CRICKET
Panesar fined for urinating
England spin bowler Monty Panesar has been fined for drunkenly urinating in public after being asked to leave a nightclub, police revealed on Wednesday. The 31-year-old was ejected from a club in Brighton on the English south coast in the early hours of Monday morning. After he was seen urinating near the venue, police were called and he was issued with a fine for being drunk and disorderly. “A 31-year-old man received a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly after being seen urinating in public near the Shooshh Club in King’s Road Arches, Brighton, around 4:13am on Monday [Aug. 5],” a police spokesman said. The Sun newspaper claimed that Panesar was told to leave the club for harassing women and that he urinated from the promenade above the venue onto bouncers standing below. Panesar was a member of the England squad that retained the Ashes after drawing the third Test against Australia in Manchester on Monday, but did not play.
BASEBALL
Team admits marriage stunt
A minor league team acknowledged on Wednesday that it staged a rejected marriage proposal during a recent game as a publicity stunt. The Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, issued a statement saying the club had two employees pretend to be a couple taking part in a between-innings trivia contest last Friday. The third question in the contest was a surprise marriage proposal to which the woman on the field replies, “I’m sorry, I can’t, I’m sorry” and then flees. The man then also runs off the field and into the Rock Cats dugout. A video of the stunt has been viewed more than 600,000 times on YouTube and was the subject of several news stories, some of which questioned its authenticity. The club confirmed the hoax in a news release. “After watching a public proposal, we talked about what would happen if the answer were ‘no,’ and how that might affect a crowd and those viewing it after on video,” said Mike Abramson, the team’s vice president of marketing. “We worked with two of our staff on the skit and executed a digital strategy to set the video on a viral path; we could not be more pleased with the outcome.”
RUGBY UNION
Barrett stays with Hurricanes
All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett ended weeks of speculation yesterday by deciding to stay with the Wellington Hurricanes after suggestions he would move north to the Auckland Blues. The 21-year-old used his Twitter account to confirm that he had decided to remain in New Zealand’s capital next season because he felt the Super Rugby team had “unfinished business.” Barrett’s decision is expected to clear the way for former New Zealand rugby league captain Benji Marshall to move to the Blues.
SOCCER
US back in FIFA top 20
The US have been rewarded for winning the Gold Cup last month by reaching their highest place in the FIFA rankings for more than two years. The US rose three places in the rankings released yesterday to No. 19, where they also placed in March 2011. The Americans replace No. 20 Mexico as CONCACAF’s highest-placed team for the first time since 2011. Spain lead an unchanged top 10, with Germany second and Colombia third. Confederations Cup winners Brazil remain at No. 9. Ivory Coast are still Africa’s highest-ranked team, though they drop five places to No. 18. Japan leads Asian nations at No. 37. Taiwan fell one place to 176th.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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