ICE HOCKEY
NHL playoffs determined
It took until the final game on the final night of the NHL regular season to set the matchups for the first round of the playoffs. There is still one regular-season game to be played today, but all eight first-round series are set, with Metropolitan Division champions the Carolina Hurricanes to host the Boston Bruins in the first of them tomorrow. The Nashville Predators blew a four-goal lead and lost 5-4 to the last-placed Arizona Coyotes hours after the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 with an emergency backup goaltender in net for the third period flipped two matchups in the Western Conference. The Predators are to play the Colorado Avalanche, with the Stars to play the Calgary Flames. The other first-round series are between the Minnesota Wild and the St Louis Blues; the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings; the Toronto Maple Leafs and defending Stanley Cup champions the Tampa Bay Lightning; the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers; and the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.
OLYMPICS
AOC backs Ukrainians
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) would support Ukrainian athletes seeking to resettle in Australia on humanitarian grounds amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, outgoing AOC president John Coates said yesterday. Coates told the AOC’s annual general meeting in Sydney it was “sad” that young Ukrainian athletes were swapping sports equipment to take up arms against Russia’s forces. “Today I announced that the AOC executive has by circular resolution last week, determined that the AOC will support humanitarian visa applications by Ukrainian athletes and will seek the assistance of you, our member sports, in their settlement requirements,” said Coates, who is also a vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The AOC would contribute US$100,000 to the IOC’s “Solidarity Fund” for the Ukrainian Olympic community, he said.
BASEBALL
MLB suspends Bauer
The MLB on Friday announced it had suspended the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Trevor Bauer for two seasons without pay for contravening the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, a ruling the pitcher vowed to appeal. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that the MLB arrived at the decision following an “extensive investigation” into accusations of sexual assault made by a San Diego woman against the 31-year-old in June last year.
MOTORSPORTS
Force breaks records
John Force on Friday broke both ends of the zMAX Dragway record, making the fastest run at the facility to power to the Funny Car provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The 72-year-old Force, a 16-time Funny Car season champion, had a 3.850 second run at 537.91kph in his 11,000 horsepower PEAK/BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS, eclipsing the track record of 3.851 seconds set by his daughter Courtney five years ago. The speed was the fastest in both nitro categories. “We’re looking for consistency and this was a good night for our team,” John Force said. “We found something there and I was driving right down the groove. It was pretty cool and a good night for our team.”
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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