BASKETBALL
LeBron passes Malone tally
LeBron James on Saturday moved into second place on the NBA’s all-time regular season points scoring rankings, but could not prevent the Washington Wizards from defeating his Los Angeles Lakers 127-119. James produced a typically virtuoso performance to finish with 38 points and 10 rebounds at the Wizards’ Capital One Arena, giving him enough to power past Karl Malone into second place in the regular season scorers rankings with 36,947 points. “Just to be a part of this league for as many years as I’ve been a part of it, to be linked with some of the greatest to ever play this game, guys I’ve watched or studied, or read about, or inspired to be like, I’m just lost for words for it,” James said of his scoring achievement. The Washington crowd gave James an ovation after he reached the milestone, with the Lakers star saluting fans as he basked in the applause. James’ points haul leaves him within range of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record of 38,387 points.
MOTORSPORTS
Masi made error: FIA
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) on Saturday concluded that ex-Formula One race director Michael Masi made a “human error,” but acted in “good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances,” after his controversial restart call at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year led to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen beating Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton. After a crash brought out safety cars with five laps remaining, Verstappen entered the pit for new tires, but Masi then flipped his decision and let five drivers separating Verstappen from Hamilton pass the safety car under yellow, but not all eight, which would have taken longer. On fresh tires, Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap. Despite the call’s influence on the outcome of the race, the FIA ruled that the result was “valid and final.”
Masi has since been removed from his post and race control restructured.
TRACK AND FIELD
Jacobs wins 60m gold
Italy’s Olympic 100m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs on Saturday trumped US rival Christian Coleman for the 60m gold on the second day of the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, while Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed a memorable high jump title for war-ravaged Ukraine. Jacobs timed a winning 6.41 seconds as he produced a savage, perfectly timed dip at the line to nudge ahead of defending champion and world 100m title holder Coleman, making his comeback from an 18-month ban for breaking anti-doping rules. Coleman’s teammate Marvin Bracy claimed bronze in 6.44 seconds. “I always have the same target: to be in best shape at the most important moment,” said Jacobs after backing up his Olympic performances. Earlier, Mahuchikh won a dramatic high jump gold, having fled her war-torn nation after the Russian invasion and making it to Belgrade after a tortuous three-day trip. After holding her nerve amid “explosions, fires, and air raid sirens” the 20-year-old replicated her sangfroid in the Stark Arena, triumphing with a best of 2.02m, in what she said was a “defense of Ukraine colors on the track in the international arena, to show that we are the strongest in the world.”
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS