circuit.
The rest of the route will be unveiled Oct. 7.
Golf
Furyk joins elite PGA Tour company with a 59
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Jim Furyk became the sixth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59.
Needing a birdie on his final hole, Furyk dropped a wedge into just more than 3 feet and calmly rolled it in for a 12-under 59. It gave him a share of the lead at the BMW Championship.
Furyk now joins a small group with golf’s magic number on the PGA Tour. It was the first 59 since Stuart Appleby in the final round at The Greenbrier Classic in 2010.
The others with a 59 were Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval and Paul Goydos.
MLB
Bonds’ conviction upheld by a federal appeals court
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court Friday upheld former Giants slugger Barry Bonds’ obstruction of justice conviction stemming from rambling testimony he gave during a 2003 appearance before a grand jury investigating performance enhancing drug use among elite athletes.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Bonds’ testimony was “evasive” and capable of misleading investigators and hindering their probe into a performance enhancing drug ring centered at the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, better known as BALCO.
A jury convicted Bonds of a single felony count of obstruction.
If Bonds’ conviction stands, he will have to serve the 30 days of house arrest and two years of probation he was sentenced to after his 2011 trial. Prosecutors sought a 15-month prison sentence.
Tanaka’s Japanese record ups the ante for America
TOKYO – Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka won his 21st consecutive game to set a new Japanese professional baseball record for consecutive victories in one season.
Tanaka improved to 21-0 on Friday in the Rakuten Eagles’ 6-2 win over the Orix Buffaloes. The previous record of 20 was set in 1957 by Kazuhisa Inao.
The last time Tanaka lost was Aug. 19, 2012. Since then, the 24-year-old right-hander has won 25 in a row, one more than the MLB mark set by Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants from 1936 to 1937.
Many in Japan are suggesting that Tanaka will pursue a career in MLB after this season, a move that would make him the most sought-after Japanese export since Yu Darvish.
Associated Press
