Category Archives: US sports

Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson shot multiple times

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  • Player was victim of apparent robbery or carjacking
  • Coaches and staff of NFL team are present at hospital

Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson was shot during what police say was an attempted robbery or carjacking, the NFL team said on Sunday night.

The 23-year-old former Alabama player was taken to a hospital with what the team called non-life-threatening injuries. The Commanders said team co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder, president Jason Wright, coach Ron Rivera, team physician Dr Anthony Casolaro and clinical psychologist Dr Barbara Roberts were with Robinson at the hospital.

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Nick Kyrgios pitted against good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis in US Open first round

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  • Australian doubles partners drawn against each other
  • Pair have never played each other before on main tour

Nick Kyrgios has been handed a heart-pulling first-round encounter at the US Open, drawn against his great friend Thanasi Kokkinakis in an all-Australian blockbuster. And in a Flushing Meadows men’s field without Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal will open his bid for a 23rd grand slam title against Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata when the main draw kicks off next week.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis – the “Special Ks” when they play together as a doubles team – have been pitted against each other in a tough quarter, which also features Russia’s No 1 seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev.

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Dennis Rodman plans Russia visit to seek release of Brittney Griner

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  • NBA hall of famer has called himself a ‘basketball ambassador’
  • Griner currently serving nine-year sentence in Russia

NBA hall of famer Dennis Rodman says he has permission to travel to Russia as he attempts to secure the release of fellow basketball star Brittney Griner.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russian jail for drug possession earlier this month. Her lawyers have filed an appeal and there are understood to be separate talks underway over a possible prisoner swap. But Rodman told NBC this weekend that he plans to make a trip of his own to negotiate the Olympic champion’s release.

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‘I live in fear’: Vanessa Bryant testifies at trial over Kobe’s crash images

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For three hours, Bryant provided testimony against Los Angeles county for invasion of privacy over photos of her husband’s corpse

Vanessa Bryant testified on Friday that she was only beginning to grieve the loss of her husband, basketball star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna when she was faced with the fresh horror of learning that sheriff’s deputies and firefighters had shot and shared photos of their bodies at the site of the helicopter crash that killed them.

“I felt like I wanted to run, run down the block and scream,” she said, her tears turning to sobs and her voice quickening. “It was like the feeling of wanting to run down a pier and jump into the water. The problem is I can’t escape. I can’t escape my body.”

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Liz Cambage’s WNBA future unknown after split with LA Sparks

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  • Australian centre and her club agree to ‘contract divorce’
  • 30-year-old is yet to announce her future plans

Liz Cambage’s basketball career is in limbo after the polarising Australian star agreed a “contract divorce” with her WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks as they fight to secure a playoff spot.

“It is with support that we share Liz Cambage’s decision to terminate her contract with the organisation,” Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman said in a statement.

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Florida star Anthony Richardson drops ‘AR-15’ nickname after mass shootings

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  • Quarterback wants to distance himself from gun violence
  • Assault rifles have been used in number of mass killings

College football star Anthony Richardson has announced he is dropping his ‘AR-15’ nickname after the recent wave of mass shootings in the US.

The Florida quarterback was given the nickname as a reference to an assault rifle which has been used in a number of recent shootings. The 21-year-old made the announcement he was dropping the name in a statement on his website.

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US Soccer condemns supreme court abortion ruling as UWSNT beat Colombia

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  • US win 3-0 in Utah despite missing two penalties
  • Megan Rapinoe had spoken out against Roe v Wade decision
  • USWNT’s home unbeaten streak stretches to 68 games

Sophia Smith scored twice in the second half and the US women’s national team beat Colombia 3-0 on Saturday night to extend their home unbeaten streak to 68 games, but many of the players had a seismic legal ruling on their minds.

Smith scored her first in the 54th minute off a pass from Rose Lavelle when Colombian goalkeeper Catalina Perez came out of her goal. She added her second in the 60th minute. Smith, who plays for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, has six international goals.

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Ron DeSantis blocks funds for Tampa Bay Rays after team’s gun safety tweets

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  • Florida governor defends vetoing funds for training facility
  • Rays had joined Yankees in tweeting about gun safety

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has defended his veto of $35m in funding for a potential spring training site for the Tampa Bay Rays, after the Major League Baseball team used social media to raise awareness about gun violence after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.

“I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums,” DeSantis said on Friday, when asked about the veto of the sports complex funding.

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Woman alleges Cavaliers’ Rajon Rondo threatened her with gun in front of children

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  • Woman granted emergency protective order in Kentucky court
  • Cleveland player allegedly became angry over laundry request

A woman has filed for an emergency protective order (EPO) against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Rajon Rondo and alleges he brandished a gun and threatened her life.

The woman alleges Rondo “became enraged” last week and she filed for the order in family court in Louisville, Kentucky. She claimed in the order that Rondo was playing video games with a child when she asked the child to finish separating his laundry so she could wash the family’s clothes.

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Jack Nicklaus says he turned down $100m to be face of Saudi-backed golf tour

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  • American remains loyal to PGA Tour, which he helped found
  • Nicklaus offers advice to under-fire Phil Mickelson

Greg Norman was not the first choice to be the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, whose Saudi Arabian organizers pursued and preferred Jack Nicklaus, according to the 73-time PGA Tour winner.

“I was offered something in excess of $100m by the Saudis, to do the job probably similar to the one that Greg is doing,” Nicklaus said in a story with Fire Pit Collective. “I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.’”

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Sage Steele sues ESPN after remarks on vaccine mandate and Obama’s race

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  • SportsCenter host was suspended for comment made on podcast
  • Anchor says network curtailed her right to free speech

ESPN anchor Sage Steele is suing the network after claiming it curtailed her right to free speech over remarks she made last year.

Steele attracted criticism after remarks she made on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler last September. During her appearance, the SportsCenter host called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick”, said female reporters should change the way they dress to avoid inappropriate comments from male athletes and questioned whether Barack Obama is Black.

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US Capitol evacuated as baseball parachute display seen as ‘probable threat’

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  • Army parachutists landed at home of Washington Nationals
  • Congressional staffers as police alert of possible threat

The US Capitol was briefly evacuated on Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed “a probable threat” to the heart of American government.

The plane turned out to be members of the US Army Golden Knights, who parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame display. The stadium, home of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is a little more than a mile away from the Capitol.

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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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Russia wants to use Brittney Griner as ‘negotiating chip’, says Democrat

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Tim Kaine believes basketball star’s detention is to make her ‘part of this chess game’

A senior Democratic senator has said he believes Russia wants to use the WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been held in Moscow for more than a month on accusations she smuggled drugs into the country, as a “negotiating chip” regarding the war in Ukraine.

“I think there’s no doubt that her detention, and then this continuation of the imprisonment, is all to try to make her a hostage and a part of this chess game,” Tim Kaine, of Virginia, told Full Court Press in an interview scheduled to air in full on Sunday.

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‘We fight, therefore we exist’: what lay behind Mexico’s brutal football riot?

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Three people were left critically injured after violence at Querétaro v Atlas. But many observers said the scenes could have been prevented

The scenes that shocked Mexico and horrified the world of soccer on Saturday were caught on shaky cell phone videos: men wearing the red and black jerseys of the Liga MX champions, Atlas, lay prone while others in the blue and black of Gallos del Querétaro beat and stripped them. Hundreds of raging fans descended on the pitch in Querétaro’s Corregidora Stadium, chasing their rivals, who sought refuge in the Atlas players’ locker room. Many Atlas fans ripped off their shirts to avoid being attacked.

The riot that broke out during the match between the two teams from central Mexico left 26 injured, three in a critical condition, the governor of the state of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri, told reporters at a press conference on Sunday. Kuri also denied reports that there had been fatalities.

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Liga MX suspended as Fifa condemns ‘barbaric’ riot that leaves dozens injured in Mexico

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  • Three confirmed as critically injured after riot
  • Players were forced to flee from pitch during violence

At least 26 people were injured, including three critically, on Saturday when fans brawled during a football game in central Mexico.

The Liga MX match between the hosts Queretaro and Atlas from Guadalajara was suspended in the 62nd minute when fights broke out in the stands. Security personnel opened the gates to the field so that fans, including women and children, could escape the stands.

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Women’s basketball superstar Brittney Griner detained in Russia

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  • Brittney Griner detained at airport near Moscow on drug charges
  • American could face five to 10 years in prison under Russian law
  • Seven-time WNBA All-Star also plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg

Brittney Griner, one of America’s most decorated women’s basketball players, has reportedly been detained by Russian Federal Customs Service authorities after the discovery of vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.

The Customs Service confirmed “the detainee is a professional basketball player” who played in the Women’s National Basketball Association and won two Olympic gold medals with the United States in a statement issued on Saturday, but did not release the player’s name.

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Russia’s NHL hero Alex Ovechkin has a rare chance to hit Putin where it hurts

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The Washington Capitals star is popular among Russians who may not usually question their leader. And he has debated the need for war

In 2017, Alexander Ovechkin, inarguably the best Russian hockey player alive or dead and the country’s most famous male athlete, started something called PutinTeam.

“I have never hidden my attitude towards our president, always supporting him,” the Muscovite and captain of the NHL’s Washington Capitals wrote, three years after Russia annexed Crimea. “I am confident that there are many of us, supporting Vladimir Putin. So let’s unite and show everyone a united and strong Russia!”

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Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 day three: curling semi-finals, speed skating and more – live!

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Here’s a line from the US figure skating team. For context, Zhou is the only skater to have beaten the juggernaut that is Nathan Chen in the last four years.

“As part of yesterday’s regular COVID-19 screening, Vincent Zhou tested positive. Under the guidance of the USOPC medical staff, Zhou is undergoing additional testing to confirm his status. If the results are negative, Zhou will be able to compete in the men’s short program, which begins Tuesday. At this time, we ask you respect his privacy as we await the results.”

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Winter Olympics day one: curling, ice hockey, freestyle skiing and more – live!

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Aussie Jakara Anthony Goes Top

The Victorian unleashes a scintillating run to go top in qualifying for the Women’s Moguls. She even pipped the peerless Frenchwoman Perrine Laffont, a former gold medallist. Commentary, rather curiously, is being provided by former cricketer Dirk Nannes.

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