Category Archives: Sport

At least one killed and 21 injured in Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting

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Three suspects have been arrested in connection to the shooting as the Super Bowl victory celebrations were wrapping up

At least one person was killed and 21 others injured, including multiple children, in Wednesday afternoon’s shooting that turned a Super Bowl victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs into a scene of tragedy and chaos.

Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri, have said that three people were arrested in connection with the shooting near Union station, which took place as the celebration was wrapping up.

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Super Bowl 2024: Chiefs fight back to beat 49ers 25-22 in overtime for repeat Super Bowl title – as it happened

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Email from Mark Moran:

Hi Hunter,

I’m going to go against your writers on this one and predict that the Niners squeak this one by a field goal. I think a stellar performance from Christian McCaffrey, the quality of the ever-underrated Brandon Aiyuk and the versatile Deebo Samuel, and a relatively efficient and error-free display from Brock Purdy should be enough; it’s difficult to bet against Mahomes and Reid, though.

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‘Suddenly it’s cool’: children believe use of influencers in gambling ads make it seem fun

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Researchers say study funded by the Australian Research Council demonstrates the need for strict gambling advertising regulations

Children as young as 12 believe celebrities and influencers who are paid to promote gambling are making the practice seem safe, normal, attractive and fun, according to a new study.

The study, funded by the Australian Research Council, heard from children who believed the use of stars like former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal in ads were making their peers more likely to consider gambling.

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Brisbane v the Olympics: Gabba shambles shows people power is hitting the 2032 Games

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The speed of recent pivots reveals there is genuine concern that people are uneasy about the Games amid rising housing and cost of living pressures

Denver, Colorado, is the only place to ever cancel the Olympic Games. The city had won the right to host the 1976 Winter Games, but withdrew amid mounting local opposition.

“We ought to say to the nation and the world, ‘We’re sorry … we made a mistake. Take the Games elsewhere,” state representative Bob Jackson told the Associated Press in 1971.

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The tight end the right turned against: why Travis Kelce is the man for Taylor Swift

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Like the singer, the Chiefs football player is at the top of his field, while his support of BLM and vaccines align with her progressive politics

Travis Kelce’s star power has long been known to sports fans. But the rest of the world has caught up since the start of his relationship with the pop icon Taylor Swift.

And this pairing actually makes perfect sense – so much so that the Guardian has broken down a couple of big reasons why.

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Baker’s version: UK woman creates lifesize Taylor Swift cake for Super Bowl

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Cake depicts Swift wearing a sweatshirt of the Kansas City Chiefs – her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team

A baker who has created a lifesize Taylor Swift cake for Sunday’s Super Bowl said it was the “perfect opportunity” to finally get around to making it.

The cake sculpture by Lara Mason, from Walsall in the West Midlands, has racked up more than 3m views on TikTok.

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Lionel Messi: outcry in China and Hong Kong after star returns from injury in time for Japan match

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Hong Kong fans need answers over missed fixture, government says, amid online furore over Inter Miami tour

Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and fans have cried foul after Lionel Messi played in a match in Japan, just days after he stayed on the bench for a highly-anticipated match in Hong Kong.

Many in Hong Kong were dismayed on Sunday when the 36-year-old Argentinian player did not come on to the field during a much-hyped Inter Miami fixture to a sell-out crowd with fans demanding answers and a refund. Miami’s head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Messi was deemed unfit to play in Sunday’s match in the Hong Kong friendly.

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Former Brazil footballer Dani Alves denies rape as Spain trial wraps

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Ex-Barcelona defender is accused of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022

The former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves has denied raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub as he took the stand on the last day of his trial in Spain.

“If she wanted to leave, she could have left, she was not obligated to be there,” the 40-year-old told the court in Barcelona on Wednesday, adding that the woman “at no time” asked to leave.

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Super Bowl expected to be biggest sports betting event in US history

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Tens of millions of Americans estimated to bet record $23.1bn on game as concern mounts over gambling addiction rates

An estimated 67.8 million Americans will bet a record $23.1bn on this weekend’s Super Bowl, according to an industry survey, as a nationwide gambling boom continues.

Super Bowl LVIII is widely expected to be the biggest sports betting event in United States history. It will take place in Las Vegas amid mounting concern over rising gambling addiction rates.

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New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to host 2026 World Cup final as Azteca gets opener

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  • Canada’s first men’s World Cup match will be in Toronto
  • US will play group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will host the final of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across North America in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey but is five miles from New York City and is the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants. It hosted the Super Bowl in February 2014 and the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016.

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Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves’s rape trial to begin on Monday

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Brazilian, 40, has been charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a nightclub

The former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves will appear in court on Monday charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub.

Alves, 40, faces damning scientific and video evidence, as well as witness accounts.

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You need to calm down: Taylor Swift can fly from Tokyo to Super Bowl in time, says Japan embassy

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Singer should be able to see boyfriend Travis Kelce in person despite 17-hour time change and 12-hour flight, embassy says

Japan’s embassy in Washington has assured an angsty public that Taylor Swift should make it to the Super Bowl in time to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the big game – as long as her post-concert flight from Tokyo leaves on time.

The embassy’s Friday statement answered a question weighing on the minds of the pop star’s multitude of fans, who wondered if it was even logistically possible for her to be in position to cheer on Kelce in person as he seeks a third NFL championship with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Socceroos goalkeeper Joe Gauci joins Aston Villa in record-breaking Australian transfer deal

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  • Keeper leaves Adelaide United for record fee for A-League player
  • 23-year-old to be understudy to Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez

Australian goalkeeper Joe Gauci has sealed a dream move to Aston Villa, amid a rush of transfer activity in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup camp.

The Premier League side have reportedly broken the transfer fee record for an A-League Men player heading overseas to secure Adelaide United’s Gauci on a deal until 2028.

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Death, guns and ‘corrupt cop’ claims: saga that gripped New Orleans reaches its end

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The verdict in the manslaughter trial over the 2016 death of Saints star Will Smith brings to a close a turbulent eight years of legal wrangling

Ever since the New Orleans tow-truck company owner Cardell Hayes shot the retired local pro-football champion Will Smith to death and wounded the former athlete’s wife on a city street late on the night of 9 April 2016, people on all sides of the case have made it as complicated as possible in their fight for what they consider to be justice.

It is a case that has gripped south-eastern Louisiana – where football players are huge celebrities – and also involved dark, if unsupported, allegations of another deep south staple: police corruption. Competing theories and narratives have vied for supremacy, with almost as many different ideas of what happened as people willing to voice them.

Ramon Antonio Vargas covered the New Orleans Saints in 2013 and 2014 at the New Orleans Advocate and also covered the case of Hayes and Smith before joining the Guardian in 2022.

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‘I just count the laps’: Canadian swimmer, 99, breaks three world records

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Betty Brussel sets records in the 100- to 104- year-old age class in Saanich, while inspiring members of local swim club

By the time an exhausted Betty Brussel finally swims to the finish and pulls herself from the pool, an Olympic athlete could have covered the same distance at least three times. But the 99-year-old Canadian’s quiet determination has led her to shatter world records and transformed her into an unlikely celebrity within the amateur swim community.

At a weekend swim meet in the British Columbia city of Saanich, Brussel broke the existing world record in the 400-metre freestyle, knocking nearly four minutes off the previous standard in the 100- to 104-year-old age class. She repeated her record-breaking performances in 50-metre backstroke and the 50-metre breaststroke that same day.

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Netflix places $5bn bet on live streaming with WWE Raw deal

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Entertainment giant has dabbled with live events in bid to shore up its dominant position as world’s largest streaming platform

Netflix has unveiled a $5bn push into live television after striking a decade-long deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to broadcast the hit wrestling show Raw.

The entertainment giant, which led the on-demand streaming revolution, has dabbled with live events in recent years in a bid to shore up its dominant position as the world’s largest streaming platform.

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Pat Cummins says he supports changing the date of Australia Day

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  • Cricket Australia not branding Gabba Test for public holiday
  • Men’s cricket captain says country could ‘choose a better date’

Pat Cummins has called for a change to the date of Australia Day, backing the decision for the term not to be used in marketing for the Brisbane Test.

Cricket Australia (CA) have chosen not to brand this week’s second Test against West Indies as “the Australia Day match”, or use the term at the Gabba on day two on 26 January.

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French police protest for better pay and conditions during Paris Olympics

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Unions call for bonuses and childcare provision after suggestion all officers will be mobilised during Games

Police in France are holding a “Black Thursday” of work stoppages and demonstrations to demand better pay and conditions during this summer’s Olympic Games.

Several police unions, led by the two largest, Alliance and Unsa Police, said there should be bonuses of up to €2,000 (£1,720) as well as guarantees of holiday leave and childcare support for police this summer.

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A wild baggy green chase? The mystery of David Warner’s missing caps

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After the cricketer made a nationwide plea for their return, the caps were found in a ‘half-coffin’ cricket bag. But how did they get there?

The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of David Warner’s “missing” baggy greens has been solved – or has it?

The retiring batsman sparked an intensive manhunt, and national discussion, after he appealed for the return of his prized baggy greens on the eve of his last Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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The Gambia team make emergency landing on way to Africa Cup of Nations

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  • Loss of cabin pressure and oxygen to blame, says Gambian FA
  • Saidy Janko: ‘The consequences could have been a lot worse’

The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet, said he and his players feared for their lives after the plane taking them to the Africa Cup of Nations made an emergency landing, delaying their arrival at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

The Gambia squad set off from Banjul on Wednesday for the short trip to Yamoussoukro, where they will play their opening two group games, but minutes after take-off they turned around because of a lack of oxygen inside the plane, he said, adding: “Luckily for us, the pilot recognised the problem and after nine minutes in the air turned around to land again. We all fell asleep.”

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