BASKETBALL
Nets ban Kyrie Irving
The Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday barred star guard Kyrie Irving from practice, as well as games in the NBA season that starts next week, because he refuses to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose... Currently, his choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.” Due to COVID-19, New York has implemented new health and safety regulations that do not allow unvaccinated athletes to take part in practices and games. Irving could have played in road games without being vaccinated, but Marks’ statement rules that out.
RUGBY UNION
Men in tights allowed
Skinned knees could soon be a thing of the past in rugby after the sport’s governing body amended its laws to allow players at all levels to wear tights or leggings during games. Law 4 of the sport, which covers players’ clothing, previously only permitted women to wear “cotton blend tights or leggings, with single inside seam under their shorts and socks,” but it has now been extended to all participants with immediate effect, World Rugby said on Tuesday. The amendment has been implemented on “welfare and accessibility grounds,” amid the increasing use of artificial surfaces. “With some players susceptible to abrasions on artificial surfaces, the decision gives players the option to wear tights or leggings as a preventative measure, maximizing access to the game,” World Rugby said. “World Rugby will also work with unions and registered artificial turf providers to ensure that rigorous best-practice maintenance programs are observed.”
GOLF
Hornets attack J.R. Smith
J.R. Smith on Tuesday stepped into a hornets’ nest in his first college golf tournament and it had nothing to do with his high score. The 36-year-old two-time NBA champion was literally stung by hornets while completing his round for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on the second day of the Elon Phoenix Invitational. That could not have helped with the nerves he experienced when the competition began on Monday, lining up tee shots as a 36-year-old freshman walk-on playing his first college golf tournament. “I was nervous, I was,” said Smith, who shot a 12-over-par 83 in Round 1 and then a seven-over 78 in Round 2. “I didn’t really know what to expect.”
OLYMPICS
‘No IOC challenge for China’
International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president John Coates yesterday swatted aside suggestions that China should be challenged over its human rights record ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Asked about the treatment of the Uighur minority in China, Coates said the body has no mandate to act. “We are not a world government. We have to respect the sovereignty of the countries who are hosting the games,” Coates told an event in his native Australia. “We have no ability to go into a country and tell them what to do ... it’s not our remit.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two