MOTORSPORTS
Maldonado joins Williams
Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado will partner Rubens Barrichello at Formula One team Williams next year. The 25-year-old Maldonado joins the British team after winning the championship in GP2, which acts as a feeder series to F1. Maldonado is the first Venezuelan driver on the starting grid in 27 years. Johnny Cecotto was the last, racing 18 times over the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
RUGBY UNION
McCaw bags third award
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw became the first player to win the International Rugby Board’s player of the year award three times after receiving this year’s edition of the prize on Wednesday. The 29-year-old flanker led an all All Black clean sweep of the major prizes with Tri-Nations champions New Zealand, beaten just once this year, named team of the year and Graham Henry coach of the year for a record fourth time.
SOCCER
Aberdeen sack McGhee
Scottish Premier League strugglers Aberdeen got rid of manager Mark McGhee on Wednesday as the former Dons striker paid the price for the club’s recent run of poor results. The 53-year-old was recently given a vote of confidence by the Aberdeen board, but now McGhee and his assistants, Scott Leitch and Colin Meldrum, have all left Pittodrie with the Dons second bottom of the table.
BOXING
Pacquiao could pick fight
Should a highly anticipated clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr fail to materialize, Manny Pacquiao will pick from a shortlist of three opponents for an April 16 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Filipino’s promoter Bob Arum has said. Arum told the Manila Bulletin that the shortlist consisted of former light-middleweight champion Shane Mosley, undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto and Mexico’s WBA and WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Arum said he would talk to Pacquiao about who he would prefer to fight when he arrives in Manila for the fighter’s 32nd birthday on Dec. 17.
TENNIS
Clijsters receives award
Kim Clijsters, whose five titles this year included her second US Open crown in a row, was named the WTA Player of the Year in awards voting announced by the tour on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Belgian, who also won the award in 2005, won at Brisbane, Australia; Miami and Cincinnati, Ohio, and the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha as well as taking her third title at Flushing Meadows. Just one year after making a comeback following a break to rest injuries and start a family, Clijsters was voted the top honor in a balloting of players as well as the Player Service award for supporting women’s tennis off the court.
GOLF
LPGA adjusts gender rule
LPGA players have voted to allow transgender players to compete on tour in response to a lawsuit filed by a California woman who had her sex changed five years ago. The players voted to remove the “female at birth” requirement from the tour’s constitution at a year-end meeting at the LPGA Tour Championship, commissioner Michael Whan said. He said steps will be taken in the coming weeks to make the change. Players competing this week in Orlando were mostly satisfied with the change.
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
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