Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is having a cultural impact far beyond Formula 1
MARANELLO, Italy: Met Gala chair, co-producer on a Brad Pitt movie, activist, and now Ferrari driver.
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New Zealand crush South Africa to reach Champions Trophy final
LAHORE: Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson struck hundreds as New Zealand eased to a 50-run win over South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday to set up a rematch with India in the Champions Trophy final.
Europa League win can change dire Man United season: Amorim
“I think it’s not a crucial thing for the future of the club... (but it would be) a massive difference in our season,” Amorim told reporters“If we win the Europa League that could change a lot of things in the way (people) see the coach”SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim said Wednesday winning the Europa League could make a “massive difference” to his team’s disappointing season, but was not vital in the big picture of the club’s future.The Red Devils face Real Sociedad on Thursday in a last 16 clash at the Reale Arena, looking for respite from their poor domestic form.Winning the Europa League would earn them a Champions League qualification spot for next season, which is virtually impossible for them to attain in the Premier League, where they sit 14th.“I think it’s not a crucial thing for the future of the club...
TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS and truTV
ATLANTA: TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS and truTV under an agreement with the streaming platform DAZN announced Wednesday. DAZN obtained world-wide rights from FIFA in a deal announced in December. TNT Sports is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.
Fraud case designed to wreck Platini’s chance of FIFA top job, lawyer says
ZURICH: French footballing great Michel Platini was accused of fraud to torpedo his chances of becoming the head of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, his lawyer told a Swiss court on Wednesday. Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team who also used to run Europe’s football authority UEFA, is facing corruption charges in an appeal against his acquittal two-and-a-half years ago. The Swiss federal prosecutor says the 69-year-old illegally took payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.25 million) from FIFA in 2011, after it was approved by the organization’s former President Sepp Blatter. Blatter is also accused of fraud in the hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the municipality of Muttenz near the city of Basel. Blatter and Platini, once among the most powerful men in global football, both deny the charges and were acquitted by a lower court in July 2022, which prosecutors are contesting. “These criminal proceedings never had the goal of punishing an alleged crime. Rather, it was a means of getting Michel Platini out of the way,” his lawyer Dominic Nellen said. The investigation into the payments wrecked Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter. Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced. Nellen said the prosecutors had allowed themselves to be used by FIFA to prevent Platini, a three-time European footballer of the year, from taking the reins. When he was questioned by prosecutors in September 2015 about the payment, details were announced to media even though no charges were made, Nellen said.
7 stand trial over cyber death threats against Paris Olympics artistic director
PARIS: The trial of seven people charged in connection with alleged cyberbullying targeting the artistic director of last summer’s Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies has started in a Paris court. Thomas Jolly filed a complaint for death threats after receiving homophobic and antisemitic abuse on social networks. The online attacks erupted after Jolly’s acclaimed but controversial opening spectacle on the Seine in July — a queer-inclusive, high-energy fusion of tradition and modernity. Local media reported that Jolly did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, with two of the people charged also not attending because they were either sick or could not make themselves available. The abuse last summer quickly escalated, including attacks based on Jolly’s sexual orientation and wrongly assumed Israeli roots, and reportedly aimed to silence the artistic intent of the show.
LeBron James first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points
LOS ANGELES, United States: LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points on Tuesday, extending his lead as the league’s all-time record scorer by reaching a milestone tally that may never be surpassed. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar went into the game against the New Orleans Pelicans with 49,999 regular and postseason points after a 17-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. It did not take long for the 40-year-old NBA icon to get the solitary point needed to reach the 50,000-point barrier. James, who is in dazzling form in the 22nd season of a glittering career, gathered a pass from Luka Doncic and unfurled a sublime 25-foot three-pointer to move to 50,002 points with the Crypto.com Arena crowd roaring their acclaim. James had passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous all-time regular-season scoring record of 38,387 points in 2023 – itself a record that had stood for 39 years. James is now nearly 6,000 points clear of Abdul-Jabbar’s total career points tally of 44,149, with Karl Malone third (41,689 points) and the late Kobe Bryant fourth with 39,283 points. Michael Jordan is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 38,279. Among active NBA players, only Kevin Durant with just over 35,000 points – roughly 15,000 points behind James – makes the top 10.
Times Square boxing event in May promises to be big, with 3 fights and talk of half a million fans
NEW YORK: Big boxing in New York for long meant Madison Square Garden, in recent years Barclays Center as well.