BASKETBALL
Rubio lands US$56m deal
Ricky Rubio is getting a four-year, US$56 million contract extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves and Rubio’s agents, Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana of Relativity Sports, have been negotiating for more than two months and had until midnight to reach a deal or Rubio would have become a restricted free agent after the season. “We have reached an agreement and we are finalizing the paperwork now,” Akana said in a text message just over three hours before the deadline. Rubio is in his fourth season with the Wolves since coming over from Spain in 2011. He has yet to make an All-Star team, but has become the face of the franchise after they traded Kevin Love this summer. As salaries stand right now, the extension will make Rubio the eighth-highest paid point guard in the league.
SOCCER
Neymar to play at Olympics
Brazil captain Neymar is to be part of the home nation’s Olympic soccer squad at Rio 2016, coach Alexandre Gallo said on Friday. “I’ll be calling up three players over 23, well, two in fact, as one of those will be Neymar,” he said in an interview with Arena Sport TV. “We can’t think about Brazilian football without considering a star of his level.” Barcelona forward Neymar will be 24 when the Olympics come around. Ever since taking over the role of Olympics coach in July, Gallo had expressed his intention to pick the mercurial striker. “Neymar is a figurehead. It would be difficult to imagine Argentina at the Olympics without [Lionel] Messi or Portugal without Cristiano [Ronaldo],” Gallo added.
SOCCER
Schalke beat Augsburg 1-0
Schalke 04 moved up to seventh in the Bundesliga as new coach Roberto di Matteo picked up his third win in four games with Friday’s 1-0 victory over Augsburg in Gelsenkirchen. Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the 37th-minute winner. Former Chelsea manager Di Matteo has moved Schalke up from 12th when he took charge three weeks ago. However, the win barely masked Schalke’s poor performance as the hosts were out-played for long periods at the Veltins Arena by mid-table Augsburg. Huntelaar scored his seventh goal of the season in all competitions after Japan defender Atsuto Uchida won possession in his own half and fed the Dutch striker after a superb piece of play. The victory may have come at a heavy price ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League after midfielder Julian Draxler went off with a thigh injury after only four minutes.
BOXING
‘Rumble’ ring stolen
Officials in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, have revealed the ring used for “The Rumble in the Jungle” has been stolen as boxing fans on Thursday marked 40 years since one of the most famous and brutal bouts in the sport’s history. As the sporting world remembers Muhammad Ali’s epic showdown with George Foreman, the search is on for the ring into which the two boxers climbed at dawn on Oct. 30, 1974. The ring “was stolen a few years ago,” said Barthelemy Bosongo, manager of the Tata Raphael stadium, which staged the fight. “We don’t know where it’s gone, but it’s no longer in Kinshasa,” he added. “We’re in the process of setting up a judicial investigation.” A leading sports official who wished to remain anonymous believes it “is in South Africa.” “There are no signs left now of the fight, apart from the two dressing rooms” which Ali and Foreman used to change before stepping out for the fight, and into boxing folklore, Bosongo said.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
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