CYCLING
Tinkoff-Saxo lose sponsor
Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador’s elite cycling team Tinkoff-Saxo have lost their sponsor Saxo Bank, as the Danish online traders announced they would sever ties on Thursday. The team also features crowd-pleasing superstar Peter Sagan, who is the world road race champion, but with the firing of Danish team manager Bjarne Riis in March, fears Saxo Bank would end its sponsorship developed into reality. “It has been a privilege working with the team over the past eight seasons and we are extremely proud of the numerous successes we have achieved together during this time,” co-chief executives Lars Seier Christensen and Kim Fournais said in a statement.
FOOTBALL
Derrick Coleman arrested
Seattle Seahawks running back Derrick Coleman, who helped the team’s Super Bowl title run last year, was on Thursday arrested for vehicular assault and hit-and-run, and suspended by the NFL club. The 24-year-old fullback, the first legally deaf player in the NFL who uses hearing aids and reads lips to compete, was being held at King County Jail after being booked at 1:20am by police in suburban Bellevue. “The Seattle Seahawks have suspended Derrick Coleman indefinitely pending further information,” the team said in a statement. Coleman has played 22 games for the Seahawks since arriving in 2013, with two of his six starts coming this season after missing the final 11 games of last season with a broken foot. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Coleman embodies his “no excuses” approach to NFL coaching by not letting his hearing impairment keep him from playing in the league.
OLYMPICS
Kofi Annan honored
Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has received the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) highest award. Annan was presented with the Olympic Order in Gold on Thursday by IOC president Thomas Bach. Annan was announced as a recipient of the order in 2007, but was unable to attend an award ceremony until now. He said during the presentation that “the Olympic spirit is something that has been with me for a long time.” Annan, who served as UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, attended several Olympics during that time. Bach thanked Annan for his “many years of service to sport and for championing the unifying power of sport through the Kofi Annan Foundation.” The IOC has enjoyed UN observer status since 2009. The UN traditionally passes a resolution calling for the observance of an “Olympic Truce” before each Games.
SOCCER
Mouriho hits out at FA
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has criticized the Football Association (FA) after he was fined over comments made toward match officials. Mourinho used his book launch on Thursday to respond to the FA’s decision on Wednesday to fine him ￡50,000 (US$77,400) fine and a suspended one-match stadium ban. He said that officials were “afraid” to award his side a penalty following a 3-1 home defeat to Southampton in the Premier League at the start of the month. “50,000 is a disgrace. The possibility of getting a stadium ban is astonishing,” Mourinho said at his book signing. The Blues boss was aggrieved after referee Robert Madley refused to point to the spot following a challenge by Saints goalkeeper Martin Stekelenburg on striker Radamel Falcao in the penalty area.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS