SOCCER
America exit Leagues Cup
Mexican giants Club America on Saturday night suffered a surprise exit from the Leagues Cup at the hands of MLS’ Colorado Rapids, leaving the tournament with no teams from Liga MX in the last four. In the semi-finals of the joint Liga MX-MLS tournament, reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew are to face the Philadelphia Union, while the Rapids would play Los Angeles FC. America, the most decorated team in Mexico, were playing a “home” game in Carson, California, that attracted thousands of Mexican-American supporters to back them. However, they were left disappointed after their goalless draw, with few chances for either team, went to a shoot-out which the Rapids won 9-8. The other Mexican club in the last eight, Mazatlan, also exited in a shoot-out, losing at the Philadelphia Union.
CRICKET
SA keeps berth hopes alive
South Africa’s Test series success over the West Indies on Saturday keeps up their outside chance of a place in next year’s World Test Championship final even if they must win at least five of their next six matches. The 40-run win over the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown was their second success in six Tests in the 2023-2025 cycle and moved them up to fifth in the standings. If they are to stand any chance of challenging the likes of log leaders India and second placed Australia for a berth in next year’s one-off final, they must win at least five of their next remaining six tests.
CYCLING
McNulty wins 1st Vuelta stage
Brandon McNulty on Saturday snatched victory in the first stage of the Vuelta a Espana, edging an individual time trial ahead of Mathias Vacek as the year’s third Grand Tour began in Lisbon. American UAE Team Emirates rider McNulty was the penultimate rider to set off on the 12km run to Oeiras and beat Vacek by two seconds, with final rider Wout van Aert taking third in a thrilling finale. Defending champion Sepp Kuss finished over half a minute down on general classification contender and three-time champion Primoz Roglic, who came in eighth, 17 seconds behind McNulty’s 12 minutes, 35 seconds. “I was hoping for something good today, but this is really hard to believe for me,” 26-year-old McNulty said. “I knew if something crazy happened I could [do it], so I guess something crazy happened.”
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Ex-champ pleads no contest
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has pleaded no contest to attempted murder after he shot at a man in 2022 accused of molesting Velasquez’s relative, a Northern California district attorney’s office said. The office of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement that Velasquez on Friday entered his plea in a San Jose courtroom to felony assault and other gun charges as part of a negotiated agreement with the prosecutor’s office. The 42-year-old Velasquez was scheduled to go on trial next month. Velasquez, who retired from the UFC in 2019, still faces prison time, Rosen’s office said. A sentencing date has not been scheduled. The man charged with molesting the male relative, who was four at the time, is the adult son of a woman who ran the daycare attended by the boy.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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