09142016 sports by tribune242

SPORTS SECTION E

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

SOFTBALL

NPSA, Page 2

New look Heat to hold 2nd training camp at Atlantis By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

he new look Miami Heat, without the services of All-Star guard Dwayne Wade, will be returning to the Bahamas for another training camp before the start of the National Basketball Association’s 2016/17 regular season. The Heat, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, confirmed that they would hold their second training camp at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island September 27 through October 1. While the camp sessions in the Grand Ballroom at the Atlantis Conference Centre will be closed to the public, the Heat revealed

that a camp session would be opened to the public when they return to South Florida sometime in October. The NBA season, its 71st, will begin on October 25. The preseason will commence October 1-21. Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said the decision by the Heat to return to the Bahamas is paramount to the development of the relationship between the two entities. “The Miami Heat’s decision to hold its fall training camp in The Bahamas for a second year is indicative of something very special going on in our destination. We are honoured that the Bahamas is the only international destination that the Heat has chosen to host its training camp,” Minister Wilchcombe said.

Wilchcombe said the relationship with the Heat continues to strengthen, grow and evolve. “The Bahamas is a destination with year-round sunshine, an array of luxury beach resorts, firstrate sporting facilities and events. The Bahamas has capitalised on these assets to establish itself as a world-class sports tourism des-

tination. We look forward to welcoming the Miami Heat’s players, coaches and executives.” In 2013, the Heat made their initial trip to Atlantis to host their training camp. At the time, they had both Wade and LeBron James on their roster that included Chris Bosh. After returning to the American Airlines in Miami, Florida, the Heat went on to repeat as the NBA champions with a 4-2 decision over the San Antonio Spurs as James clinched his second MVP title. It was the last time the big three played together as James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers the next year and the Heat eventually lost 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs, led by MVP Kawhi Leonard. This summer, Wade departed

the Heat for his hometown of Chicago where he will be wearing a Bulls uniform and the Cavaliers and James, coming off his MVP performance, will be defending their title won last year as they dethroned the Golden State Warriors. Bosh, recovering from blood thinners which prevented him from completing the season last year, will headline the Heat roster that currently has 19 players under contract, including centre Hassan Whiteside. Last year was a breakout year for Whiteside, who averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and a league-leading 3.7 blocks per game this season. However, he injured his knee in Game 3 of the

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OLDTIMERS SOFTBALL TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT

A VIEW of the new hardwood floors inside the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

$5m in QE Sports Centre upgrade IN an effort to maintain the country’s appeal as a premier sports destination and attract new business, the National Sports Authority (NSA) is investing $5 million to upgrade several sports facilities in and around the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. Jeffrey Beckles, the general manager of the NSA, said there are currently 52 capital works projects underway, the biggest of which is the $800,000 refurbishment of the field at the national stadium. In addition, phase two of the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium renovations are underway. This phase will result in improvements to the acoustics. Beckles said the NSA will also

SEE PAGE 3

A VIEW of the works underway at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium field. Photos by Kemuel Stubbs

THE New Providence Oldtimers Softball Association’s regular season action continued in the Archdeacon William Thompson Softball Park at the Southern Recreation Grounds over the weekend. • Here’s a summary of the games played: KC Construction 18, AllStar Truckers 5: Rodney Albury had a perfect 4-for4 at bat with a home run, driving in a total of three runs and scoring two runs to lead KC. Johnny Armbrister was the winning pitcher and Kermit ‘Shaft’ Mackey suffered the loss. Q-Club Divers 34, Corner Boys 16: Hiram Cox went 4-for-7 with two RBI and five runs scored to lead the Q-Club. Baccus Rolle was the winning pitcher and Gilbert Simmons got tagged with the loss. Home Boys 29, Original Crusaders 13: Shon Higgs had a perfect 5-for-5 day with four RBI and five runs scored in the Home Boys victory. Sidney Thomas was the winning pitcher and Mike Dillet picked up the loss. BTC Vibes 21, Corner Boys 17: McNeil Albury was the winning pitcher and Harold ‘Banker’ Fritzgerald suffered the loss. GT Sharks11, Doc Stallions 1: Randolph Coakley went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in the win for GT. Spurgeon Johnson was the winning pitcher and Warren Butler got tagged with the loss. Home Boys 18, DKS Crusaders 16: Simeon Dean went 3-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored for the Home Boys. Sidney Thomas was the winning pitcher and Gregory Thompson got the loss. The league is scheduled to resume action with games played on Saturday and Sunday.

AVENGERS EVEN SERIES WITH POLICE, CYBOTS TAKE 2-0 LEAD VS CHALLENGERS THE Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association continued its semi-final playoffs at the AF Adderley Gymnasium on Monday night. While the Airport Authority Avengers evened their series with the Police Crimestoppers at 1-1, the Bamboo Shack Cybots took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Bahamas Department of Correctional Challengers. After losing game one 101-94 to the Crimestoppers on Saturday night, the Avengers rebounded for a 98-90 victory in game two on Monday. The Cybots, winners of game one 84-76 on Saturday, took game two 95-91 on Monday. • Here’s a summary of the games played: Cybots 95, Challengers 91: Eugene Bain exploded for a side high

30 points with 13 points rebounds to lead two other players in double figures for Bamboo Shack as they moved into the driver’s seat of their series. Ernest Saunders had 20 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and four steals and Cordero Pinder had 10 points and six rebounds. Also, Nipsy Jones and Georgio Walkes both had nine points with Jones dishing out seven assists. For BDOC, Leslie Wilson pumped in a game high 32 points with three rebounds and three assists. Two other players were in double figures with Rashad Woodside scoring 21 points with 13 rebounds and six assists and Patrick Brice contributed 21 points with eight assists. Avengers 98, Crimestoppers 90: Adorn Charlow came up big with 20 points and 11 rebounds to

pace the Airport Authority’s balanced scoring attack. Brian Bain had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Devon Brennen had 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, Jorann Adderley had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, Denard Clarke added nine points and Lavann Forbes chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds. In a losing effort for the Police, Mark Hanna canned a game high 37 points with five rebounds. Dion McPhee had 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, Vernon Stubbs had 11 points with five rebounds and three assists, Freddie Lightbourne had seven points, seven rebounds and five assists and Bernard Bonamy added six points. Crimestoppers 101, Avengers 94: Mark Hanna was unstoppable

in the opener of their series, scoring a game high 49 points with 11 rebounds as the Police handcuffed the Airport Authority. Ishmael Curtis had 24 points and eight rebounds, Vernon Stubbs finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Bernard Bonamy added nine points with five rebounds and three assists. In a losing effort, Adorn Charlow had 19 points and 16 rebounds. John Smith also had 19 points, Lavann Forbes had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jorann Adderley had nine points, six assists and three rebounds and both Devon Brennen and Brian Bain had eight points each with seven and five rebounds respectively. Bain also had eight assists and Brennen had five. Cybots 84, Challengers 76:

Eugene Bain had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bamboo Shack to victory in the opener of their series. Billy Sands added 14 points and seven rebounds, Georgio Walkes had 13 points and five rebounds, Brent Higgs had nine points and four rebounds, Jason Collie had eight points, Nipsy Jones seven and Cordero Seymour six points. For the Challengers, Rashad Woodside scored 29 points with 18 rebounds to lead the way. Price Brice had 12 points, Leslie Wilson 11 points, Vance McPhee seven points and Trevor Greene six points. Game three in both series is all set for tonight. In the 7pm opener, Bamboo Shack take on BDOC and, in the feature contest, the Police face off with the Airport Authority.

PAGE 2, Wednesday, September 14, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

C&S Hitmen in exhibition scrimmage

PLAY BALL: C&S Hitmen, of the New Providence Softball Association, took part in an exhibition scrimmage game in the Bankerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex yesterday. Photos by Shawn Hanna/The Tribune

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, PAGE 3

Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy in putting skills competition By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Coach Kemp makes presentation to the winners

GEORGETTE Rolle’s Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy kicked of its new seminar with the first of eight series of competitions over the weekend with the Putting Skills event at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Driving Range. About 23 golfers between the ages of four and 17 participated in the one-day event with the winners of the various categories being determined in match play after they went through a preliminary, semi-final and final round of competition. In the six-and-under category, Chamari Pratt won the title over Nicholas Turnquest, Michael Knowles was crowned the eightand-under champion over Elyse Hanna, Alex Knowles picked up the 10-and-under title over Rhan Miller, Ashley Michel beat out Christopher Knowles for the 13-and-under crown and Ryan Coerbell clinched the 17-and-under title over John Hall III. “A lot of the players have been in the programme for over a year, some maybe 15 months or less than that,” Rolle said. “This is something that they can look forward to and have a benchmark for them to work towards.” Rolle, a teaching professional at the Driving Range for the BGF’s Junior Development Programme, said she was pleased with the turnout for the initial event with a number of parents on the sidelines watching their children perform. “It was better than I expected,” Rolle said. “I think it exceeded my expectations, even though this was just a putting event. We had some preliminary putting competitions for them and they were placed in a bracket where they went on to play for the championship titles.” Rolle said in two weeks, the second in the series of events will take place with the chipping and pitching competition. “We want to get our kids tournament ready,” Rolle said. “One of the things that we did in this one was we gave them scorecards

MICHAEL KNOWLES

RHAN MILLER

ELYSE HANNA

ASHLEY MICHEL

CHRISTOPHER KNOWLES

RYAN COERBELL

JOHN HALL III

ALEX KNOWLES

for each round and they had to exchange them with the players and they had to go to the scorer’s table and verify their scores with the officials. “We want to make sure that when they go to the Junior Nationals next year, they will be able to deal with the rules and regulations and they will also be more hungry to participate in the competition.” The youngest player in the competition was four-year-old Kai

Duncombe and the oldest were Coerbell and Hall III, both 17. Among the list of players who participated and didn’t finish in the top two were Tia Singh, G’Angelo Edgecombe, Riya Miller, Shannon Fawkes, Nyah Singh, Aiden Johnson, Amerie Pratt, Sevyy Nichols, Larenze Shearer, Nahji Grant, Zion Taylor, Nataija McPhee and Kai Ferguson. The competition was sponsored jointly by Aquapure, who pro-

vided the water, Marco’s Pizza, who gave out pizza, McDonald’s with their gift certificates, Weight Watchers, Bahamas Waste and Higgs and Johnson. “As the programme continues, we hope that we can attract more kids to come in and participate in the competition,” Rolle stressed. “We had a number of coaches and volunteers who all came out and made their contribution to the success of the competition.”

Rolle also thanked businessman Craig Flowers and the BGF for making the facility available at the Driving Range to stage the competition. She said she’s looking forward to their continued support in the future. Registration for the next event is 11am on Saturday (September 24). The chipping and pitching competition is slated to run from 11:30am to 1:30pm.

$5M IN QUEEN ELIZABETH SPORTS CENTRE UPGRADE FROM PAGE 1 remarcite the pool in the Betty Kelly Swimming Complex this week. The upgrades will bode well for the Ministry of Tourism and the NSA’s goal to go after new sport tourism opportunities. “They’re very important,” Beckles said referring to the upgrades. “We are building and strengthening the brand of The Bahamas. We say it’s better in The Bahamas and we’re using our sales hook as ‘sports in paradise.’ These venues and the continued upgrading of these venues play an integral part in the conversation that our sales team will have when they go to the global market because venues drive the conversation. “So if you don’t have qualified and quality venues then you have very little to talk about. So our efforts are serving a global effort in that our national sales team at the Ministry of Tourism that’s selling The Bahamas will now have a greater capacity to understand what these facilities have to offer. They become the calling card at the global table.”

Beckles said the NSA will also improve the technology in the stadium in time for the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, which is in its third year. Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will be held at the stadium on December 23. Two American collegiate teams will face-off for the Bahamas Bowl trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights. Director of Sports Tourism, Virginia Kelly said the upgrades will make the work that her department does in attracting new business and maintaining current business easier. “We know we have the facilities,” Kelly said. “We can say to our professional teams, to colleges, ‘please come, we have facilities, we are able to host your event here.’ “We are positioned as [one of] the premier sports destination in the world. We started off small and we were going after the region but we realised that our tentacles can reach further because The Bahamas is a destination and is an allure by itself. People want to come to The Bahamas and they are bringing their sporting events too. So it’s even more of an allure and

an attraction because I say, once you’re finished playing, you can come out and play with us.” NSA Chairman Lynden Maycock said the bottom line for the authority is ensuring that the facilities are attractive. “We want to let persons know that The Bahamas is the place to come,” he said. “It’s better in The Bahamas. Sports are better in The Bahamas. Among the major sporting events that will take place at the stadium are the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (December 23, 2016), IAAF World Relays (May 2017), Dan Marino & Friends Bahamas Weekend (May 2017), and Commonwealth Youth Games (July 2017). Several non-sporting events will also be hosted at the stadium, including the upcoming IKO conference, Beckles said. He added that the facilities are becoming increasingly popular for conferences and entertainment venues. “The potential is significant,” he said. “The work that we are doing will increase our capacity to be known as a multi-event host destination.”

HEAT TO HOLD 2ND TRAINING CAMP AT ATLANTIS

FROM PAGE 1

Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Toronto Raptors, and the Heat lost in seven games. During the offseason, Whiteside signed a four-year deal worth about $98 million to stay with the Heat, coached by Erik Spoelstra with former coach Pat Riley as president and Micky Arison as owner. Other members on the team are guards Tyler Johnson, Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, Josh Richardson, Beno Udrih and Briante Weber, Wayne Ellington and Rodney McGruder, forwards Justise Winslow, Udonis Haslem, Derrick Williams, James Johnson, Josh McRoberts, Willie Reed, Stefan Jankovic, Dorell Wright, Luke Babbitt and Okaro White. Teams are allowed to carry a maximum of 20 during the preseason before a mandatory cut to a maximum of 15 by October 24.

Last year, forward Luol Deng spent three weeks training in the Bahamas September 3-25 and was joined by the Miami Heat Dancers. But during the offseason, Deng agreed to a four-year, $72-million deal to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, now coached by Luke Walton, a former assistant coach with the Warriors. One of the highlights for Bahamians this season with the Heat will come on March 15, 2017 when the Ministry of Tourism will hold a Bahamas Night at the AmericanAirlines Arena with the New Orleans Pelicans coming to Miami. The Pelicans selected Grand Bahama Chavanno ‘Buddy’ Hield out of the University of Oklahoma in the NBA draft in June as the No.6 pick overall. Hield had an outstanding four-year career with the Sooners, winning just about every individual award that was up for grabs.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, September 14, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

AL-JAZEERA ASKING JUDGE TO DISMISS PLAYERS’ DEFAMATION SUITS

CHICAGO Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks throws during the seventh inning of Monday night’s game against the St Louis Cardinals. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

BASEBALL CAPSULES CUBS 4, CARDINALS 1 ST LOUIS (AP) — Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker’s leadoff homer, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Monday night to close in on the NL Central crown. Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th home run. Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman. Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the division title. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the NL Central with a three-game sweep in St. Louis. The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the league’s second wild card. Soon after Hazelbaker’s shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks — leading to an argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West. Maddon was ejected, and Chapman entered to

finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees. Hendricks, who threw 96 pitches, struck out seven and walked two. It was the fourth no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning this season. Cubs teammate Jake Arrieta tossed the lone no-hitter in the majors this year, winning 16-0 at Cincinnati on April 21. Mike Leake (9-10) pitched six innings and allowed four runs (three earned). NATIONALS 8, METS 1 WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting pitcher Mat Latos hit a solo home run and Anthony Rendon added a three-run shot as Washington beat New York. Latos had a solid first start with the Nationals, but left the game with one out in the fifth inning when he appeared to injure his right leg. Reynaldo Lopez (3-3) was among three relievers who combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings as the NL East leaders won their fourth straight. They increased their lead over New York to 10 games — matching their largest cushion of the season — and reduced their magic number to nine to clinch their third division title in

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STANDINGS

five years. Mets starter Rafael Montero (0-1) allowed six runs, five hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings. RED SOX 12, ORIOLES 2 BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz hit his 536th home run to tie Mickey Mantle for 17th on baseball’s career list, and David Price allowed just a pair of solo homers for AL Eastleading Boston. Chris Young homered, doubled twice and singled, and Hanley Ramirez also homered for the Red Sox, who maintained a twogame lead over Toronto. The Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games. Price (16-8) gave up two hits in eight innings for his seventh straight victory, the longest winning streak of his career. Former Red Sox starter Wade Miley (8-13) got just four outs, allowing five runs in the first inning before loading the bases in the second. DODGERS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge dropped Chase Utley’s fly ball to the right-field warning track and catcher Gary Sanchez threw wildly to second base, leading to four unearned runs that helped NL West-leading Los Angeles beat the AL wildcard chasing Yankees. Jose De Leon (2-0) won in his second big league start. Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner homered for the Dodgers. Bryan Mitchell (1-1) gave up six runs — two earned — and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. The Dodgers previously had played just one day at Yankee Stadium since interleague action started in 1997, splitting a doubleheader in 2013. BLUE JAYS 3, RAYS 2 TORONTO (AP) — Tampa Bay and Toronto cleared the benches and bullpens after the final out. No punches were thrown. Steven Souza Jr. hit a liner for the last out and traded words with Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin after a verbal misunderstanding. Toronto is the top wildcard team in the AL, one game ahead of Baltimore. Jason Grilli (5-3) pitched one inning and Roberto Osuna got his 32nd save. Ezequiel Carrera had a tiebreaking, pinch-hit homer in the eighth off Brad Boxberger (3-1). TIGERS 4, TWINS 2 DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler homered and De-

troit scored two runs in the seventh inning on close plays at the plate. The Tigers pulled within a game of Baltimore for the AL’s second wild card. Brian Dozier hit his 40th homer for Minnesota. Shane Greene (4-4) won in relief. Francisco Rodriguez walked two in the ninth but held on for his 41st save in 45 chances. Alex Wimmers (1-2) took the loss. ATHLETICS 16, ROYALS 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Khris Davis and Marcus Semien hit threerun homers as Oakland matched a season high with 17 hits while drawing 10 walks. Kansas City remained four games behind for the second AL wild-card spot. Daniel Coulombe (3-1) earned the win in relief. Royals starter Dillon Gee (6-8) was battered for five runs on five hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. PADRES 4, GIANTS 0 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Paul Clemens fought through flu symptoms to combine with five relievers on a five-hit shutout as San Diego blanked San Francisco. Hector Sanchez homered and singled twice against his former club. Yangervis Solarte drove in two runs while helping the Padres to their fourth consecutive win over the Giants. San Francisco dropped four games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West after trimming two games off the lead last weekend. With 19 games left, however, the Giants still lead the race for the league’s top wild card. Clemens (3-5) pitched five smooth innings to help end San Francisco’s threegame winning streak. The right-hander allowed three hits. Sanchez connected off Jeff Samardzija (11-10). RANGERS 4, ASTROS 3, (12 INNINGS) HOUSTON (AP) — Rougned Odor had three hits and three RBIs, including a solo homer in the 12th inning that lifted Texas over Houston. The Rangers, who have the best record in the American League at 86-59, improved to 14-3 against AL West rival Houston this season. Odor launched his 31st homer off James Hoyt (11) in the 12th. Odor, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, has six home runs, six doubles and 19 RBIs in 16 games against the Astros this season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — AlJazeera America is asking a judge to dismiss defamation lawsuits filed by two Major League Baseball players over statements made in the broadcaster’s documentary about performance-enhancing drugs in sports. Lawyers for the news organisation and for Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies appeared yesterday in US District Court in Washington. The suits, which were consolidated into one Tuesday, refer to the documentary “The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping,” broadcast by Al-Jazeera America in December 2015. The suit alleges a pharmacist who appeared in the documentary made false statements when he said Zimmerman and Howard took banned performance-enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball investigated the allegations and said it found no violations of its drug agreement. After more than two hours of arguments Tuesday, US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said she would issue a written ruling on whether the case should be dismissed. But she did not say when she would rule.

Keone Kela (5-1) tossed two scoreless innings and Jake Diekman pitched a perfect 12th for his fourth save. Evan Gattis hit a solo homer off Sam Dyson in the ninth to tie it at 3. MARINERS 8, ANGELS 1 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Leonys Martin went 4 for 4 with three doubles and three runs, and Robinson Cano homered to help Seattle beat Los Angeles for its sixth straight victory. Cano went 3 for 5 with his 33rd home run. Ben Gamel added his first major league homer, a tworun shot in the eighth inning. Ariel Miranda (4-1) shut out the Angels over six innings in his third straight win. Ricky Nolasco (5-14) gave up four runs and six hits in six-plus innings. PHILLIES 6, PIRATES 2 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roman Quinn had two hits, two RBIs, a stolen base and made a big impression in his second major league game, leading Philadelphia over Pittsburgh. A day after he was promoted to the big leagues, Quinn hit second and played right field in his second straight start. Quinn, an accomplished base stealer and the Phillies’ second-round draft pick in 2011, doubled in the second and sixth innings to help the Phillies snap a seven-game home losing streak. Quinn’s two-run double in the second one-hopped the wall as part of a fiverun inning against Gerrit Cole (7-10), who allowed five runs in two innings in his first start off the disabled list. Jeremy Hellickson (11-9) struck out six and allowed an unearned run over 6 1/3 innings. DIAMONDBACKS 12, ROCKIES 9 PHOENIX (AP) — Yasmany Tomas hit his first career grand slam, and Arizona came back from a three-run deficit after squandering a five-run lead to beat Colorado. Tomas had four hits and five RBIs, including an opposite-field slam to right in the sixth inning off Jordan Lyles (4-5). Brandon Drury also had four of Arizona’s 16 hits, including a solo homer in the seventh. Tomas matched his career high for hits in a game. His 29 home runs lead the Diamondbacks. Mitch Haniger hit his first major league home run in the Arizona seventh. Randall Delgado (41) got the win and Daniel

Hudson earned his third save. Daniel Descalso homered and drove in three runs, and Carlos Gonzalez doubled three times and added three RBIs for the Rockies. Colorado’s 15 hits included four for Gonzalez and three for Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. BRAVES 12, MARLINS 7 ATLANTA (AP) — Nick Markakis doubled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, Tyler Flowers had four RBIs and Atlanta outslugged Miami. The teams combined for 34 hits. Atlanta, which ranks 28th in runs, finished in double digits for just the third time this year and the first time at Turner Field. The Marlins erased a seven-run deficit in the sixth. Chaz Roe (2-0) got the win. Brian Ellington (2-2) took the loss. REDS 3, BREWERS 0 CINCINNATI (AP) — Scott Schebler hit a tworun single in Cincinnati’s three-run first inning and four pitchers teamed up on the Reds’ eighth shutout of the season. Keyvius Sampson started and Blake Wood (6-3), Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias followed as the Reds posted their seventh shutout since the AllStar break. Iglesias pitched the final two innings for his third save in four opportunities as the Reds extended their winning streak to four games. The Brewers, who had hit at least one home run in nine consecutive games, have lost three of their last four. Wily Peralta (6-10) allowed six hits and three runs with one walk and five strikeouts in six innings. WHITE SOX 11, INDIANS 4 CHICAGO (AP) — Avisail Garcia matched a career high with four hits, including a tiebreaking solo homer, and Chicago routed the AL Central leaders. Todd Frazier hit his career-best 36th homer and Adam Eaton also went deep for the White Sox. The Indians’ division lead was trimmed to six games over Detroit. Carlos Carrasco (11-8) lasted just 3 2/3 innings, hours after the Indians announced Danny Salazar could miss the rest of the season with a forearm injury. Miguel Gonzalez (4-6) got the win.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, PAGE 5

Russians stripped of 2 Beijing Olympic medals for doping LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia has been stripped of two track and field medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after retests showed their athletes doped with an anabolic steroid. The International Olympic Committee said yesterday that four Russians have been disqualified from the Beijing Games in cases involving turinabol. Maria Abakumova, who won silver in the women’s javelin, and Denis Alexeev, who helped Russia’s men’s 4x400-metre relay team win bronze, have both been disqualified, the IOC said. Britain is set to gain two bronze medals from the disqualifications. In the javelin, Christina Obergfoell of Germany is set to be upgraded to silver and fourth-placed Goldie Sayers of Britain could get the bronze medal. Sayers had a national-record throw in Beijing. The gold medallist was Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic. In the men’s relay event, Britain finished fourth as the Russian team including Alexeev set a national

RUSSIA’S YULIYA CHERMOSHANSKAYA, right, Yulia Gushchina, second left, Evgeniya Polyakova, left, and Aleksandra Fedoriva, second right, celebrate winning the gold in the women’s 4x100-metre relay final at the Beijing Olympics on August 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle)

record. The United States won

gold and Bahamas took silver. The other two cases

announced yesterday involve distance runner Inga

Abitova, who placed sixth in the women’s 10,000, and

Ekaterina Gnidenko in cycling. Gnidenko has been disqualified from two track events at the 2012 London Olympics after her sample from four years earlier tested positive. In a separate announcement, the International Weightlifting Federation said that Moldova’s Anatoli Ciricu, a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics, has been provisionally suspended for doping following a retest of his sample from the London Games. The IWF said in a statement that Ciricu’s sample taken at the 2012 London Games showed traces of the anabolic steroid dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. The IOC has previously announced that it found 98 positive cases in retests of more than 1,000 samples from the Beijing and London Olympics. The IOC stores samples for 10 years to allow them to be reanalysed when improved methods become available. The latest tests can detect the use of steroids going back weeks and months, rather than days.

Sharapova to find out decision on appeal in October LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The verdict in Maria Sharapova’s appeal against a twoyear ban for doping has been delayed for a second time. Sharapova should now find out the decision in her case against the International Tennis Federation early next month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said yesterday. The Russian tennis star had ini-

tially hoped to get fast-track verdict in July before the Rio de Janeiro Olympics began. After both sides’ lawyers said they needed more time to prepare their case, the target was then set for September 19. Now, CAS plans to issue its verdict during the first week of October. Sharapova was banned in June by the ITF after testing positive

SHARAPOVA (AP)

for meldonium at the Australian Open. She acknowledged taking meldonium before each match in Melbourne, claiming she was not aware that the drug, also known as mildronate, had been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as of January 1. An independent three-person panel appointed by the ITF ruled that Sharapova did not intend to

BRONCOS DEFENDERS DISPUTE NOTION THEY’RE A ‘DIRTY’ TEAM By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Nasty, hard-hitting, wicked. Sure. But dirty? No way, say the Denver Broncos. “I just don’t think that’s what we are,” linebacker Todd Davis said. “We’re not malicious. We don’t intentionally go to hurt anybody. We just play hard. We play physical.” About all those helmet-tohelmet hits on Cam Newton, then ... “Just because we hit Cam in the head a couple of times, that doesn’t make us dirty,” insisted linebacker Brandon Marshall, who had one of four helmet-to-helmet hits on Carolina’s big quarterback in the Broncos’ 21-20 win over the Panthers on Thursday night. The brutality of the game sparked debates over league safety, sideline concussion protocol, the ability of the NFL MVP to survive, much less continue to thrive, as a read-option QB and yes, whether Denver’s devastating defence crossed the line from dominant to dirty. Although none of the helmet hits on Newton resulted in penalty yardage and none got him checked for a concussion, Marshall said he’s expecting a FedEx letter in his locker to-

day informing him of a hefty fine. Safety Darian Stewart, whose helmet-to-helmet hit left Newton motionless on the ground in the game’s final minute, is bracing for such a letter, too. His hit drew a flag but it was negated by intentional grounding. The other helmet-to-helmet hits came from Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and cornerback Bradley Roby, who was fined $24,309 for his illegal hit on Rams receiver Duke Williams in an August 27 exhibition game — a sizeable forfeiture given that NFL veterans make $1,900 a week in the preseason. Marshall said what he considers a dirty play is “stepping on somebody’s ankle at the bottom of a pile, twisting somebody around, something like that. We just play hard. We hit hard. We play fast. ... It’s the speed of the game. We’re a malicious group, but we’re not dirty.” Marshall said the word dirty should only be used when a team deliberately breaks the rules. “Yeah, dirty is intentional,” Marshall said. “One time I was in college man and I made a tackle and I saw a player from Utah State run around the pile. I’m on the ground still.

He ran around the pile, he grabbed my ankle, stepped on it and twisted it. That’s dirty. We don’t do stuff like that.” Marshall said he meant to hit Newton hard but not in the head, and Stewart said he thought he led with his shoulder on his big hit. If fined, Stewart said, “I’m definitely going to appeal. I didn’t think it was that type of play.” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak also dismissed the notion of his defence being dirty, saying, “We play hard. We’re going to continue to play hard.” Kubiak called Newton the league’s best player and said when he leaves the pocket, “you better tackle him like a (running) back.” Marshall said other teams will be hitting Newton the same way, too, because he’s like a defensive end barrelling down on defenders and the only way for a smaller safety or linebacker to bring him down is to go high or low. Denver defensive end Derek Wolfe said the league should be looking at the Panthers Olinemen for their dirty play. He told Bleacher Report the Panthers were “cutting out legs, grabbing the facemask, grabbing our pads, tackling our legs ... they just let these offensive linemen get away

with murder.” Wolfe said Miller was in a full Nelson wrestling hold on one play and Carolina wasn’t whistled for holding. Cornerback Chris Harris Jr said nobody should have been surprised that the Broncos clobbered Newton they way they did. “We’re getting called dirty? Did they not watch the 2015 Broncos? They act like they’ve never seen us play,” Harris said. “That’s how we won the Super Bowl .” The Broncos crossed the line aplenty last season, when they were the league’s most heavily fined team, and “we’ll be fined again,” Harris said. He wondered whether the Panthers guards would also face fines for their actions Thursday night. Trai Turner drew a 15-yard taunting penalty for getting in the cornerback’s face after Harris surrendered Kevin Benjamin’s TD in the first half. And Andrew Norwell drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness flag for jumping on Harris after his fourth-quarter interception. “So, can you not say they were targeting me?” Harris asked. “I could have broken my ribs with a 300-pound guy jumping on top of me. They were targeting me. Come on, man.”

WASHINGTON HAS PLENTY TO FIX BEFORE HOSTING THE COWBOYS WASHINGTON (AP) — From Kirk Cousins’ zero-TD, two-pick performance and a total of nine penalties to the admittedly misguided coaching decisions and the out-ofits-depth defence, the Washington Redskins did not look ready to open the regular season. So now the question becomes: Can they get their act together in time to host the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday and avoid an 0-2 start? “I think we were ready to play,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Tuesday. “We just didn’t make the necessary plays to win.” Not even close. After winning the NFC

East last season despite never beating a team with a winning record, the Redskins opened this season with a dismal 38-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night. There were all sorts of problems for Washington (0-1). Cousins showed, according to Gruden, that he still has some growing up to do as an NFL starter. There were the two interceptions and also other issues, such as miscommunication with DeSean Jackson on a run-pass option and several poor throws, including a trio early that were too low. “He’s going to have some bumps along the way. That’s what all quarterbacks go

REDSKINS QB Cousins (AP) through,” Gruden said. “How he responds to those downs will make or break him as a quarterback.” The running game, which was not really targeted for improvement in the offseason, flopped early and then was abandoned: Washington’s 12 rushes were a league-low in Week 1. Gruden partially tried to explain that away by

saying his team was behind in the second half, so wanted to accumulate chunks of yards via the pass. “That’s the approach we took for this week,” he said. “Next week could be totally different.” Gruden acknowledged that there were “two bad decisions,” in hindsight, on fourth downs in the first half. On fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 40 during his team’s opening possession, Gruden opted to punt. Then, later, on fourth-and-6 at the Pittsburgh 38, he chose to go for it — and Cousins completed a pass to running back Chris Thompson short of the first-down marker.

cheat, but that she bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. Sharapova said she first was prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, for medical reasons in 2006. Her ban is due to end January 25, 2018, which would force her to miss eight Grand Slam tournaments. She would turn 31 before the 2018 French Open begins.

AP POWER RANKINGS: GAROPPOLO AND PATRIOTS AT NO. 1 By SIMMI BUTTAR AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo filled in for Tom Brady quite nicely. Garoppolo was so good in New England’s season-opening win at Arizona that the Patriots moved into the top spot in the AP Pro32 poll yesterday. The Cardinals made it to the NFC championship game last season, but Garoppolo threw for 264 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots to a 23-21 victory on Sunday night. New England received five of 12 firstplace votes in balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL. “With Tom Brady sitting out the first game of a four-week suspension and All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski out with a hamstring injury, Jimmy Garoppolo did just enough to help the Patriots to a stunning road win at Arizona,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said. “But the real star of this game was Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose sideline genius makes up for the loss of his two star players.” The Patriots will be without Brady for three more games, all of them at home starting on Sunday against Miami. New England is the only AFC East team to win its opener. Defending champion Denver received three first-place votes and moved up to No. 2 in the poll. Pittsburgh, which opened with a dominating 38-16 win at Washington, earned a firstplace vote and is No. 3 overall. “Any team that tries to cover Antonio Brown with one defender deserves what it gets — a funky end zone celebration,” said Ira Kaufman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Green Bay received two first-place votes and is the highest-ranked NFC team at No. 4. Carolina, which lost its opener to Denver when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal in the final minute, had a first-place vote but dropped to fifth. Seattle and Cincinnati, who both opened with close wins, tied for sixth. Arizona dropped from No. 2 to No. 8. Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The snap was low and holder Drew Butler said he trapped the ball near where it was supposed to be. “That probably threw the timing off a little bit,” Butler said. “But me and Cat (Catanzaro) have a job to do and I’ll definitely take some blame on that one. I wish we could have put it through for our teammates. The offence did a great job of giving us the opportunity.” Kansas City and Minnesota rounded out the top 10. The Vikings open their new stadium on Sunday night against the rival Packers.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, PAGE 7

WADA says Russian hackers published athletes’ medical data By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Confidential medical data of gold medalwinning gymnast Simone Biles, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and other female US Olympians was hacked from a World Anti-Doping Agency database and posted online yesterday. WADA said the hackers were a “Russian cyber espionage group” called Fancy Bears. They revealed records of “Therapeutic Use Exemptions” (TUEs), which allow athletes to use otherwise-banned substances because of a verified medical need. Williams, who won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the Rio Olympics last month, issued a statement via her agent in which she said she was granted TUEs “when serious medical conditions have occurred,” and those exemptions were “reviewed by an anonymous, independent group of doctors, and approved for legitimate medical reasons.” Williams revealed in 2011 she had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an energy-sapping disease. “I was disappointed to learn to-

day that my private, medical data has been compromised by hackers and published without my permission,” Williams said. “I have followed the rules established under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme in applying for, and being granted, ‘therapeutic use exemption.’” Another athlete named was women’s basketball gold medallist Elena Delle Donne, who had thumb surgery on Tuesday and posted a post-op pic on Twitter, along with a statement saying she takes prescribed medication approved by WADA. In a statement, USA Gymnastics said Biles — who won five medals, four gold, in Rio last month — was approved for an exemption and had not broken any rules. She wrote on Twitter that she’s taken medication to treat ADHD since she was a child. “Please know I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me,” Biles posted. WADA previously warned of cyberattacks after investigators it had appointed published reports into Russian state-sponsored dop-

an undisclosed location in North America. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected WADA’s statement blaming Russian hackers as unfounded. “There can be no talk about any official or government involvement, any involvement of Russian agencies in those actions. It’s absolutely out of the question,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. “Such unfounded accusations don’t befit any organisation, if they aren’t backed by substance.” The International Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns such methods which clearly aim at tarnishing the reputation of clean athletes.” “The IOC can confirm however that the athletes mentioned did not violate any anti-doping rules during the Olympic Games Rio 2016,” the Olympic body said. The top American anti-doping official said it was “unthinkable” to try to smear athletes who followed the rules and did nothing wrong. “The cyberbullying of innocent athletes being engaged in by these hackers is cowardly and despicable,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of

SIMONE BILES, of the US, bites her gold medal for the artistic gymnastics individual all-around final at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) ing. “These criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia,” World Anti-Doping Agency director general Olivier Niggli said in a statement. WADA said it “extended its investigation with the relevant law enforcement authorities.” Last month, hackers obtained a database password for Russian runner Yuliya Stepanova, a whistleblower and key witness for the WADA investigations. She and her husband, a former official with the Russian national antidoping agency, are now living at

the US Anti-Doping Agency. The name “Fancy Bears” appears to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to a collection of hackers that many security researchers have long associated with Russia. In a statement posted to its website early Tuesday, the group proclaimed its allegiance to Anonymous, the loose-knit movement of online mischief-makers, and said it hacked WADA to show the world “how Olympic medals are won.” “We will start with the US team which has disgraced its name by tainted victories,” the group said, adding that more revelations about other teams were forthcoming. Internet records suggest Fancy Bears’ data dump has been in the works for at least two weeks; their website was registered on September 1 and their Twitter account was created on September 6. Messages left with the group were not immediately returned. A French name and phone number associated with the site both appeared to be bogus. A mailing address listed by the hackers appeared to point to a florist east of Paris; messages left with the business were not immediately returned.

THe WeaTHer repOrT

5-Day Forecast

TOday

OrlandO

High: 87° F/31° C low: 74° F/23° C

Tampa

THursday

FrIday

saTurday

sunday

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

Partly cloudy with a shower

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

A mix of clouds and sunshine

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

A mix of clouds and sun

High: 90°

Low: 77°

High: 90° Low: 77°

High: 90° Low: 79°

High: 88° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 76°

AccuWeather RealFeel

105° F

89° F

105°-89° F

105°-90° F

106°-90° F

106°-86° F

High: 86° F/30° C low: 77° F/25° C

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

almanac

aBaCO

High: 87° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

High: 89° F/32° C low: 79° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

FT. lauderdale

FreepOrT

High: 89° F/32° C low: 78° F/26° C

N E S

WesT palm BeaCH

High: 88° F/31° C low: 77° F/25° C

mIamI

High: 90° F/32° C low: 78° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 91° F/33° C Low .................................................... 78° F/26° C Normal high ....................................... 88° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 75° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 94° F/34° C Last year’s low ................................... 79° F/26° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.35” Year to date ............................................... 31.79” Normal year to date ................................... 26.73”

eleuTHera

nassau

High: 90° F/32° C low: 77° F/25° C

High: 87° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

Key WesT

High: 88° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

W S

7‑14 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

6:25 a.m. 6:51 p.m.

3.1 3.5

Thursday

7:13 a.m. 7:38 p.m.

3.3 3.7

1:08 a.m. 1:22 p.m.

0.3 0.2

Friday

8:01 a.m. 8:24 p.m.

3.6 3.7

1:52 a.m. 2:11 p.m.

0.1 0.0

Saturday

8:49 a.m. 9:11 p.m.

3.8 3.7

2:37 a.m. 0.0 3:01 p.m. ‑0.1

Sunday

9:38 a.m. 9:59 p.m.

3.9 3.7

3:22 a.m. ‑0.1 3:52 p.m. ‑0.1

Monday

10:28 a.m. 10:49 p.m.

3.9 3.5

4:09 a.m. ‑0.1 4:44 p.m. 0.0

Tuesday

11:21 a.m. 11:42 p.m.

3.9 3.3

4:58 a.m. ‑0.1 5:39 p.m. 0.1

12:22 a.m. 0.5 12:31 p.m. 0.3

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:56 a.m. 7:15 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

5:49 p.m. 4:34 a.m.

Full

last

new

First

sep. 16

sep. 23

sep. 30

Oct. 9

andrOs

san salVadOr

GreaT eXuma

High: 87° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

High: 89° F/32° C low: 81° F/27° C

W S

lOnG Island

insurance management tracking map H

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

CaT Island

6‑12 knots

uV inDex toDay

TOnIGHT

High: 88° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

mayaGuana High: 88° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CrOOKed Island / aCKlIns raGGed Island High: 87° F/31° C low: 82° F/28° C

High: 87° F/31° C low: 81° F/27° C

GreaT InaGua High: 89° F/32° C low: 82° F/28° C

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast aBaCO andrOs CaT Island CrOOKed Island eleuTHera FreepOrT GreaT eXuma GreaT InaGua lOnG Island mayaGuana nassau raGGed Island san salVadOr

Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:

WINDS SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots

WAVES 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 7 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 83° F 83° F 87° F 87° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 86° F 87° F 86° F 86° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 84° F

PAGE 8, Wednesday, September 14, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Messi rains goals on Celtic as downpour denies Man City By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Lionel Messi’s first goal of the Champions League season took three minutes. Edinson Cavani needed just 44 seconds for Paris SaintGermain. Manchester City never got the chance to start. Messi’s fast start was the first of a hat trick in Barcelona’s 7-0 rout of Celtic, and fellow superstar forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez also scored. Celtic had a penalty saved when trailing 1-0 midway through the first half. Cavani’s even faster strike was the end of PSG’s scoring in Paris against Arsenal, and Alexis Sanchez’s late equaliser earned a 1-1 draw. Heavy rain in Manchester forced City’s game against Borussia Moenchengladbach to be called off 20 minutes before kickoff. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team will try again this evening. Bayern Munich, Guardiola’s former team, managed just fine under new coach Carlo Ancelotti. Champions League newcomer Rostov was beaten 5-0 in Munich. • Here’s a roundup of all the action yesterday: GROUP A A pair of 1-1 draws in Paris and Basel left visiting teams Arsenal and Ludogorets happier with their work. Arsenal seemed set for a tough night at Parc des Princes when Uruguay forward Cavani headed in Serge Aurier’s cross in the first minute. Cavani, now with more responsibility after Zlatan

Ibrahimovic’s offseason exit, then missed three clear chances to extend the lead. Alexis Sanchez of Chile scored in the 78th minute against the run of the play when he fired home the rebound from 10 meters after PSG keeper Alphonse Areola parried Alex Iwobi’s powerful shot. Both teams finished with 10 players. Marco Verrati and Olivier Giroud, who was also sent off in Arsenal’s Champions League opener last year, were sent off following an altercation. Ludogorets scored freely on the road in three qualifying rounds, but was limited to Jonathan Cafu’s 45th goal to finish a twisting run. Basel levelled in the 79th when Renato Steffen took advantage of a goalkeeping error. GROUP B Napoli took early control of the group with a comefrom-behind 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev, which had Serhiy Sydorchuk sent off in the 68th minute. Poland forward Arkadiusz Milik twice scored with headers in the first half, the second in stoppage time, to cancel out Denys Garmash’s 26th-minute opener for Dynamo. Milik arrived from Ajax in the offseason to replace Gonazalo Higuain, the Argentina forward who sought a better chance of Champions League success at Juventus. Benfica was held 1-1 at home by Besiktas when one of its own players scored late for the visitors. Playing against his parent club while on loan to the Turkish champion, midfielder Talisca scored with a curling free kick in stoppage time.

BARCELONA’S LIONEL MESSI, centre, celebrates with his teammates Luis Suarez, right, and Neymar after scoring his side’s fifth goal during a Champions League, Group C soccer match against Celtic at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Brazilian Talisca cancelled out a 12th-minute earlier goal by Argentina’s Franco Cervi for Benfica, finishing a rebound from Besiktas goalkeeper Tolga Zengin’s save. GROUP C In a record-setting night at Camp Nou, Barcelona’s trio of stars teamed up to outclass Celtic. Lionel Messi’s hat trick included two goals in the first half hour, while Neymar struck with a free kick and set up another four goals. Luis Suarez did his part with two goals against the new team of his former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

The result surpassed Barcelona’s biggest win in the competition — a 7-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. It also improved on a 6-1 win over Celtic from their last meeting in 2013. Messi’s three goals took his Champions League career tally to 86 goals, to still trail Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 94. Celtic’s 5-1 rout of fierce Scottish rival Rangers on Saturday seemed long ago. Moussa Dembele scored a hat trick in the Glasgow derby but on Tuesday had a first-half penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Beaten by the torrential rain in north-west England, group rivals Manchester

City and Borussia Moenchengladbach were surely impressed by what they saw from Spain. GROUP D Bayern Munich showed Champions League debutant Rostov what life is like among the big boys of Europe. A 5-0 drubbing was begun by Robert Lewandowski’s penalty and Thomas Mueller’s shot in the first half. Germany’s great defensive prospect Joshua Kimmich scored twice and Juan Bernat finished the rout. It was yet another lopsided win for Bayern which has now scored 20 goals and

conceded none in five wins from five games across all competitions. In a rematch of a Roundof-16 encounter last season, Atletico Madrid beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in the Netherlands. Saul Niguez calmly fired a left foot volley just inside the post in the 43rd minute for the first goal between the two sides this year. In March, Atletico won a penalty shootout after two goalless draws en route to the final. Penalties were again PSV’s problem, as Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak dived to his left to block Andres Guardado’s spot kick in first-half stoppage time.