SNOOKER
Ding docked over pants
Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui on Monday had to forfeit the opening frame for wearing the wrong pants in his 4-3 victory over compatriot Ma Hailong at the English Open. The 36-year-old donned his usual brown snooker suit with bow tie and waistcoat, having forgotten about the all-black dress code for the event in Brentwood. “I totally forgot that I needed a black shirt and trousers for this tournament,” the World Snooker Tour Web site quoted Ding as saying. “My memory is not good. I didn’t think about it. Once I was playing, I tried to just concentrate on the match.” Despite a friend’s quick run to a store to purchase the correct uniform, Ding was late for the start of the match by the time he was ready to play and was docked the opening frame. After falling behind 3-1, the 14-time ranking event winner made a strong comeback by winning the last three frames.
SWIMMING
No entries in ‘open category’
There are no entries in the races for the new “open category” at the World Cup in Berlin this weekend, World Aquatics said yesterday. The event was meant to mark the pilot open category established for swimmers after World Aquatics voted last year to restrict participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions. Following the creation of a task force to look into the matter, the organization established the new category, as a pilot project, in July. The open category was to feature 50m and 100m races across all strokes.
MOTORSPORTS
Andretti closer to F1 team
Michael Andretti on Monday cleared a major hurdle in his bid to launch a US Formula One team after the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said that Andretti Global meets all required criteria to expand the world’s top motorsports series to 11 teams. The decision does not guarantee Andretti would get the two-car team he wants and just how far he has to go was made clear in a brusque response issued by F1 after the announcement. “We note the FIA’s conclusions in relation to the first and second phases of their process and will now conduct our own assessment of the merits of the remaining application,” F1 said in a statement. Liberty Media holds the F1 commercial rights and it is to the corporate giant that Andretti Global and partner Cadillac must next prove their commercial value.
BASEBALL
Clock hastened games
The average time of a nine-inning major league game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes in the first year of the pitch clock, a 24-minute decrease in a season of change that resulted in a spike in batting average and the most stolen bases in nearly 40 years. Left-handed hitters benefitted from the new restrictions on defensive shifts, runners took advantage of the slightly decreased distance between bases, and average fastball velocity set another record. The average game time dropped to its 1985 level after passing 3 hours for the first time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 last year. “It took some getting used to, but once you get used to it the game’s a lot faster,” Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa said. “There’s not wasted time. The pace was great, so I think it’s here to stay.”
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
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