SOCCER
Lightning-hit goalie returns
When 16-year-old goalkeeper Ivan Zaborovsky was rushed to the hospital after being struck by lightning during a warmup on July 4, few thought he would survive. Stadium footage showed a lightning bolt landing directly on Zaborovsky, who collapsed unconscious. Coach Anton Basov performed first aid and Zaborovsky was taken to a hospital where he was put in an induced coma. Less than three weeks later, he has returned to his team. The only thing that reminds him of the incident is a burn on his chest, where he had been wearing a chain. “It was difficult to breathe, but that’s about it,” he said, adding that he did not remember anything from that day.
NFL
Fifty-nine test positive: union
Fifty-nine players have tested positive for COVID-19, the NFL Players’ Association said, with rookies scheduled to report to their teams on Tuesday next week, the day training camps open for all players. Including other individuals within the league, such as staff members, who have tested positive, the total number of cases stand at 95, a union spokesman said. “The testing protocols we agreed to are one critical factor that will help us return to work safely and gives us the best chance to play and finish the season,” the union said in a statement on Monday.
SOCCER
Stars back women’s team
A group of celebrities led by Hollywood star Natalie Portman has founded a women’s professional soccer team set to debut in 2022, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) said on Tuesday. Big names involved in the effort include actresses Jessica Chastain, Eva Longoria, America Ferrera and Jennifer Garner, as well as tennis star Serena Williams. “A majority woman-founded group” led by Portman “has secured the exclusive right to bring a professional women’s soccer team to Los Angeles to kick off in spring 2022,” the league said. The team’s formal name is yet to be announced, but “the group has formally coined itself ‘Angel City’ in honor of its planned home in Los Angeles,” the statement said. It would become the league’s 11th team. The founding investor group includes Williams’ young daughter, Olympia, and several former US Women’s National Team players, including Mia Hamm, Lauren Cheney Holiday and Abby Wambach. “Today we take an exciting step by announcing the first women majority-owned and led ownership group,” said Portman, who won an Oscar in 2011 for her role in Black Swan. “This has the power to make tangible change for female athletes both in our community and in the professional sphere.”
ATHLETICS
Long jumper shot dead
Tony Martin, a recording-breaking long jumper for Michigan State University, has been shot and killed at the age of 19. Martin shattered Michigan’s long jump record with a leap of 8.07m while still in high school. The jump tied one of Olympic legend Carl Lewis’ marks for the seventh-longest of all-time, Mile Split USA said. Police in Saginaw, where Martin grew up, said that he was shot and killed outside a gas station in the early hours of Sunday morning. They are now investigating his death as part of a double homicide.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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