BASEBALL
A’s May tells owner to sell
Oakland Athletics reliever Trevor May on Monday ripped team owner John Fisher and implored him to sell the franchise while announcing his retirement in an impassioned video message. “Sell the team, dude... Sell it, man,” May said in a video posted on Twitch. “Let someone who actually, like, takes pride in the things they own, own something. There’s actually people who give a shit about the game. Let them do it. Take mommy and daddy’s money somewhere else, dork.” Fisher’s parents founded Gap Inc, and Fisher became majority owner of the A’s in 2005. He is attempting to relocate the team to Las Vegas after talks for a new stadium in the Bay Area fell through, prompting outrage and protests from fans in Oakland. The A’s have also routinely ranked near the bottom in MLB in payroll. The club finished 50-112 this season, by far the worst record in baseball.
ICE HOCKEY
Fleury mum on retirement
Marc-Andre Fleury on Tuesday would not say if it was his last in Montreal. If it was, it was a fitting finale in his home province for the 38-year-old from Sorel. He made 27 saves in his first start of the season, was selected the first star and received a standing ovation from the Bell Centre crowd, as his Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. “It was a nice moment,” Fleury said, still wiping off the shaving cream teammate Marcus Foligno stuffed in his face during a postgame interview. Fleury told reporters on Monday it could be his final start in Montreal. After the game, he was focused on enjoying the moment. “I’m not sure if it’s done or not,” said Fleury, who had about 90 friends and family in the building. “I don’t want to talk too much of that side of it for today, the present moment was really a special night for me.”
FOOTBALL
NFL preparing for Olympics
NFL executive Peter O’Reilly on Tuesday said that the league would work with the players’ union on allowing current and former players to participate in the Olympics after flag football was among five sports officially added to the 2028 Los Angeles Games by the International Olympic Committee. “It is the pinnacle of sport globally,” O’Reilly said at the league meetings. “Ultimately, that decision on the makeup of Team USA is a decision of USA Football and the national governing body or the governing bodies around the world in similar roles because we are thinking about Team USA, but there are also a lot of other passports in the NFL — 113 foreign-born players on NFL rosters as of Week 5.”
SOCCER
Mainz suspends player
Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi was suspended by FSV Mainz 05 on Tuesday for a social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict that the Bundesliga club said was “unacceptable.” El Ghazi, who joined Mainz last month, has since deleted the post. Although the club wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it “clearly distances itself” from the post, it did not reveal the contents of the post. The former Aston Villa winger El Ghazi wrote in a separate post on X last week that he had “received some negative messages around my social media posts.” He said he stood for peace and called for “more empathy, deepening our knowledge about the history of this conflict.”
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from