Category Archives: Sport

Family sues LA Angels after stray baseball fractured boy’s skull

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Bryson Galaz was six years old when ball hit his head, causing brain damage, during warmup at Angel Stadium in Anaheim

The family of a boy who suffered a fractured skull and brain damage after being hit with a baseball during the warmup for a Los Angeles Angels game has sued the Angels, claiming negligence on the team’s part.

In 2019, Bryson Galaz, who was then six years old, was walking with his father in the first row of Angel Stadium, where players were mingling with fans more than an hour and half prior to the game, the lawsuit said. Bryson was struck on the side of his head when Keynan Middleton, an Angels pitcher who was warming up on the field, threw a ball at a teammate who missed the catch.

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Manchester City under pressure over Kremlin-backed sponsor

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Premier League champions’ global partner Marathonbet is one of around 20 firms cleared to operate in Russia

Manchester City football club faces scrutiny over its official global betting partner Marathonbet, which is approved by the Kremlin for its gambling operations in Russia.

Marathonbet, which was established in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 1997, is one of around 20 firms approved in Russia for betting, according to Kremlin federal tax office documents seen by the Observer.

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Sam Kerr caps stunning injury-time turnaround as Matildas leave it late to beat New Zealand

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  • Australia strike on 94 and 96 minutes to win 2-1 in Townsville
  • Anna Green wonder strike puts visitors ahead in first half

Emily van Egmond and Sam Kerr struck in added time to lift the Matildas to a 2-1 friendly win over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Townsville.

The Matildas were heading for their first loss to the Football Ferns since 1994 on Friday night, trailing 1-0 at the end of the regulation 90 minutes despite dominating the contest.

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Maradona’s shirt from ‘hand of God’ England match expected to sell for £4m

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Former England midfielder Steve Hodge has owned Maradona’s no 10 shirt since the 1986 match

Diego Maradona’s infamous “hand of God” goal made footballing history and cemented the legendary status of the Argentinian superstar. Now the shirt he wore when he scored that goal at the 1986 World Cup is estimated to sell for at least £4m.

Maradona’s no 10 shirt has been owned for the past 35 years by the former England midfielder Steve Hodge. The two players swapped shirts at the end of the quarter-final between Argentina and England.

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Hosting two Rugby World Cups is an opportunity Australia cannot afford to fumble | Bret Harris

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Tournaments on home soil in 2027 and 2029 present a once-in-a-generation chance to revive the men’s game and grow the women’s

Australian rugby has been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revitalise the game in this country with the prospect of hosting back-to-back men’s and women’s World Cups only two years apart. In a tremendous fillip for the game, Australia was on Monday named the preferred candidate to host the women’s World Cup in 2029, along with the men’s tournament in 2027.

The dual World Cups have put Australia in a superb position to capitalise on the enormous global popularity of rugby, with the potential to deliver a much-needed financial boost. But it is an opportunity Australian rugby cannot afford to fumble as poor performances in the home tournaments would be disastrous for the game.

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Western Australia claim Sheffield Shield title 23 years in the making

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  • WA draw final against Victoria to secure title last won in 1999
  • Aaron Hardie ends unbeaten on 174 on day five at the Waca

Western Australia have won the Sheffield Shield for the first time in the 21st century after the final against Victoria ended in a draw at the Waca Ground.

A massive century from young allrounder Aaron Hardie ended any hope of a Victoria win on day five, and both captains agreed at the end of the morning session that an outright result was impossible leaving the match declared a draw.

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Cyril Rioli goes public with racism claims at Hawthorn

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  • Indigenous star says president’s ‘joke’ comments were ‘final straw’
  • Rioli says ‘gaslighting’ at club hastened his retirement in 2018

Jeff Kennett has come under increasing pressure to step down as president of AFL club Hawthorn after allegations about the treatment of star Indigenous player Cyril Rioli that led to the four-time premiership star’s premature AFL retirement in 2018 at the age of just 28.

In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he will not return to the club while Kennett remains in his post. The four-time flag hero’s stance is the result of a series of issues that Rioli said fractured the relationship between Hawthorn and its Indigenous players during his time there between 2008 and 2018.

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Australia beat England to win Women’s Cricket World Cup –as it happened

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Alyssa Healy soars to the highest score ever in a World Cup final as Australia beat England by 71 runs to lift the trophy

4th over: Australia 11-0 (Alyssa Healy 5, Rachael Haynes 6)

It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game going on so far - the English bowlers are mostly bowling very good line and length and the Australian batters are just waiting on the opportunities for the slightly looser balls to pounce on. It’s a very good over from Shrubsole, just one from it.

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Heat on Kennett as Rioli goes public with racism claims at Hawthorn

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  • Indigenous star says president’s comments to wife were “final straw”
  • Rioli says ‘gaslighting’ at club hastened his retirement in 2018

Jeff Kennett has come under increasing pressure to step down as president of AFL club Hawthorn after revelations about treatment of star indigenous player Cyril Rioli that led to the four-time premiership star’s premature AFL retirement in 2018 at the age of just 28.

In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he will not return to the club while Kennett remains in his post. The four-time flag hero’s stance is the result of a series of issues that Rioli said fractured the relationship between Hawthorn and its Indigenous players during his time there between 2008 and 2018.

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Revealed: migrant workers in Qatar forced to pay billions in recruitment fees

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Guardian investigation finds labourers – including those on World Cup-related projects – were left with huge debts

Low-wage migrant workers have been forced to pay billions of dollars in recruitment fees to secure their jobs in World Cup host nation Qatar over the past decade, a Guardian investigation has found.

Bangladeshi men migrating to Qatar are likely to have paid about $1.5bn (£1.14bn) in fees, and possibly as high as $2bn, between 2011 and 2020. Nepali men are estimated to have paid around $320m, and possibly more than $400m, in the four years between mid-2015 to mid-2019.

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Australia v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2022 qualifier – live!

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  • Updates from the Socceroos’ final Group B match
  • Kick-off time is 9pm in Jeddah/5am AEDT
  • Any thoughts? Email Emma or tweet @emmavkemp

32 min Australia have five shots, none on target, and one-third of possession, which sums up this half quite well so far in a way stats do not always. Saudi are content and comfortable to let their visitors play. Fornaroli is down under a challenge but dust himself off.

28 min Ajdin Hrustic, who was so good against Japan last week, has a free kick. It lofts up beautifully and is heading towards the top-left corner, but lands on the roof. Mabil opens up another channel, this time from left to right in the centre of the park and Boyle is onto it. Yet again an Australian attack ends with a shot which rolls marginally wide of the back post.

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Speculation ‘part of the job’ for Socceroos coach Graham Arnold

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  • Scrutiny on coach intensifies ahead of Saudi Arabia clash
  • Australia face tough route to qualify for Qatar World Cup

Under-fire Socceroos coach Graham Arnold insists he’s “fine” heading into a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia which may be his last match in the position.

Speculation is rife Football Australia is considering firing Arnold after Tuesday’s (Wednesday AEDT) game in Jeddah with hopes of automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup in Qatar dashed after a 2-0 home loss to Japan last week.

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Australia hit by Covid and injuries before first ODI in Pakistan

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  • Cameron Green steps in after Mitch Marsh ruled out
  • Josh Inglis in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19

Australia’s depleted stocks have taken a further hit ahead of the ODI series against Pakistan after T20 World Cup hero Mitch Marsh was struck down by a hip injury.

Marsh suffered the setback while fielding during a training drill. Scans confirmed the injury was a low-grade hip flexor strain but the tourists remain hopeful Marsh can play some part in the series.

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Buffalo Bills will receive $850m from New York taxpayers to build new stadium

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  • NFL and team will commit $550m towards new facility
  • New 60,000 capacity stadium set for 2026 completion date

State and county taxpayers will be asked to commit $850m in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium which has a state-projected price tag of $1.4bn as part of a 30-year lease agreement reached on Monday.

New York state will commit $600m in funds, which will be in included in the budget due on Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced in a press release. Erie county will commit $250m toward the project, with the NFL and the Buffalo Bills committing $550m in financing.

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Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay makes history by winning Ghent-Wevelgem classic

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• 21-year-old takes victory in Belgian classic race

• Girmay becomes first Eritrean to win Word Tour race

Biniam Girmay became the first rider from Eritrea to win a cycling World Tour (elite) race when he prevailed in the Ghent-Wevelgem classic on Sunday.

The Intermarche-Wanty Gobert rider beat France’s Christophe Laporte (Jumbo Visma) and Belgian Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) after he and three other riders attacked 24 kilometres from the finish. The 21-year-old Girmay mastered the cobbles along the 248.8-km course in Belgium and had just enough has left for a perfect sprint finish.

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Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to go ahead as planned despite Houthi missile attack

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  • Oil facility 10 miles from track set ablaze on Friday afternoon
  • Qualifying and main race to go ahead despite driver concerns

F1 has confirmed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will go ahead as planned after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile attack on an oil facility less than 10 miles from the circuit. But in a four-hour meeting with drivers that lasted until well past midnight local time on Saturday, several are believed to have voiced their concerns to F1’s chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, with some lingering doubts over whether the race will still take place.

Discussions continued until 2.30am local time, over four hours after Domenicali had made assurances that all was well. Organisers the Saudi Motorsport Company had earlier confirmed that it would go ahead after all 10 team principals agreed to race. “We are aware of the attack on the Aramco distribution station in Jeddah earlier this afternoon and remain in contact with the Saudi security authorities, as well as F1 and the FIA, to ensure all necessary security and safety measures continue to be implemented, to guarantee the safety of all visitors to the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as well as the drivers, teams and stakeholders,” read a statement.

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Bangladesh v Australia: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – live!

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*Local time. So half an hour to the coin toss if the rain stays away. It’ll be 43 overs per side. Promising.

The umpires are wandering around the middle in their fetching pink cagoules. It looks blustery so hopefully the rain blows on through. 4.08pm local time is the cut off to get a game in.

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F1 faces calls to quit Saudi Arabia while prisoner’s family asks Hamilton to help

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  • Abdullah al-Howaiti arrested aged 14, sentenced to death at 17
  • Human rights group Reprieve highlights protesters’ executions

The human rights group Reprieve has demanded Formula One ends its association with Saudi Arabian sportswashing after the family of a teenager sentenced to death wrote to Lewis Hamilton pleading with him to speak out on their son’s behalf before this weekend’s race.

In documents sent from Abdullah al-Howaiti’s prison cell and seen by the Guardian, he cites the torture and abuse he says he has suffered at the hands of the Saudi authorities as F1 once more prepares to race in the country that recently carried out 81 executions in a single day. In a report issued in January, a group of UN experts classified some of Saudi Arabia’s violations of international law as potentially “crimes against humanity” as the state continues to execute minors.

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British Base jumper dies after cliff jump in south of France

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Local reports say man’s parachute failed to open in time after jump from cliff during holiday with friends

A British Base jumper has died after his parachute failed to open in time during a cliff jump while on holiday with friends in the south of France.

The 34-year-old man succumbed to his injuries at Grenoble university hospital after Tuesday’s accident, according to the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper.

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‘Never say never’: Ash Barty refuses to rule out returning to tennis in future

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Ash Barty has said she would “never say never” about returning to professional tennis following her shock retirement. She would not be drawn on questions about plans to remain in professional sport, and in response to a question about the prospect of a comeback, the Australian said: “Well, you never say never, it’s a long way off.”

Barty also hinted at a role with junior tennis in her home country, saying that “seeing the smiles” of the faces of younger players taking up the sport had reminded her “of why I started playing”. Asked if that meant she would have a formal position with junior tennis, Barty said she had “no details to share as yet”.

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