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.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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