FOOTBALL
Falcons fined over prank call
The NFL fined the Atlanta Falcons US$250,000 and their defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich US$100,000, the league said on Wednesday, after Ulbrich’s son prank called quarterback Shedeur Sanders on the second day of the NFL Draft. Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax Ulbrich apologized after a video showed Sanders, who was once expected to go in the first round, but was later drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth, taking a call from someone who said they were the general manager of the New Orleans Saints. The Falcons said that Jax Ulbrich came across Sanders’ private contact information on an open iPad while visiting his parents’ home, raising questions over player privacy during the league’s biggest off-season event. An NFL spokesperson said the fine was “for failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”
ICE HOCKEY
Caps win Canadiens series
For the first time in seven years, the Washington Capitals were on the smiling end of a playoff handshake line — and they got to enjoy it at home for the first time in a decade. Alex Ovechkin on Wednesday night scored on a laser of a shot off a faceoff, Logan Thompson made some spectacular saves among his 28 and the Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in Game 5 of their first-round series to advance in the NHL playoffs. It was the Capitals’ first series win since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2018, and they clinched at home for the first time since 2015. They face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round with a spot in the Eastern Conference final at stake.
SOCCER
Thai Liverpool fans celebrate
Jubilant Thai Liverpool fans have staged their own impromptu street parades to celebrate Arne Slot’s men clinching the English Premier League title, taking to the kingdom’s roads with red banners and music blaring. The Anfield club on Sunday sealed their 20th top-flight title with a 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, delighting their legions of supporters in Thailand. One group in Bangkok on Monday played victory songs on musical instruments as they paraded a replica Premier League trophy in a truck emblazoned with Liverpool’s trophy honors, in a video viewed more than 400,000 times on X. In the town of Na San in southern Surat Thani Province, dozens of fans decked out in red toured the streets in open trucks on Tuesday, waving huge club flags and playing We Are The Champions on speakers. The event was organized by the local Liverpool fan club and lasted almost an hour before heavy rain brought it to a halt. Despite being in a relationship with a Manchester United fan, Sanittiya Rakcharoen of the Surat Thani Liverpool fan club said soccer never interferes with their personal lives. “We keep it separate and don’t let football disrupt us,” she said. Liverpool enjoy a huge following in Thailand, with shirts and logos seen everywhere from rich Bangkok neighborhoods to remote rural areas. Over the years, Sanittiya estimates she has spent at least US$4,000 on Liverpool merchandise, including scarves and jerseys, many of which now decorate her car. “It’s more than a club — it’s my life. I feel joy and sorrow ... all because of Liverpool,” she said.
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
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
FOCUS: ‘We came out here with a goal in mind ... to keep our foot on their throat and on their neck, and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball,’ Donovan Mitchell said The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win. The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
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