OLYMPICS
N Korean flag draws fine
International sport’s anti-doping watchdog on Friday said that it has fined the Olympic Council of Asia US$500,000 for allowing North Korea to fly its flag at the Asian Games, despite a ban for non-compliance. The Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned North Korea from hosting major international events or flying its flag at such events, excluding the Olympics and Paralympics, in 2021 because it had not implemented an effective drug-testing program. However, WADA said the North Korean flag was displayed throughout the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September and last month. “Despite reminders from WADA before and during the Games, the OCA refused to comply,” WADA said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the OCA, which has three weeks to contest WADA’s decision.
RUGBY UNION
Australian boss criticized
Six state unions have demanded the immediate resignation of Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan in the wake of the failed tenure of former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones. An open letter signed by six of the eight union chairs called for an extraordinary general meeting of the RA board to oust McLennan if he ignores their call to stand down, saying they have lost “trust or faith in his leadership.” The ultimatum comes in the wake of a miserable year for the Wallabies under Jones in which they won just two of nine Tests and failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. McLennan was a key driver in the January decision to replace former coach Dave Rennie with Jones, whose tumultuous tenure ended last month. McLennan was “acting outside his role as a director,” it said. “During the past 12 months, Mr McLennan has made a series of calls that have harmed the standing and reputation of our game and led us to question his judgement and his understanding of high-performance sport.”
FOOTBALL
Thompson defends work
Fox Sports and Amazon host Charissa Thompson took to social media on Friday to clarify her comments on a podcast earlier this week that she “would make up” sideline reports during NFL games. Thompson, who hosts Fox’s NFL Kickoff show and Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage, said in a post on Instagram that she did not fabricate quotes from players or coaches, and that she would report her observations on the sidelines. “Working in the media I understand how important words are and I chose wrong words to describe the situation. I’m sorry. I have never lied about anything or been unethical during my time as a sports broadcaster,” Thompson wrote. “In the absence of a coach providing any information that could further my report I would use information that I learned and saw during the first half to create my report. For example if a team was none for seven on third down, that would clearly be an area they need to improve on in the second half. In these instances I never attributed anything said to a player or coach.” Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel said that he had not heard a reporter fabricate any quotes by him. “I’m sure it’d be boring if they fabricated what I had to say. Don’t all laugh at one time, guys,” he said.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
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