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.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
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