USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final

USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final
USA’s LeBron James, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant celebrate as Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic (R) looks on at the end of the men’s semifinal basketball match between USA and Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on Aug. 8, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 09 August 2024
Follow

USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final

USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final
  • Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, playing in his first Olympics, poured in 36 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:24 to play
  • Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, James and Kevin Durant all came through in the late scoring surge that carried the Americans to victory

PARIS: The United States, chasing a fifth straight men’s Olympic basketball crown, are gearing up for a fierce challenge from France in a hostile Bercy Arena after two scintillating semifinals set up a dream gold medal game at the Paris Olympics.

The US team led by Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will take on NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama’s France in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final on Saturday.

The United States had romped through the group stage and 122-87 quarter-final blowout of Brazil before Nikola Jokic’s Serbia took them down to the wire, the Americans trailing by 17 before an epic fourth-quarter comeback landed a 95-91 semifinal win.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, playing in his first Olympics, poured in 36 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:24 to play.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, James and Kevin Durant — who is seeking a fourth Olympic gold — all came through in the late scoring surge that carried the Americans to victory.

“The whole fourth quarter was unreal,” Curry said, but as of Friday it was in the rearview mirror, to be celebrated “when we have a medal around our neck — a gold one.”

US coach Steve Kerr has been impressed at the momentum France has built after an overtime escape against Japan in the group stage followed by a comprehensive group loss to World Cup champions Germany.

With a revamped starting line-up, the French ousted previously unbeaten Canada in the quarters before gaining revenge against Germany in the semis.

“It’s been very impressive to see their team evolve, change styles on the fly,” Kerr said. “They’re very physical. They’re playing extremely hard.

“That’s what jumps out on tape is just how hard they’re playing at both ends and so we have to be prepared for that physicality and that force and we have to not only match that but exceed that.”

Kerr said the introduction of Isaia Cordinier and Real Madrid’s Guerschon Yabusele into France’s starting line-up had given them “more physicality, more downhill attacking, more offensive firepower.”

“And they’re playing with a lot of emotion,” Kerr said.

Wembanyama said the cheers of ecstatic fans nearly brought him to tears after France held off Germany, who cut a 10-point deficit to two in the final minute before France pulled out the 73-69 victory.

The fledgling San Antonio Spurs star’s jersey was stained with blood from a cut on his neck after the game.

“In our national anthem, we talk about blood,” Wembanyama said. “We’re willing to spill blood on the court. So, it’s no big deal. If it allows us to win gold, I’m offering. Take all of it.”

Curry is expecting France to play “the game of their life.”

“It’s gonna be a battle,” he said. “That’s what it’s supposed to be if you’re trying to win a gold medal ... it’s just a matter of going out and being the killers that we are.”

Curry said the team of US stars, reckoned to be the most talent laden since Michael Jordan led the original Dream Team into the Barcelona Olympics, have plenty of experience playing in hostile arenas in the NBA.

And the US league’s playoff series format has given them plenty of experience in regrouping for another big game after an emotional win.

Kerr said his players will need to lock down defensively — something they left late against Serbia — if they want to emerge with the nation’s 17th men’s Olympic basketball crown.

“We’ve got to make (Saturday) our best defensive game,” Kerr said. “The game got away from us last night.

“A lot of guys turn into Superman in (international basketball) and we’ve got to be ready for that with a better defensive edge.”


Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final
Updated 58 min 33 sec ago
Follow

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final
  • Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final
  • Alcaraz won in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way

LONDON: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.

Sunday’s matchup at Center Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.

That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.

He also carries a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday and has beaten Sinner five times in a row.

Sinner owns three major trophies and will be playing in his fourth consecutive Slam final — but first at the All England Club.

He won the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January.

Sinner has been wearing tape and an arm sleeve to protect his right elbow since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he doesn’t think his elbow will be an issue on Sunday.

Play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, which is 11 a.m. ET.

Sinner was listed Saturday as the slight money-line favorite at -110 by BetMGM Sportsbook, with Alcaraz at -105.


Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final
Updated 13 July 2025
Follow

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final
  • The US president is attending the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday

BEDMINSTER, United States: Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.

The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.

His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.

Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.

The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.

Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.

But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.

The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.

Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.

“He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”

As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.

Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.

The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.

Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.

He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.

The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.

Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.

He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”

Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.

But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.

Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?“

Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”

“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.

Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.

In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come... but when the time is up they will have to go home.”


Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
Updated 13 July 2025
Follow

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
  • Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville

MIAMI: Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville.

Just days after he became the first player to score multiple goals in four straight MLS matches, Messi did it again as Miami continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings after their league hiatus for the Club World Cup.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark left-foot free-kick, which found the only gap in Nashville’s defensive wall to go past goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Miami dominated in the first half but, just four minutes after half-time, Hany Mukhtar’s header pulled Nashville level.

Messi grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute when he capitalized on a bad mistake from Willis, who misjudged a pass to tee up the Argentine for the strike.

The two goals — on the heels of his two in a 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday — took Messi’s total to 16 in 16 appearances this season, tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was unable to add to his tally of 16 on Saturday.

“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.

“He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader.

“It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”

Miami were playing their third match since returning to MLS action in the wake of a month-long Club World Cup campaign that ended when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.

With 38 points from 19 matches, they are in fifth place in the East, five points behind leaders Philadelphia with three games in hand.

Philadelphia went top with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls, Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani delivering the goals.

Cincinnati slipped to second in the East on 42 points after falling 4-2 to Columbus. Nashville and Columbus both have 41 points.

Miami’s jam-packed schedule continues Wednesday against Cincinnati, with the New York Red Bulls coming up next weekend.

Mascherano knows he will have to find time to give the 38-year-old Messi some rest.

“At some point we are going to have to find a space to give him some rest, we are going to talk about it day by day,” he said.

“He is feeling good and when we think it is time to give him some rest, we will do it.”


Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis
Updated 13 July 2025
Follow

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis
  • The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it
  • In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda

NEW YORK: Hamzah Sheeraz punctuated the first boxing card held on the grounds of the US Open tennis tournament by stopping Edgar Berlanga in the fifth round Saturday night.

The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it, dropping Berlanga twice in the fourth round and then pouncing quickly to start the fifth before referee David Fields stopped the fight.

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) has been touted as a potential opponent for 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and would not only deserve it but have a chance to win if if he looked as good as he did against Berlanga (23-2), who had boasted that he would have an easy night.

In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda by unanimous decision.

One judge favored Stevenson 119-109, while the other two had it 118-110 for the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.

Stevenson (24-0) won just before Berlanga and Sheeraz fought in the final bout of the night in Louis Armstrong Stadium, the No. 2 venue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

But it was a main event-level performance from Stevenson and the first wide victory of the night after the previous two bouts were close right to the finish.

Zepeda (33-1) landed a left hand shortly after the opening bell that drew a smile from the champion, and he was able to get inside a number of times to unload a series of shots at Stevenson. But he was often powerless to stop the flurries that were coming back at him from Stevenson’s hand speed that is up at the top of boxing.

The Ring Magazine held its second fight card in New York after staging one in Times Square in May. Tickets weren’t sold then and just a few hundred people were able to see it, creating an atmosphere where the scene was impressive but the sounds were almost non-existent, leaving fighters to say it felt like a sparring session.

This time, seats were sold and many were occupied well into the second deck of the 14,000-seat stadium, which had its retractable roof closed to create comfortable conditions on a humid day.

And the fans saw good action early in a brilliant performance from Stevenson, who has been criticized at times for a style that that seems too dependent on avoiding pain and not dishing it out.

But he seemed happy to trade Saturday and most times came out ahead when he did.

Zepeda did trap Stevenson in a corner to score with some shots in the third round, bringing his Mexican fans out of their seats, but many other times Stevenson’s quick head movement allowed him to dodge potential trouble. By the middle of the fight, Stevenson was firing off two, three, sometimes four unreturned shots

There was a title change in the previous fight, when Subriel Matias (23-2) edged Alberto Puello (24-1) by majority decision to take the WBC’s 140-pound belt.

Before that, Cuban David Morrell (12-1) got up from a fifth-round knockdown to rally late and edge Imam Khataev (10-1) by split decision in a light heavyweight bout.


Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s
Updated 13 July 2025
Follow

Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

LONDON: England and India accused each other of sharp practice after Zak Crawley’s conduct at Lord’s on Saturday drew an angry reaction from visiting captain Shubman Gill.

India ought to have been able to bowl two overs late in the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 — exactly level with England’s first-innings total.

Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.

Tempers flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.

Crawley and Gill jabbed fingers at each other as they exchanged choice words, with Ben Duckett, England’s other opener, also getting involved.

Tim Southee, England’s bowling consultant, suggested Gill was guilty of double standards after delaying the end of the hosts’ innings to receive treatment on the second day, while India all-rounder Washington Sundar also held up proceedings for what appeared to be a comfort break while batting.

“I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,” Southee told reporters after stumps on Saturday.

“It’s obviously part of the game. It’s always exciting to see both sides animated toward the end and it was an exciting way to finish the day. It was good to see energy from both sides.”

The former New Zealand paceman, asked about Crawley’s fitness, gave a deadpan reply by saying: “He’ll be assessed overnight. Hopefully he’ll be alright to carry on tomorrow .”

India opener KL Rahul, who scored his 10th Test century and second at Lord’s on Saturday, was far from shocked by Crawley’s behavior.

“Two overs is a no-brainer with six minutes to go,” he said. “But it was a bit of theatrics at the end.

“I know exactly what was going on; everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes.”

Meanwhile, former England captain turned BBC pundit Michael Vaughan had no qualms about the flare-up.

“It’s as good a piece of time-wasting as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “India can’t complain because yesterday Gill was down with the hamstring strain... But what great drama and what a great day.”