Animal rights group Animal Aid says change needed after ‘brutal horrors’ at Aintree as three horses die during festival
Animal rights campaigners have called for jump racing to be banned and “much more stringent” safety measures put in place for the sport after three horses died at the 175th annual Grand National festival.
The third fatality, Hill Sixteen, is said to have suffered a broken neck at the first fence at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool before being put down.
Continue reading...Swimming Australia is searching for another new chief executive after the shock resignation of Eugenie Buckley with immediate effect on Friday.
With less than 18 months to go to the Paris Olympics and the national championships starting on Monday on the Gold Coast, Buckley has left “to take up opportunities outside of the sport”, after taking over the top job in swimming in late 2021.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
Continue reading...The circular carved stone, unearthed at the Yucatán’s Chichén Itzá complex, displays hieroglyphic writing and two game players
A stone scoreboard used in an ancient ritual ball game has been discovered at the famed Mayan Chichén Itzá archaeological site on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
The circular piece, measuring just over 12.6in (32cm) in diameter and weighing 88lbs (40kg), displays hieroglyphic writing surrounding two players standing next to a ball, according to a statement from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
Continue reading...Three-times Wimbledon champion describes eight months in jail as ‘very, very different experience to what you see in the movies’
Boris Becker has spoken of his “brutal” prison experience in the UK, adding that during his incarceration he had to surround himself with “tough boys” for protection.
The three-times Wimbledon men’s singles champion served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case. He was released from prison in December and deported from the UK.
Continue reading...College basketball star Angel Reese says she and her LSU teammates will not visit the White House in the aftermath of comments made by first lady Jill Biden.
LSU won their first-ever national title on Sunday with victory over Iowa. It is traditional for national champions in the US to meet the president, but on Monday Biden said she would be happy for Iowa to join LSU.
Continue reading...Jill Biden’s press secretary has walked back comments the first lady made about inviting Iowa’s women’s basketball team to the White House after their loss in the NCAA championship game on Sunday.
Biden watched LSU’s 102-85 victory over Iowa from the stands at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday night. National champions often visit the White House after title victories, but Biden broke with tradition when she suggested Iowa could too.
Continue reading...Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan believes Melbourne were given an “unfair advantage’ as the AFL scrambled to restart their round-two game after a power outage.
The Lions’ 40-point lead was slashed to 11 when Friday night’s contest resumed after a long delay, with the Demons booting five unanswered goals once the lights were turned back on.
Continue reading...An NHL team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who have an additional two players with connections to Russia, will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving the law, which expands restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights. Vladimir Putin signed the law in December.
Continue reading...Presenters back to cover FA Cup quarter-final after row that nearly cost BBC director general and chairman their jobs
Gary Lineker returned to presenting Match of the Day on Saturday evening after a row that threatened to topple the BBC chairman and director general.
As the former England international introduced live BBC coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley, pundit Alan Shearer touched on the recent controversy.
Continue reading...Elena Rybakina has knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory at Indian Wells on Friday to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Two months after Rybakina knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, the Wimbledon champion once again put in an impressive display against the world No 1.
Continue reading...Puerto Rico 0-0 Mexico, top 1st inning
Lindor is in the box against Urías and takes ball one to start the game. Urías gets ahead of Lindor 1-2, Lindor fouls off a pitch and then strikes out. Urías begins his outing with a k.
Continue reading...President introduces former Ireland full-back Rob Kearney, a relative, at White House St Patrick’s Day event
Joe Biden has wished the Ireland rugby union team luck in their Grand Slam game against England in Dublin on Saturday.
On Friday, St Patrick’s Day, Biden welcomed the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to the White House for a traditional visit and talks.
Continue reading...India have overcome a scintillating spell from Mitchell Starc to post a five-wicket win over Australia in the series-opening one-day international clash in Mumbai.
Australia were bowled out for a paltry 188 in 35.4 overs on Friday after suffering a collapse of 8-59.
Continue reading...The brother of a man executed by the Saudi Arabian authorities last year has accused Formula One of being complicit in “heinous crimes” perpetrated by the state, which he insists is using F1 to sportswash an increasingly oppressive crackdown on dissent.
When F1 returns to the Jeddah circuit this weekend it will be just over a year since the Saudi state executed 81 men in one day, shortly before last year’s grand prix. Afterwards the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, reported the UN believed that, of the 81 convicted of “terror offences”, 41 were from the Shia minority who had taken part in anti-government protests, calling for greater political participation.
Continue reading...A survey found the number of gambling ads was the top concern among fans, ahead of umpiring and rule changes
A deluge of gambling ads is expected to continue this AFL season despite the promotions becoming the most common fan concern and politicians blasting them as “completely and utterly out of step” with community expectations.
Multiple gambling insiders who wished to remain anonymous have told Guardian Australia the volume of ads will remain steady despite increasing criticism, as the online wagering industry becomes more competitive and companies jostle for market share.
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Continue reading...A man who racially abused Brentford’s Ivan Toney on social media has become the first person to be banned from every English stadium under the police, crime, sentencing and courts act. Antonio Neill, 24, sent the message via Toney’s Instagram account in October last year and the player shared it publicly, prompting a police investigation.
Neill pleaded guilty on 25 January to sending an offensive message. On Monday, he received a four-month sentence suspended for two years and a three-year ban from attending football matches in England.
Continue reading...The action, lodged in the Victorian supreme court against the AFL, alleges loss, pain and suffering to more than 60 former players
Former football players are seeking up to $1bn in compensation in a landmark class action lodged in Victoria against the AFL for the serious damage concussion has allegedly caused them.
The action, lodged by Margalit Injury Lawyers in the supreme court of Victoria, is on behalf of all professional AFL players who sustained concussion-related injuries through head strikes while playing or training between 1985 and 14 March this year.
Continue reading...A Vermont school that refused to play against an opposing basketball team with a trans player won’t be able to participate in future tournaments, the Vermont Principals’ Association announced on Monday.
Mid Vermont Christian School forfeited a game on 21 February in an out-of-state tournament against Long Trail school.
Continue reading...Downing Street declines to say whether PM has confidence in BBC director-general after furore over Match of the Day presenter
The former journalist and Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell praised Lineker for his “professionalism, accountability and integrity” and Tim Davie for “admitting they got it wrong” after the BBC apology.
Before the BBC statement, the former BBC director of news James Harding told Radio 4’s Today programme that the corporation had got itself into a bit of a muddle over impartiality.
Continue reading...Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartiality
BBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.
The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row.
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