Benzema strikes again as Madrid fends off Chelsea comeback
MADRID >> Chelsea's title defense in the Champions League ended despite a 3-2 win against Real Madrid on Tuesday, with Karim Benzema spoiling the English team's comeback by scoring in extra time to put the Spanish powerhouse back into the semifinals.
Benzema had scored a hat trick in the first leg to give Madrid a 3-1 lead, then got the decisive goal at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with a header off a cross by Vinícius Júnior six minutes into extra time. VILLARREAL STUNS BAYERN TO REACH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS >> Villarreal stunned six-time European champion Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 16 years thanks to Samuel Chukwueze's 88th-minute goal that salvaged a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Villarreal's 1-0 lead from the first leg was wiped out by Robert Lewandowski seven minutes into the second half, but Chukwueze completed a counterattack within four minutes of coming off the bench to extend the Spanish team's surprising run in the competition. BLATTER, PLATINI GO ON TRIAL IN JUNE IN SWISS FEDERAL COURT >> Former
FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will go on trial for fraud and other offenses in June, Switzerland's federal criminal court said.
The court set the trial to be heard before a panel of three judges on 11 days from June 8-22. Verdicts could be announced several weeks later by the court in Bellinzona.
The trial will begin more than 6 1/2 years after criminal proceedings were opened, first against Blatter, for a 2011 payment of 2 million Swiss francs (then $2 million) he authorized FIFA to make to Platini.
NFL
CONGRESS TELLS FTC COMMANDERS MAY HAVE BROKEN FINANCIAL LAWS >>
The U.S. House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday saying it found evidence the NFL's Washington Commanders engaged in potentially unlawful financial conduct for more than a decade by withholding ticket revenue from visiting teams and refundable deposits from fans.
In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, the committee outlined through the testimony of former employees and access to emails and documents a pattern of financial impropriety by owner Dan Snyder and team executives. At one point in 2016, the committee said the team retained up to $5 million from 2,000 seasonticket holders while also concealing sharable revenue from the league.
One former employee testified before Congress saying the team had two separate financial books: one with underreported ticket revenue that went to the NFL and the full, complete picture. According to testimony, Snyder was aware of the numbers shared with the league while also being privy to the actual data.
The business practice was known as “juice” inside Washington's front office. And, if correct, it could spell significant trouble for Snyder and the Commanders.
Ticket revenue is shared among all 32 NFL teams, with 40% of it deposited in a visiting team fund. Such money is among the pillars of the league's revenue-sharing commitment.
MLB
SCULLY WINS BASEBALL DIGEST LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD >>
Vin Scully has won the second Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.
The longtime Dodgers announcer was honored with an annual distinction that recognizes a living individual “who has made significant contributions to the national game.”
The 94-year-old Scully retired after the 2016 season, ending a 67-year broadcasting career that stretched back to when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. It was easily the longest tenure of any announcer with one team.
CUBAN OFFICIALS BLAST PLAN FOR BASEBALL PROS TO PLAY CLASSIC >>
Cuban state sports officials denounced a plan by baseball players who left the island to play in the Major Leagues to field their own team in the next World Baseball Classic.
The president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, Juan Reynaldo Pérez, called a news conference and accused the group of trying to usurp Cuba's representation in the international competition.
A group called the Association of Cuban Professional Baseball Players announced last month that they hoped to form a team to compete in the Classic, which is scheduled for 2023.