SOCCER
Arena criticizes appointment
Former US manager Bruce Arena in an interview published on Wednesday criticized the appointment of Argentine Mauricio Pochettino as US coach, saying the job should have gone to an American. Foreign-born coaches lack the cultural understanding needed for the job, Arena said. Pochettino has struggled since his appointment in September last year, falling to dismal defeats against Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League last month, a tournament the US had previously dominated. “If you look at every national team in the world, the coach is usually a domestic coach,” Arena told Unfiltered Soccer. “And I think when you have coaches that don’t know our culture, our players, our environment, it’s hard. And listen, [Pochettino] is a very good coach, [but] coaching international football is completely different than club football.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
SOCCER
Real Madrid beat Getafe
Real Madrid on Wednesday kept pace with La Liga leaders Barcelona with a 1-0 win against Getafe. Arda Guler scored a first-half goal for Madrid, who moved back within four points of Barcelona. Guler scored the winner with a well-placed right-footed shot in the 21st minute at the Coliseum in Getafe. Elsewhere, RC Celta de Vigo routed Villarreal 3-0, Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Las Palma and Alaves moved out of the relegation zone by beating Real Sociedad 1-0.
Photo: Reuters
CRICKET
NZC to invest in MLC
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is to invest in a new franchise that would join Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US from 2027, NZC chief executive officer Scott Weenink said yesterday. NZC would partner with US-based True North Sports Ventures to form the new team, who could be based in Toronto or Atlanta, Weenink said. The partnership is the first of its kind between a full member nation of the International Cricket Council and a franchise in a leading professional cricket league, Weenink said. NZC would provide financial equity, and high-performance and operational support to the new team, including coaching, management and support staff.
CRICKET
Kishan walks unnecessarily
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s playoff hopes in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday suffered another blow, but even more puzzling was their batter Ishan Kishan’s bizarre self-inflicted dismissal in their defeat at home against the Mumbai Indians. Kishan was on 1 when facing Deepak Chahar early in the first innings. The left-handed batter attempted a leg-glance and began to walk off even though neither the bowler nor wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton appealed. Umpire Vinod Seshan was about to signal for a wide, but changed it to out as Kishan departed. However, Ultra Edge replays showed no spike as proof of any bat-ball contact. Hyderabad eventually posted 143-8, which Mumbai chased down with 4.2 overs to spare. “I think it was one of those brain-fade moments for Ishan Kishan,” former India opener Virender Sehwag told the Cricbuzz Web site. “I can understand if a player walks after he has edged the ball. In this case, you have not nicked it and the umpire has not declared you out either — so why walk? Mumbai rose to third on the table, while Hyderabad fell to ninth ahead of last night’s game.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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