BASKETBALL
Noah gets fine for tirade
Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah was fined US$15,000 by the NBA on Tuesday after an obscene outburst directed at game officials in Sacramento. The French player lost his cool in the third quarter of Chicago’s 99-70 loss to the Kings on Monday night, unleashing a profanity-laced tirade after he received two technical fouls in the space of three minutes and was ejected from the game. “Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has been fined US$15,000 for verbally abusing the officials upon his ejection,” NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said in a statement. By the time Thorn had meted out the punishment, Noah had already apologized.
SOCCER
Carroll’s ban appeal fails
West Ham United striker Andy Carroll will serve a three-game ban after having an appeal against a red card rejected, the Football Association announced on Tuesday. Carroll, 25, was shown a straight red card during his side’s 2-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday after catching Chico Flores in the face with his arm early in the second half of the Premier League game at Upton Park. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce accused Flores of reacting theatrically and confirmed that the club would appeal against the red card, but the FA upheld referee Howard Webb’s decision to send Carroll off. West Ham’s record signing, Carroll has played in only four league games this season due to injury and now stands to miss his side’s forthcoming matches against Aston Villa, Norwich City and Southampton. The England striker appeared to express his anger at the decision on Twitter, writing simply: “DISGRACEFUL!!!”
SOCCER
Jordan qualify for finals
Jordan booked a place in next year’s AFC Asian Cup finals with a 3-1 win over 10-man Singapore in an ill-tempered Group A clash at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday. Needing a victory to qualify from the group alongside Oman, Thaer Bawab and Ahmad Hayel scored either side of halftime for the visitors. Khairul Amri then converted a penalty for Singapore, but substitute Yousef Ahmad netted in stoppage-time to help Jordan go through with a game to spare. Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan was sent off at the end of the first half, while Jordan captain and goal-scorer Hayel was also shown the red card in the 70th minute. Twelve nations had already qualified for the 16-team finals — hosts Australia, holders Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Uzbekistan. The draw is to be made in Sydney on March 26.
CRICKET
Fan with pig punished
An Australian cricket fan who disguised a pig as a baby for the Ashes Test at the Gabba ground was yesterday ordered to attend mediation with the RSPCA. David Gunn, 33, was charged with animal cruelty after the pet pig, wrapped in a towel with its snout taped shut, was seen in the stadium in Brisbane during the opening day of the first Australia-England Test in November last year. In a statement to the court, the RSPCA said the pig, named Ash, was traumatized by the incident and dehydrated after being in direct sunlight on a hot day. Gunn was ordered to attend mediation with the animal welfare charity. RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said in his experience this involved sitting the person down and trying to make them understand how their actions affected the pig. Ash has since made a full recovery.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS