CRICKET
Maxwell under investigation
Cricket Australia is investigating Glenn Maxwell, a spokesperson said yesterday, after the star all-rounder was reportedly hospitalized following a night out. The governing body wants to quiz the 35-year-old about a recent incident in Adelaide. Australian media outlets reported that Maxwell was taken to a hospital, after attending a concert on Friday of the band Six & Out, made up of former cricket greats including Brett Lee. “Cricket Australia is aware of an incident involving Glenn Maxwell in Adelaide at the weekend and is seeking further information,” a spokesperson said. Maxwell has been stood down for the upcoming 50-overs series against the West Indies early next month, but Cricket Australia said the decision is not linked to the incident in Adelaide. Maxwell missed a World Cup match in India after he was injured falling off a golf cart. He also broke his leg in November 2022 when he slipped at a friend’s birthday party.
SOCCER
Italian legend Riva dies
Italian soccer mourned one of its most important ever players on Monday after iconic striker Luigi “Gigi” Riva died aged 79. Nicknamed “Roar of Thunder,” Riva is Italy’s all-time top goalscorer and famous in the Mediterranean nation for firing Cagliari Calcio to their only league title in 1970. “Forever GIGI RIVA,” Cagliari wrote on X, accompanied by a picture of their hero in the prime of his career. “Italian football is in mourning because a genuine national monument has left us today,” Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina said. Riva’s death is of such significance that a minute’s silence was held before the start of the second half of the Italian Super Cup final, played on Monday in Riyadh. “Ciao Gigi” was displayed on the screens at al-Awwal Park in the Saudi Arabian capital, alongside a picture of Riva. He had been hospitalized in Cagliari, where he stayed after the end of his playing career, reportedly after sustaining a heart attack over the weekend. Riva scored 35 times in just 42 appearances for his country, with whom he won the 1968 European Championship and reached the World Cup final two years later.
SOCCER
Udinese ban fan for abuse
Udinese are to ban for life a man found to have racially abused France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, the Serie A club announced on Monday. Maignan was abused during Udinese’s 3-2 defeat to AC Milan on Saturday, which was halted for five minutes in the first half after repeated offensive remarks from behind the goal he was defending. “Udinese Calcio has identified the first individual responsible for discriminatory behavior towards AC Milan player Mike Maignan,” the club said in a statement. “This person will face a lifetime ban from attending any Udinese Calcio matches. This ban is effective immediately.” Earlier on Monday, Italian media reported a 46-year-old man from near Udine had been identified, and he is believe to be the same man in a video which circulated widely on social media. In that video someone off camera can clearly be heard shouting the same racist insult at Maignan multiple times after Lazar Samardzic scored Udinese’s first-half equalizer, netted after play had resumed.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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