SOCCER
Fulham fires Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri was fired by Fulham on Thursday, even though owner Shad Khan said that the manager is not fully responsible for failing to lift the club out of the Premier League relegation zone. Ranieri agreed a “change was in the best interest of everyone” after Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at Southampton left Fulham 10 points from safety in next-to-last place, Khan said in a statement. Fulham has Ranieri with a caretaker manager who is almost half his age and less than two years into his coaching career. Former Fulham midfielder Scott Parker was put in charge of the team until the end of the season, with his first game tomorrow at home against Chelsea. Since being hired in November last year, Ranieri had only collected 12 points from 16 matches.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Crime rules see suspensions
A second Australian player was suspended indefinitely yesterday under tough new rules against players accused of serious crimes, while the sport’s bosses vowed a crackdown on lewd videos. Under a new regime announced on Thursday, players who are charged with serious criminal offenses would be automatically stood down. Previously, they could continue playing while they awaited the outcome of their court cases. After St George Illawarra’s Jack de Belin, who is facing sexual assault allegations, became the first to be banned, the Manly Sea Eagles’ Dylan Walker suffered the same fate yesterday after being accused of domestic violence. Cowboys forward Scott Bolton was suspended for 10 weeks and fined 5 percent of this year’s salary after he pleaded guilty in January to common assault involving a woman, while Canterbury Bulldog’s star Dylan Napa was fined 10 percent of his salary for appearing in several lewd videos. League chief Todd Greenberg warned anyone appearing in videos from now on would face much harsher punishment.
FOOTBALL
Kraft pleads not guilty
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting sex following a massage parlor bust in Florida, US reports said on Thursday. The 77-year-old was formally charged on Monday with two counts of soliciting prostitution. Court records showed that Kraft’s attorneys had entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, the local subsidiary of ABC television reported. Kraft is required to appear in court on March 27, reports said. The first degree misdemeanor charges against Kraft are punishable by up to one year in jail, a US$5,000 fine or community service.
GOLF
Olson nabs Singapore lead
American Amy Olson yesterday held her nerve and kept a pack at bay that includes world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn with a second-round three-under-par 69 to lead the HSBC Women’s World Championship by two strokes. Jutanugarn had scented the lead as the day wore on before Olson edged clear with a birdie on 16, and then the Thai’s putter let her down for a bogey five on the 18th. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling carded an 80 to leave her seven-over and near the back of the pack in a share of 51st.
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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