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.”
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