Fri, Dec 20, 2024 page6

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  BASKETBALL

  Hawks’ Bufkin out injured

  Injuries have sidelined the Atlanta Hawks’ Kobe Bufkin for the remainder of the NBA season and center Onyeka Okongwu for at least a week, the team said on Wednesday. Bufkin is to undergo right shoulder surgery on Jan. 7, while Okongwu is to sit out with an inflamed left knee for a week before being re-evaluated, missing four games, the team said. Both play key reserve roles for the Hawks, who stand seventh in the Eastern Conference at 14-13.

  

  Photo: Reuters

  TENNIS

  ATP touts payments

  The ATP this year distributed US$1.3 million to 26 players as part of its on-trial financial security program and is to step up its commitment by boosting minimum wage figures for next year, the governing body said. Launched earlier this year as part of a three-year trial, the Baseline program guarantees minimum income for the top 250-ranked singles players each season. ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi called it a “game-changer” for them. “We’re giving players the financial support they need to overcome challenges and build a sustainable career — whether they’re navigating injuries, setbacks in performance or entering the tour for the first time,” Gaudenzi said. “With [US]$1.3 million distributed to players in year one of Baseline, the impact is already clear. With expansions set for 2025, this is just the beginning.”

  

  Photo: AP

  RUGBY UNION

  RFU probes payments

  The Rugby Football Union (RFU) Council has set up an immediate review into the circumstances surrounding the huge bonuses received by RFU chief executive officer Bill Sweeney and other executives after “recognizing the reputational damage done to the sport.” Sweeney and RFU chairman Tom Ilube also look set to face a vote of no-confidence early next year after a “grassroots revolt.” Sweeney was paid ￡1.1 million (US$1.38 million) in the last accounting year, despite the RFU posting a record operating loss of ￡37.9 million and making more than 40 staff redundant in September. Five other executives shared ￡1 million as part of a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) agreed after they took pay cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The “council has confirmed there will be an immediate independent review of the circumstances that led to the LTIP being introduced and executed,” the RFU said in a statement. “Council recognizes the reputational damage that has been done to the sport over the past month and is committed to rebuilding trust with our member clubs.”

  MOTORSPORTS

  Fred Lorenzen dies

  NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1965 Daytona 500 champion Fred Lorenzen has died, NASCAR said on Wednesday. He was 89. Lorenzen, who won 26 career Cup races, was named in NASCAR’s list of its 50 greatest drivers of all time in 1998. He also became the first NASCAR driver to earn more than US$100,000 in a single season in 1963. “Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s first true superstars. A fan favorite, he helped NASCAR expand from its original roots,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “For many years, NASCAR’s ‘Golden Boy’ was also its gold standard, a fact that eventually led him to the sport’s pinnacle, a rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
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