SOCCER
Flares end Dutch match
The match between bitter rivals AFC Ajax and Feyenoord was on Sunday abandoned after fans lobbed flares on the pitch in Amsterdam, with violence later erupting outside the stadium in the latest unrest to blight Dutch soccer. Feyenoord had taken a 3-0 first-half lead at the Johan Cruyff Arena, sparking ugly scenes from the hardcore supporters of Ajax, who are experiencing one of the worst crises in their storied 123-year history. The unrest spilled out of the stadium, as furious Ajax fans smashed into the main entrance, prompting riot police on horseback to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. “If you go to a football game ... you can’t go here with your family because there’s always violence,” spectator Bryan Buffing said. “We have a real, real big issue in the Netherlands.”
TENNIS
Laver win thrills McEnroe
Team World on Sunday won a second straight Laver Cup title as Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe sealed a 13-2 victory over Team Europe with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) doubles win over Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev. Team World captain John McEnroe, who had endured four straight defeats in the event that began in 2017 before seeing his side rally to victory in London last year, was thrilled to celebrate a dominant triumph that began with a four-match sweep on Friday. “It felt unbelievable to kick their ass, baby,” McEnroe said. “They kicked ours many times, OK. It was a battle to the end when we won last year.”
SOCCER
Newcastle rout Sheffield 8-0
Newcastle United on Sunday thrashed Sheffield United 8-0 to shrug off their slow start to the English Premier League season. Saudi-backed Newcastle had lost three of their opening five Premier League games to dampen expectations of a title challenge on Tyneside, but manager Eddie Howe’s men showed no mercy as they put the Blades to the sword with ease. Three goals in 14 first-half minutes set the tone as Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and Sven Botman put the visitors on course to cruise to victory. Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almiron, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak were then on target after the break as the Magpies became the first side to have eight different goalscorers, not including own-goals, in a Premier League game. “The big thing for us was that we really wanted to score and we weren’t content with three,” Howe said. “I want that mentality to run through the team.”
SAILING
UK wins twice in a row
Ben Ainslie and Emirates Great Britain on Sunday earned their second straight SailGP regatta win and the US finished third a day after flight controller Hans Henken was knocked unconscious and hospitalized after the squad’s 50-foot (15m) catamaran crashed hard off its foils in strong wind in Taranto, Italy. Ainslie prevailed over three-time defending SailGP champion Tom Slingsby of Team Australia who came in second and Jimmy Spithill of Team USA in third. The Americans subbed in Taylor Canfield for Henken, who was expected to spend a second night in the hospital. The wind dropped off during the podium race and the 16-minute time limit expired, so race management awarded final positions based on the standings after five fleet races, which Ainslie dominated with finishes of 2-2-3-1-2.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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