BASKETBALL
AP recognizes A’ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces star center A’ja Wilson on Wednesday was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. Wilson, the WNBA’s first four-time Most Valuable Player, is the second consecutive member of the league to win the award. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark received the nod last year. Wilson, who earned the honor for the first time in her career, received 17 votes from the group of 47 sports journalists from the AP and its members. Tennis standout Aryna Sabalenka finished second with nine votes, and Dallas Wings star Paige Buckers was third with five. “It’s an honor when you think about the group of women who have won before,” Wilson told the AP. “Just to have my name be a part of it, I’m blessed.” Time magazine on Tuesday named her its Athlete of the Year.
Photo: AP
BASEBALL
Schwarber preps for baby
For Kyle Schwarber, his new contracts and newborns seem to go together. Hours after Schwarber struck a US$79 million, four-year deal to join the Philadelphia Phillies in March 2022, his wife, Paige, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Kade. This week, Kyle Schwarber reached a US$150 million, five-year deal to remain with the Phillies, just before the expected birth of a daughter. “I was able to rush up to Philly yesterday and to get all the physicals and all that done with [time] to get back here to Ohio to make sure that I’m not going to get beat up or anything like that if I miss my child being born,” he told an online news conference on Wednesday. “This is a little reminiscence of four years ago to where we agreed to the deal, but she actually went into labor that night. Here we’re getting close ... but I’m happy that they were able to accommodate that, get me up there, get me back.” Their daughter will be their first following a pair of sons.
FIGURE SKATING
UK to allow same-sex duos
Same-sex couples are to be permitted to compete in ice dance in British events as of next season, including the national championships, British Ice Skating announced on Wednesday. However, same-sex teams cannot compete beyond the national level, as International Skating Union’s rules stipulate pair and dance teams must comprise one man and one woman. British Ice Skating announced the rule change as part of its updates to championship requirements for next season. The UK follows national federations in Canada and Finland, with Skate Canada becoming the first national body in 2022 to update its rules to allow any two skaters to form a pair or ice dance team, regardless of gender.
RUGBY UNION
Etzebeth accepts ban
South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has accepted his 12-match ban for an eye-gouge on Wales flanker Alex Mann in the Springboks’ 73-0 win in Cardiff last month, but maintains it was not an intentional act. Etzebeth would be out of action until April after an independent disciplinary committee handed down the sanction, with some suggesting he got off lightly. The double World Cup winner on Wednesday wrote on social media that while he accepts guilt and the punishment, he “would never do something like this on purpose,” maintaining that he never intentionally targeted Mann’s eyes.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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