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.
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
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
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
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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