BASKETBALL
Cliff Robinson dies
During an 18-year career, Cliff Robinson guided the UConn Huskies out from the bottom and almost helped take the Portland Trail Blazers to the top. He was one of the NBA’s best sixth men, a versatile player who became a predecessor of the modern center. Not bad for a guy who was warned he might not even get a second season with UConn. “He averaged five points as a freshman and I remember I told him, ‘You have two choices: I can kick you out if you keep doing what you do, or I’m going to watch you play a lot of years in the NBA,’” former UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “He chose the latter, which was good.” Robinson died on Saturday at 53. “His personality and energy were unmatched, and his contributions on the court were unmistakable, helping the Trail Blazers into the playoffs each of his eight seasons with the team,” the Blazers said. “His streak of 461 consecutive games played with the Trail Blazers still stands as a franchise record, which is a testament to his hard work and dedication to the team.” No cause of death was given, although Calhoun said that Robinson had a stroke two-and-a-half years ago and had gone into a coma last week. Robinson played 1,380 games in the league, ranking in the top 15 of all time. Besides the Blazers, he also played for the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, the Golden State Warriors and the New Jersey Nets.
SOCCER
Neymar leaves Nike
Nike on Saturday said that it had parted ways with Neymar, ending one of its most high-profile sponsorship deals a decade and a half after signing the star striker as a 13-year-old prodigy. “I can confirm Neymar is no longer a Nike athlete,” Nike spokesman Josh Benedek said in an e-mail, without giving details. Media reports said that the 28-year-old Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil talisman is in talks with Nike’s German rival Puma. Brazilian news site UOL said that Neymar and Nike had failed to reach a deal on how much money he would be paid for renewing his contract. It said that negotiations between the company and the player’s agents had run into trouble months ago. Neymar’s communications team and Puma did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo said that Neymar’s last deal with Nike was an 11-year contract that was only set to expire in 2022, worth US$105 million in total.
FORMULA ONE
Hamilton honors Boseman
Lewis Hamilton paid an emotional tribute to Chadwick Boseman after claiming pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. Boseman, who on Friday died of cancer aged 43, played the role of T’Challa, the leader of Wakanda, in the Black Panther movie, which was the first Marvel film to have a black character as a superhero. “That was really weighing heavy on me today,” said Hamilton. “I was so driven to deliver a good performance today so that I could dedicate it to Chad. I remember when I was a kid that Superman was a superhero, he didn’t look like me, but I still thought Superman was the greatest... When Chad became the King, it was really, when he became a superhero in Wakanda it was such a special day for so many people, as I know kids like myself will be able to now look up to him and it is possible to do what he did, so this one’s dedicated to him.”
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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