BASKETBALL
Howard to meet Warriors
Eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard is to meet with the Golden State Warriors next week, The Athletic Web site reported on Friday. The 37-year-old free agent center did not play in the NBA last season, competing professionally in Taiwan instead. The Warriors reportedly have been exploring the addition of a veteran big man for the 2023-2024 campaign. Howard is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who led the league in rebounding five times and blocks two times earlier in his 18-year career.
SOCCER
Sancho’s future uncertain
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on Friday said that he does not know whether Jadon Sancho would play for the club again amid the forward’s exile from the first team over a disciplinary issue. Sancho, 23, is training away from United’s first team after saying in a now-deleted statement on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat” following his omission from the squad for their 3-1 defeat against Arsenal on Sept. 3. Ten Hag said at the time that Sancho had been left out because of his poor performance in training. Speaking at a news conference before United hosted Brighton & Hove Albion, which was to start after press time last night, the Dutch coach did not confirm if Sancho remained a part of his long-term plans at the club. “I don’t know,” Ten Hag said when asked whether Sancho would play for United again. “He is not available, so in this moment, he is not important, because he can’t contribute.” The decision “is not about me. This is in favor of the team... I don’t think about that [Sancho’s social media post] and I don’t talk about that, because I have to win a game.”
GOLF
Bale added to video game
Gareth Bale’s love for golf has been well-documented and the former Real Madrid and Wales forward has swapped the pitch for the green after becoming a playable character in the PGA Tour 2K23 video game. Bale, 34, made his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February after calling time on his soccer career at the start of the year. He also teed off alongside Rory McIlroy at this week’s BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am. The former Wales captain, who featured on the cover of Electronic Arts’ FIFA 14 video game alongside Lionel Messi, has now been added to PGA Tour 2K23, which includes a course custom-designed by him.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said