SOCCER
Chapecoense player honored
Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in an air crash in Colombia last month, was posthumously named Brazil’s Player of the Year after a vote by fans on Monday. Danilo, whose last gasp save in the semi-final against San Lorenzo helped his side into the Copa Sudamericana final, got 48 percent of the Internet vote. His mother, Ilaides Padilha, collected the award on his behalf at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. “In the name of Chapecoense, I want to thank everyone for their affection and ask for their prayers,” Padilha said. “May the future warriors that come to Chapecoense be like the warriors that left there.”
SOCCER
Atletico Madrid fall further
Atletico Madrid’s struggles continued in La Liga on Monday with a 3-0 loss against Villarreal, a result that left the club 12 points behind leaders Real Madrid. Two defensive mistakes in the first half led to Atletico’s third loss in five rounds and dropped Diego Simeone’s team to sixth place after 15 rounds. Manuel Trigueros opened the scoring for the hosts at El Madrigal, Jonathan dos Santos got the second and Roberto Soriano sealed the victory.
SOCCER
Roma score 1-0 win
AS Roma’s Radja Nainggolan hit a second-half scorcher to secure a 1-0 win over AC Milan, who saw M’Baye Niang miss a first-half penalty, to close to within four points of Serie A leaders Juventus on Monday. Nainggolan beat Milan’s teenaged goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 62nd minute to make it three wins in succession. Roma remained second, four points off the lead, with Milan seven adrift in third.
CRICKET
De Villiers steps down
A.B. de Villiers has stepped down as South Africa’s Test captain, a decision prompted by his prolonged absence through injury and the success of stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis on the victorious tour of Australia. Following De Villiers’ announcement on Monday, Cricket South Africa confirmed Du Plessis as the new captain.
BOXING
LeBron part of Ali production
HBO says Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is to be the executive producer of a documentary on Muhammad Ali for the network. The film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua, who also helmed the boxing dramas Southpaw and Training Day. Fuqua will also produce. James said in a statement announcing the still-untitled project that Ali “transcended sports and used his platform to empower people, which paved the way for all athletes and people of every race and gender that came after him, myself included.”
BASEBALL
‘Hazing’ rules implemented
The baseball ritual of dressing up rookies as Wonder Woman, Hooters Girls or Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders is now banned. Major League Baseball created an Anti-Hazing and Anti-Bullying Policy that covers the practice. The policy prohibits “requiring, coercing or encouraging” players from “dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identify or other characteristic.”
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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