SOCCER
South Africa sack Mosimane
South Africa fired national coach Pitso Mosimane yesterday in reaction to their disappointing start to the World Cup qualifiers at the weekend. Mosimane is the first victim of the African qualifying campaign for the 2014 finals in Brazil after his side were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Ethiopia, 71 places below them in the FIFA rankings, in their opening Group A qualifier on Sunday. The announcement by the governing body in a statement came after a meeting with officials that went on late into Monday night. Mosimane had stated before the Ethiopia match that it was a “must win” affair for his team. The 47-year-old coach has been a beleaguered figure since his horror error last year when he botched the calculations for his side to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals. South Africa were comfortably placed going into their final group game at home, but they played for a draw and what they presumed was top place by virtue of goal-difference. However, the rules stated that in the case of a tie in the standings, the tiebreaker would be head-to-head results and South Africa lost out to Niger.
SOCCER
QPR’s Barton arrested
Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton was arrested on Monday on suspicion of affray after a brawl outside a Liverpool nightclub. Barton, 29, was involved in trouble in the early hours while on a night out with his girlfriend in Liverpool city center. Two men, aged 21, were arrested on suspicion of a public order offense at about 5:30am on Sunday at the scene of the incident outside Garlands nightclub in the city, but after they were held in custody and questioned, Barton and a 20-year-old man were also arrested. All have been bailed pending further inquiries, apart from Barton, who remained in police custody.
BOXING
Mosley hangs up gloves
Boxer “Sugar” Shane Mosley is retiring, ending a career in which he won titles in three different weight classes, beat Oscar de la Hoya twice and was never knocked out. The 40-year-old announced on Twitter that he was hanging up his gloves, saying he “loved every moment of it. Win, lose or draw.” Mosley lost three of his last four fights, including a dreary bout against Manny Pacquiao in May last year in which he mostly seemed to be avoiding the Filipino star in the ring. His last fight was on May 5 on the undercard of the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto. Mosley lost a lopsided decision to rising Mexican star Canelo Alvarez. The loss dropped his record to 46-8-1.
CRICKET
West Indies call up Gayle
Former captain Chris Gayle has been chosen by the West Indies for the first time in 14 months as part of the one-day squad to tour England later this month. The 32-year-old opener, whose public spat with the West Indies Cricket Board resulted in him being ineligible for nearly a year, was included in a 15-man squad announced on Monday for the three-match series that begins on June 16.
BASKETBALL
Wizards appoint Wittman
Randy Wittman is returning as head coach of the Washington Wizards next season to provide some stability for the once-proud franchise, the team said on Monday. Wittman was named interim coach in January when Flip Saunders was fired after the team’s 2-15 start. Under Wittman, the Wizards were 18-31, winning eight of their final 10 games.
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,
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
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
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
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