GOLF
Play abandoned in Madeira
The first round of the Madeira Islands Open was abandoned without a ball being hit on Thursday after heavy fog enveloped the Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra. The 1,500th tournament in European Tour history was set to see two rounds of action yesterday at a venue which stands at 700m above sea level. “We abandoned play because five of the holes have been unplayable all day due to the fog,” tournament director Jose Maria Zamora said. “Basically, 13 of the holes have been playable for much of the day, but five of the holes higher up the mountain — one, nine, 10, 11 and 18 — have had no visibility all day.”
TENNIS
Federer to play French Open
Roger Federer will take part in the French Open, despite earlier suggesting he may take time out to be with wife Mirka, who gave birth to the couple’s second set of twins this week. Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick told the ATP Tour Web site that the Swiss star intends to feature at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros in Paris on May 25, where he would stretch his consecutive run of Grand Slam events to 58. “Roger plans on playing Roland Garros and he will make a decision at the last minute if he will play Rome [next week] depending on how everything is going with his family,” Godsick said. Mirka Federer gave birth to two sons, Leo and Lenny, on Tuesday. The couple already have twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Ri, who will be five in July. Federer, 32, has played in a record 57 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, this past January eclipsing the mark previously set by Wayne Ferreira in 2003. He will be making his 16th straight appearance at the French Open, where he won the title in 2009 to complete a career Grand Slam
BASKETBALL
Snake unnerves Trail Blazer
The Portland Trail Blazers had a snake in their locker room on Thursday. Not a backstabbing, treacherous teammate — a real live snake. The reptile, believed to be a baby rattlesnake, was found coiled up in reserve forward Thomas Robinson’s locker ahead of their playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. Robinson, who stands 2.08m and weighs 107.5kg, was unnerved by the find. “I screamed,” he said. “I saw something curled up. I screamed. I jumped. I yelled.” Security personnel removed the snake from the locker. Robinson scored only two points on Thursday as the Trail Blazers were beaten 114-97 to fall 2-0 behind in their best-of-seven Western Conference semi-finals series.
ANTI-DOPING
Former cop to head agency
Australia has appointed a former federal police officer to head its anti-doping agency amid ongoing investigations into the links between organized crime and drugs in sports. Sports Minister Peter Dutton yesterday announced the appointment of Ben McDevitt, who has held high-ranking positions in the federal police and the Australian Crime Commission over a 28-year career in law enforcement, as chief executive of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority. The authority is still considering whether individual Australian rules or rugby league players should be charged after a 13-month investigation into the use of banned substances in the top national leagues. An investigation into supplements programs in the leagues has already resulted in a AS$2 million (US$1.87 million) fine for Australian Football League club Essendon and a AS$1 million fine for National Rugby League club Cronulla.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
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