Sports Headlines – June 25th, 2012

Posted by Ryan Smyth on 25 Jun 2012 / 0 Comment

Alessandro Diamanti scored the decisive kick Sunday to send Italy through to the European Championship semifinals with a 4-2 win in the shootout following a 0-0 tie with England.

The Boston Red Sox traded away the hard-nosed Kevin Youkilis on Sunday, sending the three-time All-Star infielder and cash to the Chicago White Sox for utilityman Brent Lillibridge and right-hander Zach Stewart.

Mark Buehrle pitched effectively for seven innings to become the winningest pitcher in interleague play, John Buck hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

The Toronto Blue Jays recalled first baseman Adam Lind from triple-A on Sunday.

Mark Trumbo drove in Albert Pujols with the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, and the Angels won their series with the Dodgers for the third straight year with a 5-3 victory Sunday.

The Atlanta Hawks have hired Danny Ferry as president of basketball operations and general manager.

The world No. 1 Maria Sharapova won her eighth straight Grand Slam match by handling Russian-born Aussie Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-3 on the famed Centre Court at the All England Club.

Meanwhile, the former world No. 1 Venus Williams succumbed to Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 in 1 hour, 15 minutes on Court 2. Vesnina cruised past a listless Venus in seven games in the first set and got the break she needed for a 4-2 lead in the second and never looked back.

The world No. 1 star Novak Djokovic throttled former top-ranked Spaniard and two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on the famed grass on Centre Court at the All England Club. The 32-year-old Ferrero is also a former French Open champ and two-time Grand Slam runner-up.