Cuban Baseball Series
Former Industriales player and now playing for Holguín's Cachorros as a reinforcement from Artemisa's team, Yoandry Urgellés drove in the first run in Holguín's win over Industriales by score of 8-6 at Latinoamericano stadium on Wednesday.
Urgellés helped his former team Industriales with many wins at this same stadium. He said “I accept the invitation of the team who calls me. This is the new approach with reinforcements and Holguín has welcomed me so well that I'm third at bat.”
Pinar del Río's Vegueros defeated Las Tunas's Leñadores by a score of 4-2 in its backyard Capitán San Luis stadium with outstanding performance by right hander Vladimir Baños.
Isla de la Juventud's Piratas were ambushed in their own bay by Granma's Alazanes and lost in a tight game – squeezing by with the score of 6-7. With this win Granma comes second in the standings. Industriales is third and Matanzas is now included among the first four after firmly beating Ciego de Avila's Tigres 15-8.
NBA Joins Campaign to End Gun Violence
In the United States, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is teaming up with gun control activists over the holidays in a campaign to end gun violence.
Basketball stars like Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul call for an end to gun violence in a television commercial sponsored by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's group, Everytown for Gun Safety.
"All over America people are tired of daily gun violence," New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said in a statement. "Basketball brought me to a different route in my life, but every kid should have an outlet to reach his or her full potential."
The NBA's gun violence prevention campaign comes amid growing concerns over high-profile mass shootings, from the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Charleston church shootings to the more recent shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., and Colorado Springs.
The shootings hit close to home for some pro basketball players.
"I heard over the summer about a shooting that killed a three-year-old girl, and I immediately thought of my 3-year-old daughter, Riley," Curry, a Golden State Warriors point guard, says in the video. "Then I learned the horrible statistic that every day 88 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are injured."
"I'll never forget playing basketball in a park with some kids, and a young woman approached me in tears, and told me that her brother had been shot and killed on that same court a year earlier," Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah said. "There's just no room for gun violence."
Nevertheless, the Republican opposition in the U.S., with the support of the National Rifle Association, has so far blocked all possibilities of legislation against gun violence.
UEFA rejects Barcelona Esteladas' appeal
FC Barcelona has confirmed that UEFA has rejected its appeal against the sanctions imposed against the football club after fans raised pro-Catalan independence flags, better known as Esteladas flags, and chanted independence slogans during the side's European Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen on September 29 at the Camp Nou stadium.
The Barcelona official website confirmed on Wednesday that the club will appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as UEFA imposed a fine of 40,000 euros ($43,000) on the club, reports Efe.
The yellow and red striped flags, which are a symbol of support for Catalan independence from Spain, are regularly seen at the iconic stadium and around the city. However, Corrigan writes UEFA view the flags as political symbols, and given they are not allowed in venues hosting UEFA Champions League matches, they are punishable.
Indeed, according to Corrigan, Barcelona received fines totaling €70,000 (£51,000) from European football’s governing body because of the flags and the chants; there's even been some tentative talk of sections of the stadium being closed as a result.
