SOCCER
Sampdoria defeat Bologna
Italy internationals Eder and Roberto Soriano scored second-half goals as UC Sampdoria on Monday beat 10-man Bologna 2-0 in a Serie A match that was postponed for a day due to bad weather. The win moved Sampdoria level second with five other clubs, two points behind leader Inter. Promoted Bologna are still looking for their first points. Brazilian-born Eder opened the scoring in the 75th with a shot that banged in off the post and Soriano doubled the lead four minutes later with a powerful effort from beyond the area. Bologna substitute Luca Rizzo was sent off after picking up his second yellow shortly after the hour mark.
CYCLING
Thomas pulls out of worlds
Geraint Thomas has joined Team Sky colleague Chris Froome in pulling out of the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, starting this weekend, saying he is not physically up to it. “It’s been a hard decision to make, but the season has taken its toll on me and I don’t feel physically up for a good worlds,” Welshman Thomas, 29, wrote on Facebook. “I don’t want to go there just to make up the numbers, I’d want to be competitive or at least do a good job for the boys.” Thomas, who helped Froome win this year’s Tour de France, is targeting a big year next year with the Olympics and the Tour de France both being priorities. Froome was forced to pull out of the worlds after fracturing his foot in the Vuelta a Espana.
FRANCHISES
Cowboys top Forbes list
The Dallas Cowboys have dethroned Real Madrid as the most valuable sports team in the world, according to a Forbes survey of the richest teams in the NFL. The Cowboys, often described as “America’s Team” despite not having won the Super Bowl since 1995, topped the Forbes list with a value of US$4 billion, fueled in part by the NFL’s gargantuan domestic TV deal. The valuation puts them ahead of Real Madrid, who were valued by Forbes at US$3.26 billion, according to a global list released earlier this year. Two other US sports franchises, the NFL’s New England Patriots and baseball’s New York Yankees, were next with an estimated value of US$3.2 billion. Reigning European champions Barcelona came in at fifth with an estimated value of US$3.16 billion. Premier League giants Manchester United were valued at US$3.1 billion according to the most recent Forbes estimates.
SWIMMING
Magnussen preps for Rio
It was tough viewing for James Magnussen to see his 100m freestyle crown nabbed at last month’s World Aquatics Championships, but the convalescing Australian drew comfort from the relatively slow times at the Kazan meeting. Magnussen is back training with the national squad in Canberra after missing the worlds due to shoulder surgery. His four-year reign as 100m world champion was broken by China’s Ning Zetao, who swept to victory with a time of 47.84 seconds. Magnussen’s personal best of 47.10 would have blown all challengers out of the water at Kazan, and the Australian is eager to reassert his authority at the Rio Olympics next year after being pipped for gold at the London Games. Magnussen underwent surgery on his troublesome left shoulder in May, having lost 70 percent of his strength in it. He lost his 100m national title to teammate Cameron McEvoy, who was pipped for the world title by Ning, the first Asian swimmer to win the blue ribbon event.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS