SOCCER
Three teams qualify
BSC Young Boys, Salzburg and AC Sparta Prague on Tuesday secured their places in the new-look, 36-team UEFA Champions League after coming through playoff ties. Swiss champions Young Boys returned to the competition following a 1-0 win away to Galatasaray SK that clinched a 4-2 aggregate victory. Salzburg are set for their sixth straight appearance in the main phase after a 1-1 draw at home to Dynamo Kyiv wrapped up the tie 3-1 on aggregate. Sparta Prague also made it through qualifying as a 2-0 win over Swedish side Malmo completed a 4-0 overall triumph for the Czech champions. The four remaining spots were to be filled yesterday before today’s draw.
FOOTBALL
NFL owners approve deal
NFL owners on Tuesday voted to allow private equity investment in a landmark move that could see billions of dollars in new funding pumped into the sport, the US-based league confirmed. At a meeting in Milwaukee, the owners of the NFL’s 32 teams approved a plan that would allow a group of handpicked private equity firms to purchase up to a 10 percent stake in a team. The vote represents a significant departure for the way NFL teams are funded. Historically, franchises have been run as family businesses or owned by wealthy individuals. The move to allow private equity investment potentially puts billions of dollars of new cash on the table to help pay for new stadiums and other projects for the most popular sport in the US.
HORSE RACING
Kelce buys Swift horse
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift, has acquired an ownership share in three-year-old thoroughbred Swift Delivery, the Team Valor International stable said on Tuesday. Kelce, along with his friend Alex Zoldan and family, had purchased a “significant share” of Team Valor’s interest in the gray gelding, who is set to race in Saturday’s Toronto Cup Stakes. “It’s very exciting,” Team Valor International CEO Barry Irwin said. “I met him [Kelce] at the Kentucky Derby and got to spend some time with him and stuff, and we talked about horses and everything. When this horse came to light and it was owned by one of my partners already, with the name, I figured this has got to be a no-brainer.” Irwin said the horse was not named after Swift — just “a total coincidence.”
SOCCER
Dutch games called off
Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb on Tuesday called off this weekend’s match between archrivals Feyenoord and AFC Ajax due to a police strike, saying public safety “cannot adequately be guaranteed.” The call comes after police unions on Monday said they would not be present at the highly charged game, which was scheduled to be played at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam on Sunday. “The safety of players, as well as the public cannot be adequately guaranteed without the involvement of the police,” Aboutaleb said in a statement. A new date for the clash has not yet been set. Dutch police unions have run industrial actions for several months to protest the dropping of a scheme for early pensions for officers next year. Rivalries among the hardcore support of both clubs has led to clashes, resulting in a ban on visiting supporters for the fixture, called De Klassieker in Dutch.
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
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
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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