Euroleague: Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Real Madrid in the Euroleague final after the two heavyweights recorded contrasting wins on Friday. Maccabi produced a blistering fourth-quarter comeback to stun CSKA Moscow 68-67 in the semi-finals and set up a mouth-watering clash with Real today after the winners of a record eight Euroleague titles crushed Spanish rivals Barcelona 100-62. CSKA seemed to be in control after going 55-40 up late in the third quarter but their defence collapsed in the final period.
Cycling: Bradley Wiggins has extended his Tour of California lead to close in on the title while Colombian Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio claimed stage six. Tour de France winner Wiggins began the day with a 28-second lead overall but pushed it to 30 after finishing fifth with two stages left. Chaves set the pace by finishing in four hours, nine minutes and 13 seconds ahead of Spaniard David De La Cruz Melgarejo and third-placed American Tom Danielson.
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Golf: Paul Casey (picture) came within one stroke of the PGA Tour scoring record for nine holes when he stormed home in 27 shots in the second round at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas yesterday. Casey was in danger of missing the cut after a mediocre start but turned on the afterburners to end the day only two strokes behind American leader Brendon Todd at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. “I found it difficult (early but) I broke the seal, made an eagle on (hole) number seven and then the hole started to get bigger and bigger,” the Englishman told reporters. Only American Corey Pavin, who shot an eight-under 26 on the front nine at the 2006 US Bank Championship in Milwaukee, has posted a lower nine-hole score.
Basket, NBA: The Oklahoma City Thunder were dealt a severe blow ahead of their Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs with the news that forward Serge Ibaka is likely to miss the rest of the play-offs due to a calf injury. Ibaka had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on his left calf on Friday and is “expected to miss the remainder of the 2014 post-season,” the Thunder said. The 24-year-old suffered the injury during the third quarter of Thursday’s 104-98 series-clinching win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Rugby Union: Northampton staged a stirring fightback to reach the English Premiership final after a late Tom Wood try clinched a 21-20 victory over holders Leicester on Friday. In a rematch of last season’s Twickenham showpiece, Northampton trailed 17-6 at the break and had Salesi Ma’afu sent off for punching Tom Youngs with 25 minutes to play. A try from George North got the Saints back in the game and Wood touched down in the corner two minutes from time to spark wild celebrations. The defeat ended Leicester’s run of reaching nine successive Premiership finals.
Baseball: Tara, the California cat that became a YouTube sensation after being caught on video saving a boy from a dog attack, has been invited to “throw” the first pitch at a minor league baseball game, Bakersfield Blaze officials said. Video footage showed a dog dragging four-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo from his tricycle in a driveway in Bakersfield. Tara, the family’s cat, ran to the rescue, broadsided the dog, and chased it away from the child. She then returned to the boy. Local minor league team, the Bakersfield Blaze, has invited the cat, assisted by the Triantafilo family, to throw the first pitch at a May 20 game.