E-SPORTS
Jordan invests in aXiomatic
NBA icon Michael Jordan is branching out into e-sports, investing in the parent company of Team Liquid, aXiomatic. Jordan was one of two new investors announced on Thursday by aXiomatic, along with Declaration Capital, the family office of Washington-based billionaire David Rubenstein. According to Forbes, the investments were part of a US$26 million funding round. “I’m excited to expand my sports equity portfolio through my investment in aXiomatic. E-sports is a fast-growing, international industry and I’m glad to partner with this great group of investors,” said Jordan, who joined his fellow Dream Team teammate Magic Johnson as an aXiomatic investor, as is Ted Leonsis, owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL champions Washington Capitals. “The next generation of sports fans are e-sports fans,” Leonsis told ESPN in a statement. In 2016, aXiomatic acquired a majority stake in Team Liquid, one of the oldest and most popular teams in e-sports with more than 60 competitive gamers based out of Los Angeles and the Netherlands.
FOOTBALL
Official fired over failed call
An NFL official has been fired for poor performance. Down judge Hugo Cruz was on the officiating crew in Week 6 when the Los Angeles Chargers played the Browns in Cleveland. Cruz failed to call a false start on Chargers left tackle Russell Okung, and while the Browns’ defenders expected the play to be whistled dead, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Williams. According to FootballZebras.com, he is the first official fired during the season for performance issues in the Super Bowl era.
SOCCER
Late substitute ban mulled
The International Football Association Board is keen to clamp down on time-wasting tactics, with a ban on injury-time substitutions one of the areas being considered to increase actual playing time, the Times reported yesterday. The board has observed that changes are being made after 90 minutes in one-quarter of English Premier League matches. “A rule to say there should be no substitutions during added-on time is an interesting one and could work well. Referees add on 30 seconds for a substitution, but in practice it can eat up a lot more time than that,” it said. The average playing time for a Premier League match is 55 minutes, 9 seconds this season, while Cardiff City’s clash against Burnley saw just more than 42 minutes of game time.
SOCCER
Women’s prize to double
FIFA president Gianni Infantino understands why female players are unhappy about the lack of gender equality in World Cup prize money, but on Thursday said that doubling the cash for finalists to US$30 million represents significant progress. Ahead of the FIFA Council yesterday ratifying the financial package for next year’s Women’s World Cup, players’ unions in Australia, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand wrote to FIFA to raise concerns about why there is vastly more cash set aside for the men’s tournament. France earned US$38 million for winning the men’s World Cup in July. A person with knowledge of the figures said the women’s champions next year are to earn US$4 million, which is twice the amount collected by the Americans in 2015.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
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
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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
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