■ 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.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
Australian restaurant chain Grill’d has made a cheeky apology for putting a “curse” on Oscar Piastri’s Formula One title hopes with their offer of a free burger for every time the McLaren driver gets on the podium. The Melbourne native has not finished in the top three since the promotion relaunched five races ago, losing the championship lead to teammate Lando Norris and now 24 points behind. Online conspiracy theorists have been quick to put two and two together. The chain’s Piastri 81 Burger debuted ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March, with his endorsement, and was relaunched in September after he
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