ENGLAND
McLeish resigns by e-mail
Alex McLeish resigned as the manager of Birmingham City on Sunday following their relegation from the Premier League, with the club saying he had told acting chairman Peter Pannu in an e-mail he was leaving the Midlands side. “Birmingham City Football Club can confirm Alex McLeish has resigned as manager,” a statement on the club’s Web site said. “Acting chairman Peter Pannu received an e-mail resignation from McLeish earlier today [Sunday] while away on business in Amsterdam. No further comment will be made at this moment in time and updates will be released in due course.” Former Rangers manager McLeish was immediately linked with a move to Birmingham’s city rivals Aston Villa.
ENGLAND
Forest sack Billy Davies
Nottingham Forest sacked manager Billy Davies on Sunday, the Championship club announced, with former England boss Steve McClaren lined up as a replacement. Former Preston North End and Derby County manager Davies, who had his contract “terminated with immediate effect,” was unable to secure promotion to the Premier League in the playoffs. Forest lost 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners Swansea City in the semi-finals. The Midlands club, who won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, also said on their Web site that they had offered McClaren the vacancy at the City Ground. McClaren, much ridiculed during his brief and unsuccessful stint as England manager, rebuilt his reputation with Twente, who he guided to a first Dutch title last year. He then joined Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, but, after a run of poor results, he was sacked by the club in February.
FRANCE
PSG swoop for Gameiro
Paris Saint-Germain secured the first major coup of the Ligue 1 summer transfer window on Sunday by completing the signing of France striker Kevin Gameiro from Lorient on a four-year deal. Gameiro, who was the second-highest scorer in Ligue 1 last season with 22 goals, signed for a reported fee of 11 million euros (US$16 million) plus add-ons. “I’m very happy to have signed here,” said Gameiro, who hails from nearby Senlis, in an interview with RMC Sport radio station. “I’m from the Paris region and PSG are the club of my heart.” The 24-year-old, who has scored one goal in five international appearances for Les Bleus, is PSG’s second summer signing after the arrival of goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez from Stade Rennais.
DENMARK
England, Spain share points
A late Danny Welbeck equalizer gave England a share of the points in their opening Group B clash against Spain at the European under-21 championship on Sunday. Spain had the upper hand in the first half and took the lead through an Ander Herrera header in the 14th minute, though television replays suggested the ball might have struck him on the arm. England clawed their way back into the game in the second half and both sides created several chances, before Manchester United’s Welbeck fired an 88th-minute equalizer past David De Gea. Earlier, the Czech Republic beat Ukraine thanks to two second-half goals from Boreck Dockel. The Slovan Liberec midfielder fired home an exquisite first-time shot to give the Czech Republic the lead in the 49th minute, before slotting home a second seven minutes later. Ukraine pulled one back through substitute Maxym Biliy late in the game.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite