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.
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
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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