The Green Bay Packers on Thursday advanced to the NFL playoffs without stepping onto the field, clinching a post-season berth when the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 at Minnesota.Green Bay accepted the Christmas gift of a third consecutive playoff appearance and sixth in seven years.Minnesota’s defenders
Reigning champions Oklahoma City have the NBA’s best record, but they cannot beat San Antonio, with superstar Victor Wembanyama coming off the bench on Thursday to help lift the Spurs to an emphatic 117-102 victory.De’Aaron Fox scored a game-high 29 points, while Wembanyama had 19 points and 11 rebo
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge.England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending
FAMILY BUSINESS: France legend Zinedine Zidane, whose son was starting in goal for the Desert Foxes, drew cheers from the crowd when he was shown on the big screen
Amad Diallo and Riyad Mahrez on Wednesday starred as defending champions Ivory Coast and former winners Algeria had contrasting victories as the first round of African Cup of Nations (AFCON) group matches concluded in Morocco.Manchester United winger Diallo struck early in the second half with a clo
The Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to change the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from a biennial competition to a tournament held every four years has been met with a mixed reaction on the continent with some seeing it as simply caving in to pressure from European clubs and FIFA.CA
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl.Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado t
“It’s a lonely place,” Stephen Bunting said, as he sat quietly in Alexandra Palace on Saturday last week, the tears welling in his eyes. “If things don’t go right, you can look at your family, your management, you can look at your sponsors, but it’s down to you — and yeah, I’m getting a bit emotiona
GLOVES OFF: While early fights energized the Bruins and the home crowd at TD Garden, costly penalties in the third period gave the Habs chances to pull ahead
The Boston Bruins on Tuesday put up a pretty good fight against rivals the Montreal Canadiens — for one period.Boston’s Tanner Jeannot and Montreal’s Josh Anderson dropped the gloves at the opening faceoff, while another first-period fight helped set the tone for the Bruins, who had beaten Montreal
Captain Ben Stokes yesterday said that protecting England players’ welfare was his top concern amid claims of excessive drinking on a mid-Ashes beach break, without directly addressing the allegations.Stokes was peppered with questions ahead of the fourth Test in Melbourne about the team’s behavior
Kepa Arrizabalaga was Arsenal’s League Cup quarter-final hero on Tuesday with the decisive penalty shoot-out save that completed a miserable evening for Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.Lacroix’s own-goal put Arsenal ahead with 10 minutes left at the Emirates Stadium before Marc Guehi snatche
The US Center for SafeSport has suspended longtime gymnastics coaches Al Fong and Armine Barutyan for physical and emotional misconduct, according to the organization’s disciplinary database.The married couple, who founded and operate Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE) in Blue Springs, Missour
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche on Tuesday said he would not be weighing his players when they return after Christmas, unlike his next opponents Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola, but he does expect them to use their common sense while digging into their festive dinner.Guardiola said he woul
SOCCERSenegal nab early winNicolas Jackson on Tuesday scored twice as much-fancied Senegal began their Africa Cup of Nations bid with a convincing 3-0 win over Botswana, while Nigeria’s Super Eagles made harder work of their opening match against Tanzania before claiming a 2-1 victory. Elsewhere the
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle
SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners.Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime a
Fulham on Monday climbed away from the English Premier League relegation zone and left Nottingham Forest mired in the fight for survival after Raul Jimenez’s penalty sealed a 1-0 win.Marco Silva’s side started the day just two points above fourth-bottom Forest, but Jimenez’s first-half goal at Crave
English Premier League pair Mohamed Salah and Lyle Foster were match-winners on Monday as Egypt and South Africa began their Africa Cup of Nations Group B campaigns with victories in Morocco.Liverpool star Salah struck in the first minute of stoppage-time to snatch a 2-1 win for record seven-time ch
Brock Purdy on Monday threw five touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers all but ended the Indianapolis Colts’ hopes of reaching the post-season with a 48-27 victory.San Francisco quarterback Purdy finished with 295 passing yards from 25 of 34 attempts in a clinical exhibition at the Lucas Oil Stadium
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Monday scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder got back to winning ways with a 119-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring to give the Thunder a morale-boosting victory after their defeat in Minnesot
Badminton in Taiwan has almost doubled in popularity over the past decade, the Ministry of Sports said yesterday, attributing the growth to the overseas success of Taiwanese players.Among people participating in ball-related sports, 9.4 percent play badminton, up 4.2 percentage points from the 5.2 p
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