TENNIS
US Open site to host beds
A portion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center was set to transform yesterday into a 350-bed temporary hospital, the USTA said, as the COVID-19 pandemic strains resources in New York City. Chris Widmaier, spokesman for the US Tennis Association, which owns the tennis center, said that the conversion of an indoor tennis facility on the venue would begin yesterday. “We’re here to help — no two ways about it,” Widmaier said. “New York is our home. We’re all in this together.”
GOLF
Augusta donates US$2m
Augusta National Golf Club, which in most years would be preparing to host the Masters, on Monday announced that it would give US$2 million to help fight the pandemic in the US’ southeast. The donation to the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area features US$1 million to Augusta University for immediate expansion of coronavirus testing and US$1 million to the emergency response fund to relief efforts to the area’s most vulnerable people. “We believe Augusta National has an important responsibility to support and protect the community who has so generously and consistently supported us for many years,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said.
SOCCER
Aston Villa to fine Grealish
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish is to be disciplined and fined for ignoring government guidance to stay at home during the pandemic, the English Premier League club said on Monday. Media had reported that West Midlands Police opened an investigation after Grealish was photographed leaving an estate in the suburbs of Birmingham on Sunday morning. The 24-year-old Grealish apologized in a video on Twitter shortly before Villa issued a statement. “I just got a call from a friend asking to go around to his and I stupidly agreed to do so,” Grealish said. “I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake that I did, so I urge everyone to stay at home.”
NFL
Safety at stadium doubted
A day after a construction worker at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, was revealed to have tested positive for COVID-19, a second worker is “presumed positive,” the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. Construction continues on the US$5 billion stadium in efforts to have it ready for the NFL season in the fall. “If they want to get the stadium done, they need to provide something to minimize the risk of exposing anyone,” an electrician said. Many workers are torn between safety and the need to work, the Times added.
SOCCER
Brazilian boss freed early
Former Brazilian Football Confederation president Jose Maria Marin, convicted in the sport’s global bribery scandal, became one of the highest-profile prisoners in the US to win release amid the pandemic. US District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn on Monday granted the release of Marin, 87, from a federal prison camp in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. His lawyers had made an emergency request for his release, citing the virus, his medical history and his advanced age. It came amid reports that at least one inmate at the adjacent, maximum-security penitentiary has tested positive for COVID-19.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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