BASKETBALL
Al Attles dies at 87
Al Attles, a Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador, has died. He was 87. The Warriors announced on Wednesday that Attles had died in his East Bay home on Tuesday surrounded by family. Nicknamed “The Destroyer” for his physical style of play, the Warriors were his love and his only team after they selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 draft. It marks the longest stint with a single franchise for one person in league history. Attles, one of the first black head coaches in the NBA, was witness to some of the greatest games in different eras. He played in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on March 2, 1962. Attles made all eight of his field-goal tries for 17 points. He also coached Hall of Famer Rick Barry the day he scored 64 against Portland on March 26, 1974.
SOCCER
Gundogan likely to return
Manchester City and Ilkay Gundogan look set to be reunited. The former Germany midfielder was pictured at the airport on Wednesday and was reportedly catching a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Manchester, England, to wrap up his return to City on a one-year deal, with the option of another 12 months. Neither City nor Barcelona have commented publicly on any deal for the 33-year-old Gundogan. Gundogan left City after the 2022-2023 season, during which he was captain of the team that won the English Premier League-FA Cup-UEFA Champions League treble. He spent seven years at the English club, but decided to move to Barcelona for a new challenge, and was one of former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez’s favorite players during his sole season with the Catalan club. However, Barcelona’s delicate economic situation appears to have forced the new coach, Hansi Flick, to part ways with the veteran playmaker. Gundogan retired from German national team this week.
BASEBALL
Joey Votto retires
Former NL MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a short video posted to social media on Wednesday. The Toronto-born Votto signed a minor league contract with his hometown team in March and, following a lengthy layoff because of an ankle injury, had been playing at Triple-A Buffalo. He went 6 for 42 with one homer and four RBIs in 15 games, striking out 22 times. The 40-year-old first baseman became a free agent last fall following the end of a US$251.5 million, 12-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, his only team over 17 major league seasons.
SOCCER
Dortmund fans to protest
Borussia Dortmund supporters are planning to start the Bundesliga season with major protests against the club’s sponsorship deal with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. “We won’t allow ourselves be hitched to your wagon,” the supporter association Sudtribune Dortmund said in a statement on behalf of more than 90 Dortmund fan groups on Wednesday. “We firmly reject the idea that management and its committees at BVB have agreed to use Borussia Dortmund’s appeal to improve the public image of an arms company and throw their own values overboard in the process.”
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
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
SIXTY IN VAIN: In California, De’Aaron Fox contributed a record in points, but it was not enough as his Kings lost 130-126 in overtime to the Timberwolves in the NBA Cup The floor and ball both looked different at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, but not the Cavaliers, who remained unchanged and kept their perfect start to the NBA season unblemished. They improved to 14-0 with a 144-126 win over the Chicago Bulls in their NBA Cup opener, which served as another showcase for a Cavs team clicking like never before. After the final buzzer, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen celebrated more history by dancing on the court with a giant green frog, who has quickly become an impromptu mascot to an unscripted start. “It’s Cleveland,” Allen said,
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