FOOTBALL
Brothers hold coaching gigs
Jon Gruden’s decision to leave the television booth to return to the sideline for a second stint as coach of the Oakland Raiders has put his family in unusual territory. With Jay Gruden set to begin his fifth season with Washington, the Grudens will join the Harbaughs as the only sets of siblings to simultaneously hold jobs as NFL head coaches. The Grudens spent seven years together in the NFL when Jay was an assistant on Jon’s Tampa Bay staff, but now they are NFL competitors, even though the Redskins and Raiders are not slated to play each other until the 2021 regular season. If the Grudens remain in their current jobs, the only chance to match wits beforehand would come if their teams were to meet in the NFL Super Bowl.
GOLF
Tiger skirts Trump feud
Tiger Woods stayed out of US President Donald Trump’s feuds with NBA and NFL players after Sunday’s final round of the US PGA Northern Trust tournament. “I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” said Woods when asked whether his relationship with Trump, with whom he has played golf, was “professional or personal.” “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together... You have to respect the office — no matter who is in the office,” he added. Asked if he had anything to say on the state of US race relations, the 14-time major winner said: “No, I just finished 72 holes and I’m really hungry.” Woods fired a final-round one-under-par 70 to finish 72 holes on the four-under 280 at the Ridgewood Country Club.
MotoGP
Rain shuts Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix was canceled on Sunday after torrential rain caused “unsafe” track conditions at Silverstone. With heavy rain lashing down throughout the weekend, the MotoGP race had been brought forward from its original start time in a bid to beat the weather, but the rain continued to pour, forcing officials to cancel the event for safety reasons. MotoGP race director Mike Webb said the new surface at Silverstone, which was laid in February, was to blame. “This year, with the new surface, is the first time we’ve encountered quite so much standing water in critical places on the track. So, yes, it’s a direct result of the track surface,” he said. Four-time world champion Marc Marquez, who leads the standings, said: “We are very sorry for all the fans. We are the first ones that want to ride, but safety is the priority.”
TENNIS
Travel sidelines player
A Thai player ranked in the top 100 is to miss the US Open, because of travel complications. Luksika Kumkhum on Sunday pulled out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, before she was scheduled to face Sofia Kinen of the US today in a first-round match. The official reason offered by the US Tennis Association in a statement about the withdrawal was “travel difficulties.” The world No. 93 has been competing at the Asian Games in Indonesia, finishing with silver in mixed doubles on Saturday. She has been replaced in the draw at Flushing Meadows by Madison Brengle of the US, who lost in qualifying.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care