SOCCER
Cherries earn promotion
AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 to earn automatic promotion to the English Premier League after two seasons in the second-tier EFL Championship. Substitute Kieffer Moore scored the only goal of the game in the 83rd minute as manager Scott Parker’s side joined champions Fulham in the English top flight next season. It was only the Wales international’s third goal of an injury-ravaged Bournemouth career since his January transfer from Cardiff City. “I’m delighted for the fans, and my players. They deserve this position. It means a lot,” Parker told Sky Sports. Forest, who needed a win to leapfrog the Cherries in the table, now have to try to end their 23-year Premier League exile via the playoffs.
FORMULA ONE
Pioneer Tony Brooks dies
Motorsport pioneer Tony Brooks, who won six Formula One grands prix in the 1950s and was nicknamed the “Racing Dentist,” has died aged 90. The Briton had been the last surviving Formula One race winner of the 1950s. He won on his F1 debut at the non-championship 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix, where he was a last-minute entry and took time off from studying to become a dentist. “He was part of a special group of drivers who were pioneers and pushed the boundaries at a time of great risk,” F1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said. “He will be missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
BASKETBALL
Griner ‘wrongfully detained’
US President Joe Biden’s administration has determined that WNBA star Brittney Griner is being wrongfully detained in Russia, meaning the US would work more aggressively to secure her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. “The US government will continue to undertake efforts to provide appropriate support to Ms Griner,” the department said. Griner was detained at an airport in February after Russian authorities said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis. “Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expectation is that the White House do whatever is necessary to bring her home,” said Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas.
ATHLETICS
Pentathlons to change for TV
Modern pentathlon’s governing body said making TV-friendly obstacle racing the sport’s fifth discipline would help build its future amid fierce opposition to its move to drop the equestrian element from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Starting in late June, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) is to test two variations of obstacle racing after selecting the sport from more than 60 options. Pentathlon United, a group formed to block the removal of equestrianism, wrote to the International Olympic Committee seeking intervention, saying the UIPM’s consultation process was “illusory at best.” The group said that in a survey last month of 310 athletes — 168 of whom are active — 77 percent said it was unlikely they would stay in the sport if equestrianism is removed. “We understand that some are unhappy, but we have far more people who want to embrace the change,” UIPM vice president Joel Bouzou told the Guardian. “That’s ideal for a live program on American TV.”
Erik ten Hag’s first competitive game as manager tomorrow should herald a fresh start for Manchester Untied, but familiar failings behind the scenes have made the Dutchman’s difficult job an almost impossible one. Ten Hag’s predecessor Ralf Rangnick signed off from his miserable caretaker spell last season by stating that the United squad needed “open heart surgery” and up to 10 new players after laboring to a sixth-placed finish in the English Premier League. So far, only three new faces have arrived at Old Trafford — Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen. The United squad is arguably weaker than last season, with
Taiwanese infielder Chang Yu on Saturday made his major league pitching debut when he was pulled off third base in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the Tampa Bay Rays’ bullpen in their 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Chang’s chance to take the mound came as the Tigers’ scoring was already out of hand for the Rays. Detroit mounted a rare offensive outburst, leading Rays manager Kevin Cash to preserve his pitchers by allowing Chang to throw an inning. He retired Willi Castro on what the scoreboard called a 40mph curveball, but Detroit’s Jonathan Schoop hit the next pitch for
Australia’s Donna Lobban said she and her Scottish husband Greg Lobban would not be signing “divorce papers” after she beat him in mixed doubles squash competition at the Commonwealth Games on Friday. Donna Lobban and her partner, Cameron Pilley, came back from a game down to win 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 and reach the semi-finals in Birmingham, England. The defending champion, 35, said she was braced for her husband’s reaction. “I might have to put up with him being in a terrible mood for a while, but if I had lost it would have been him putting up with me being in a
Taiwan yesterday outlasted the Dominican Republic 9-5 in a rain-soaked slugfest in Tainan to take home the bronze medal in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. Taiwan, who won the previous edition of the tournament in 2019, were eliminated from gold medal contention on Friday with a loss to the US, and needed a comeback win over South Korea a day later to reach yesterday’s third-place playoff. The US and Venezuela were playing for gold in a game that started at 7:45pm. The US were leading 7-2 at the bottom of the fifth inning as of press time last night. In what was