SWIMMING
Sun Yang’s ban expires
Disgraced three-time Olympic champion Sun Yang hopes to return to competitive swimming “as soon as possible” after his more than four-year ban for doping ended yesterday. The Chinese freestyler was originally suspended for eight years by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2020 for smashing vials of blood during a 2018 test, the circumstances of which he still disputes. The ban was reduced on appeal to four years and three months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2021. “I hope that I’ll be able to pick a competition and return to the starting block as soon as possible,” the 32-year-old said in an interview published by state-run news site The Paper. Sun’s return comes with China’s swimmers under intense scrutiny since it emerged that WADA allowed 23 of them to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, despite testing positive for a banned substance.
SOCCER
Ronaldo breaks record
Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday broke the record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season when he struck for the 34th and 35th time in Al Nassr’s final game of the campaign. “I don’t follow the records, the records follow me,” the 39-year-old Portuguese forward wrote on X afterward. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star struck in first-half stoppage-time and again in the 69th minute with a header as Al Nassr defeated Al-Ittihad 4-2 at home.
BASKETBALL
NBA legend Bill Walton dies
Bill Walton, the former NBA Most Valuable Player, two-time champion and popular television commentator, died on Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer. After a stellar college career, Walton won his first NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 and was named the league’s MVP the following year. He did a spell with the Los Clippers, in San Diego and Los Angeles, then moved to the Boston Celtics where he won a second title in 1986. After his playing career ended, Walton became a popular commentator for college and NBA basketball broadcasts. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind. As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
CRICKET
Aussie joins Italy for brother
Former Australia Test opener Joe Burns has switched allegiance to Italy to help the Europeans qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup as a tribute to his late brother. Burns, who played 23 Tests from 2014 to 2020, has been mourning his brother’s death in February. Burns wrote about his grief in a social media post with a picture of a blue Italy shirt with the No. 85 his brother wore at his amateur cricket club in Queensland. “While a part of my soul feels like it will always be missing, I know this shirt will carry on his spirit and give me strength,” Burns said. “I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia. They found a way to make it work through adversity and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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