FORMULA ONE
Massa boosted by soccer star
Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa said he received some extra motivation from Brazil striker Neymar before winning the pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday. “Just before I go to the car, my son gave me a little Neymar, a little one, so I bring the little one to the car and I put on the side of my helmet. It was a nice feeling,” said Massa, who had not started from the pole since 2008, when his son, four-year-old Felipe, had not yet been born. The Williams driver said he knows “there is a lot going on in Brazil in this moment” because of the World Cup, and he is paying attention even though he’s far away. “I’m a great fan of football, so I hope we can have a great World Cup,” Massa said. “I know what it is to win at home, so I can imagine winning the World Cup at home is like a dream come true, not just for the players, but also for everybody which is watching. So I really hope the best for Brazil.” Massa twice won his home race, in 2006 and 2008, when he drove for Ferrari.
WORLD CUP
Macau betting ring busted
Macau police have busted a bookmaking racket that allegedly took HK$5 billion (US$645 million) in illegal bets — including a single HK$40 million bet — on World Cup matches in a week, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday. Police have arrested 22 suspects from what they say is the biggest illicit soccer-betting ring uncovered in the gambling haven following a raid of a hotel on Thursday, the newspaper said. The syndicate, operating out of three rooms in the hotel, took online bets and telephone orders from around the world, the report said. Initial investigations showed that about HK$5 billion in World Cup bets had been taken and officers had found evidence of a single HK$40 million bet on one match, it cited Macau police spokesman Suen Kam-fai as saying. Investigators seized more than HK$2 million in cash, along with 17 computers, as well as more than 10 mobile phones and betting slips from the rooms, the paper said.
TENNIS
ATP elects player council
Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka and the highest-ranked American man, John Isner, have been elected to the ATP Player Council. Council members were announced on Saturday, two days before Wimbledon. They are to serve two-year terms. Others elected in the player vote include Kevin Anderson, Gilles Simon, Jurgen Melzer, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Raven Klaasen, Bruno Soares, Eric Butorac and Andre Sa. The new council’s first meeting is to be in New York before the US Open in August, when it is to elect a president and vice president. Roger Federer is stepping down after serving as president since 2008.” Clearly we made big strides in prize money ... I think we were able to calm things down a little bit, because things were quite hectic when I came onto the council,” Federer said.
WORLD CUP
English fans consoled
English fans devastated by their team’s World Cup elimination still had a nice chance to see the sights. A sign outside the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) read: “English, don’t be sad. This week you get free admission to MASP.” Two men working the ticket gate reported only a couple of takers by early on Saturday evening, but expected many more English visitors once word got out. The admission price is usually 15 reais (US$7).
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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