CRICKET
Australia dominate in Test
Marnus Labuschagne yesterday cracked a masterful unbeaten 154 while Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith hit 50s as a dominant Australia took control of the opening Test against the West Indies at Perth Stadium. The hosts reached an ominous 293-2 at stumps on day one following captain Pat Cummins’ decision to bat in hot and dry conditions. The total was built off the back of a 142-run stand between Labuschagne and Khawaja, who came together after David Warner was out for five, then an unbeaten 142 with Smith. A focused Labuschagne, who survived chances on 75 and 137, brought up his eighth century in his 29th Test and with the in-form Smith unbeaten on 59 the omens are not good for the visitors, who have failed to win a Test in Australia for 25 years.
RUGBY UNION
White wrongly cleared
Officials on Tuesday said Australia scrumhalf Nic White was wrongly allowed to play on after he was concussed against Ireland this month. White took a blow to the head in the second half at Lansdowne Road on Nov. 19. As he was leaving the field for a head injury assessment (HIA), he stumbled twice. Those stumbles were “Criteria 1” displays of possible concussion and should have automatically resulted in White’s permanent removal from the field. An independent review ordered by the Six Nations said the stumbles were missed. White passed the HIA by the independent match day doctor and returned to play the last 26 minutes. The decision was widely criticized. World Rugby said the report showed that the match day doctor and Wallabies doctor were reviewing video of the head knock and did not see White stumble. Not until after the match when the medical team was made aware of the stumbles was video of that reviewed.
TENNIS
US coaches sanctioned
US coaches Bob Bryan and Mardy Fish have been fined and received suspended bans for breaking betting sponsorship rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Tuesday. The pair were fined US$10,000 each and received suspended bans of four months after admitting promoting a gaming operator on social media. Because the pair were on the US Davis Cup coaching team this year, they are considered “covered persons” and thereby banned from such activities. Fish, 40, reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7, and won an Olympic silver medal in 2004. Bryan, 44, a top-ranked doubles player with his twin brother, won 23 Grand Slams, including seven mixed doubles.
HOCKEY
Ovechkin surpasses Gretzky
Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday scored twice, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most road goals in NHL history, as the Washington Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1. Ovechkin has scored 403 of his 793 career goals away from home. Gretzky holds the overall record with 894. Ovechkin topped Gretzky 11 minutes, 52 seconds into the first period, firing a one-timer from the left circle past Martin to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead with his 13th goal of the season. He got his first of the night 5:35 in, taking the puck off the stick of Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes near the net and batting in a quick shot. It was Ovechkin’s 135th game-opening goal, tying Jaromir Jagr for the most in NHL history.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere
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