SOCCER
Klopp joins Red Bull
Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has a new role as head of soccer operations at Red Bull, which owns the Leipzig, Salzburg and New York clubs, the company said yesterday. Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season after nine years, during which he breathed new life into the club and won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. The 57-year-old’s new job, which starts on Jan. 1 next year, does not involve hands-on coaching. “I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs,” Klopp said. “After nearly 25 years on the sidelines, I couldn’t be more excited to be involved in a project like this.”
FOOTBALL
Jets fire head coach
New York Jets CEO and co-owner Woody Johnson on Tuesday fired head coach Robert Saleh just five games into his fourth season after the team’s 2-3 start following a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday. “This change, the change that we made today — that I made — I believe will bring new energy and positivity that will lead to more wins, starting now,” Johnson told reporters during a conference call. Saleh was 20-36 as coach of the Jets, who are trying to snap the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 13 seasons. The move marks the first time in Johnson’s 25-year tenure that a head coach has been fired during the season. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.
BASKETBALL
Lynx head to WNBA Finals
Napheesa Collier on Tuesday had 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Courtney Williams contributed 24 points and both-ends-of-the-court energy to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 88-77 and into the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years. Kayla McBride fueled a strong start with 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter for the Lynx, who advanced to face the top-seeded New York Liberty in Game 1 tonight. The best-of-five series continues with Game 2 in New York on Sunday afternoon, before Minnesota host Game 3 on Wednesday next week.
OLYMPICS
Bill to honor ‘Miracle’ team
A bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic ice hockey team that defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union in Lake Placid, New York, at a period of high tension during the Cold War. “What they did for our country at that moment, I’ll never forget,” said US Representative Pete Stauber, who introduced the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act. “It’s one of the defining sports moments in my lifetime, and I am so proud that we can give this Congressional Medal to each member of that Olympic team to say thank you for the memories we will never forget as a nation.” Stauber was 13 at the time before going on to play at Lake Superior State University and a handful of years professionally in the minors. “I don’t think anybody really has to think about whether they support it or not,” he said. “I hope all 535 members of Congress reach the conclusion yes they deserve it and then the president signs it.”
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
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38