BASKETBALL
Yao Ming urges less ire
Chinese great Yao Ming on Thursday said that criticism of the Chinese men’s national team has gone too far after some players were abused online following a series of disappointing results. National players have been targeted online in the past few weeks, including Zhang Zhenlin of the Liaoning Flying Leopards. “Here I represent the association to make a statement,” Yao, who is president of the Chinese Basketball Association, told a Hall of Fame event in Beijing. “No matter if we play well or badly on the basketball court, we will face up to the result. Some criticism on technique and tactics is welcome, but some things have gone beyond basketball and we don’t agree with that,” he said. “We will always support our players to defend their rights and interests, and in this regard [online abuse], we will provide all the necessary support.”
RUGBY UNION
NZ, Japan clubs to clash
The Waikato Chiefs and the Auckland Blues are to travel to Japan in February for games against top local teams in preparation for the Super Rugby Pacific season, officials said yesterday. The Blues are to play Suntory Sungoliath in Tokyo on Feb. 3 and the Chiefs face the Wild Knights the next day in Saitama. The following weekend the Kubota Spears Funabashi, who recently signed All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, host the Chiefs, with the Yokohama Canon Eagles tackling the Blues.
CRICKET
English players complain
The Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) said that the English men’s domestic schedule for next year is unsustainable and increases the risk of injury for players. The County Championship is scheduled to run from April to September with a break for T20 Blast competition and One-Day Cup. More than 130 matches of the T20 Blast are to take place from May 30 to July 19. “My biggest issue is the welfare of players and support staff being disregarded,” said bowler Sam Cook, Essex’s PCA representative. “Particularly with regards to travel throughout high-intensity periods of T20 cricket. This has an enormous impact on ... performance and increases the risk of injury.” PCA chief executive officer Rob Lynch said that “the announcement of the 2024 fixtures is a reminder that the men’s domestic calendar in England and Wales is unsustainable and is in need of reform.”
FOOTBALL
Harald Hasselbach dies
Harald Hasselbach, a defensive lineman for the Denver Broncos during the team’s back-to-back Super Bowl championships in the late 1990s, has died. He was 56. The Broncos announced Hasselbach’s death on Thursday, citing family. Hasselbach’s family said he died at home in the Denver area after a six-month fight with cancer. Hasselback began his career with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was one of 10 players to win a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl. Hasselbach never missed a game during his seven seasons with the Broncos between 1994 and 2000, getting 154 tackles, 17.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. He started 29 regular-season games and three playoff games, including the Broncos’ win over the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl following the 1998 season. He is survived by his wife, four children and four grandchildren.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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