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.”
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS