Sports briefs: 12/27/11

Ranger banned in Venezuela

Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba was suspended from Venezuela's professional baseball league for 66 games for striking an umpire.

Torrealba was arguing with the home-plate umpire Friday after striking out. He angrily put a hand on the umpire's mask and shoved him. He was then ejected.

League president Jose Grasso Vecchio called Torrealba's behavior unacceptable and a violation of league rules.

Torrealba plays for the Caracas Lions when not playing in the majors. His agent, Melvin Roman, said Torrealba acknowledges he got carried away in the heat of the moment.

More baseball

The Chicago Cubs agreed to one-year contracts with right-handers Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas. Sonnanstine, who turns 29 in March, was 28-31 with a 5.26 ERA in five seasons with Tampa Bay. He made 80 starts in 132 appearances. Corpas, 29, spent five seasons with Colorado but did not pitch in the majors last year after having Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in September 2010.

Soccer

U.S. star Clint Dempsey's goal for Fulham sent Chelsea to a third consecutive 1-1 draw in London and further damaged its Premier League title hopes. Reeling from its worst home loss in more than 40 years, Fulham scored just its fifth away goal this season. Bryan Ruiz eluded Chelsea's Ashley Cole and crossed to Dempsey, who sent the ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 57th minute. It was Dempsey's ninth goal of the season. Chelsea is two points ahead of Arsenal and 11 points behind the leaders -- Manchester rivals City and United.

Sailing

The Spanish boat Telefonica won the first stage of the second leg of the eight-month Volvo Ocean Race. It beat Camper by less than two minutes after a trek that lasted 15 days. Telefonica trailed Camper much of the past two days but overtook its rival about 8 miles before the finish in an undisclosed port in the Indian Ocean. The leg started in Cape Town, South Africa, but organizers have kept the locations of the boats a secret for the final part of the first stage to avoid pirates off the coast of Somalia. Telefonica earned 24 points and extended its overall lead over Camper by seven points. The 45,000-mile race ends in July in Ireland.

Horse racing

Kauto Star won the King George VI Chase for an unprecedented fifth time, beating last year's winner Long Run, in Kempton, England. Ridden by jockey Ruby Walsh, the 11-year-old Kauto Star finished 11/4 lengths ahead of 6-year-old Long Run in the 3-mile steeplechase. With the win, Kauto Star moved ahead of Desert Orchid's four victories in the prestigious race. In last year's Chase, Long Run easily defeated Kauto Star and went on to take the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

First published on December 27, 2011 at 12:00 am

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11361/1199492-139.stm?cmpid=sportsother.xml

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