BOXING
Taylor on life support
Australian world middleweight champion Shannan Taylor was on life support in hospital yesterday after suffering from a drug overdose, reports said. Doctors were monitoring Taylor, but there were serious concerns for his health, the Daily Telegraph said. The Illawarra Mercury newspaper said Taylor was admitted to a Wollongong hospital, south of Sydney, in the early hours yesterday. A hospital official confirmed that Taylor, 39, was in critical condition. Taylor defeated Thailand’s Sintung Kietbusaba in his Wollongong home town last month to win the vacant World Boxing Foundation middleweight title. He has a 52-10 record with 37 knockouts. Taylor’s biggest fight was against Shane Mosley for the WBC welterweight title in 2001 in Las Vegas, with the American winning the bout. He is one of the longest-serving professional fighters in Australia, having started his career in the paid ranks back in July 1992.
BASKETBALL
Syracuse fires coach
Syracuse University fired assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, the target of an investigation into allegations he molested a former ball boy and at least one other boy, the university said on Sunday. Fine, who has called the accusations against him “patently false in every aspect,” was in his 35th season with Syracuse and the longest-serving coach at one school in major college basketball. He was accused of inappropriate behavior with the former ball boy, identified as Bobby Davis, now 39, and his stepbrother Mike Lang, now 45, when they were juveniles. Fine’s longtime boss, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, who has coached Syracuse for 34 years, had previously issued a statement supporting Fine, but said on Sunday the university had taken appropriate action in firing him.
BASKETBALL
NBA season may run late
If the NBA and its players ratify a new contract in time to play on Christmas Day, a shortened season would run through April 26 and require each team to play at least one stretch of games on three consecutive nights. The NBA posted an outline of a possible schedule “assuming the season tips off on Christmas” on its Web site on Sunday. The plan is a 66-game regular season, ending 10 days later than usual. The last possible end date for the NBA finals would be June 26, a fortnight later than the title series ended last June. Teams would play 48 games within their conference and 18 non-conference games. No team would play on three straight nights more than three times, but all teams would do so at least once.
SOCCER
Players buy Italian debt
Pummeled by the markets and facing close scrutiny by European partners, debt-ridden Italy has been offered a helping hand by an unusual group of millionaires — its professional soccer players. Not known for their business acumen or altruism, Italy’s highly paid calciatori have joined a patriotic, grassroots campaign to buy up Italian government bonds as foreign investors reduce their exposure on fears of an Italian default. “We want to be an example,” said Damiano Tommasi, a former Italy player and now director of the Italian soccer players’ association, which has sent a letter to members urging them to buy bonds. Tommasi said he had a positive reaction to his letter and hoped to see soccer players lining up to buy bonds starting yesterday, when Italian banks were to begin waiving their usual fees.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
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