SOCCER
Juventus snatch 2-2 draw
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties as Juventus snatched a 2-2 draw against Atalanta BC on Saturday to take another step toward a ninth straight Serie A title. SS Lazio’s 2-1 loss to US Sassuolo earlier in the day gave Atalanta a chance to move second and cut the gap to Juve to six points, but despite trailing twice and being outplayed for long periods, Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus moved eight points clear at the top with six matches remaining. Elsewhere, AS Roma strengthened their grip on a Europa League slot with a comfortable 3-0 win against relegation-threatened Brescia, with goals from Federico Fazio, Nikola Kalinic and Nicolo Zaniolo.
SOCCER
Barcelona edge Valladolid
Arturo Vidal scored for Barcelona as they sneaked past Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to keep the pressure on leaders Real Madrid as La Liga approaches its climax. Barcelona closed to within one point of Madrid, who have a game in hand. Vidal scored in the 15th minute after being set up by Lionel Messi, who, like most of his teammates, had a discreet outing at Valladolid’s empty Jose Zorilla Stadium. “We will give it our all, and then wait and see,” Vidal said of their chances of overtaking Real Madrid. “It doesn’t depend on us. If it is not meant to be, then on to the Champions League” next month. In other matches, CA Osasuna defeated RC Celta de Vigo 2-1 and Atletico Madrid downed Real Betis Balompie 1-0.
SOCCER
Burundi completes season
Burundi completed its club season that played through the COVID-19 pandemic by staging the FA Cup final on Saturday, with Musongati winning 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Rukinzo. Spectators were admitted to matches in the east African nation throughout the pandemic and the crowd at the final did not practice social distancing in the packed stands. Other countries who defied the global pandemic and continued playing top-flight soccer include Taiwan, Belarus, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.
BASKETBALL
ESPN suspends reporter
ESPN on Saturday suspended Adrian Wojnarowski without pay one day after the NBA reporter sent a profane e-mail to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. ESPN reprimanded Wojnarowski on Friday for his conduct and called it “completely unacceptable behavior” after Wojnarowski apologized in a statement for his reply to Hawley, saying in part: “I was disrespectful and I made a regrettable mistake.” Hawley earlier on Friday sent a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver criticizing the league’s decision to allow players to wear messages such as “black lives matter” while barring messages critical of China or supporting the US military or law enforcement. Two minutes later, Wojnarowski responded on his ESPN account from his phone with a two-word personal insult, one of which was an F-bomb. Hawley tweeted out Wojnarowski’s response and later tweeted that he was not interested in an apology. “Don’t make @wojespn apologize. He’s just saying what he really thinks. Call out the @NBA. You know, your job,” he wrote.
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LeBron James is in quite the shooting slump — especially from long distance, highlighted by his zero-for-four effort from three-point range for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 109-80 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. That return stretched the nearly-40-year-old’s skid to zero-for-19 from deep over his past four games. James’ birthday is on Dec. 30. After going four-for-16 from the floor overall with six of his team’s 20 turnovers for a season-low 10 points against the Timberwolves, James was asked to reflect on the Lakers reaching the quarter mark of their 2024-2025 schedule under rookie coach J.J. Redick at 12-9. “I
TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) Tainan won the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) title for a fifth straight season on Sunday, while the Kaohsiung Attackers a week earlier emerged as champions for the first time in the women’s league. In the final round of the TFPL, TSG rested most of their important players for the home match at Yonghua Stadium in Tainan. They had 46 points prior to the game and were already guaranteed to finish in first place. Their opponent, Hang Yuan FC, were led by midfielder Chen Po-ying, who scored two goals, first with a curving shot just inside
RSS