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.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
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