Mauritania recalled former Ligue 1 midfielder El Hadji Ba and gave a first call-up to teenager Oumar Ngom as coach Amir Abdou unveiled his 27-man squad for next month’s African Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast. The 30-year-old Ba, formerly with Racing Lens and Sunderland, last played for the country 18 months ago … Read more
Bron James once again showed that age is just a number as he scored a season-high 40 points on Saturday to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 129-120 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 38-year-old provided an offensive masterclass as he became the first player in their 21st NBA season to record a … Read more
LOS ANGELES: Luka Doncic scored 50 points, hitting the 10,000-point plateau as he propelled the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 win over Phoenix on Monday (Dec 25) as Boston downed the Lakers in a Christmas clash of storied NBA rivals. Doncic hit eight three-pointers, his long trey with 4:52 left in the first quarter taking … Read more
SHANGHAI: The world of Chinese chess is in uproar over rumours of cheating and a bad behaviour scandal that saw the national champion stripped of his title on Monday (Dec 25) after a victory party ended with him defecating in a hotel bathtub. Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, has been hugely popular for hundreds of years … Read more
PRETORIA :South Africa won the toss and put visitors India into bat at the start of the first test on Tuesday after a wait of 30 minutes because of a wet outfield at Centurion near Pretoria. “There is a bit of moisture in and around the wicket and we’d like to make good use of … Read more
CAIRO: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah said on Monday (Dec 25) that families grieving for their loved ones in Gaza should not be forgotten, as he gave an emotional Christmas message marking only his second comment on the war in the enclave. Salah posted a black-and-white picture of a Christmas tree on his social media pages, … Read more
The Christmas-week Premier League matches may not be popular with some managers, but Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe cannot wait to play on Boxing Day. A 1-0 loss at 18th-placed Luton Town on Saturday left Howe yearning for Tuesday’s home game against Nottingham Forest. “We are desperate for another fixture very quickly to try and put … Read more
MELBOURNE : Australia named an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day test against Pakistan, but the visiting side replaced veteran stumper Sarfaraz Ahmed with Mohammad Rizwan for the second match of the three-test series. Scott Boland missed out in his home ground as Australia retained the pace trio of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and … Read more
