Bryce Harper (pictured) has won the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, providing another memory to Nationals fans in what could be his final season in Washington. Harper gave an uppercut fist pump after matching Kyle Schwarber’s 18 homers in the championship round on the final swing of his allotted 4 minutes. Because he hit two homers over 440 feet, Harper got 30 seconds of extra time. He launched the winning blast on his second extra swing, holding his bat over his head and walking down the first-base line as it cleared the center-field fence. The 2015 NL MVP has had an uneven season and the Nationals are stuck at .500 after making four playoff appearances in the previous six years. The Chicago Cubs’ Schwarber hit the most home runs in the derby with 55 through three rounds. But Harper was the only player to get the crowd roaring.
Rugby: Mafi and Timani fined by Melbourne Rebels for Dunedin fight
The Melbourne Rebels has fined Super Rugby players Amanaki Mafi and Lopeti Timani for a physical altercation between the pair after the Rebels’ loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday. The Rebels said in a statement yesterday it had handed down the maximum financial sanction of USD15,000 it was able to under its disciplinary rules after Mafi and Timani’s conduct had ‘breached team protocols and team management instructions.’ Mafi has also been charged with a criminal offence and appeared in court on Monday. The Japan international’s case has been adjourned by the Dunedin District Court until Aug. 3. Melbourne Rebels Chief Executive Officer, Baden Stephenson said: “Notwithstanding that both Mafi and Timani were finishing at the Rebels this season […] it is only appropriate, given the seriousness of the incident, to sanction both players with a significant fine.”
Wrestling: Hulk Hogan reinstated into wrestling Hall of Fame
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has reinstated Hulk Hogan (pictured) to its Hall of Fame, three years after he was found to have used racial slurs in a conversation caught on a sex tape. “This second chance follows Hogan’s numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake,” the organization wrote. Hogan told his 2.2 million followers on Twitter: “I’ve been praying for this day and I finally feel like I made it back home. Only Love 4 the #WWEUNIVERSE brother,” he wrote. The 64-year-old Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, apologized in 2015 for using “offensive language” in a conversation many years before that. On the recording, he was caught talking about his daughter sleeping with a black man and used the “N’’ word.
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