SOCCER
Olympiakos entry cleared
UEFA said Olympiakos will enter the Champions League groups draw tomorrow, despite match-fixing allegations after sport’s highest court rejected an appeal by Panathinaikos. UEFA said the “provisional admission” of Greek champion Olympiakos was confirmed on Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Panathinaikos, league runners-up last season, challenged a UEFA appeals body decision in June to admit Olympiakos, whose president Vangelis Marinakis is implicated in an alleged criminal conspiracy to fix domestic matches. UEFA rules bar clubs from its competitions and can disqualify them mid-season if any match-fixing allegation since 2007 is proven. UEFA says neither the Greek federation “nor the criminal courts in Athens have rendered any final decision against Mr Marinakis or the club.” Panathinaikos were eliminated from the Champions League qualifying rounds this month.
SOCCER
Balotelli to sign Milan deal
Liverpool misfit Mario Balotelli will return to AC Milan on a season-long loan deal thrashed out by the clubs on Monday, reports in Italy said.Italy international Balotelli’s career has hit the skids since he joined the English Premier League club following last year’s World Cup and he has not played for Italy since. However, with the European Championships in France next summer, the 25-year-old striker is now set for a dramatic return to the club he left just over a year ago. A report on Gazzetta dello Sport’s Web site said Balotelli was to undergo a medical at Milan’s Milanello training ground yesterday. If all goes well, he could be available for Milan’s opening home game of the season against Empoli. The report added there was no clause in the deal that would allow Milan to buy Balotelli outright at the end of the season.
RUGBY UNION
Kevin Mealamu to retire
Hooker Keven Mealamu has announced he will retire after this year’s Rugby World Cup, joining a number of senior All Blacks who are to make the tournament their international swansong. The 36-year-old Mealamu has played 126 Tests for New Zealand since his debut is 2002 — a record for an All Blacks hooker — and a franchise-record 135 Super Rugby matches for the Auckland-based Blues. Mealamu announced his retirement at a news conference yesterday, saying he will take up a role as a rugby ambassador for the New Zealand Rugby Union. “I have loved my time as a rugby player here in New Zealand and loved being part of all the teams I have represented, particularly the All Blacks,” Mealamu said.
FOOTBALL
Hayne puts hand up for spot
Former Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne has taken a giant stride toward securing a place on the San Francisco 49ers roster after another dazzling performance in a pre-season game for the NFL giants. Few observers had expected Hayne to force his way onto the 49ers 53-man final roster in his first year, but after a series of impressive pre-season displays, he is now looking increasingly likely to make the cut. On Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys the speedster caught the eye with a 27-yard punt return before notching a 34-yard return. He then contributed another 23-yard run in the first quarter alone. “Obviously the guy’s doing really well. He’s making a great case for himself absolutely,” San Francisco coach Jim Tomsula said.
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
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
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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