OLYMPICS
Australia reveals new plans
Australia is to build a 63,000-seat stadium, an indoor swimming venue and rowing in the crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, officials said yesterday after shelving contentious earlier plans, with The Gabba to be demolished after the Games. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli detailed a slew of Olympic upgrades that included the new Brisbane Stadium in the heart of the city and an aquatic center that could host 25,000 fans. “Finally, Queensland has a plan. The time has come to just get on with it, and get on with it we will,” Crisafulli told reporters.
FOOTBALL
Coach charged with hacking
A judge on Monday entered a not-guilty plea for a former Baltimore Ravens and University of Michigan assistant football coach who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images, primarily of women. Matt Weiss’ appearance in federal court in Detroit was brief and came four days after a 14-page indictment was filed. He is accused of unauthorized computer access and identity theft from 2015 until early 2023. Separately, a lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed on Friday on behalf of a former University of Michigan female gymnast and a former member of the women’s soccer team.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Former champ sentenced
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez on Monday was sentenced to five years in prison for a shooting in 2022 where he chased after the man accused of molesting his son. Velasquez was sentenced in Santa Clara County after he pled no contest to attempted murder, felony assault and other related gun charges in August last year for what the district attorney’s office called a “vigilante shooting spree.” He is to receive credit for time served. In February 2022, the two-time UFC heavyweight champion fired a gun multiple times at a truck carrying three people, including 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is facing felony child molestation charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
SOCCER
Germany celebrates ball boy
Germany’s Joshua Kimmich awarded a quick-thinking ball boy for his role in their bizarre easy goal in their 3-3 second-leg draw against Italy on Sunday in their UEFA Nation’s League quarter-final. Absent-minded Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma left his post to complain to the referee after a save. Kimmich, seeing the Italian ’keeper had drifted off his line, took a quickly taken corner that was flicked into the empty net by Jamal Musiala. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said the quick thinking was “world-class and unbelievably smart,” adding that he did not see it all. One person who did was 15-year-old ball boy Noel Urbaniak who noticed that Donnarumma was not paying attention and quickly threw the ball to Kimmich. “He was very sharp, which isn’t bad in a game like this, he did well,” said Kimmich, who autographed and presented a match ball to the teenager after the game. “He’ll get a free ticket to the next home game,” German national team director Rudi Voller said. “I’ve never been a ball boy before; this is my first time, and it feels really good,” Urbaniak told RTL.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
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