Latest - A huge upset in the professional squash tour with New Zealand world No 1 Paul Coll beaten in his opening match at the Canary Wharf Classic in London.
Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2021 www.photosport.nz
Defending tournament champion Coll was given a bye in the first round and then faced Frenchman Victor Crouin ranked 21, who had just recently won his second US College Individual title while finishing his studies at Harvard.
Courin started strong and didn't let up in the match to score a 11-7, 11-7 victory in the best of three contest in 36 minutes.
For his part Coll was a little slow to get underway in a format which doesn't always suit his game. But in reality he couldn't find a way into his opponents game as the Frenchman reeled off winners and played a superb match.
Coll will now prepare for the defence of his British Open title later this month.
City held at Selhurst
Manchester City missed out on a chance to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League as they were held 0-0 by a resilient Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
City dominated proceedings, twice hitting the woodwork while defender Aymeric Laporte failed to find the net with the goal at his mercy in the first half.
The result means Liverpool can cut City's lead to one point by beating Arsenal on Thursday.
In front of a boisterous crowd, Palace frustrated their opponents although they created little themselves going forward.
A point sees them stay 11th as they boosted their own ambitions for a top-half finish.
-BBC
Hamilton to add his mother's name
Seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton says he plans to add his mother's maiden name Larbalestier to his.
Lewis Hamilton and mum Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Speaking at Expo 2020 in Dubai ahead of this week's season-opening race in Bahrain, the 37-year-old Briton said he was working on the change and hoped to make it soon.
"I'm really proud of my family's name 'Hamilton'," he explained.
"Actually, none of you might know that my mum's name is Larbalestier, and I'm just about to put that in my name because I don't really fully understand the whole idea when people get married then the woman loses her name.
"And my mum, I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name."
Hamilton's mother Carmen and father Anthony separated when he was two.
Carmen accompanied the Mercedes driver to Windsor Castle in December when he received his knighthood.
The driver will be chasing a record eighth championship this year after losing out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi on the last lap of a controversial last race of 2021.
-Reuters
Breakers pipped by Perth
The Breakers have been beaten 104-102 in overtime by the Perth Wildcats in their Australian NBL game in Hobart.
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The Wildcats Vic Law scored a game-high 39 points and hit the basketball that forced extra time, while Bryce Cotton made a three-pointer and was fouled with 1.4 seconds left.
Hugo Besson (23 points), Yanni Wetzell (17 points, 19 rebounds) and Ousmane Dieng (eight points) led the Breakers.
Breakers coach Dan Shamir was disappointed but felt his side was simply unlucky Cotton ended with the last shot.
"We played some good basketball left everything on the floor. They made one more big play at the end and they get the W but overall, how can you complain when you do everything you can," Shamir said.
"The overtime was high scoring, it ended 16-14 In five minutes. So the tempo was good and both these teams were close the whole way. And games like that obviously are decided on very small things and very big plays done by players and tonight Bryce Cotton did again."
The 5 and 14 Breakers are second to bottom on the table and play Perth again on Sunday.
Three more Warriors sidelined
Shaun Johnson is the latest Warriors player facing an extended stint on the sidelines.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Johnson suffered a chest injury in their season-opening loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons on Saturday.
Scans and further assessment have revealed the 31-year-old halfback has a minor pectoral strain which is expected to keep him out of action for up to four weeks.
It was his first match back with the club in more than three and a half years.
He joins experienced winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and rookie centre Viliami Vailea on the club's injury list.
Watene-Zelezniak broke his left thumb in the opening minutes of Saturday's encounter but still played the full 80 minutes, he likely to be out of contention for six to eight weeks.
Vailea suffered a MCL (medial collateral ligament) injury in the game which is expected to keep him out of action for three to four weeks.
Aces on top
The Auckland Aces remain unbeaten at the top of the Plunket Shield standings after beating Otago by 158 runs in Alexandra.
Louis Delport Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Otago were bowled out for 156 in the last session with Auckland spinners Louis Delport and Will Somerville taking seven wickets between them.
Northern Districts are second in the standings after beating Central by 141 runs in Napier.
Northern's Brett Randell extended his personal lead as the season's top first-class wicket-taker in the process, taking his second five-wicket bag and career-best match figures of 8/108.
Living with ankylosing spondylitis (a form of inflammatory arthritis), the paceman is enjoying a fine all-round season with 29 first-class wickets from five matches, as well as two half centuries in the campaign to date.
Auckland has 72 points, Northern 60, Canterbury 59, Central 44, Otago 40 and Wellington 32.
India all over Sri Lanka
India extended their winning streak at home to 15 test series as they beat Sri Lanka by 238 runs in the second test to wrap up the day-night match in Bengaluru on day three and win the two-test series 2-0.
Rishabh Pant Photo: Photosport Ltd 2019 www.photosport.nz
With the tourists chasing a daunting target of 447 for victory after India declared on 303-9, their skipper Dimuth Karunaratne battled hard to bring up his 14th test ton (107) but wickets fell regularly and they were bowled out for 208.
India won the first test in Mohali by an innings and 222 runs inside three days and Rohit Sharma's side repeated the feat in Bengaluru when Sri Lanka were bowled out in the second session.
"It's been a good run and I've enjoyed it personally and as a team. We wanted to achieve a few things as a team and we've done that," Rohit said.
"Pink ball tests are challenging. We never knew what it was like to play with the pink ball in India, but we are learning to make those adjustments. The crowd just makes it more special."
India's Shreyas Iyer was named man of the match for his two half-centuries while wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was the player of the series.
-Reuters
Australia on top
Australia declared their first innings on 556 for nine and then skittled out Pakistan for 148 to seize control of the second test in Karachi.
After more than two days of leather-hunt under a harsh sun at the National Stadium, Pakistan's abject batting capitulation handed Australia a mammoth first innings lead of 408.
The hosts were spared the ignominy of a follow-on but Australia's overall lead bulged to 489 as the touring side finished day three on 81-1.
Their Islamabad-born opener Usman Khawaja was batting on 35 with Marnus Labuschagne on 37.
Earlier, Australia milked 51 runs in nine overs before declaring their innings immediately after crossing the 550-mark.
Skipper Pat Cummins smashed three sixes in his unbeaten 34 off 36 balls against a jaded Pakistan attack on a slow track.
The first Test was drawn.
-Reuters
Australia promoted in BJK Cup
Australia will replace the suspended Russian team for the Billie Jean King Cup tennis Finals.
Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles following its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus, a key staging area for the invasion, which Russia says is a "special operation", has also been banned from the international team competitions.
The Australian team were the highest ranked side among the losing semi-finalists in 2021 and will take Russia's automatic spot in this year's Finals of the tournament formerly known as the Fed Cup.
The host cities for the Davis Cup competition also have not yet been named.
-Reuters
Teams chasing Watson
Cleared of criminal wrongdoing, Deshaun Watson received the green light to meet with two quarterback-needy NFL teams interested in acquiring him from the Houston Texans.
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According to multiple reports, Watson is scheduled to meet with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers in the next 48 hours.
Houston's trade demands include multiple first-round picks or veterans of equal value, but the Texans also must overcome the constraints of Watson's full no-trade clause.
Watson played collegiately at Clemson and is reportedly the top target of Panthers owner Dave Tepper. The Saints are also in the mix, but fitting Watson's contract under the salary cap could be a challenge for New Orleans.
A fresh start is coveted by Watson, who did not play last season after demanding a trade. He was inactive every week, with the potential for criminal charges hanging over his head as more than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct. He could face discipline from the NFL even without a conviction with precedent in noteworthy cases including the six-game ban Ben Roethlisberger received in 2010.
Watson, 26, remains the subject of civil lawsuits despite the grand jury's decision in Texas, declining to indict him on nine criminal complaints.
-Reuters
