Category Archives: US sports

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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Suspect arrested after violence outside LA’s SoFi Stadium left man in coma

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  • Altercation took place in parking lot after Rams-49ers game
  • Daniel Luna, 40, in medically induced coma in hospital

Police have arrested the suspect in a violent altercation that badly injured a San Francisco 49ers fan after last weekend’s NFC championship game between the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams at LA’s SoFi stadium.

Inglewood police lieutenant Nicole Loudermilk confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody Thursday night, but released no further details.

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Not so fast: Despite reports, Tom Brady hasn’t made up mind on NFL retirement

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  • Tweet from Brady’s company announcing retirement removed
  • Brady, 44, has won record seven NFL titles with Pats and Bucs

Despite reports that he is retiring, Tom Brady has told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he hasn’t made up his mind, two people familiar with the details told the Associated Press.

ESPN first reported Brady’s retirement on Saturday, citing unidentified sources. Brady’s health and wellness company posted a tweet indicating he’s retiring, and reaction came from around the world congratulating Brady on his career. But the tweet was later deleted, and Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said the 44-year-old quarterback would be the only person to accurately express his future.

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‘Trying to disappear the poor’: California clears homeless camp near Super Bowl

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Advocates and displaced residents condemn move amid fears for safety: ‘They are just trying to survive’

Officials in Los Angeles have cleared a homeless encampment near SoFi stadium, where the Super Bowl will take place in three weeks, drawing backlash from human rights groups and the unhoused residents who have been displaced.

On Monday and Tuesday, the state transit agency Caltrans shut down the tent community, which visitors would probably have passed on their way to the big game, calling it a “safety issue”.

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US quidditch leagues to change name in effort to break from JK Rowling

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Leaders of the sport criticize the Harry Potter creator’s trans views as leagues also cite trademark issues

Harry Potter’s favorite sport, quidditch, is to receive a new name in the US, in part because its leaders are critical of the controversial views of the fictional wizard’s creator JK Rowling, which the US leagues have called “anti-trans”.

Two leagues that operate the sport in the US also cite trademark issues for their decision for the rebranding.

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WTA suspends tournaments in China amid concern for Peng Shuai

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  • Association questions whether player is allowed to speak freely
  • Peng made allegations against a former senior Chinese official

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced the suspension of all tournaments in China amid concerns about the safety of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, following weeks of a high-profile row with Beijing over the player’s wellbeing.

“With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong,” said the WTA chairman, Steve Simon, announcing the decision in a statement on Wednesday.

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‘I wanted less than a minute’: 105-year-old unsatisfied after 100m world record

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  • Julia ‘Hurricane’ Hawkins sets record in 105+ category
  • Athlete has also excelled in cycling time trials

Like all elite athletes, Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins has a ruthless streak. So, despite setting a 100m world record on Sunday at the Louisiana Senior Games, she still wants to go faster.

“It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends. But I wanted to do it in less than a minute,” the 105 year-old said after the race, where she recorded a time of 1:02:95, a record for women in the 105+ age category. When someone pointed out that 102 is less than her age and asked if that made her feel better, Hawkins answered: “No”.

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Health care company ends relationship with Packers star Aaron Rodgers

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  • Prevea Health ends partnership with Green Bay Packers star
  • Rodgers, 37, questioned Covid vaccines in Friday interview

A Wisconsin health care organization has ended a nine-year partnership with Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers after the quarterback detailed his reasoning for avoiding the three Covid-19 vaccinations endorsed by the NFL and criticized the “woke mob” he alleged is out to “cancel” him.

A statement posted on Twitter by Prevea Health said the company and Rodgers mutually agreed to end their partnership, effective Saturday. Prevea Health and Rodgers had been partners since 2012.

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Donald Trump chops with Atlanta Braves fans before World Series game

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Only months after calling for a boycott of Major League Baseball, former US president Donald Trump did the tomahawk chop with Atlanta Braves fans at Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night.

Trump stood beside his wife, Melania, as he chopped away with fans before the game between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros from a private suite.

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Michael Jordan’s Nike Air Ship trainers sell for nearly $1.5m to smash auction record

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  • Game-worn shoes from 1984 snapped up in Sotheby’s luxury sale
  • Previous record of $615,000 also held by a pair of Air Jordans

A pair of trainers worn by NBA superstar Michael Jordan early in his career have sold for nearly $1.5m, setting a record price at auction for game-worn footwear.

The white leather shoes with the red Nike swoosh and soles were worn by the iconic player in the fifth game of his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, when Nike’s Jordan-affiliated brand was only just taking off as a sensation both on and off the court.

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Nevada judge recommends dismissal of Cristiano Ronaldo rape case

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  • Case goes back to allegation of assault in 2009
  • Las Vegas judge says legal team used stolen documents

A magistrate judge in Nevada has sided with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers against a woman who sued the footballer after saying he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.

In a scathing recommendation to the judge hearing the case, magistrate judge Daniel Albregts on Wednesday blamed Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for basing the case on leaked and stolen documents that Albregts said were privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.

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Simone Biles says ‘burdens’ of Nassar abuse remained with her at Olympics

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  • Gymnast gives searing testimony at US senate hearing
  • FBI accused of failing to investigate abuse properly

Simone Biles offered emotional testimony on Tuesday at a US senate hearing into the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, an episode that rocked the world of gymnastics and involved some of the most famous young athletes in America.

Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, is serving an effective life sentence after abusing dozens of athletes under his care. Biles and other Olympic gold medalists such as Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney are among the survivors of the abuse. On Tuesday, they appeared in front of a senate committee to give searing testimony at the hearing into the FBI’s failed 2015 investigation into the case.

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Novak Djokovic v Daniil Medvedev: US Open men’s final – live!

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End second set: *Djokovic 4-6 4-6 Medvedev (* denotes next server)

A service winner and an ace put Medvedev up 30-0.

Second set: Djokovic 4-6 4-5 Medvedev* (* denotes next server)

Djokovic finally makes the “drop shot-and-volley” tactic work as it did against Zverev, though he’s a bit fortunate that Medvedev’s lob attempt is weaker than it should’ve been. Medvedev lobs again at 30-30 and doesn’t miss by much. Djokovic again gets to the net at 40-30 and is able to smash his way to a crucial hold. But can he break?

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‘I don’t feel pressure’: Emma Raducanu loving life after US Open triumph

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  • British teenager beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in final
  • ‘I’m still only 18 years old. I’m just having a free swing’

Emma Raducanu has vowed to keep her free-swinging and carefree approach to tennis after pulling off one of the great sporting feats with victory at the US Open – just the British 18-year-old’s second ever major tournament, in which she won 10 matches after coming through qualifying, all of them in straight sets.

Related: Emma Raducanu: British 18-year-old makes tennis history with US Open final win

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Emma Raducanu makes tennis history with US Open final win

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  • 18-year-old Briton beats Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3
  • Victor came through qualifying and did not lose a set

There are so many basic milestones that Emma Raducanu has not yet recorded in a professional tennis career that only began in full three months ago. She has never been a direct entrant to a grand slam main draw, she is yet to play a tour-level three set match and she has not even won a match at a WTA tour event.

Yet sometimes a special player comes along and renders convention irrelevant. After three weeks and one of the most astonishing breakout runs in living memory, Raducanu marked herself as a grand slam champion for ever. She ended the US Open where she started it: fearlessly dominating from inside the baseline as she defeated Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in a match of the highest intensity to win the title without dropping a set.

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Emma Raducanu roars past Sakkari to set up US Open final against Fernandez

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When Emma Raducanu arrived at Flushing Meadows this year, she did not have the faintest idea of where to go. So unfamiliar was she with her surroundings, she needed help from her fellow players just to navigate the tournament’s vast grounds.

Her growth over the past three weeks since those timid first steps has been astounding as she outplayed everyone put in front of her. And under the lights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night she went even further, producing yet another brilliant performance to reach her first grand slam final.

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Tearful Naomi Osaka questions future after US Open loss to Leylah Fernandez

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  • Osaka says she will take a break ‘for a while’ after stunning loss
  • Fernandez earns career-best 5-7, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win in third round

Naomi Osaka’s defense of her US Open championship is in tatters and her immediate future on the women’s professional tennis tour in doubt after a shocking third-round defeat to the unseeded Leylah Annie Fernandez, a Canadian teenager ranked 74th in the world.

The third-seeded Osaka, a four-time major champion and the best hard-court player in the world by some distance, lost her composure while serving for the match, came apart during the ensuing tiebreaker and couldn’t right the ship in the third during a 5-7, 6-7 (2), 6-4 loss in 2hr 4min on Friday night.

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