ATHLETICS
Marathoner aged 6 shocks
The Kentucky parents who have drawn criticism for running a marathon with their six-year-old son said that child protective services (CPS) have since made an unannounced visit. Ben and Kami Crawford shared a photograph of Rainier being interviewed by a CPS staffer after an Instagram post on Tuesday last week detailing the boy’s arduous journey in completing the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio, earlier this month. In the post, the Crawfords said Rainier “was crying and we were moving slow,” so he was promised two sleeves of Pringles if he kept going.” The Crawfords have stood by their decision to run the marathon with their youngest son, despite the backlash.
NFL
Brady inks Fox Sports deal
Tom Brady is to swap the football field for the Fox Sports television studio when he retires from the NFL. The news was announced in an earnings call by Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Tuesday. Brady is to become Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst, calling games alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. Murdoch said the seven-time Super Bowl champion would also work as an “ambassador” for Fox concentrating on “client and promotional initiatives.” He added that he did not know when Brady would retire and take up his new role. The New York Post reported that the deal would pay Brady US$375 million over 10 years, surpassing the US$303 million that the quarterback has earned in salary during his NFL career. “Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers,” Brady wrote on Twitter.
GAMING
EA Sports to cut FIFA ties
The FIFA video game series is to be rebranded EA Sports FC next year, its publisher, California-based Electronic Arts (EA), said on Tuesday, ending a three-decade relationship with soccer’s governing body. Launched in 1993, a generation of millions of soccer fans and gamers across the globe grew up playing the game and it became a huge money-spinner. However, “months of tense negotiations” between EA and governing body FIFA failed to end in an agreement to extend the partnership, the New York Times reported. FIFA reportedly wanted the US$150 million it gets annually from EA to be increased to US$250 million or more. The game has more than 150 million player accounts, according to EA, and the New York Times said it has generated more than US$20 billion in sales over the past two decades.
RUGBY UNION
Creevy cited for hair-pull
London hooker Agustin Creevy has been cited for allegedly pulling South African World Cup-winner Eben Etzebeth’s hair during a European Challenge Cup quarter-final away Test in Toulon on Sunday. A statement issued by tournament organizers European Professional Club Rugby said: “Creevy is alleged to have pulled the hair of the RC Toulon second-row, Eben Etzebeth, in the 35th minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.27 — a player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.” French club Toulon won 19-18, with former Argentina captain Creevy, 37, facing a hearing yesterday. Toulon is to play Saracens, another English side, in this weekend’s semi-finals.
Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) yesterday beat Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in their women’s singles semi-final match to advance to today’s final at the Thailand Open. The top-seeded Tai overcame a 10-21 first-game loss to seventh seed and former world champion Ratchanok to dominate the final two games 21-13, 21-19 in 58 minutes of play at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. World No. 2 Tai is today to face world No. 4 Chen Yufei of China. Chen yesterday bested Pusarla Venkata Sindhu 21-17, 21-16 to secure her spot in the final of the Super 500 tournament. On Friday, Tai overpowered China’s He Bingjiao 21-10,
Wimbledon, widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament, was on Friday stripped of ranking points by the sport’s main tours in a move that threatens to reduce the Grand Slam to the status of a high-profile exhibition event. The decision by the ATP and WTA was in response to Wimbledon banning Russian and Belarusian players following the invasion of Ukraine. “It is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022,” an ATP statement said. “Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a
Defending champions Taichung Blue Whale thrashed Taoyuan Mars 6-0 in Taiwanese women’s soccer over the weekend, while Hualien City rolled on with their fourth win to sit atop the league table. While Thai fullback Pitsamai Sornsai partnered with compatriot goalkeeper Nattaruja Muthtanawech on defense, Japanese midfielder Maho Tanaka opened the scoring for Blue Whale in Saturday’s match, kicking a screamer on a volley from outside the penalty box — her first goal of the season. The match remained 1-0 heading into the break, although Taoyuan Mars striker Ho Chia-huan, a student at Hsing Wu High School in New Taipei City, had good
Faced with a machete, a fighter leaps and locks his legs around another man’s neck, bringing him crashing down to a cacophony of cheers. This is vovinam, Vietnam’s acrobatic martial art with roots dating back to the country’s struggle for independence, and it is showing at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games for the first time since 2013. Proponents are trained to use not only their hands and legs to grapple a rival to the ground, but also fend off assailants armed with blades. Short for “Vo Viet Nam” (literally “Vietnamese martial arts”) it was inspired by nationalists who sought an end to the
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