BASKETBALL
Antetokounmpo wins award
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday beat out runner-up Anthony Davis to win the NBA’s defensive player of the year award. Antetokounmpo received 75 first-place votes and 432 points in balloting from a group of 100 sports journalists. “His commitment to defending and his commitment to winning is beyond incredible,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He impacts the game with his blocked shots, his rebounding, his ability to guard all five positions ... his talent is beyond special.”
SOCCER
Daley Blind collapses
Ajax defender Daley Blind had to be substituted during a preseason warm-up match against Hertha BSC on Tuesday when his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) went off. Blind had an ICD fitted after being diagnosed with an inflamed heart muscle late last year. Blind sat down when the device went off, but was able to walk off the pitch to be substituted in the 79th minute. “He has no symptoms. The ICD went off and right after that he was fine,” Ajax coach Erik ten Hag told Ziggo Sport. “We’ll do some tests and wait for the results and then make decisions,” he added. Ajax won the match at the Johan Cruyff Arena 1-0.
BASEBALL
Giolito throws no-hitter
Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito tossed the first no-hitter of the COVID-19-disrupted baseball season on Tuesday, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in Chicago. The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher struck out 13 batters and walked just one, getting the final out in the ninth when Pirates batter Erik Gonzalez hit a line drive to right field that was caught by Adam Engel. “The defense was unbelievable. Obviously, you can’t do something like that without the whole team behind you,” Giolito said. “I shook off [catcher] James [McCann] once tonight. He deserves this just as much as I do. It’s just a really, really cool moment.” Pittsburgh’s only baserunner came when Gonzalez walked in the fourth inning.
FOOTBALL
NFL tests ‘discriminatory’
Dementia tests in the NFL concussion litigation allow doctors to use different baseline standards for black and white retired players, making it more difficult for people of color to show injury and qualify for awards, lawyers for two ex-players argued in court filings on Tuesday. Lawyers for former players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards “based on a discriminatory testing regime” that weighs demographic factors, including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said. “Black former players have been automatically assumed, through a statistical manipulation called ‘race-norming,’ to have started with worse cognitive functioning than white former players,” the lawyers wrote. In a statement, league spokesman Brian McCarthy called the lawsuit “entirely misguided.” He said that “the settlement program ... was the result of arm’s-length, comprehensive negotiations between the NFL and Class Counsel, was approved by the federal courts after a searching review of its fairness, and always contemplated the use of recognized statistical techniques to account for demographic differences such as age, education and race.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two