SOCCER
Matching socks delay start
A top-of-the table English Women’s Soccer League (WSL) game between Arsenal and Chelsea with a crowd of nearly 33,000 had a delayed kick-off on Friday because the teams had matching socks, forcing referee Rebecca Welch to delay the start. Arsenal Women ended up going into the Chelsea megastore at Stamford Bridge and buying black socks. They used tape to try and hide the Chelsea and Nike logos. Arsenal’s kit is made by Adidas. They started 30 minutes late. “Clearly it’s a human error, a mistake, but it’s embarrassing,” former England international Karen Carney, who played for both clubs, told Sky Sports. “This is a massive crowd, a massive game. It’s a simple thing, a kit, and we have got it wrong. People make mistakes, but the game does not need this and it’s frustrating. It does not look good for the game.” WSL leaders Chelsea won 3-1.
Photo: Reuters
CRICKET
Wade retires from Tests
Former Australia Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has called time on the red-ball game, but will continue playing the shorter formats. The 36-year-old made the announcement late on Friday ahead of the Sheffield Shield final next week, when his native Tasmania meet Western Australia in what will be his 166th and last first-class match. “There certainly isn’t [an element of]: ‘I’m not playing well enough or I don’t feel I can contribute enough,’” he said. “It’s more the younger players have managed to shove me out the door.” Wade, who played 36 Tests as a wicketkeeper and specialist batter from 2012 to 2021, will continue to be available for one-day and T20 cricket.
EQUESTRIAN
Shane Rose hurt in fall
Australian three-time Olympic medalist Shane Rose was seriously injured in a heavy fall this week that could end his hopes of competing in a fourth Olympic Games in Paris this year. The 50-year-old team eventer and his horse Virgil all but secured qualification for the Olympics by winning an event in New Zealand last weekend, but fell during a cross-country session on Thursday. “As the saying goes peacock one day, feather duster the next,” his team said on Facebook on Friday. “Thankfully his horse was not injured in the fall. Shane is currently in ICU with a badly broken femur and a fractured pelvis and ribs. He also suffered a heavy concussion. Shane had surgery this morning to stabilize the femur and pelvis. While the timing is unfortunate we are hopeful there is adequate time for him to recover and still be able to continue his preparation schedule for the Paris Olympics Games.” Rose has twice qualified for the Olympics, but been unable to compete. In 1996, his horse went lame on arrival in the US for the Atlanta Olympics, and in 2012, his mount All Luck sustained a shoulder injury that prevented him from competing at the London Games. Despite his past misfortune, Rose won team silver medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2021 Tokyo Olympics as well as a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
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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