BASKETBALL
Hawks’ Bufkin out injured
Injuries have sidelined the Atlanta Hawks’ Kobe Bufkin for the remainder of the NBA season and center Onyeka Okongwu for at least a week, the team said on Wednesday. Bufkin is to undergo right shoulder surgery on Jan. 7, while Okongwu is to sit out with an inflamed left knee for a week before being re-evaluated, missing four games, the team said. Both play key reserve roles for the Hawks, who stand seventh in the Eastern Conference at 14-13.
Photo: Reuters
TENNIS
ATP touts payments
The ATP this year distributed US$1.3 million to 26 players as part of its on-trial financial security program and is to step up its commitment by boosting minimum wage figures for next year, the governing body said. Launched earlier this year as part of a three-year trial, the Baseline program guarantees minimum income for the top 250-ranked singles players each season. ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi called it a “game-changer” for them. “We’re giving players the financial support they need to overcome challenges and build a sustainable career — whether they’re navigating injuries, setbacks in performance or entering the tour for the first time,” Gaudenzi said. “With [US]$1.3 million distributed to players in year one of Baseline, the impact is already clear. With expansions set for 2025, this is just the beginning.”
Photo: AP
RUGBY UNION
RFU probes payments
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) Council has set up an immediate review into the circumstances surrounding the huge bonuses received by RFU chief executive officer Bill Sweeney and other executives after “recognizing the reputational damage done to the sport.” Sweeney and RFU chairman Tom Ilube also look set to face a vote of no-confidence early next year after a “grassroots revolt.” Sweeney was paid ￡1.1 million (US$1.38 million) in the last accounting year, despite the RFU posting a record operating loss of ￡37.9 million and making more than 40 staff redundant in September. Five other executives shared ￡1 million as part of a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) agreed after they took pay cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The “council has confirmed there will be an immediate independent review of the circumstances that led to the LTIP being introduced and executed,” the RFU said in a statement. “Council recognizes the reputational damage that has been done to the sport over the past month and is committed to rebuilding trust with our member clubs.”
MOTORSPORTS
Fred Lorenzen dies
NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1965 Daytona 500 champion Fred Lorenzen has died, NASCAR said on Wednesday. He was 89. Lorenzen, who won 26 career Cup races, was named in NASCAR’s list of its 50 greatest drivers of all time in 1998. He also became the first NASCAR driver to earn more than US$100,000 in a single season in 1963. “Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s first true superstars. A fan favorite, he helped NASCAR expand from its original roots,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “For many years, NASCAR’s ‘Golden Boy’ was also its gold standard, a fact that eventually led him to the sport’s pinnacle, a rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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