Just couple of rounds needed Cuban Rancés Barthelemí (20-0-0, 13 KO) to take over the universal belt in the super featherweight division of the IBF. The title fight was held last night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the NBA Timberwolves. His victim was the Dominican Argenis Mendez (21-3-1, 11 KO), defender champion of the category. The decision of the contest: knockout in the second round. This victory turned Barthelemí, birthplace Arroyo Naranjo in the capital of the island, in the fifth Cuban world champion. The others are Guillermo Rigondeaux (super bantamweight) , Richard Abril (light ) , Erislandy Lara ( super welterweight ) and Joan Pablo Hernandez ( cruiser) . Rancés , younger brother of Olympic gold in Athens 2004 in the 48 kg Yan Barthelemí , had become direct challenger for the 130-pound IBF crown on June 21, 2013 . That day he also beat in two rounds by KO Thai Fahsai Sakkreerin . Meanwhile, Argenis Mendez already had a title defense which ended in draw with Canadian of Afghan origin Arash Usmanee. It was thus the scene was ready made for the Caribbean duel Friday between Rancés and Argenis . Since the beginning of...

For the Cuban pitcher Amauri Sanit the recently concluded 2013 was a magical year. In September he was the champion of the summer league in the Mexican baseball with the Tigres de Quintana Roo. He was selected the best pitcher of the tournament. With twelve wins, leader, he also had the second best ERA (3.27) and finished third in strikeouts (103). He then joined the roster of Culiacan Tomateros , club he has played with in the last two seasons in the Mexican winter league . After the regular stage in the last days of December, the performance of Sanit grabs headlines again. He has a gorgeous ERA (2.13) and perfect win-loss record (7-0, 1000), which validated him as the number one among all pitchers. His WHIP (1.03) and offensive that averaged against him only .209, were only surpassed by Héctor Velázquez (1.02 and .191 respectively). Main pitcher in the Tomateros roster, Amauri was included in the defensive All -Star. Worth noting that in the anteroom Gold Glove was won by Matanzas Yunesky Sanchez, thanks to his average of 986 , just two errors in 152 plays. Former Industriales pitcher in Cuban tournaments he also accumulated other relevant statistics. Equipped...

The beautiful, amazing and spectacular Cuban volleyball women players Rosir Calderon, Kenya Carcasés and Yusleyni Herrera had an outstanding performance in the 25th edition of the Top Volley International, club tournament held in Basel, Swiss city that hosts the event each year. The recently concluded version, held from December 27 and 29, was attended by six teams; the current champions of the professional tourneys in France, Germany and Switzerland: RC Cannes , SC Schweriner and Volero Zurich in that order. In addition, to the Brazilian club Praia, Krasnodar Dynamo from Russia and the national team of the host country. Rosir is one of the leaders of Krasnodar along with Russian stellar Lyubov Sokolova. Kenya has delighted Swiss fans of Volero Zurich since her debut with the club this season while Yusleyni plays for Brazilian Club Praia and tries to leave behind some injuries that have afflicted her. The three of them had been part of Cuban national team that attended Beijing 2008 Olympics. Five years later Basel brought them together again, but this time as rivals. Off the court, they must have enjoyed this reunion, which was also attended by other Cubans, including one much-loved by volleyball supporters on the...

The unknowns related to the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Series continue clearing. Just a few hours ago, the organizers released the official calendar of the event starting on February 1, 2014. The Villa Clara team, the last champion of the Cuban domestic championship, will make its debut at eight PM that day against the winners of the Mexican winter league that is underway now. This game will be preceded by the opening match between the champions of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico at three thirty in the afternoon. The confirmation in early December of Cuban participation in the event, which will be held at Margarita Island in Venezuela, motivated logical changes in the schedule. The round robin at two laps and a final game between the two leaders will not be repeated, as happened in the previous version held in the Mexican city of Hermosillo. There the local club Yaquis de Obregon won the crown in a spectacular game against the Dominicans Leones del Escogido, which was extended to 18 innings. On this occasion it was decided to make one turn in each day there will be a break for one of the five selections. The team finished...

There were several weeks waiting for his debut in professional baseball. It happened on Sunday in the Mexican Pacific League. Havana’s pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne debuted for the Mexicali Aguilas in a game against the Navojoa Mayos. As reflected in the official website of Mexicali, Despaigne was the starter of the match. He performed four scoreless innings, allowing two hits, with a pair of strikeouts and the same number of BB. He left the game with a 1-0 lead, but the end result favored Navojoa 6-1. The Aguilas are second in the standings of the circuit, escorting the Hermosillo Naranjeros. In the roster of this franchise also appears Villa Clara’s lefty Misael Siverio, with good performances in his outings to the mound. On June 29th, Odrisamer left the national team that went to the Netherlands to take part in the traditional tournament in Rotterdam. The stopover on the Paris´ Charles de Gaulle airport was the moment chosen. He then moved to Spain to meet with his father, Francisco Despaigne, whom he had not seen for eleven years. Francisco was pitcher for Industriales squads in the decades of the 80s and 90s of last century. Another of family that integrated teams of...

When Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in 1947, ruling for more than fifty years in the United States professional baseball, the history of this ethnic essay had already in its pages the presence of a Cuban baseball player. Matanzas´ Silvio Garcia, one of the great figures of Cuban baseball circuit could be the first black player to debut in the major leagues. By 1947 a group of moguls of baseball in America had long been preparing this social experiment that would allow them to acquire a constellation of "color" players who dazzled in the Negro Leagues. A year before, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Walter O'Malley, sent the franchise general manager Branch Rickey to Cuba. The idea of ​​breaking the color barrier in the majors through a Cuban player was in his plans. The Dodgers directive, since the early 1940s, was impressed with Silvio Garcia´s performance in the field. He had bee already seen by the scouts during the winter seasons in Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and in the Negro Leagues. Some of the reports considered him superior to Marty Marion, one of the best shortstops in the period. Silvio Garcia was the player called to change...

The 52nd edition of Playa Giron National Boxing Championship, started last Tuesday in Sancti Spiritus province, marked the eagerly awaited competitive return of some stellar figures of Cuban national squad. The return of London 2012 Olympic champion, Roniel Iglesias (69 kg), was the most pleasant news. In August he was separated from the national team for a year due to ¨indisciplines¨, he was banned from participating in international eventsand it was said he had to remain training in his province. His readmission would depend on the ¨good comprehensive behavior¨ of the boxer. The exclusion time, for the good of the pugilist and Cuban boxing, did not reach four months. In his debut in this tourney, last Wednesday, Roniel unanimously defeated 3-0 Camagüey’s Yaisnier Abreu. “I´m not still in good shape and resides Abreu is very tall, so it was not easy to punch him. It was my first fight after months far from important competitions, but I will be improving my rhythm to reach the title”, Iglesias told Juventud Rebelde newspaper. Getting back his seat as Cuban number one welterweight will be a hard task. Arisnoidys Despaigne, who substituted him, lives his best moment in the ring, adding to the...

The Cuban ball control school is back in the news. This weekend Havana’s Luis Carlos García set a new world record by hitting the ball 302 times in one minute, sitting on a table and using only his right foot. The record was made at Palco hotel and was broadcasted live on national television. Luis Carlos, 21, who resides in Boyeros municipality, also owned the previous mark (282), result dating from 2009. Months later he established another record in the same modality, but reduced the amount of time to half a minute and achieving 154 contacts. This time his hitting rate reached five touches per second, valid for surpassing in two tens the previous figure. Roberto Vergel, Luis Carlos´ coach, said the forecasts were greatly exceeded, as in the controls applied on previous training the number of contacts always ranged between 290 and 295. After the trial, while the judges made the computer tabulation, Luis Carlos spoke for the television with journalist Yasser Porto. "I am very happy with this result, it is the reward for the effort made ​​during three months of training, I dedicate the record to all the people who put their trust on me, and especially...

The Japanese team Yomiuri Giants reached an agreement with the Cuban baseball player Leslie Anderson after a month of talks. The news was revealed on Saturday by the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal on its website. Anderson will take the mandatory medical tests on Wednesday in the United States. So far, the terms of the contract have not been published. Leslie was playing in the Venezuelan Winter League with the Anzoategui Caribes, current leaders of the tournament. In 43 games he had an average of .325 (54 for 166), with four homers and 27 RBIs. The previous season he wore the jersey of the Magallanes Navegantes in 28 games. Anderson is the third Cuban player signing with Japanese franchises for the upcoming edition of the NPB. In November Havana’s Barbaro Canizares was signed by Fukuoka Sofbank Hawks, and in late October the Nippon Ham Fighters took the services of Pinar del Rio´s Juan Miguel Miranda. This organization also includes Matanzas´ slugger Michel Abreu, who had an excellent performance last season, by leading the Pacific League in homers with 31, in addition to 93 RBIs and an average of .285. The Yomiuri Giants are the most representative team of Japanese professional baseball,...

Cuba’s Domadores took hold as leaders of Group B of the Fourth World Series of Boxing, by winning 3-2 against the current kings of the event: the Kazakh Astana Arlans club . The win was even more relevant because it was as visitors. Now the Caribbean squad has 12 points and has balance of 18 wins and two losses in the first four weeks of WSB. The Kazakh public packed the Rakhat Towers arena in Almaty. The local squad, although it did not have the first figures in all five categories called - the exception perhaps was the Croatian reinforcement in super heavyweights Filip Hrgovic - , itself formed a quintet of gifted fighters of good technical level and mostly with previous experience in the WSB. Logically, this is the most even and interesting match the Domadores have had to date. In the fight that started the match finished the undefeated streak of the Cuban squad, which until that moment had accumulated fifteen consecutive victories. Gerardo Cervantes (52kg) was beaten by unanimous decision by Miras Zhakupov 3-0, identical 47-48, in a flamboyant fight marked by the technical quality of both fighters . The local secured the victory by winning the...

The first Latin origin player who performed on the United States professional baseball circuit was the Cuban Esteban Bellan. Between 1871 and 1873 he wore the jerseys of clubs Troy Haymakers and New York Mutuals of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), pioneer league of American professional baseball. In those three seasons he had was an offensive average of .251 with 69 hits, including 9 doubles and 3 triples, 43 RBIs and 52 runs, in addition he stole 5 bases. His major virtues were in defense. He was a versatile player who most of the time played as third baseman, but also saw action as shortstop, second baseman and outfielder. He was nicknamed "The Cuban Sylph" direct allusion to the elegance and lightness with which he performed on the ground. In "The Sylphs" ballet when referring to the term sylph, this one is equated with "spirits of the air". The analogy is obvious. A chronic contained in the Troy Daily Whig, in 1871, emphasized the courage of Bellán when stopping solid groundballs and lines, and the accuracy of his throws to the bases. Esteban Bellan was born in Havana on October 1st, 1849, son of a Cuban father...

Last third, five subseries, fifteen games. That is what is left for the 53 National Baseball series to define the eight teams that will participate in the second phase. In unison, the same number of squads will say goodbye to their stadiums and will be aware of the new shirts their idols will wear from January 4, the day of the selection of the reinforcement. The tournament so far has not been oblivious to the technical and tactical shortcomings from a long while has been afflicting the baseball on the island. We are missing the short and fast swings, which after choosing pitches wisely will cause good contacts. Bunting the ball with efficiency is a Herculean work for most and abound senseless base running. At defense scoring errors go hand in hand with those of the mind that do not end up in the statistics sheet. The pitchers suddenly lose concentration, and with it the control and appropriate selection of harmful pitches. Obviously, the series is rich in rookies and players that in one or two preceding seasons just accumulate hours in baseball parks while the absence of established players has also marked the series from the start. This makes...

"Boxing is me," the legendary Kid Chocolate said with total self-confidence while conquering New York rings and delighting everyone with his elegant clothing in the thirties of last century. This Saturday the picturesque phrase was present again around the Big Apple, claimed by two Cuban boxers, worthy heirs of that illustrious man from El Cerro neighborhood . Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 Ko) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0-0, 8 Ko). The first one changed his interim belt by this of the World Boxing Association (WBA) world super welterweight champion. While Rigondeaux, twice Olympic champion as amateur, kept the 122-pound universal belt in the WBA and the one of the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Lara gave a master class on the ring to Austin Trout (29-2-0, 14 Ko). The fight was held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and he won by unanimous decision in twelve rounds (118-109, 117-110, and 117-110). Punching and not taking while rhythmically dancing in the ring, undeniable hallmark of Cuban fighters. It was an indecipherable style for his opponent. "I come from Cuban boxing school, so I say that Trout was caught by it'' Erislandy stated. From the first round, Lara’s punching accuracy and feet speed became indecipherable enigma for...

The new statements made by the Dominican Joel Araujo, director of MLB development and international operations for Latin America, revealed that the permission granted by the U.S. State Department to Cuba, only authorizes its participation in the edition of 2014, according to ESPN Sports channel. "The license we have is for this year f or Margarita Island . Such permission involves different things and it should be assumed that Cuba’s presence this year does not entail it will also be participating next year, "he said. If the Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball (CBPC by its Spanish acronym) wants the presence of Cuba to extend beyond 2014, it must reapply for authorization to the government of the United States, Araujo added. One detail that may complicate the longed continuity of Cuban squads in regional events is that the venue for 2015 will be Puerto Rico, with its status as Free Associated State subject to U.S. law. In that sense Araujo stated: "I do not know if it would be more difficult or not. We are at a very preliminary stage. CBPC still has not said they are interested in having Cuba, but as Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, that would...

Cienfuegos shortstop Erisbel Arruebarruena this weekend will have a tryout in front of MLB scouts. The showcase will take place in the New York Yankees complex in the Dominican Republic. As reported by several websites devoted to Cuban baseball, among the clubs that should send scouts to the Caribbean Island highlights the Mets, which already openly expressed interest in the "Cricket". Arruebarruena played for six seasons with Cienfuegos team in the National Series. Here he played alongside the star outfielder for the Dodgers Yasiel Puig and José Dariel Abreu, recently signed by the White Sox, which was a record contract for foreign free agents in the majors (68 million-6 years). Admirer as a child of Germán Mesa and today supporter of Dominican shortstops Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez, the "Cricket" was excluded of his team prior to the commencement of the 53 series of Cuban baseball. The argument made by the Federation, "serious indiscipline in training", wanted to hide an attempt of illegal departure he made in September. Weeks later Arruebarruena managed to emigrate. In the Cuba team he participated in several international events, including Panama World Cup and the Guadalajara Pan American Games, both held in 2011 and the...

The U.S. State Department granted the needed permission approving the return of Cuba to the Caribbean Series, after 53 years of absence. The news was released by the sports network ESPN. “For us it is a tremendous satisfaction to inform the world that the return of Cuba to the Caribbean Series is a fact," Dominican Joel Araujo , director of international development for MLB told ESPN. Last October, Araujo said that the papers necessary to seek permission from the State Department had been delivered and that “the experience in previous cases, such as the WBC, makes us think that there will be no problem and Cuba will play Margarita island in February.” Cuba had taken an important first step in June this year to accept its return to the Caribbean Series. A historic debt to its baseball long deserved to be paid. The circuit started in 1949, and had as the first monarch the legendary Almendares club. Then the selections representing the island added six titles (1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960), until the new paths followed by the nation brought a complete break with the professionalism in the sport. Regarding the proposal that MLB had made it to...

Ariadna Capiró didn’t find volleyball courts attractive. The very restlessness of her nine years needed a more dynamic sport where she had to run constantly. She began attending basketball practice where she found her passion. She was a member of the Cuban team to the Youth World Cup in Czech Republic 2001. In the game against France she starred and not by her performance on the court. At halftime she got locked out in the dressing room and managed to get out only when the second half began. That was a memorable blooper. Being in the national team (senior) she had the joy of a playing in friendly U.S. basketball star Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson and Katie Smith. She took her chance and her actions earned her a spot on the team that would participate in the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo which meant a spectacular triumph for her. Time later disagreements with the national team coach led to her absence in the most important event of the season. The sadness of the moment, endless days of self-analysis and the desire to find new motivations marked her future path. She decided to try her...

The judokas Idalis Ortiz and Asley Gonzalez were honored as athletes of the year in Cuba, in the traditional survey conducted by INDER and the sports writers’ guild of UPEC. Rio world champions and leaders of their respective divisions in the ranking of discipline, both finished unbeaten their participation in the Team’s Grand Prix of Brazil. Idalis repeats the condition obtained in 2012. The women's basketball, the new winner of the Americas World qualifier, was the team of the year. Among the team sports baseball won. Both disciplines provided the best athletes in this category: Yamara Amargo (most valuable player and member of the ideal team in the FIBA Americas Championship) and Freddy Asiel Alvarez (Las Villas and national ace pitching throughout the year, including a no-hitter and impressive string of consecutive zeros). Boxing was recognized as an individual sport in voting, which in my opinion, should have gone to taekwondo, from its historical second place in the world championship held in Puebla, Mexico, without discrediting the second place obtained by our boxers in Almaty. The rookie of the year went to the superheavyweight boxer Yohandi Toirac. Special activities award went to ball control again, this time thanks to Joel...

Repeating as leading actor of a set in volleyball that extends to 56 points sounds utopian. The longest set registered up to this moment (54-52) dates from 2002 in the Italian Serie A-1. Cuban outside hitter Maikel Sánchez Bozhuleva , who plays for Korean Air Jumbos, took advantage by far of this chance, and set a new absolute record for a set by scoring 31 points to the club Rush & Cash, in a match of the Korean professional volleyball league. The final score of the match was 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 56-54) and the "Russian", as he is known, ended up scoring 41 points , at just one unit to match another world record: 42 points by the also Cuban Leonardo Leyva (Samsung Blue Fangs) for a three sets game. Leyva also possessed the highest amount of points for a set (21), a figure he had reached just a week before Maikel exceeded it by a wide margin. We chatted via Facebook with the "Russian" who offered us his impressions on this feat. Third set: 56-54, exact reflection of a set played with great intensity, and wherein the weight of your team's offense fell on you. It was intense, yes....

The five boxers who came to the ring at the Rafako Factory arena, in the Polish city of Raciborz, won their respective fights, during the second presentation of the Cuba Domadores in the IV World Series of Boxing (WSB ) organized by the AIBA. With this result our squad shows ten consecutive wins following the 5-0 debut over the Mexican Guerreros in the first week of the event. Boxers of the local franchise, “Hussars " of Poland, marked by their low participation in international events , barely offered the Cuban squad any resistance , which showed a clear technical and tactical superiority held in five fights. In this case the divisions that were called who had not seen action in the initial round of the WSB: 52kg, 60kg, 69kg, 81kg and +91 kg. In the first match of the day, flyweight Gerardo Cervantes gave an excellent demonstration in his bout against Grzegorz Kozlowski . The Cuban maintained a devilish pace of punching in five rounds, specially his hooks to the ribs and clear swings in the short distance, time and time again landing on the face of Kozlowski. The decision of the judges was unanimous 3-0 (50-45) (50-45) (49-46) ....

The five Cuban fighters that climbed into the ring at the Sports Dome Six Year Plan of the Fourth World Series of Boxing won their combats against the Mexican “Guerreros”. A beautiful left swing by Guantanamo Erislandy Savon in the first round put the final ingredient to this flawless day sending his rival, French reinforcement Djabril Coupe, to the ground. The first triumph of the Cuban team was contributed by flyweight Yosbani Veitía (49kg ) over Joselito Velazquez , a classic of the continent that now the Cuban dominates three wins to one. This time the verdict of the judges unanimously favored Veitía , 3-0 ( 48-47 , 49-46 , 48-47 ) . The fifth round could not be completed due to a cut suffered by the Mexican on his right eyebrow. Then London Olympic chmapion, Robeisy Ramirez, defeated comfortably local Brayan “Revelation “Gonzalez in the 56 kg, who could do little against the expertise of the Cienfuegos fighter. Robeisy physical spending was almost nil, being enough a few combinations of accurate swings, straight punches and hooks spaced between rounds to secure the win. The cards accurately reflect what happened on the ring, 3-0 (50-42, 50-45, and 50-44) A barely...

When there are just a few hours remaining to the start of the World Series IV AIBA Boxing (WSB), expectations for the debut of the Cuban team in these conflicts is making headlines in dissimilar media. On Friday, our “Domadores “will face the Mexico’s "Guerreros”, the beginning of a difficult path towards the title, to be disputed in May 2014. Located in the “Group of Death”, the Cuban team will have epic battles in its World Series debut. The pairing had it sharing group with the current monarch of the event, the Kazakh team “Astana Promises”, as well as with powerful "Russian Boxing Team”. The remaining franchises that complete this section B are not far behind in terms of the quality of his boxers. They are: the Polish “Hussars”, the “Baku Fires" of Azerbaijan, and the aforementioned "Guerreros". Unlike previous versions where only five divisions were called, this time they will fight in the ten Olympic categories. The fights are agreed to five rounds of three minutes each, no shirt or headgear. The voting system is focused on the outcome of ballots by individual judges (10 points to the winner of each round and depending on the observed advantage 6-7-8...

Cuban pitcher Jose Fernandez, accompanied by his mother and grandmother, received just minutes ago the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League; another great joy in a historic season for Cuban baseball players. Fernandez, who was born in Villa Clara, is the third Cuban to win the coveted award. Toni Oliva did it in 1964 in his debut with the Minnesota Twins, in the American League. Twenty-two years later, in 1986, Jose Canseco won the prize playing for the Oakland Athletics in the same circuit. This is the fourth time a player from the Marlins franchise wins this type of award . The first who broke the ice was the also pitcher Dontrelle Willis in 2003, Dominican Hanley Ramirez took it in 2006, and three seasons later it was the turn of outfielder Chris Coghlan. The injuries suffered by Henderson Alvarez and Nathan Eovaldi, during spring training, gave a space to young Cuban prospect in the starting rotation of Miami; until then he was assigned to play in Double-A with Jacksonville. In his debut he struck out eight Mets players in just five innings ... foreboding of what was to happen ... I'm sure very few bet on...

She confessed me being the legitimate daughter of our Holy Patroness, Oshun . Anyway, I think she is equally blessed by the Virgin of Regla, Yemayá . She was scarcely two months old when she received her first dip, a sign for future life story marked by the adventures at sea. If I were asked a word to describe her I would not hesitate a moment: Cuban. Yaima Espinosa is a woman on this island. Enterprising, always ready to break stereotypes in an effort to achieve her dreams. She is the daughter of divorced parents, Santa Fe and nearby National Aquarium in Miramar were the places where she grew up. Always close to the sea. One day she decided to migrate to Italy looking for new ways in finding complete happiness. There she continued her eternal bond with water, now as a professor of swimming and synchronized swimming. Thanks to a friend she learned of the existence of the contest "Miss Cuba in Europe." By knowing that among the prizes of the event was a trip to our island, she did not hesitate in completing the application. Just a few hours after the event, she kindly agreed to make us...

Aren’t you going to talk about ¨Yuli¨ and his debut with Industriales? A smile on his face was eloquent sign of the irony dose that accompanied the question. The inquisitor was one of the many "local bodies" whose name you never know; you do not even need that detail. In the end you only them from time to time, perhaps in the corner bar when you buy cigarettes or on one of the sidewalks in the neighborhood, when they consumed their drinks and walk on the hunt of anyone to give free rein to their passion: baseball discussion. He had never read my work and certainly never will. To him, I'm a journalist who writes on Internet, the one who regularly updated him on the performances of Cuban players in the majors, and one of his fiercest rivals in baseball debates. For my part, I confess that I enjoy that granted status. Getting entangled in those heated battles on our national pastime, it is an offer I have always found hard to refuse. Fate decided me to live, for more than 25 years, at just 200 meters from Latinoamericano Stadium, so it could not be otherwise. This time there was...