BASKETBALL
Howard to meet Warriors
Eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard is to meet with the Golden State Warriors next week, The Athletic Web site reported on Friday. The 37-year-old free agent center did not play in the NBA last season, competing professionally in Taiwan instead. The Warriors reportedly have been exploring the addition of a veteran big man for the 2023-2024 campaign. Howard is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who led the league in rebounding five times and blocks two times earlier in his 18-year career.
SOCCER
Sancho’s future uncertain
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on Friday said that he does not know whether Jadon Sancho would play for the club again amid the forward’s exile from the first team over a disciplinary issue. Sancho, 23, is training away from United’s first team after saying in a now-deleted statement on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat” following his omission from the squad for their 3-1 defeat against Arsenal on Sept. 3. Ten Hag said at the time that Sancho had been left out because of his poor performance in training. Speaking at a news conference before United hosted Brighton & Hove Albion, which was to start after press time last night, the Dutch coach did not confirm if Sancho remained a part of his long-term plans at the club. “I don’t know,” Ten Hag said when asked whether Sancho would play for United again. “He is not available, so in this moment, he is not important, because he can’t contribute.” The decision “is not about me. This is in favor of the team... I don’t think about that [Sancho’s social media post] and I don’t talk about that, because I have to win a game.”
GOLF
Bale added to video game
Gareth Bale’s love for golf has been well-documented and the former Real Madrid and Wales forward has swapped the pitch for the green after becoming a playable character in the PGA Tour 2K23 video game. Bale, 34, made his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February after calling time on his soccer career at the start of the year. He also teed off alongside Rory McIlroy at this week’s BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am. The former Wales captain, who featured on the cover of Electronic Arts’ FIFA 14 video game alongside Lionel Messi, has now been added to PGA Tour 2K23, which includes a course custom-designed by him.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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