REALTY ONE TUESDAY EYE-OPENER

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke won’t be attending the opening news conference of the Women’s World Cup. Valcke had been slated to attend Thursday’s event in Vancouver but that changed today. A report from the New York Times says Valcke is believed to be the high-ranking FIFA official who allegedly made a $10-million payment central to a U-S probe into soccer corruption.

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The Toronto Blue Jays will be playing a doubleheader today after rain postponed their series opener in Washington last night. The lineup for last night’s game had Jose Bautista returning to right field for the first time since he injured his shoulder in April.

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Clayton Kershaw had a career-high three hits to back his strong pitching performance as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4. Kershaw had a double and two singles, including a run-scoring liner to left as part of a six-run sixth inning that broke open a tight game. Joc Pederson lined one of L-A’s four homers on the night.

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Around the major leagues, Mark Teixeira hit his ninth career grand slam off Seattle ace Felix Hernandez as the Yankees beat the Mariners 7-2. And Gerrit Cole struck out a season-best nine to win his third straight start as the Pittsburgh edged the San Francisco Giants 4-3.

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Caitlyn Jenner’s bravery for coming out as a transgender woman will be recognized next month. She’ll be presented with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY (ESS’-pee) Awards. The honour is given to individuals whose contributions transcend sports.

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Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still and his 5-year-old daughter Leah will receive the Jimmy V Perseverance honour at the ESPY Awards in July. Leah was diagnosed last June with stage-4 neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer in young children. Still said last week that his daughter “hit a pretty serious complication” in the process of getting a stem cell transplant, with her liver affected by chemotherapy.

(CP)