CRICKET
Reakes receives ban for bet
An Australian female cricketer has been given a suspended two-year ban for placing bets totaling only US$9 on the men’s World Cup final. Angela Reakes, who plays for the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, pleaded guilty to breaches of Australia’s anticorruption code by betting on the Man of the Match award in the March 29 final. As well as her suspended ban, Reakes received an official reprimand and will have to spend time educating other cricketers on anticorruption issues. Iain Roy, head of Cricket Australia’s integrity unit, said “all elite cricketers are reminded regularly that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited.”
FOOTBALL
Cardinals’ Mathieu injured
Arizona on Monday suffered a major setback in their Super Bowl quest when Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced safety Tyrann Mathieu is to miss the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury. Mathieu on Sunday suffered a torn right-knee ligament after intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter of a victory over Philadelphia. Mathieu made five interceptions and 89 tackles this season for the Cardinals. Mathieu, nicknamed “Honey Badger,” tore a left-knee ligament in December 2013 during his rookie season. His versatility, from handling defensive back or linebacker duties to stopping rushers near the line of scrimmage, has made him one of the league’s most challenging defenders. However, now the Cardinals are undone for the second year in a row by a torn knee ligament, last season losing quarterback Carson Palmer to the same issue and losing in the first round of the playoffs.
TENNIS
ITF names athlete members
Former Grand Slam champions Mary Pierce and Mark Woodforde have been appointed to the board of directors of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The two former players are to serve four-year terms as athlete members of the 15-member board, subject to ratification by the ITF general assembly in June next year. The ITF earlier this year approved a change mandating athlete representation on the board. ITF president David Haggerty says the two “will provide good insight into the needs of the players and help us to grow the game of tennis around the world.” Pierce won two Grand Slam singles titles — the 1995 Australian Open and 2000 French Open. The Frenchwoman also played on two Fed Cup-winning teams. Woodforde won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles — 11 with fellow Australian Todd Woodbridge and one with John McEnroe. He won the Davis Cup in 1999 with Australia.
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Elise Mertens on Monday notched up their first win in the doubles group stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh to keep their semi-final hopes alive, while Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova were aiming to record their first victory after press time last night. Third seeds Hsieh and Mertens came back from a disheartening opening-day loss to Australia’s Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez to defeat top seeds Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the women’s doubles world No. 3 and 4 respectively. The 6-1, 6-3 victory at King Saud University Indoor Arena
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
After pushing for months to get a shot at Colby Covington, Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry is getting to headline the UFC’s final card for this year. However, it will not be against Covington. The promotion on Friday announced that Machado Garry, the No. 7-ranked welterweight, would face ninth-ranked Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14. Machado Garry, 26, is undefeated through 15 matches, the most recent coming on June 29 when he beat Michael Page via unanimous decision. Last month, Machado Garry said in an Instagram post that in September he was offered a fight with Covington — the