Off the wire

MOTOR SPORTS Hamilton wins in Shangai

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton captured his third consecutive Formula One race with easeon Sunday, leading from start to finish to win the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Mercedes showed again that it’s in a different class from its rivals, with Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg taking second place - the third time in four races this season the pair have finished one-two. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso held on for third place to get his team’s first podium finish of the year. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth, while his teammate, defending world champion Sebastian Vettel, slumped to fifth. Hamilton also had victories in Malaysia and Bahrain. He also inched closer to his teammate’s lead in the drivers’ championship with 75 points, just four behind Rosberg.

BASKETBALL NBA: Referees missed foul

The NBA said referees missed a foul call late in the Warriors’ Game 1 victory that would have given the Clippers a chance to tie the score. Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul lost the ball out of bounds with 18.9 seconds left Saturday and Golden State leading 107-105. Rod Thorn, the league’s president for basketball operations, said in a statement Sunday that the Warriors’ Draymond Green should have been whistled for a foul, which would have given Paul two free throws. Instead, Golden State got the ball and went on to win 109-105 in Los Angeles to open the first-round playoff series. Officials reviewed the video after the ball went out of bounds and awarded possession to the Warriors. Thorn said that decision was correct, but the foul was missed moments earlier. Referees are not allowed to check for fouls when they use replay. Clippers Coach Doc Rivers commended the league for admitting the error. “A mistake happened on their end, but we made our own mistakes,” he said Sunday. “We have to take ownership of that.”

Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said he looks forward to sideline reporter Craig Sager’s return and“I promise I’ll be nice.” TNT’s Sager is missing the NBA playoffs as he undergoes treatment for leukemia. So his son, Craig Sager Jr., filled in for Sunday’s broadcast of San Antonio’s playoff opener against Dallas, asking Popovich a few questions after the third quarter. Popovich is famous for his terse answers to in-game questions from Sager and other sideline reporters. Sager even joked about it in a statement Friday confirming his diagnosis: “Too bad, I had some probing questions for Pop.” This time, Popovich was verbose by his standards in discussing the Spurs’ play. “Great questions from Craig JUNIOR,” he quipped at the end. The younger Sager, a sports reporter in Atlanta, said he asked his father for suggestions but was told, “You’re on your own.” “You did a great job,” Popovich said to him, “but I’d rather have your dad standing here.” Popovich then shared this message for his father: “We miss you. You’ve been an important part of all of us for a long time, doing a great job. We want your fanny back on the court, and I promise I’ll be nice.”

BASEBALL No discomfort for Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw threw a simulated game on Sunday and reported no discomfort after topping out at 90 mph. Kershaw, who is on the disabled list for the first time in his seven-year career, threw a combined total of 50 pitches from the windup and from the stretch, His bullpen session lasted for about 20 pitches. The 26-year-old left-hander, who led the majors in ERA in each of the previous three seasons, hasn’t pitched since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 in the season opener in Australia. He injured himself tossing a ball on the side a few days later. Kershaw said he felt “pretty normal” and that he expects his next step will be a rehab assignment in the minor leagues if he feels OK today.

New York Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Nova left Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay in the fifth inning. An MRI exam after the game revealed the injury. Nova will be further examined today in New York by Yankees team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad. He had no discomfort in the elbow until his 82nd and final pitch Saturday when he felt a pop.

The Milwaukee Brewers have put outfielder Logan Schafer on the 15-day disabled list and reinstated first baseman Lyle Overbay from the paternity list. The Brewers made the moves before playing Pittsburgh on Sunday. Schafer strained his right hamstring while stretching in the on-deck circle prior to a pinch hitting appearance Thursday against the Pirates. The move was made retroactive to April 18. Schafer, 27, was hitting .214 with 4 doubles and 2 RBI in 10 games.

Minnesota has claimed outfielder Sam Fuld off waivers from Oakland and designated outfielder Darin Mastroianni for assignment. Fuld is not due to join Minnesota until its game Tuesday at Tampa Bay, leaving the club one player short for its series finale against the Royals on Sunday. Fuld was hitting .200 with 1 home run and 4 RBI in 7 games for the Athletics. He had spent parts of the previous three seasons with Tampa Bay after breaking in with the Chicago Cubs.

Three weeks into the season, the New York Mets are trying their third closer. Mets Manager Terry Collins said Sunday he is promoting setup man Kyle Farnsworth to the ninth-inning role in place of struggling right-hander Jose Valverde, who has given up four home runs in his last three outings. Valverde got the job when Bobby Parnell went down with an elbow injury after blowing a save on opening day. Parnell had Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Valverde has 2 saves in 3 chances and a 5.40 ERA. Farnsworth has a 1.23 ERA in eight appearances, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his past seven games. Both veterans were signed to minor league contracts in February and added to the big league roster to shore up a suspect bullpen.

The Detroit Tigers have released opening day shortstop Alex Gonzalez and purchased the contract of infielder Danny Worth from Triple-A Toledo. Detroit has struggled to fill the hole at shortstop after letting Jhonny Peralta leave via free agency and losing Jose Iglesias to injury. The Tigers traded for both Gonzalez and Andrew Romine in late March. The 37-year old Gonzalez started the opener against Kansas City and delivered the winning hit in the ninth inning, but he ended up going just 5 for 30 with Detroit. Romine started Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. Worth played 115 games for the Tigers from 2010-13, hitting .242 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI.

TENNIS Wawrinka takes down Federer

Stanislas Wawrinka won the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time after rallying to beat Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in an all-Swiss final on Sunday. The Australian Open champion had lost his previous two Masters finals and looked like losing a third until Federer’s level dropped suddenly late in the second set, and Wawrinka began troubling the 17-time Grand Slam champion with his aggressive backhand. The fourth-seeded Federer, who accepted a wild card invitation to play in the tournament, was also looking to win it for the first time after losing his three previous finals here to eight-time champion Rafael Nadal from 2006-08. Wawrinka has beaten Federer only twice in 15 matches but both victories have come here. He also beat him in the third round in 2009.

The doubles team of Caroline Garcia and Virginie Razzano led France to a 3-2 victory over the United States in Fed Cup competition Sunday in St. Louis. France qualified for the World Group in 2015 and will compete for the Fed Cup championship. The USA drops down to World Group II for next year. Garcia and Razzano beat the USA’s Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5 in the fifth and deciding match of the best-of-five, two-day competition held at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University. The 20-year-old Garcia won two singles matches before teaming with Razzano for the clinching victory.

SOCCER Messi leads Barcelona

Lionel Messi ended Barcelona’s run of three consecutive losses and kept it in the Spanish league title chase by scoring a late free kick to cap its 2-1 comeback victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Messi’s 75th-minute free kick answered some of the criticism the club’s all-time leading scorer had received for his lackluster performances in the team’s recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final. Barcelona trailed again after Aritz Aduriz’s 50th-minute goal, but Pedro Rodriguez equalized when he slotted in Alexis Sanchez’s scuffed strike in the 72nd. Barcelona moved provisionally into second place, four points behind leader Atletico Madrid. Madrid is two points behind Barcelona but with a game to play.

Sports, Pages 14 on 04/21/2014

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