Sports — International

Tokyo 2020 unveil bug-eyed Olympic mascot hopefuls

by Alastair Himmer Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo Olympic organizers unveiled a shortlist of three official 2020 Games mascots Thursday — from bug-eyed cartoon heroes to cuddly raccoons. The Olympic and Paralympic designs, which celebrate the themes of harmony, diversity and resilience, were unveiled by pupils at a Tokyo elementary school. After a bungled rollout of the official Olympic logo that led to it being scrapped following accusations of plagiarism, local organisers […]

NBA: Hornets coach to take time off over health concerns

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford is stepping away from the team to address his health and will miss an undetermined amount of time, the NBA club said Wednesday. The Hornets said in a press release there is no timetable for Clifford’s return. The team did not provide any additional details on the situation “out of respect for Clifford’s privacy.” The 56-year-old Clifford missed Monday’s victory against the Orlando […]

NBA: Beal sees way clear in 51-point outburst

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Washington guard Bradley Beal, struggling to find his role in the absence of Wizards star John Wall, finally saw his way clear in a 51-point outburst against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Tuesday night. “I was more locked in, more focused,” Beal said. “In the previous games, I was thinking way too much out there instead of playing my game. “(On Tuesday) I was just playing and having […]

Serena ‘very likely’ to make comeback at Australian Open: organizers

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Serena Williams will be ready to make her tennis comeback at the Australian Open with her return to Melbourne for the season’s opening Grand Slam “very likely,” organizers said Wednesday. Williams, 36, won this year’s Australian Open while pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl in September. She has not played a competition since, raising questions over whether the 23-time Grand Slam winner would attempt to defend her title next […]

NBA: Curry out of Hornets clash with ankle sprain

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Stephen Curry was ruled out of Golden State’s next game against the Charlotte Hornets but it is not clear when the NBA star will return, the team said Tuesday. Curry limped off court after Golden State’s dramatic win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday after twisting his right ankle. The Warriors ace later left the arena on crutches, although an X-ray taken soon after the game came back negative. The […]

Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics over doping

by Eric Bernaudeau and Ben Simon Agence France-Presse LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) — Russia was banned Tuesday from the 2018 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee over its state-orchestrated doping program, but clean Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under an Olympic flag. The sanction was the toughest ever levelled by the IOC for drug cheating and was delivered just 65 days ahead of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In announcing the decision, IOC […]

NBA: Knicks struggle to find identity without Porzingis; lose to Magic.

By: Norman Castro, EBC Sports International, New York Bureau NEW YORK (Eagle News) – A shorthanded New York Knicks team suffered their fourth loss in five games, falling 105-100 to the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon. Playing without their top two scorers, Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., the Knicks struggled to contain the Magic early as Orlando shot a blistering 14 of 23 from the field including 3 for 7 from […]

Golf: Woods fires final-round 68 as Fowler wins Hero World Challenge

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tiger Woods capped his return to competition with a fine four-under par 68 on Sunday as red-hot Rickie Fowler won the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Former world number one Woods, who once wondered if nagging back trouble would spell the end of his career, had an eagle and six birdies to finish 72 holes on eight-under par 280. That never put him within striking distance of Fowler, who […]

NBA: James fires Cavs to 11th straight victory, Celtics win

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers stretched their NBA winning streak to 11 games Saturday as LeBron James poured it on in the fourth quarter to keep the depleted but desperate Memphis Grizzlies at bay. James, who leads the league in fourth quarter points, scored 15 of his 34 points in the final period as the Cavs held on for a 116-111 victory in Cleveland. He scored Cleveland’s last 13 points — […]

Boxing: Cotto bows out of boxing with loss to Ali

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto goes out a warrior, but not a winner, after dropping a unanimous 12-round decision Saturday to Sadam Ali in a world title fight he vowed would be his last. Before adoring fans at Madison Square Garden, the 37-year-old Cotto just didn’t have enough against his 29-year-old opponent. Ali seized the World Boxing Organization light middleweight world title the Puerto Rican won in August with an […]

NBA: Warriors cruise past Magic

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA champion Golden State Warriors were firing on all cylinders Friday in a 133-112 victory over the Orlando Magic in Florida. The banged-up Warriors, with Stephen Curry nursing a painful bruised finger, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson battling troublesome ankles and David West suffering from a sore left knee, nevertheless proved more than a match for the Magic. Thompson scored 27 points, while Durant connected on 10 of […]

Mayweather ‘adopts’ panda, names it after himself

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — He hardly has a reputation as the cuddly type, but Floyd Mayweather displayed his softer side as he adopted a baby giant panda in China — and promptly renamed it “TMT Floyd Mayweather”. The 40-year-old American boxing star will, however, have to leave the panda at its home in southwest China and the 100,000 yuan ($15,000) adoption fee paid by him and another sponsor will go to the research centre where […]