Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 for 14th European Cup title

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Real Madrid players and officials celebrate after beating Liverpool to win the Champions League title in Paris on Saturday. (REUTERS/Lee Smith)
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Updated 29 May 2022
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Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 for 14th European Cup title

  • Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior applied a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde’s drive across the face of goal
  • Game started 37 minutes late because of disturbing crowd issues outside the Stade de France

PARIS: Real Madrid became European champion for a record-extending 14th time after beating Liverpool 1-0 in a Champions League final that started 37 minutes late because of disturbing crowd issues outside the Stade de France on Saturday.
Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior applied a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde’s drive across the face of goal, securing a win that gave Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti a record fourth European Cup title.
While Madrid completed a Champions League-La Liga double, Liverpool finished a season that promised so much — a week ago, it was in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies — with just the two domestic cups in England.




Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior (L) scores the opening goal past Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the Champions League final match on May 28, 2022. (AFP)

The English team couldn’t find a way past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who tipped Sadio Mane’s first-half shot onto the post and produced an even better save to turn away Mohamed Salah’s effort in the 81st.
“Today nobody was going to get in my way,” Courtois said. “I was going to win a Champions League no matter what.”
Vinicius sank to his knees and covered his face at fulltime. Many of his teammates sprinted the length of the field to celebrate in front of Madrid’s fans at one end of the stadium.




Real Madrid's Marcelo celebrates with teammates after winning the Champions League title on Saturday in Paris. (REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)

Marcelo, Madrid’s serial winner of trophies who didn’t even play a minute of the final, was given the honor of lifting the trophy to a backdrop of fireworks and tickertape.
Madrid underlined its status as the king of European soccer, given the Spanish giant owns double the number of European Cups as the No. 2 on the list, AC Milan.
And this time, there was no need for the kind of stirring comeback that the Spanish giant had to produce in getting past Paris Saint-Germain, defending champion Chelsea and Manchester City in the knockout stage.
It might go down as the most grueling run to the title in the long history of the competition.




Real Madrid's Lucas Vazquez holds a child after their Champions League final soccer match with Liverpool on May 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) 

For many, especially Liverpool fans, pre-match crowd issues overshadowed this final, though, and are sure to be the focus of an investigation by UEFA and authorities in the coming days.
Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at supporters waiting in long lines to get into European soccer’s showpiece game, whose kickoff was delayed.
UEFA blamed the chaos on people trying to get into the stadium without legitimate tickets, without providing details on where they could be from.
“In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles,” UEFA said in a statement.
Some fans climbed fences surround the stadium to get in. Others barged their way past security and sprinted onto the concourse before getting wrestled to the ground.




Fans climb the fence of the Stade de France before the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid on May 28, 2022. (AFP)

Riot police with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent pockets of fans forcing their way into the stadium.
“I’ve got really bad asthma and I’ve been tear gassed twice,” Liverpool fan Angela Murphy told The Associated Press through a fence. “I’m really struggling.”
About 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 9 p.m. local time, an announcement was made that there would be a delay. It was greeted by jeers inside the stadium.
The scenes were reminiscent of the chaos outside Wembley Stadium before the European Championship final last year between England and Italy.


Dubai Basketball extend winning streak to four games after victory over Croatia’s Cibona

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Dubai Basketball extend winning streak to four games after victory over Croatia’s Cibona

  • Dominant 90-61 win sees Dubai team edge closer to ABA League playoffs

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball began their busy month by registering their fourth straight victory in the ABA League at Coca-Cola Arena following a dominant 90-61 win against Croatia’s Cibona — a result that sees them edge closer to securing a play-off berth.

Following a three-week international break, Dubai Basketball were back in action on Sunday night, the first of five March games including three back-to-back, and they put on an impressive show to overcome Cibona to take their record to 16:5 for the season.

Twenty-eight seconds had passed before Awudu Abass opened the scoring with an emphatic dunk and later added to his tally with the game’s first three-pointer — a jump-shot just outside the arc. That saw the hosts take a 7-2 lead and while Cibona reduced the deficit to a single point, Dubai Basketball upped the tempo with captain Klemen Prepelic’s and Davis Bertans’ jump-shots helping the team to close out the opening quarter at 29-19.

With the home crowd making themselves heard following an entertaining first quarter, Dubai Basketball continued to find the basket, including Isaiah Taylor — with a three-pointer — Danilo Andusic and Nemanja Dangubic, as the team went into half-time with a 46-33 advantage.

Cibona would reduce the deficit to nine points early on in the third quarter, but the home team regained their composure, with Nate Mason among the players to find the basket while Prepelic’s clutch buckets sent the crowd into a frenzy.

With a 19-point advantage, the hosts added to their tally with French center Jerry Boutsiele and Taylor among the point-scorers to close out the quarter and seal their 16th win of the season.

By the time the final buzzer went, Prepelic finished as the game’s top-scorer with 14 points while Ahmet Duverioglu led with seven assists — a tally also matched by Mason when it came to assists.

For Dubai Basketball, head coach Jurica Golemac was pleased with how his players performed but said that there was still room for improvement.

“It was a long break and it was not a perfect game,” he said. “We made some mistakes but we had good intensity during the game. Everybody shared the minutes in the end and we deserved to win. The fans were also great. They always give us the energy, which was shown throughout the game.”

He added: “We do need to improve on a lot of things. Every day is a new day and it’s important to improve and not stop working.”

As with every Dubai Basketball home game, the crowd was treated to a spectacular display of entertainment. The Dunking Devils delivered an awe-inspiring showcase of aerial acrobatics and the Hip Hop Cardio Kids took to the court, showing off their dance moves and getting the entire crowd on their feet.

Dubai Basketball will next be in action again at Coca-Cola on Saturday, March 8 when they take on SC Derby before they return again to the arena on Monday, March 17 for the highly anticipated game against ABA League leaders, Partizan Mozzart.


Cavs rally to beat Blazers in OT for 10th straight NBA victory

Updated 03 March 2025
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Cavs rally to beat Blazers in OT for 10th straight NBA victory

  • In Boston, the Celtics let a big lead get away before holding off the Nuggets 110-103
  • The Los Angeles Lakers led all the way in a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers

LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129 in an NBA overtime thriller and boost their league-best record with a 10th straight victory Sunday, as Boston defeated Denver in a clash of the past two champions.

De’Andre Hunter, getting a starting nod as Cavs star Donovan Mitchell rested, scored 18 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Cleveland poured it on late to grab their 50th win of the season against 10 defeats.

“Made open shots, tried to get to the rim and get fouled,” Hunter said of his late-game heroics, which saw him give Cleveland the lead for good with a three-pointer that put them up 131-129 with 30.8 seconds remaining in overtime.

Hunter, acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, then came up with a steal and grabbed a rebound when Portland’s Deni Avdija missed a three-pointer. Finally Hunter drilled a pair of free-throws to seal the win.

“He carried us in every way,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “No way we get this win without him.”

Avdija led Portland with 30 points and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for the Blazers, who led most of the first half in pursuit of a fifth straight win.

After Cleveland edged ahead 42-39 on Darius Garland’s jump shot, Portland closed the first half on a 15-0 scoring run that sent them into the locker room leading 54-42.

The Cavs pulled level at 101-101 with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter, and they traded the lead three more times before Simons made a pair of free-throws that tied it at 119-119 to send it to overtime.

In Boston, the Celtics let a big lead get away before holding off the Nuggets 110-103.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and handed out eight assists to lead the reigning champion Celtics, who led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter only for Denver to pull within three points in the waning minutes.

Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to key the comeback, his driving layup off a rebound of a Brown miss pulling the Nuggets within 102-99 with 1:15 remaining.

NBA Most valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists for the 2023 champion Nuggets, but the Celtics came up with the shots when they needed them to snap a two-game skid.

The Los Angeles Lakers led all the way in a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, their sixth straight victory pushing them a hair ahead of the Nuggets for second place in the Western Conference.

Luka Doncic scored 29 points and Lakers superstar LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer and the first to reach 40,000 regular-season points, scored 17 and is one point shy of becoming the first to score 50,000 points in the regular-season and playoffs combined.

Jalen Williams scored a career-high 41 points to fuel Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City in a 146-132 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Rookie Stephon Castle scored 32 points to lead the Spurs, who led at halftime but couldn’t keep pace after the break.

Williams said Oklahoma City’s defensive resolve was fortified by a third-quarter altercation between Thunder reserve Kenrich Williams and San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie that saw both players ejected along with the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort.

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 31 points — including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:27 left in overtime — to help the Knicks erase a 19-point deficit and beat the Heat 116-112 in Miami.


Pakistan Football Federation says FIFA has lifted suspension following constitutional tweaks

Updated 03 March 2025
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Pakistan Football Federation says FIFA has lifted suspension following constitutional tweaks

  • FIFA suspended Pakistan on Feb. 6 for third time in eight years after it rejected electoral reforms
  • Pakistan will now be able to play Syria on Mar. 25 in first qualifier for the upcoming 2027 Asian Cup

ISLAMABAD: The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) recently lifted the international suspension it had imposed on Pakistan after the country unanimously approved its proposed constitutional amendments, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said recently. 

FIFA hit Pakistan on Feb. 6 with a third international suspension in less than eight years after the federation rejected its electoral reforms. Following the suspension, the PFF unanimously approved FIFA’s proposed constitutional amendments in an extraordinary meeting in Lahore last Thursday. 

“The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) welcomes FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension imposed on February 6, 2025,” the PFF said in a statement on Sunday. “The decision follows the unanimous approval of FIFA-proposed amendments by the newly elected PFF Congress in the PFF constitution during an Extraordinary Congress meeting held in Lahore on February 27, 2025.”

PFF Normalization Committee Chairman Saud Hashimi congratulated the nation on the development. 

“This is a historic day for Pakistani football, and we are committed to fulfilling FIFA and AFC’s mandate to ensure a stable and progressive future for the sport in the country,” Hashimi said. 

The move means Pakistan will now be able to play Syria on Mar. 25 in its first qualifier for the upcoming 2027 Asian Cup.

The PFF has been mired in crisis and controversy since 2015 and this was the third time since 2017 that Pakistan has been suspended.

In June 2022, FIFA lifted the PFF’s suspension, which had been imposed due to undue third-party interference a year earlier. A group of officials led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, which was elected by the Supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognized by FIFA, took over the headquarters in March 20121. 

They had seized control from FIFA’s normalization committee headed by Haroon Malik. The committee had not conducted elections for the body in the 18 months since it took charge.

FIFA suspended the PFF due to the “hostile takeover” but lifted the ban after confirmation the committee had regained full control of the PFF’s premises and was in a position to manage its finances.

Pakistan was also suspended by FIFA for third party interference in 2017.
 


Pakistan’s old English manners spell youth Scrabble success

Updated 03 March 2025
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Pakistan’s old English manners spell youth Scrabble success

  • Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan
  • Karachi schools organize tutorials with Scrabble coaches, grant scholarships to top players

KARACHI : “Dram,” meaning a measure of whisky. “Turm,” describing a cavalry unit. “Taupie,” a foolish youngster.

Not words in a typical teen’s vocabulary, but all come easily to Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion.

Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan, a legacy of the English language imposed by Britain’s empire but which the country has adapted into its own dialect since independence.

In the eccentric field of competitive Scrabble, Pakistan’s youngsters reign supreme — the current youth world champions and past victors more times than any other nation since the tournament debuted in 2006.

“It requires a lot of hard work and determination,” said 13-year-old Asher after vanquishing a grey-bearded opponent.

“You have to trust the process for a very long time, and then gradually it will show the results.”

In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)

Karachi, a megacity shrugging off its old definition as a den of violent crime, is Pakistan’s incubator for talent in Scrabble — where players spell words linked like a crossword with random lettered tiles.

Schools in the southern port metropolis organize tutorials with professional Scrabble coaches and grant scholarships to top players, while parents push their kids to become virtuosos.

“They inculcate you in this game,” says Asher, one of around 100 players thronging a hotel function room for a Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) event as most of the city dozed through a Sunday morning.

In this photograph taken on February 16, 2025, Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion, competes against professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri during an event organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at the Beach Luxury hotel in Karachi. (AFP)

Daunters (meaning intimidating people), imarets (inns for pilgrims) and trienes (chemical compounds containing three double bonds) are spelled out by ranks of seated opponents.

Some are so young their feet don’t touch the ground, as they use chess clocks to time their turns.

“They’re so interested because the parents are interested,” said 16-year-old Affan Salman, who became the world youth Scrabble champion in Sri Lanka last year.

“They want their children to do productive things — Scrabble is a productive game.”

English was foisted on the Indian subcontinent by Britain’s colonialism and an 1835 order from London started to systematize it as the main language of education.

The plan’s architect, Thomas Macaulay, said the aim was to produce “a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.”

In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)

It was instrumental in creating a colonial civil service to rule for Britain according to Kaleem Raza Khan, who teaches English at Karachi’s Salim Habib University.

“They started teaching English because they wanted to create a class of people, Indian people, who would be in the middle of the people and the rulers,” said Khan, whose wife and daughter are Scrabble devotees.

British rule ended in the bloody partition of 1947 creating India and Pakistan.

Today there are upwards of 70 languages spoken in Pakistan, but English remains an official state language alongside the lingua franca Urdu, and they mingle in daily usage.

Schools often still teach English with verbose colonial-era textbooks.

“The adaptation of English as the main language is definitely a relation to the colonial era,” PSA youth program director Tariq Pervez. “That is our main link.”

In this photograph taken on February 16, 2025, Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) youth programme director Tariq Pervez (C) teaches children competing in a Scrabble championship organised by PSA at the Beach Luxury hotel in Karachi. (AFP)

The English of Pakistani officialdom remains steeped in anachronistic words.

The prime minister describes militant attacks as “dastardly,” state media dubs protesters “miscreants” and the military denounces its “nefarious” adversaries.

Becoming fluent in the loquacious lingo of Pakistani English remains aspirational because of its association to the upper echelons.

In Pakistan more than a third of children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school — a total of nearly 26 million, according to the 2023 census.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an “education emergency” last year to address the stark figures.

“People are interested in Scrabble because they can get opportunities for scholarships in universities or for jobs because it provides the vocab,” said Asher’s sister Manaal.

In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)

But the 14-year-old reigning female number one in Pakistan warned: “You’ve got to be resilient otherwise Scrabble isn’t right for you.”

In the Karachi hotel, Scrabble — invented in the 1930s during America’s Great Depression by an unemployed architect — is an informal training program for success in later life.

“The main language of learning is English,” said Pervez.

“This game has a great pull,” he added. “The demand is so big. So many kids want to play, we don’t have enough resources to accommodate all of them.”
At the youngest level the vocabulary of the players is more rudimentary: toy, tiger, jar, oink.

But professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri earns 250,000 rupees ($880) a month — nearly seven times the minimum wage — coaching some 6,000 students across Karachi’s school system to up their game.

In Pakistani English parlance “they try to express things in a more beautiful way — in a long way to express their feelings,” said 36-year-old Khatri.

“We try to utilize those words also in Scrabble.”

But when Asher wins he is overwhelmed with joy, and those long words don’t come so easily.

“I cannot describe the feeling,” he says.


Joe Highsmith goes from making the cut to a PGA Tour winner at the Cognizant Classic

Updated 03 March 2025
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Joe Highsmith goes from making the cut to a PGA Tour winner at the Cognizant Classic

  • Highsmith rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday with three straight birdies around the turn and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th that all but clinched it
  • Highsmith, a 24-year-old lefty with a bucket hat and a broad smile, became the first player to make the cut on the number and win since Brandt Snedeker at Torrey Pines in 2016

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida: Two days after Joe Highsmith made a nervy par putt to make the cut, he won the Cognizant Classic with the lowest weekend ever at PGA National and is going to the Masters.

Highsmith rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday with three straight birdies around the turn and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th that all but clinched it, giving him another 6-under 64 to win his first PGA Tour title by two shots.

“Winning was the last thing on my mind,” Highsmith said. “It’s incredible to come out on top. I played probably the best round of my life.”

Highsmith had a little help from Jake Knapp, who opened the tournament with a 59 and held it together until one shot into the water and two more to get out.

Knapp, trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history, had a one-shot lead when his wedge to the 11th came up short and into the water, with only half of the golf ball submerged. He tried to blast out and it trickled down the slope and back to the water. He tried again, this time the ball holding up in the rough.

“Didn’t hit any of them really hard enough, unfortunately,” Knapp said.

He wound up with a triple bogey and never caught up. Knapp didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, closed with a 72 and tied for sixth along with Michael Kim (71), who played with him in the final group.

Jacob Bridgeman closed with a 64 and J.J. Spaun had a 66 to share second place.

“I was trying to make as many birdies as I could,” Bridgeman said. “I knew I had to do something kind of extraordinary today to catch the leaders, and I caught them, but they’re only on the ninth hole.”

His runner-up finish was enough to get him into the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week.

Highsmith, a 24-year-old lefty with a bucket hat and a broad smile, became the first player to make the cut on the number and win since Brandt Snedeker at Torrey Pines in 2016.

With so many players in the mix going into the final round, it was set up to be a wild finish, and five players had at least a share of the lead at one point.

Highsmith eliminated the drama in the final hour with a flawless round and an unforgettable weekend he played in 14-under 128. His big run started with a wedge to 3 feet on No. 9. He two-putted for birdie on the par-5 10th and rolled in an 18-foot birdie on No. 11.

He added a 15-foot birdie putt at the 13th to take control, and then sealed it with his birdie putt down the slope on the 17th.

Highsmith was all smiles coming off the 18th green with his caddie Joe LaCava IV, the son of the caddie who was on the bag for Masters champions Fred Couples in 1992 and Tiger Woods in 2019, and who now works for Patrick Cantlay.

Highsmith is the second first-time winner in as many weeks, following Brian Campbell winning the Mexico Open. He finished at 19-under 265 and picked up plenty of perks. Along with earning a place in the Masters and PGA Championship, Highsmith is in the remaining five signature events, starting next week at Bay Hill.

Jordan Spieth had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn to get on the fringe of contention, only to play the final six holes in 1 over for a 68 to tie for ninth, his second top 10 in four starts since returning from wrist surgery last August.

Florida State junior Luke Clanton, who secured a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University program by making the cut, shot 69 and tied for 18th.

Highsmith shot the lowest 72-hole score since the tournament moved to PGA National, which has held two PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup, in 2007. The course was overseeded, making the rough less daunting and the fairways softer.

“I get that the overseed was there and the wind was down, but it’s still a stressful golf course, and this was some of the best golf I’ve seen played relative to what I would have thought would have happened on a golf course in quite a while,” Spieth said. “It’s crazy good golf out there.”