The Guardian

Antonelli seals third straight pole in tight contest Mercedes star narrowly pips Verstappen; Leclerc in third Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Miami Grand Prix with a strong lap, but only by narrowly beating a resurgent Max Verstappen and Red Bull into second place. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were in third and sixth for Ferrari, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in fourth and s…

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports Continue reading...

Expansion clubs are taking different routes with funding, leadership, talent pathways and fan engagement as important as marquee player signings The path to top-level Australian rugby league can take myriad forms. Clubs may win promotion from a second division (Cronulla and Penrith in 1967), command franchises with huge heartland support (Brisbane and Newcastle in 1988), get shoe-horned into an i…

Bournemouth face Crystal Palace this weekend before their successful head coaches move on with top level still unclear On Sunday afternoon, Bournemouth face Crystal Palace: Andoni Iraola, in his fourth-last league game in charge of the home side, against Oliver Glasner in his fifth-last league game in charge of the away side – although the latter also has the Europa Conference League to deal with…

Arsenal supporters had almost forgotten what it was like to win without their nerves being shredded. They were reacquainted with the feeling on an occasion when everything felt right from the start and got better and better. It was all over by half-time, Arsenal three goals to the good and the Emirates Stadium purring over a virtuoso Bukayo Saka performance. The England winger had not been himsel…

Champion nicknamed the Monster holds off late surge Both boxers had unbeaten records entering Saturday Battle billed as biggest fight in Japanese boxing history Naoya Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super-bantamweight championship with a close but uncontroversial 12-round unanimous decision over Junto Nakatani in their eagerly anticipated showdown at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night. B…

2005 winner rallies from 15-13 down to win 17-15 Murphy will play Mark Allen or Wu Yize in final Shaun Murphy twice overturned a two-frame deficit in the final session to beat John Higgins 17-15 and seal his place in his fifth World Snooker Championship final. Murphy was forced to dredge up his best form to see off the 50-year-old Scot in a titanic tussle that looked nailed-on for a decider until…

Ukrainian wins 6-3, 7-5 at the Caja Mágica Kostyuk on an 11-match winning streak Marta Kostyuk took an enormous step towards fulfilling her potential as the Ukrainian closed out an incredible week by winning the biggest title of her career at the Madrid Open, defeating Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, 6-3, 7-5. Although Kostyuk’s run through a WTA 1000 draw was unexpected, this did not come out of nowh…

Semi-final: Leinster 29-25 Toulon Leinster will face Bordeaux or Bath in Bilbao final They made a bit of a meal of it, but Leinster will march on Bilbao in a few weeks for their ninth Champions Cup final. Given that was where they last won this thing , in 2018, for the fourth time, they might consider the omen positive, but this semi-final, their 17th, was not a classic. Which is not to say it wa…

Compliments mean little to West Ham at this stage of the season. They hit the woodwork three times, had a goal ruled out for a tight offside and contributed to an entertaining game against strong opposition but none of that mattered when full time arrived and Nuno Espírito Santo faced up to his side missing a huge opportunity to take a big step towards winning their fight against relegation. It r…

Jule Brand’s late winner settled an absorbing semi-final to end Arsenal’s defence of their Women’s Champions League title and sent OL Lyonnes through to a record-extending 12th European final. With the second leg level at 3-3 on aggregate after Alessia Russo’s goal for Arsenal and seemingly heading for extra time, Brand collected Melchie Dumornay’s chipped through ball and tucked a neat finish in…

The uniqueness of Royal Ascot was a factor in the track chief executive’s jump from the Premier League to the sport of kings “I was used to fans,” Felicity Barnard, the chief executive of Ascot, says, recalling earlier roles in charge of commercial operations at Arsenal and West Ham. “At Arsenal, I was used to selling 60,000 shirts at the beginning of every season and that doesn’t happen here, so…

Oh well. All the best south London parties last three minutes. Everyone knows that. Bermondsey had been a spring-like place at kick-off, soft May sunlight dappling the magnificent municipal incinerator tower at the Cold Blow Lane end. The Den was sold out, as it always is these days. Continue reading...

Ipswich Town are back in the Premier League. And in what style. They are used to promotion parties in this part of Suffolk and, under Kieran McKenna, they do not fall flat. Two early goals dismissed any fears of shredded nerves, and an afternoon of celebration could commence. No police presence around the Portman Road pitch perimeter was ever going to be sufficient to stop this pitch invasion. Ha…

The veteran star’s days as the No 1 option once appeared behind him. Against the favored Rockets, he put Father Time on the ropes and his team on his back The date is 12 March, and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a run that’s garnering a lot of well-deserved attention, in a month that sees them lose just two contests and win 15. The spirit of the locker room is at an all-time high, and…