OLYMPICS
Australia reveals new plans
Australia is to build a 63,000-seat stadium, an indoor swimming venue and rowing in the crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, officials said yesterday after shelving contentious earlier plans, with The Gabba to be demolished after the Games. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli detailed a slew of Olympic upgrades that included the new Brisbane Stadium in the heart of the city and an aquatic center that could host 25,000 fans. “Finally, Queensland has a plan. The time has come to just get on with it, and get on with it we will,” Crisafulli told reporters.
FOOTBALL
Coach charged with hacking
A judge on Monday entered a not-guilty plea for a former Baltimore Ravens and University of Michigan assistant football coach who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images, primarily of women. Matt Weiss’ appearance in federal court in Detroit was brief and came four days after a 14-page indictment was filed. He is accused of unauthorized computer access and identity theft from 2015 until early 2023. Separately, a lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed on Friday on behalf of a former University of Michigan female gymnast and a former member of the women’s soccer team.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Former champ sentenced
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez on Monday was sentenced to five years in prison for a shooting in 2022 where he chased after the man accused of molesting his son. Velasquez was sentenced in Santa Clara County after he pled no contest to attempted murder, felony assault and other related gun charges in August last year for what the district attorney’s office called a “vigilante shooting spree.” He is to receive credit for time served. In February 2022, the two-time UFC heavyweight champion fired a gun multiple times at a truck carrying three people, including 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is facing felony child molestation charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
SOCCER
Germany celebrates ball boy
Germany’s Joshua Kimmich awarded a quick-thinking ball boy for his role in their bizarre easy goal in their 3-3 second-leg draw against Italy on Sunday in their UEFA Nation’s League quarter-final. Absent-minded Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma left his post to complain to the referee after a save. Kimmich, seeing the Italian ’keeper had drifted off his line, took a quickly taken corner that was flicked into the empty net by Jamal Musiala. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said the quick thinking was “world-class and unbelievably smart,” adding that he did not see it all. One person who did was 15-year-old ball boy Noel Urbaniak who noticed that Donnarumma was not paying attention and quickly threw the ball to Kimmich. “He was very sharp, which isn’t bad in a game like this, he did well,” said Kimmich, who autographed and presented a match ball to the teenager after the game. “He’ll get a free ticket to the next home game,” German national team director Rudi Voller said. “I’ve never been a ball boy before; this is my first time, and it feels really good,” Urbaniak told RTL.
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
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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