BASEBALL
Beloved baseball bunny dies
A beloved therapy bunny named Alex The Great, who provided snuggles and comfort from ballparks to NBA arenas and NASCAR races, has died. He was 4. A floppy-eared Flemish giant who was larger than life in both size and spirit, Alex suffered complications from cancer treatment and died early on Monday, his owners said. Alex on June 4 appeared sporting his signature cap for the San Diego Padres-San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. At four months old, he attended his first Giants game in April 2021 — believed to be the first bunny in the stands at the waterfront ballpark. He loved wearing bow ties and riding in his remote-controlled car, which Alex did in November 2021 following an Arizona Fall League appearance at Scottsdale Stadium. Owners Kei Kato and Josh Row saved Alex from a slaughterhouse. “Let his legend continue,” Kato and Row wrote on Alex’s social media. “He was very loved.”
Photo: AP
SOCCER
China eyes e-sports redemption
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) yesterday said it planned to form a national e-sports team, a surprise foray into virtual gaming after a dismal performance saw the country fail to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The new national e-sports soccer team would compete in “events organized by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and other organizations,” the CFA said. The federation last month sacked national coach Branko Ivankovic after a 1-0 defeat to Indonesia, a result that effectively dashed China’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. The CFA’s foray into e-sports sparked mixed reactions among Chinese soccer fans. “I think this might actually work,” one Sina Weibo user wrote. Others were less optimistic. “They have messed up football in real life and now they want to mess up football in e-sports,” wrote another.
RUGBY UNION
England complains of abuse
England lodged an official complaint with World Rugby after their players experienced racist abuse from spectators during their win over Argentina in San Juan on July 12, but the perpetrators could not be identified, the global governing body said on Monday. The Rugby Football Union made the complaint on July 15, World Rugby said in a statement, adding that an immediate investigation was launched involving witness statements and video analysis. “While it is clear that an incident took place, we regret that the individuals responsible could not be identified,” it said. Argentine Rugby Union president Gabriel Travaglini condemned the incident, saying a “group of five or seven individuals” was responsible for the abuse.
CYCLING
Van Der Poel out of Tour
Mathieu van der Poel has been forced to abandon the Tour de France due to pneumonia, his team Alpecin–Deceuninck said yesterday. The 30-year-old Dutchman was 62nd in the Tour standings after stage 15. “Mathieu had been experiencing symptoms of a common cold over the past few days. Yesterday afternoon, his condition began to worsen significantly,” Alpecin–Deceuninck said in a statement. “Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia. In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential.”
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
ON A KNEE: In the MLB’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shoot-out, the game was decided by three batters from each side taking three swings each off coaches Kyle Schwarber was nervous. He had played in Game 7 of the MLB World Series and homered for the US in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but he had never walked up to the plate in an All-Star Game swing-off. No one had. “That’s kind of like the baseball version of a shoot-out,” Schwarber said after homering on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to overcome a two-homer deficit. That held up when Jonathan Aranda fell short on the American League’s final three swings, giving the National League a 4-3 swing-off win after
NBA team owners on Tuesday authorized league officials to begin an in-depth analysis regarding expansion, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said there was no timetable for any changes. The NBA board of governors meeting in Las Vegas marked the first time team owners officially discussed expanding the league beyond 30 teams, but Silver said they went no deeper than requesting more research into the possibility. “There is a significant step now in that we’re now engaging in this in-depth analysis,” Silver said. “It’s something we weren’t prepared to do before, but beyond that, it’s really day one of that analysis. In terms
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