Baseball
Mets watch closer Wilson work out
• Thirteen months ago, the Mets poured money into their bullpen, signing three players they hoped would put late-game leads in cement.
The moves did not quite work out. But that may not dissuade General Manager Sandy Alderson from investing more cash and taking a run at a big-name reliever.
The Mets took a look at former Giants closer Brian Wilson in California on Saturday, according to several reports. Wilson had 48 saves in 2010, then six more during the postseason, as the Giants won their first World Series since moving to San Francisco.
But Wilson, 31, made just two appearances in 2012. He underwent Tommy John surgery last April. Signing Wilson would be a gamble, but it’s a gamble with a huge upside.
According to CBS Sports, there are six to eight teams still in the mix on Wilson.
Speed Skating
Dutch dominate Euro championships
• Dutch skaters swept nearly all the medals at the European Allround Championships on Sunday, with Sven Kramer winning the men’s title for the sixth time and Ireen Wust earning her second gold medal in the women’s event. Kramer captured the 10,000 meters and Wust the 1,500. Kramer finished in 12 minutes, 55.98 seconds, ahead of countryman Jan Blokhuijsen in 13:01.60. Blokhuijsen was also second in the allround standings, followed by Norway’s Havard Bokko.
Wust won in 1:56.49, followed by countrywoman Linda de Vries in 1:57.57. Dutch women took all three allround medals. De Vries was second and Diane Valkenburg third, with the Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova fourth. Sablikova won the 5,000 Sunday.
Hockey
Montreal’s Gomez sent home for year
• Scott Gomez’s season was over before the Montreal Canadiens held their first practice. The Canadiens sent underperforming center Scott Gomez home for the rest of the year before they opened training camp on Sunday, ensuring their ability to buy out the his contract next summer to remove his team-high $7.3 million salary cap hit from the books. Under the new collective bargaining agreement signed Saturday, the cap is to plunge by about $10 million next season, but teams will be allowed two “amnesty” buyouts to help reach the cap. However, if a player is injured, he cannot be bought out. Gomez has been a disappointment on the ice the last two seasons. Last season, the 33-year-old was limited to 38 games by injuries and had two goals and nine assists.
• The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Cam Barker to a one-year deal. Barker was originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks third overall in the 2004 draft, behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin. Barker missed most of last season with an ankle injury that required surgery. He has 94 points (21 goals, 73 assists) and 286 penalty minutes in 296 career NHL games with Chicago, Minnesota and Edmonton.
Soccer
United maintains lead over Man City
• Manchester United’s seven-point lead over Manchester City stayed intact Sunday after the title-chasing rivals defeated two former powers in the Premier League. United scraped its way to a 2-1 victory at home against Liverpool. City won 2-0 at Arsenal after playing against 10 men for most of the match. Robin van Persie sent United on the way to victory over its greatest rival at Old Trafford with his league-high 17th goal of the season. Nemanja Vidic unwittingly made it 2-0 but United had to resort to desperate defense to preserve the lead after substitute Daniel Sturridge’s goal in his league debut for Liverpool.
• In his first game since winning an unprecedented fourth world player of the year award, Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up two more to steer Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Malaga as the Spanish leaders reached the season’s midway point with an almost immaculate record. Messi pounced on an ill-advised back pass by Malaga’s Ignacio Camacho in the 27th minute to score for the ninth league game in a row. He then set up Cesc Fabregas to score in the 50th and substitute Thiago Alcantara for another eight minutes from time.
— From wire reports
