RUGBY UNION
Bristol release Borthwick
The English Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Saturday announced that Bristol have agreed to release Steve Borthwick so that he can join England’s coaching team under new head coach Eddie Jones. The former England captain, 36, agreed personal terms with the RFU earlier this week, only for second-tier side Bristol to block his appointment on the grounds that he had been contacted without the club’s permission. The stand-off was embarrassing for the RFU, which had hoped that by appointing Jones it would draw a line beneath the humiliation of England’s Rugby World Cup group-stage exit on home soil in October.
ICE HOCKEY
Hall of Famer Moore dies
Hall of Fame member Dickie Moore, a six-time Stanley Cup winner and one of the greatest NHL players of all-time, passed away on Saturday, 18 days before his 85th birthday. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974, the Montreal Canadiens left wing twice won the Art Ross Trophy as NHL leading scorer and won six Stanley Cups with Montreal, including five in a row from 1956. “Dickie Moore was a player of great skill and even-greater heart, someone admired on the ice for his will to win and adored in the community for his commitment to good deeds,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in statement. In 14 NHL seasons, Moore had 261 goals and 608 points in 719 games. He also had 110 points in 135 playoff games. The Hockey News magazine ranked Moore No. 31 in its list of the 50 greatest hockey players in 1998. In 2005, Montreal retired No. 12 for Moore, as well as fellow Hall of Fame member Yvan Cournoyer.
BASKETBALL
Pacers’ Paul George fined
The Indiana Pacers’ Paul George has been hit with a US$35,000 fine after criticizing officials and swearing during a television interview, the NBA said in a statement on Saturday. George was unhappy with a series of calls after the Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 104-97 on Friday. “The stripes [were] terrible... It is frustrating, but hopefully the league does a better job of looking at shit like this,” George told Fox Sports Indiana. George contributed 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win, but also gave up seven turnovers. It is not the first time George has been fined for criticizing match officials. He was fined US$10,000 after the Pacers opening game of the season when they were beaten 106-99 by the Toronto Raptors. Last year, he was ordered to pay US$25,000 by the NBA after suggesting that a Pacers defeat to the Miami Heat was caused by biased refereeing, or “home cooking.”
TENNIS
Rodionova to miss Open
Russian-born Australian Arina Rodionova has fallen one match short of gaining a wild-card entry into next month’s Australian Open, losing the deciding match a day after her marriage. Teenager Maddison Inglis beat Rodionova 6-4, 6-2 in the women’s wild-card final yesterday to gain entry to the main draw of the Grand Slam tournament beginning on Jan. 18. Rodionova had won her semi-final on Saturday morning, which was rescheduled to accommodate her afternoon wedding to Australian Football League player Ty Vickery. There was also some family drama in the men’s final: James Duckworth won by walkover when his opponent, Ben Mitchell, had to rush back to Brisbane to be with his partner for the birth of their first child.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two