BASKETBALL
Lin silent on racism claim
Jeremy Lin said he would not name the person alleged to have called him “coronavirus” on the basketball court, as it would do little in the fight against racism. US media said the NBA’s G League had launched an investigation after the Taiwanese-American made the claim in a Facebook post on Thursday. “I know this will disappoint some of you but I’m not naming or shaming anyone,” Lin wrote on Twitter. “What good does it do in this situation for someone to be torn down? It doesn’t make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism.” The former NBA guard said there were better ways to support Asian American communities experiencing racism. “Fighting ignorance with ignorance will get us nowhere. Sharing our own pain by painting another group of people with stereotypes is not the way,” he said. “Listen to the voices that are teaching us how to be anti-racist towards ALL people. Hear others’ stories, expand your perspective, stop comparing experiences. I believe this generation can be different.”
MOROR RACING
Tanak holds Arctic lead
Ott Tanak on Saturday won three of the six stages to maintain his lead in the Arctic Rally. The Estonian, who drives for Hyundai, complained of tire issues after finishing second in the last two stages of the day. “It went to plan,” Tanak said. “The tires were quite tired, so it was important to get here without any mistakes.” On the day that it was announced that one of Finland’s greatest rally drivers, Hannu Mikkola, had died aged 78, 20-year-old Kalle Rovanpera climbed to second in his home rally, winning the sixth stage of the day. Tanak leads Toyota’s Rovanpera by 24.9 seconds. Belgian Thierry Neuville won the last stage of the day by 12.3 seconds in his Hyundai to close to 1.8 seconds further back in third. World champion Sebastien Ogier, who started this season with victory in Monte Carlo, drove into a snowbank on the final turn of the day. Ogier and his codriver, Julien Ingrassia, finished the stage, but dropped from sixth to 22nd in the standings.
SAILING
America’s Cup delayed
The first weekend of America’s Cup racing between Team New Zealand and Italy’s Luna Rossa next week has been postponed because of the latest COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland, organizers said yesterday. The first two race days, which were scheduled to take place in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday, have been pushed forward “to provide at least some certainty in planning for all event stakeholders,” America’s Cup Event said in a statement.
SOCCER
US ends kneeling ban
US Soccer on Saturday formally scrapped a controversial policy banning players from kneeling during the national anthem, following a vote of members at the federation’s annual meeting. US Soccer’s board of directors repealed the policy last year, but the decision required confirmation by the full membership of the ruling body. At Saturday’s meeting, the board’s decision to scrap the rule was backed by 71 percent of voters, with 29 percent against. Explaining the decision to repeal the policy last year, US Soccer said the rule was wrong and reflected a failure of the federation to address the concerns of black people and other minorities.
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
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
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