The Guardian

Partners on and off the ice talk about the tensions and joys of competing alongside the ones they love at the Winter Olympics Every Olympics has its love stories. Usually, they’re all about the quantities of free prophylactics being handed out in the athletes’ village (this year’s edition has an image of the Olympic mascots, the friendly stoats Milo and Tina, on the box). But you have to look a l…

Head coach must make changes for Ireland’s visit after his error-strewn side lacked the nous to fight back after the hosts’ fast start England arrived at Murrayfield announcing their intentions to be “bulletproof”. Truth be told this was Scotland shooting fish in a barrel. Punishing mistakes, of which there were a litany, Gregor Townsend’s team exposed the glaring limitations of Steve Borthwick’s…

When Mohamed Salah last faced Brighton at Anfield in December, there was uncertainty over whether he would be seen in a Liverpool shirt again. Two months on and with the Egyptian a starter once more, Salah and Arne Slot reaped the rewards of their appeasement as Liverpool eased into the fifth round with a comfortable victory over Brighton. Salah produced a sublime assist, his fourth since returni…

Vladyslav Heraskevych says ‘Cas has failed us’ President Zelenskyy hails skeleton racer’s courage The Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has been awarded the order of freedom by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the controversial decision to bar him from the Winter Olympics. Heraskevych flew to Munich after losing his appeal against his exclusion at the Milano Cortina Games for …

Police enter court amid fracas sparked by hard foul Coach Rick Pitino holds back players as tempers flare Six players were ejected from Saturday’s college basketball game between No. 17 St John’s and Providence after a fracas resulting from a hard foul by Friars forward Duncan Powell on Bryce Hopkins sent the Red Storm star crashing to the ground. St John’s coach Rick Pitino, who led Providence t…

Football’s interminable video assistant refereeing debate has its latest chapter after a bizarre evening and officiating performance at Villa Park. With the FA Cup not allowing the video protocol until the fifth round, here was an occasion to make the abolitionists think twice. Is elite football already too far gone to referee without a bank of screens in a faraway business park? Or were Chris Ka…

Asher-Smith runs third-quickest time of her career Keely Hodgkinson sets national indoor 800m record Given the doldrums that was British female sprinting prior to her emergence, it was perhaps little surprise that Dina Asher-Smith stood largely unchallenged on the national stage for the best part of her 20s. So, it was to some raised eyebrows that the country’s sprint queen was usurped by Amy Hun…

Their best players and managers may move on, but this thoroughly modern club keep punching above their weight When the news cycle spins so fast, it’s worth remembering where Brentford were in the summer. They had lost their popular manager of seven years, Thomas Frank. They had lost their two best forwards, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. They had lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken. And they had lo…

Scotland 31-20 England: Jones (2), Ritchie, White tries Arundell sees red as visitors lose unbeaten record Certain wins feel bigger than others and for Scotland this result will reverberate for ages. Reclaiming the Calcutta Cup is always sweet but convincingly ending England’s 12-Test unbeaten record was a glorious bonus. For Gregor Townsend and his side, under pressure after their opening-round …

Pep Guardiola spoke of the slog of the schedule and Manchester City performed as if dog-tired when knocking out Salford in a tie the manager pithily described as “boring”. City were abject and half-paced and in danger of being forced into extra time, at least, until Marc Guéhi’s 80th-minute close-range strike doubled the lead: the defender’s first goal for the club he joined last month. Continue …

US speed skating star’s four-gold pursuit continues 500m considered toughest of Stolz’s individual events Entire podium finishes below previous Olympic record The men’s 500m is speed skating distilled to its most unforgiving form: one and a quarter laps of the oval, no pacing, no recovery window, no margin for technical compromise. On Saturday afternoon in Milan’s western suburbs, Jordan Stolz ma…

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Millwall, QPR 1-3 Blackburn Derby into top six; Blades win late at Portsmouth Sheffield Wednesday threatened to record only their second victory of the season after taking the lead against Millwall before their promotion-chasing opponents hit back to win 2-1. Having not scored a goal since Boxing Day, there was a mixture of relief and jubilation among the home supporters w…

Mansfield gave blood and sweat to reach the FA Cup fifth round by shocking a Burnley side intent on boring everyone to tears. A stunning Louis Reed free-kick completed a hard-fought turnaround for the League One side against their labouring Premier League opponents. There is little doubt that Burnley are getting relegated, leaving the Cup as their only hope of salvaging a desperate season, but th…

England captain has 41 goals in all competitions Quansah on target as Leverkusen thrash St Pauli Harry Kane scored twice in the first half as Bayern Munich cruised to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen , restoring their six-point lead in the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 win over Mainz on Friday put them within three points of the league leaders but Bayern responded. Bayern were in control from sta…

Ireland 20-13 Italy Azzurri led at half-time for first time in Dublin After what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of darkness and rain, the sun came out in Dublin. Cold, yes, and a grey day by kick-off but bright enough to throw light on an Ireland side scrambling for their footing, and a bullish Italian outfit looking to break new ground. Never having won a Six Nations tie in Dublin might be the …