■ Rowing
Oxford wins boat race
Sporting the heaviest crew in history, Oxford won Sunday's Boat Race on the Thames near London, easily beating Cambridge in the 6.8km classic through west London. Bigger and stronger, Oxford also showed better technique and led from the start. Cambridge leads the series 78-72. One race, in 1877, ended in a draw. Oxford has also won three of the last four. Oxford's eight-man crew averaged 98.5kg (217 pounds) at Tuesday's weigh-in. Cambridge averaged 88.6kg. Oxford beat the previous weight record -- set by Cambridge in 1998 -- by 3.2kg per man.
■ Curling
Sweden takes title
Sweden beat the US 10-4 to win the World Women's Curling Championship in Paisley, Scotland on Sunday. Cassie Johnson's US team was ahead 3-1 after six ends but the Swedes, led by Anette Norberg, took the lead for the first time with a triple on the seventh. The Americans pulled one back on the following end to draw level at 4-4, only for their opponents to score a double on the ninth for a 6-4 lead. The US looked upbeat going into the final end but Sweden scored four points, while the Americans remained scoreless in the decider to concede defeat.
■ Cycling
Britain wins madison
Germany's Rene Wolff won the men's match sprint and Britain took the men's madison as crashes marred the Track Cycling World Championships in Carson, California on Sunday. The duo of Mark Cavendish and Robert Hayes didn't earn a point in getting Britain's fourth title of the four-day competition at the ADT Event Center at Cal State-Dominguez Hills. But they finished one lap ahead of the field to claim the 200-lap, 50km madison in 55 minutes, 28.49 seconds. Second place went to the Netherlands and third to Belgium. Wolff, the 2003 world sprint bronze medalist, beat Mickael Bourgain of France in two straight rides in the best-of-three final. Jobie Dajka of Australia defeated France's Gregory Bauge, an earlier crash victim, also in two straight rides, to finish third.
■ Hockey
NHL files lawsuit
The NHL filed an unfair labor practice charge with the US National Labor Relations Board in New York, claiming that a players' association policy that would penalize members who became replacements is coercive and in violation of their rights. The league and the union have been unable to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, and the lockout imposed by the NHL in September forced the cancellation of the entire top North American ice hockey season. If a new deal can't be reached in time for next season, the NHL said it would explore the use of replacement players. Union members currently receive between US$5,000 and US$10,000 per month during the lockout. "The practice of conditioning the receipt of work stoppage benefits on a player's agreement not to return to the NHL without a new CBA was coercive, and in violation of the player's rights under the labor laws," NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said. The players' association denied the charges. "We are confident the NHL's actions and allegations are without merit," the union said in a statement.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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