CHAMPIONSHIP
Snoop Dogg welcomed
Snoop Dogg on Tuesday was welcomed with a blaze of whirling white towels and a guard of honor in his first visit to Swansea since becoming a co-owner of the Welsh club. The American rapper became a minority shareholder in the Championship club last year alongside other celebrities such as former Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric and US television host Martha Stewart. The 54-year-old had jetted into south Wales fresh from his role as “honorary coach” for the US at the Winter Olympics in Italy. Dressed in the club’s all-white colors, with a Swansea crest on his jacket, dark glasses and a beanie hat, Snoop made a pre-match lap of honor as fans twirled their complimentary towels above their heads — copying a tradition at his favorite NFL franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, his presence was not enough to inspire the Swans to victory as they needed a stoppage-time equalizer from Liam Cullen to draw 1-1 against Preston North End.
Photo: Reuters
FRIENDLIES
Portugal wary of trip
The Portuguese federation on Tuesday said that it was monitoring the situation in Mexico amid a surge in violence ahead of its friendly against Mexico next month. The federation said it was “closely monitoring the delicate situation currently unfolding in Mexico” following the killing of a drug lord by the Mexican army on Sunday. The killing sparked a surge in violence and put the country on edge. The FIFA World Cup warmup match is scheduled for March 28 at the renovated Azteca Stadium, which is scheduled to host the opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa on June 11. Mexico was to play Iceland in a friendly yesterday in Queretaro, with the Icelandic soccer federation on Tuesday saying that it expected the game to go ahead as planned. The Portuguese federation said it was honored by the invitation to participate in the reopening of the renovated venue, but added that “the recent evolution of events requires continuous evaluation of the conditions” that the national team and its delegation will find.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Fans kept out of Italy
Borussia Dortmund said that some of their fans were not able to attend yesterday’s UEFA Champions League match against Atalanta BC after being denied entry to Italy, while others had been visited by police at their accommodation. “Borussia Dortmund are currently unaware of any detailed background information regarding the measures taken by the authorities,” the club said in a statement. “While Borussia Dortmund understand the need for security-based risk assessments for football matches, the club is more than surprised by the scope and scale of the police measures taken.” Dortmund were leading 2-0 heading into the second-leg match, which began after press time last night.
Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His Venezuela teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration. The comeback was on and the win over the reigning World Baseball Classic (WBC) champion Japan was within reach. Japan, their 11-game WBC winning streak on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday’s thrilling quarter-final matchup when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the loanDepot Park crowd into a passionate roar and helped seize Venezuela’s 8-5
A BREATHLESS BATTLE: France clinched the championship in a vicious back-and-forth match with England, denying Ireland the title by just a few points France won back-to-back Six Nations titles after beating England 48-46 on a last-second penalty-kick by Thomas Ramos in a thriller for the ages on Saturday. England scored their seventh try in the 77th minute and converted for 46-45. If the score held for a few more minutes, Ireland would have been crowned the champion. But France pressed yet again with 14 men, lost possession, regained it, and earned two simultaneous penalties after the fulltime siren. Captain Antoine Dupont debated with referee Nika Amashukeli where the penalty spots were. Ramos, who did not miss a goal-kick all night, finally lined up his seventh
Home runs are greeted with a celebratory shot of espresso and the donning of an Armani jacket. Victories are marked with bottles of red wine while the soaring voice of opera singer Andrea Bocelli echoes through the locker room. Welcome to baseball, Italian-style. Written off as 80-1 underdogs before the World Baseball Classic started, Italy’s fairytale tournament has carried them all the way to today’s (Taipei time) semi-finals in Miami against Venezuela. On Saturday, Italy — who scored a stunning upset of a star-studded US lineup during the pool phase — kept their unbeaten campaign alive with a nail-biting 8-6
Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s second-youngest race winner with a composed drive to victory for Mercedes in an eventful Chinese Grand Prix yesterday. The 19-year-old Italian was the youngest pole position starter and briefly lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari at the start, but retook it soon after and was in control after that. “We did it! We did it!” Antonelli shouted to his team on the radio amid laughs and whoops. It was another 1-2 finish for Mercedes to start the season as Antonelli’s teammate George Russell came through a battle with both Ferraris to finish second. Lewis Hamilton was
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