SOCCER
Morocco fine cut 95%
The Moroccan soccer governing body had its fine for pulling out as host of the African Cup of Nations reduced to US$50,000 from US$1 million by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The CAS also said in an e-mailed statement it reversed the Confederation of African Football’s decision to bar Morocco from participating in the 2017 and 2019 tournaments. Morocco was stripped of the African soccer championship in November last year because it sought to postpone the event because of concerns over the spread of Ebola. Ivory Coast won the title in February after Equatorial Guinea stepped in as host. The African confederation is also seeking US$8.7 million in compensation from the Moroccan governing body, which can still be examined by another jurisdiction, the CAS said.
OLYMPICS
‘No delays, despite layoffs’
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has dismissed reports that layoffs of construction workers at one of the main 2016 Olympic sites could result in potentially damaging delays. At a hastily called news conference at Deodoro, where 11 Olympic sports will be staged, Paes on Thursday said the layoffs by construction company Queiroz Galvao were part of an ill-advised strategy to strong-arm the city council into making quicker payments for the US$205 million project. Dozens of workers at Deodoro, where about 1,000 workers are employed, had been fired and hundreds of others warned they could soon be let go if funds owed by the city were not received soon, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported. Queiroz Galval refused to confirm the layoffs, but workers leaving the site on Thursday showed reporters their pink slips. “Lies. What they want is to use the press to pressure City Hall into paying before the deadline,” Paes said on a precipice overlooking the vast scar of raw earth where Deodoro’s Olympic venues are going up. “This pressure is not going to work.”
BOXING
Megafight PPV US$99.95
Do not expect much change back from a US$100 bill to watch the Floyd Mayweather Jr-Manny Pacquiao fight at home. The two cable networks broadcasting the fight on Thursday said the suggested retail price for the May 2 pay-per-view (PPV) will be US$89.95. Many, though, will end up paying US$99.95 because of a surcharge for high definition tacked on by many cable and satellite providers. Like almost everything else about the fight, the pay-per-view price is a record for boxing. The previous highest was the US$64.95/US$74.95 charged for the 2013 fight between Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez. The welterweight title unification fight will be televised by HBO and Showtime. Depending on how the pay-per-view does, Mayweather could earn about US$180 million and Pacquiao US$120 million.
ICE HOCKEY
Dustin Byfuglien suspended
The NHL suspended Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets for four games without pay on Thursday for his cross-check to the head of New York Rangers center JT Miller. The play occurred late in the second period of Winnipeg’s 3-2 loss to New York on Tuesday. Miller fell near the crease after taking a swipe at a rebound off the pads of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. Byfuglien drove his stick in to the back of the Rangers forward’s head while falling to his knees. The league’s video explanation of the suspension characterized the blow as “dangerous” and delivered with “excessive force.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later