ICE HOCKEY
Shawn Burr dies at 47
Shawn Burr, who played 16 years in the NHL, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, died on Monday. He was 47. Dave Goetze, a friend of Burr’s, says Burr was making progress in a fight against leukemia, but he died from brain trauma after a fall at his Detroit-area home. Goetze has worked for the Shawn Burr Foundation in support of blood cancer research. Burr was a first-round draft pick by the Red Wings in 1984. He made his NHL debut in 1984-1985 and was with the Red Wings until 1995. He also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks. In 878 NHL games, Burr scored 181 goals with 259 assists and 1,069 penalty minutes.
SOCCER
Woman ‘voice of football’
Female former newsreader Charlotte Green was on Tuesday appointed by the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) as the reader of the classified soccer results on BBC Radio 5 Live. Green will take over from James Alexander Gordon, who stepped down from his role last month after almost 40 years in the job. “I’m delighted to be offered this opportunity as I’ve been a football fan all my life,” said Green, who supports Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. “In fact, as a six-year-old I used to sit at the dining room table reading the football scores out loud from the newspaper, so this really is a dream come true. It is a huge honor to take over from James Alexander Gordon.” Green will read the soccer results for the first time during the station’s Sports Report program on Sept. 28. Green previously worked as a newsreader on BBC Radio 4, before taking voluntary redundancy earlier this year.
BASKETBALL
Heat-Bulls to open season
The Miami Heat will open their title defense against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 29 in the expected return of Derrick Rose, with an all-Los Angeles matchup later that night in the Lakers’ first game without Dwight Howard and the Clippers’ first with Doc Rivers. The NBA’s 2013-2014 schedule, released on Tuesday, also features a potential LeBron James-Kobe Bryant duel at Christmas in Los Angeles, right after scoring stars Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant match up across the country in New York. Howard’s first visit to the Lakers since leaving for Houston as a free agent does not come until Feb. 19, giving Bryant plenty of time to get back to full strength from his torn Achilles’ tendon near the end of last season.
SOCCER
Pepe back for friendly
Portugal coach Paulo Bento has named a 23-man squad for the upcoming friendly match against the Netherlands at the Estadio do Algarve, with Real Madrid defender Pepe making his return. Pepe, 30, is available again after a ban prevented him from featuring in the 1-0 win against Russia in June that left Portugal in top spot in World Cup qualifying Group F. “The return of Pepe opens up a number of possibilities for us. He has a player with potential and the capacity to be a leader,” Bento said at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of the game on Wednesday next week. The friendly is Portugal’s last game before they travel to face Northern Ireland in Belfast in a qualifier for the World Cup in Brazil next year on Sept. 6. “These two teams play in different ways, but the objective is always the same: to be better than them,” Bento said of his side’s next two opponents.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
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