SOCCER
Watford in Premier League
Watford clinched promotion to the Premier League in dramatic fashion as their rivals slipped up in the final seconds on Saturday. Slavisa Jokanovic’s side had moved to the brink of reaching the top-flight with a 2-0 win at Brighton earlier in the day, yet it seemed like the Championship leaders would be made to wait for promotion by the results of the chasing pack. However, fourth-placed Norwich conceded an equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Rotherham and third-placed Middlesbrough slumped to a 4-3 defeat at Fulham after conceding a last-minute goal. That was enough to seal Watford’s return to the Premier League after an eight-year absence with one match remaining and they will be crowned Championship winners if second-placed Bournemouth lose to Bolton today.
SOCCER
Inter beat Roma 2-1
Mauro Icardi scored in added time as Inter beat visiting Roma 2-1 in Serie A on Saturday to signal a late charge for a spot in Europe. Roma remained level second with Lazio. Also, AC Milan’s four-match unbeaten run was halted by a 2-1 loss at Udinese. Yesterday, Juventus could clinch their fourth straight title if they beat Torino in a derby and Lazio loses. At the San Siro, midfielder Hernanes put Inter ahead 15 minutes in with a spectacular shot from beyond the area after creating some space amid several defenders. Four minutes later, Roma forward Victor Ibarbo hit the post. Roma’s Radja Nainggolan equalized in the 63rd, finishing off a counterattack with a long angled shot that left goalkeeper Samir Handanovic immobile. Icardi wasted a golden chance to win it for Inter when he shot high in the 84th, but he made up for it a few minutes later, finding the target through the legs of defender Jose Holebas after being set up by Lukas Podolski. Inter moved up to seventh, five points from the Europa League places. Earlier, Udinese scored twice in the second half to end a six-game winless run. Giampiero Pinzi was left unmarked to score from the center of the area through a crowd of defenders following a corner in the 58th, and Emmanuel Badu doubled the lead in the 75th from close range, redirecting a cross following a rebound. Filippo Inzaghi’s side was completely dominated until Giampaolo Pazzini pulled one back in the 88th with a leaping header on Milan’s only on-target attempt of the match. Udinese moved up to 12th. “We played a very ugly match,” Inzaghi said. “I’m very, very angry. There are no excuses. When a squad plays like that, the coach is more responsible for it than anyone else.”
GOLF
Henderson leads Skirts
Brooke Henderson had a one-shot lead and lost momentum going into the final round of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in Daly City, California, on Saturday. Henderson led by as many as five shots on a chilly afternoon at Lake Merced until making bogeys on her last two holes. The 17-year-old Canadian had to settle for an even-par 72 and the lead over Morgan Pressel and Kwak Min-seo. Pressel birdied four of her last six holes for a 67 on a day when the course average was 74.6. Kwak had a 69. Those were the only two rounds in the 60s. Henderson was denied a waiver for the age minimum of 18 to try to join the LPGA Tour. She was hopeful a victory yesterday could change that. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling carded a 74, while her compratriots Hsieh Yu-ling shot a 75, Hou Yu-sang a 76 and Chen Meng-chu a 78. Kaohsiung-born Taiwanese-American Candie Kung shot an 81.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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