FOOTBALL
Gleason awarded medal
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation to award former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the US Congress can bestow on a civilian. The award is to recognize Gleason’s efforts in raising money and awareness for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Gleason was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. Should he receive the medal, he would be the first NFL player to be given the honor. With the US Senate unanimously endorsing Gleason for the honor in June, all that remains is for US President Donald Trump to sign the bill. Gleason played seven seasons in New Orleans and became a legend with a blocked punt in 2006 that came to symbolize the city’s resiliency in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
SOCCER
Greek referees go on strike
This weekend’s Greek Super League fixtures have been called off after referees opted to go on strike to protest a “cowardly attack” on one of their colleagues. Thanasis Tzilos was set upon by masked men near his home in Larissa on Wednesday, with the FIFA-level referee needing treatment at a hospital for head and leg injuries before he was released a day later. “We express our indignation of the cowardly attack against our colleague Thanasis Tzilos and the repeated attacks on referees,” the association of referees said in a statement. “We will not allow those people to continue trying to terrorize us.” The attackers remained unidentified. No top-flight games are scheduled from Monday to Jan. 1, with the competition set to resume after the protest concludes on Jan. 4, league organizers said.
BOXING
Stevenson still in a coma
The promoter for Adonis Stevenson on Thursday said that the boxer remains unconscious and has not improved since doctors sedated him and placed him on a ventilator after a Dec. 1 knockout loss. “Doctors do not venture an opinion on what lies ahead” for the 41-year-old fighter, Yvon Michel said. Stevenson is in intensive care at Quebec City’s Hopital de l’Enfant-Jesusstill and “needs mechanical assistance to breathe.” Stevenson’s condition deteriorated after he was helped to the dressing room following a fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine at the Videotron Centre. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was admitted with a traumatic brain injury that required immediate neurosurgery. Intensive care specialist Alexis Turgeon on Dec. 5 said that most patients have lasting effects from such injuries.
FOOTBALL
Gordon suspended again
The NFL on Thursday suspended New England Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon, hours after Gordon announced that he planned to step away from football to address his mental health. Gordon has been returned to the suspended list indefinitely for breaching the terms of his reinstatement from a year-long ban for substance abuse. The 27-year-old was suspended the entire 2015 season and has been banned a total of 56 games in his career, all for drug offenses. “We support Josh Gordon in his continued efforts to focus on his health. His attempt to do so is a private matter, which we intend to respect,” the Patriots said in a statement.
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