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.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
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