Nearly 100 arrested in Vancouver
Hockey: Almost 150 people required hospital treatment and close to 100 were arrested after rioters swept through downtown Vancouver following the Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
Vancouver Coastal Health spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo said Thursday that three stabbing victims had been admitted and a man was in critical condition with head injuries after a fall from a viaduct. Rioting and looting left cars burned, stores in shambles and windows shattered over a roughly 10-block radius of the city’s main shopping district.
It was similar to the scene that erupted in 1994 following the Canucks’ Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers, but the latest violence shocked Canadians unaccustomed to such riots.
Police Chief Jim Chu said nine officers were injured, including one who required 14 stitches after being hit with a brick and some who had bite marks. He said 15 cars were burned, including two police cars. A local business leader estimated more than 50 businesses were damaged.
Chu called those who incited the riot “criminals and anarchists” and officers identified some in the crowd as the same people who smashed windows and caused trouble through the same streets the day after the 2010 Winter Olympics opened.
“These were people who came equipped with masks, goggles and gasoline,” Chu said. “They had a plan.”
In Boston, five men arrested during celebrations of the Bruins’ win appeared in municipal court. Police said one man encouraged a crowd near TD Garden to turn on police and dared officers to arrest him. Authorities said he shouted obscenities, took off his shirt and threw his belt at the officers. He was arrested on charges that included inciting a riot.
• Thunderbirds hire coach: Steve Konowalchuk has been hired to coach the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds, becoming the 16th head coach in franchise history.
Konowalchuk, 38, was an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL the previous two seasons. He also was a member of the Avalanche player development department during the 2007-08 NHL season.
Venus Williams loses at Eastbourne
Tennis: Venus Williams lost to Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, exiting the Eastbourne tournament in England a day after her sister was defeated.
Both sisters are back after lengthy injury breaks. Venus was playing her first event in five months since retiring with hip and abdominal injuries during the Australian Open in January.
Venus said she heads to Wimbledon with plenty of confidence as she targets a sixth title at the All England Club. The tournament begins Monday.
“I played a lot of matches here, spent a lot of time on the court,” Williams said. “It’s not the best luck today, but I feel good about my preparation.”
Colombian cyclist sustains brain injuries
Miscellany: Colombian cyclist Juan Mauricio Soler was hospitalized with severe brain injuries Thursday after a crash during the Tour of Switzerland. The 28-year-old rider has bleeding on the brain, multiple fractures and hematomas, his Movistar team said on its website. Soler was in second place overall, less than a minute behind the leader.
Thursday’s accident came almost seven miles into the 98-mile stage. Soler was unconscious and bleeding from the left ear when doctors reached him, race medic Roland Kretsch said. He was airlifted to a hospital in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and was in stable condition in intensive care, Kretsch added.
Rabobank’s Steven Kruijswijk completed the ride from Taegerschen, Switzerland, to Malbun, Liechtenstein, in 4 hours, 12 minutes, 3 seconds. He beat Radio Shack rider Levi Leipheimer of the U.S. to the finish line by nine seconds.
• UNC players have $13,185 in citations: North Carolina has released documents showing a group of Tar Heel football players accumulated $13,185 in parking citations over a 31/2-year period.
The school released the documents Thursday, a day after the state Court of Appeals denied the school’s request to delay the release of those records pending an appeal.
The documents show that the players combined for 395 citations between March 2007 and August 2010, though the records don’t specify which players received each violation. The citations ranged in penalty from $5 for improperly displaying a parking permit to $250 for parking in a fire lane or in a handicapped parking space.
Of the 395 citations, the school said 30 remain unpaid.
• Calipari loses victories: It turns out Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari hasn’t reached 500 career victories after all.
The school says it will change Calipari’s career record because of 42 vacated victories from his time at Memphis and Massachusetts. In a statement, Kentucky said it had consulted with the NCAA and determined it was “in error” to have celebrated Calipari’s 500th career win against Florida on Feb. 26.
The school had debated the issue with the NCAA because Calipari was never found to be at fault for the violations that led to the vacated wins.