ICE HOCKEY
Jets sign Chinese-born He
Kevin He on Tuesday became the first Chinese-born player to sign a deal with an NHL club when the 18-year-old forward inked an entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Beijing-born He became the highest Chinese-born player taken in the NHL Draft when he was selected 109th overall in the fourth round this year by the Jets, who made a trade with Buffalo to jump 14 spots in the draft to take him. “It’s a dream come true,” He said of being drafted by the Jets. “It’s incredible, a huge honor.” The Jets are the NHL overall leaders so far this season with 45 points off 22 wins, nine losses and one overtime loss.
CRICKET
England women beat S Africa
England women on Tuesday registered their first Test win in a decade and claimed their biggest red-ball victory by the margin of runs after they defeated South Africa by 286 runs in Bloemfontein. England, who won their last Test against Australia in 2014, bundled out South Africa for a mere 64, their lowest Test total, in the second innings after setting a target of 351. Pace bowler Lauren Bell claimed a career-best 4-49. “It’s amazing. My first Test win, and we’ve worked really hard as a team over the last three days,” said Bell, the Player of the Match. “It’s a work in progress, but performances like that give me a lot of confidence that I’m moving in the right direction.”
ATHLETICS
Biathlon official apologizes
The secretary-general of the International Biathlon Union on Tuesday apologized to any athlete who was mistreated during his tenure at the US Biathlon Association while speaking during the body’s annual meeting that focused on concerns about athlete safety. “I appreciate anyone who comes forward with issues, especially issues of sexual misconduct, whether it’s recent ones or old ones. I think that’s an incredibly brave and important thing to do,” Max Cobb said in the meeting held over Zoom. It was Cobb’s first public statement since a report a week ago detailing how women said officials ignored or excused sexual abuse and harassment of female biathletes by their coaches and others over decades because they were more concerned about winning medals than holding offenders accountable. While the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, the women — who described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990s — said they were forced to end their racing careers early. Cobb said he would cooperate with a US Center for SafeSport investigation into a coach accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, who later attempted suicide.
BOXING
McGregor in talks for Paul bout
Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has reached a preliminary agreement to fight US social media influencer-turned-fighter Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match, the former UFC champion wrote on social media on Tuesday. McGregor, who was ordered to pay damages last month after a jury in a civil trial at Ireland’s High Court found he assaulted a woman in 2018, said the fight would take place in India, but did not specify when it would potentially occur, adding that after the bout, he would seek to return to UFC.
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
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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