Latest - Sadio Mane headed the winner as Liverpool came from a goal down to edge Aston Villa 2-1 and keep alive their hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title from leaders Manchester City.
Sadio Mane Photo: PHOTOSPORT
In front of a boisterous home crowd, Villa flew out of the blocks and took a third-minute lead when Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson spilled a header from Douglas Luiz straight back into the path of the Brazilian forward who fired in from close range.
Juergen Klopp's side equalised less than three minutes later, when Virgil Van Dijk met Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick and although Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez managed to get a hand to his effort, Joel Matip poked in the rebound.
Mane put Liverpool ahead in the 65th minute with his 15th league goal of the season, a smart header from a Luis Diaz cross.
Liverpool move level on 86 points with City, who play Wolves tomorrow.
-Reuters
Upset win for Japan
The Japan women's rugby team has beaten Australia 12-10 in the Tri-Nation tournament on the Gold Coast.
Photo: AFP
The Wallaroos performance was full of errors, while the Japanese success was based on some outstanding defence.
Both sides scored two tries with Australia having the chance to steal the result late in the game but normally reliable goal kicker Lori Cramer missed a penalty attempt in the 77th minute.
The result will improve the world ranking for the Japanese who are currently ranked 12.
The Japanese also beat Fiji 28-14 earlier in the series.
The Wallaroos sang the national anthem in two languages in a first for them that was warmly embraced by the midweek crowd and the players alike.
Australia will play the Black Ferns in June and August before they meet in their opening game of the World Cup in October.
Haaland heading to Manchester
Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign Norway striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Haaland, 21, will join in July after City activated a $100 million release clause in his contract.
The deal ends the club's hunt for a successor to their all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer last year.
Haaland, who passed his City medical in Belgium yesterday, has scored 85 goals in 88 appearances for Dortmund since joining from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona also spoke to Haaland about a potential deal, but he opted for a move to Etihad Stadium.
-BBC
Thorpe in hospital
Former England batter Graham Thorpe is "seriously ill" in hospital, the Professional Cricketers' Association has said.
Former England assistant cricket coach Graham Thorpe Photo: AFP
The 52-year-old played 100 Tests for England between 1993 and 2005, as well as 82 one-day internationals.
He was previously England men's batting coach but stepped down from the role in February following their 4-0 Ashes defeat by Australia.
Thorpe was appointed head coach of Afghanistan's men's team in March.
Thorpe, a stylish left-handed batter, scored 6,744 Test runs for England, including 16 centuries, at an average of 44.66.
He scored an unbeaten 114 in the second innings of his Test debut against Australia and had a Test best of 200 not out, made against New Zealand in 2002.
After retiring in 2005 Thorpe began coaching in Australia, working with New South Wales before returning to England.
-BBC
La Liga suffers big losses
Spain's professional football clubs were hit by losses of $1.5 billion during the 2020-21 as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged ticket sales and player transactions.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
It is the first time since 2012 that the Spanish league made a loss, although the organisation expects to fully recover in two seasons.
The Spanish clubs recorded total revenues of $6.4 billion during the 2020-21 season, 24.1% less than the previous one that was also impacted, to a lesser extent, by the pandemic.
Half of the drop in revenue was due to a massive decline in player transfers. Spanish clubs invested only $914 million on players in 2020-21 compared to the $2.6 billion euros splashed out the season before.
Barcelona's financial woes alone accounted for 56% of the league's pre-tax net losses, according to a source close to the situation and to documents seen by Reuters.
-Reuters
German wins Giro stage four
Lennard Kaemna of Bora-Hansgrohe rode to victory on the first mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia, pipping new race leader Juan Pedro Lopez in a sprint to the finish.
The fourth stage was a 172-kilometre ride from Avola to Etna-Nicolosi after a rest day and the two riders were out in front with a kilometre to go before the Spaniard made a mistake on the final turn to hand Kaemna the stage win.
Trek-Segafredo rider Lopez, however, became the first Spaniard in seven years to wear the 'Maglia Rosa' since Alberto Contador and he holds a 39-second lead over Kaemna of Germany.
The fifth stage is a flat 174-km route from Catania to Messina.
-Reuters
Djokovic opens Rome with a win
Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for a sixth Italian Open title and the defence of his world number one ranking with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Aslan Karatsev in the second round.
Top seed Djokovic, who received a bye into the second round, is still seeking his first title of the year.
If Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals in Rome, he will surrender top spot in the rankings to Russian Daniil Medvedev for a second time this year.
Meanwhile Briton Emma Raducanu was unable to overcome a back injury which forced her to retire from her first round match against Bianca Andreescu.
Raducanu, who had also struggled with a back injury during her previous tournament in Madrid, was trailing 6-2 2-1 when she called it quits.
The battle of the reigning and former U.S. Open champions on clay looked an intriguing prospect but Raducanu struggled from the outset and served poorly, handing Andreescu a number of break points.
-Reuters
Brady to enter booth eventually
Tom Brady has agreed to join FOX Sports as lead NFL analyst when he retires for good from the NFL.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Brady, whose retirement announcement in February was rescinded 18 days later, is back for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. When he decides to move on from the playing field, he has a job waiting.
CEO Lachlan Murdoch broke the news to investors Tuesday morning on the FOX Corporation earnings call.
Brady turns 45 on Aug. 3 and the seven-time Super Bowl champion has said he won't put a cap on how long he could potentially play in the NFL.
NFL analysts are being paid handsomely these days. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo signed a deal with CBS in 2020 that pays him nearly $27 million per year.
-Reuters
Black Caps bolster coaching ranks
New Zealand have added former England all-rounder Luke Wright and Zimbabwe test batsman Dion Ebrahim to their coaching ranks to help ward off burnout among staff as the Black Caps slog through a long tour.
Wright, who played 50 one-dayers and 51 T20 matches for England, will join New Zealand's staff for tours of Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands in July-August.
Ebrahim, head coach of Otago in New Zealand's provincial competition, will join as a fourth coach in the setup for the three-test tour of England starting at Lord's on June 2.
All New Zealand staff, led by head coach Gary Stead, will take breaks at different stages during the tour.
Regular bowling coach Shane Jurgensen will lead staff during the tour of Ireland, allowing Stead to take a break before rejoining the group for Scotland and the remaining series.
-Reuters