BASEBALL
MLB cancels week of games
Major League Baseball on Friday canceled the first week of spring training games through March 4 amid a lockout by clubs. The announcement came with the work stoppage in its 79th day and a day after talks on economics between management and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association lasted just 15 minutes.
SOCCER
Lille held by Metz
Lille were held to a goalless draw by Metz in Ligue 1 on Friday. The game ended on a sour note with Lille substitute Edon Zhegrova sent off last in the match with his second yellow card, while Metz manager was Frederic Antonetti shown red for his part in an altercation with the Lille coaching staff.
SOCCER
Belotti stars for Torino
Andrea Belotti was the star for Torino with the leveler in Friday’s 1-1 draw against Juventus in Serie A. Belotti swept home Torino’s equalizer in the 62nd minute after Matthijs de Ligt thumped home a powerful header to open the scoring.
SOCCER
Leverkusen upset by Mainz
Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Friday were upset by FSV Mainz 05, who scored two late goals to snatch a 3-2 win in their Bundesliga encounter. Mainz equalized twice through Aaron Martin and Jean-Paul Boetius, while Marcus Ingvartsen hit the shock winner with two minutes left.
SOCCER
Elche score late to win
Elche on Friday scored two late goals secure a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. The loss kept Rayo winless in six games as they tumbled down the standings following a fantastic first three months of the season.
MOTORSPORTS
Andretti seeks new F1 team
US motor racing entrepreneur Michael Andretti has applied to launch a new Formula One team starting from 2024, his father, Mario Andretti, said on Friday. “Michael has applied to the FIA [governing body] to field a new F1 team starting in 2024,” Mario Andretti wrote on Twitter. “His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA’s determination.”
CRICKET
Indian hits 341 on debut
Indian Sakibul Gani became the first batsman in world cricket to hit a triple century on his first-class debut when he made 341 in the Ranji Trophy. The 22-year-old walked out to the crease for Bihar against Mizoram in Kolkata on Thursday, the first day of their four-day match. By the time he was out 405 balls later on day 2, he had plundered 56 fours and two sixes. The right-hand batsman surpassed fellow Indian Ajay Rohera’s record of 267 not out for Madhya Pradesh in the 2018-2019 season. Another Indian Amol Mazumdar stands third with his 260 for Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1994. Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim — who is from Bihar himself — lauded Gani’s effort. “Scoring a triple ton is always special. It becomes an extraordinary innings when someone gets it on debut,” Karim wrote on Twitter. Bihar declared on 686-5. In reply, Mizoram were 298-7 at stumps on day 3 yesterday.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS