Football – African Cup | Curse of the champion strikes Ivory Coast, Congo dances on

The curse of the defending champion struck Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations and Congo put a strike over money well behind it to dance

Sumo | A Japanese reaches top rank for first time in 19 years

A Japanese sumo wrestler has reached the pinnacle of the country’s ancient sport for the first time in almost two decades. Kisenosato was promoted to the highest rank of

Tennis | Confident Vandeweghe on strong run at Australian Open

On the court, Coco Vandeweghe is all bluster and bravado, an all-or-nothing ball striker with a booming forehand who compares herself to a freight train and

Golf | 2020 Olympic course open to reviewing membership policy

The club that will host the 2020 Olympic golf tournament would be open to changing its policy to include women as full members, if asked.

Football – EPL roundup | Costa returns to Chelsea side, scores on 100th appearance

Still to clear up the ambiguity over last weekend’s absence from the Chelsea team, Diego Costa did his talking on the pitch yesterday. Costa marked his

Golf | Abu Dhabi win caps career turnaround for Fleetwood

It was the summer of 2015 and Tommy Fleetwood had climbed inside the world’s top 50 for the first time in his career when he tried to change

Tevez settling into role with Shanghai Shenhua 

Argentine striker Carlos Tevez said Saturday he’s settling in with Chinese Super League squad Shanghai Shenhua as training gets underway ahead of the season opening in March.

Tennis | Tough at top: Murray, Kerber out in 4th round in Melbourne

There was some symmetry about the fourth-round exits of top-ranked Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open. Both had the top seeding for the

Ogier wins season-opening Monte Carlo Rally with new team

Sebastien Ogier made the perfect start to the defense of his world title by winning the season-opening Monte Carlo rally yesterday, clinching the 39th race win of

Chinese brand makes inroads in tennis world

Svetlana Kuznetsova has a different look than most tennis players. And it’s not just all the tattoos. In a tennis world dominated by the bright colors

China Super League | Football pioneer calls for rational signings to avoid bubble

Days after China abruptly began scrutinizing the recruitment of foreign players into the country’s dominant Super League, one of the most influential men in Chinese football

Tennis | Australian Open Djokovic out in second round, loses to Istomin

It started badly for Novak Djokovic, who needed 24 serves, six break-point saves and 15 minutes just to hold his first game in the second round. This was

Cycling – Tour Down Under | Caleb Ewan wins third stage

Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan won yesterday’s third stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race while compatriot Richie Porte retained the overall lead with three stages

Figure Skating Nathan Chen leads the way at US championships

The pain in his hip is gone. All that’s left is a surgical screw and a scar. Nathan Chen hardly thinks about it these days,

Cycling | Richie Porte wins 2nd stage of Tour Down Under

Australian cyclist Richie Porte won the second stage of the Tour Down Under yesterday, giving him the overall lead in the opening event on the 2017

Golf | Europe announces changes to Ryder Cup qualifying system

Europe’s team for the 2018 Ryder Cup in France will have an extra captain’s pick and is set to contain more in-form players following a

Football | African Cup: Ivory Coast stumbles, Congo beats Morocco

Ivory Coast’s Europe-based stars stumbled in the heat of northern Gabon in their African Cup of Nations opener, with the defending champion held by Togo to 0-0

Tennis | Six-time champions Djokovic, Williams open with wins

There was no easing into a title defense for Novak Djokovic, starting his Australian Open against the man who upset Rafael Nadal here last year in

Tennis | Kyrgios’ new approach: Keep calm and move on at Aussie Open

No tirades at the umpire. No insults directed at spectators. No rackets smashed to smithereens. For Nick Kyrgios, the talented yet combustible bad boy of tennis,

Peterhansel completes 7th Dakar Rally victory; 13th overall 

French driver Stephane Peterhansel said luck played no part in his record-extending seventh Dakar Rally triumph on Saturday. Peterhansel duly completed the 12th and last stage - a

EPL | Costa no loss for Chelsea as leader beats Leicester 3-0

Chelsea easily coped without top-scorer Diego Costa, sweeping aside fading champion Leicester 3-0 to go seven points clear in the English Premier League yesterday (Macau time). Marcos

NFL | Chargers plan to announce move to Los Angeles

The Chargers appear ready to leave San Diego, their home of 56 seasons, for the potentially more lucrative but crowded Los Angeles market. Hours

Football | Benefits and pitfalls of a 48-team World Cup

As the football world digests FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup, a look at the some of the benefits and pitfalls of a 48-team tournament in 2026:

Boxing | Manny Pacquiao set to return to ring on April 23

Manny Pacquiao will add another fight to his long career resume when he takes on Australian welterweight Jeff Horn on April 23 at a venue to be

Russia defends record on doping

Russia’s deputy prime minister, responding to calls for the nation’s sports teams to be excluded from all international competitions because of doping, said yesterday that the country

Football | EPL Often derided, Fellaini finally feels some love at United

There was only one place Marouane Fellaini was heading after scoring the goal that put Manchester United in a dominant position in the League Cup semifinals. And it wasn’t

Enrique supports decision to skip FIFA awards

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique gave his full support Tuesday to his players’ decision not to attend FIFA’s awards ceremony. Luis Enrique said he was “100

FIFA to expand World Cup to 48 teams in 2026

FIFA will expand the World Cup to 48 teams, adding 16 extra nations to the 2026 tournament which is likely to be held in North America. President

Ronaldo wins best player award for 4th time 

Capping what he called the best year of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo won his fourth FIFA best player award yesterday (Macau time). The double European champion with

NFL | Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter arrested after game

Joe Mandak, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter was charged yesterday with assaulting a doorman at a Pittsburgh bar and a police officer who

Spanish league | Messi saves Barcelona from 2nd straight loss

Lionel Messi saved Barcelona from its second straight defeat by scoring with a 90th-minute free kick in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal in the Spanish

Golf | Thomas holds on to beat Matsuyama at Kapalua

Justin Thomas knew he was playing well enough to start the year with a victory in the SBS Tournament of Champions. He just didn’t expect to have to

Northampton over North head injury

World Rugby criticized English club Northampton’s failure to properly manage George North’s head injury, saying yesterday the team did not correctly identify the problem. North,

Tennis | Fun and games, Dimitrov finds a way to break title drought

Grigor Dimitrov concentrated on fun and games at the season-opening Brisbane International, looking for something a bit different to his regular routine. It turns out, that’s what

FIFA set to approve bigger, richer World Cup tomorrow

Graham Dunbar F IFA is set to make the World Cup bigger and richer, even if the price to pay is lower quality foot- ball. FIFA

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