The Guardian

A stunning curtain-raiser was a fitting celebration of the host country and the Games – with wider messages never far from the surface This was an opening ceremony for the ages: effortlessly chic, bewitching and divine. Milan simultaneously delivered a three-hour love letter to Italy, and a plea for hope and harmony in a fractious world. But not everyone in the 60,000 crowd at San Siro was listen…

Chelsea head coach has been a target for ridicule Rosenior hails positive change in culture at Chelsea Liam Rosenior says life is too short to worry about people laughing at him. The 41-year-old has quickly become a figure of fun since his appointment as Chelsea’s head coach and was ridiculed after miscontrolling a dropping ball during his side’s defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday. It was the latest ex…

Gus Kenworthy says ‘enough is enough’ over ICE in US ICE agents are in Milan with US vice-president JD Vance Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics. In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski h…

The World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating whether ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further In the quest for Olympic gold, professional athletes endure hardships that might seem unfathomable to most of us mere mortals. But do those lengths extend to ski jumpers injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further? That is the questio…

Intensive negotiations going on behind scenes Game could be worth up to £367m in media rights The Pakistan v India T20 World Cup fixture remains in doubt on the eve of the tournament with International Cricket Council sources telling the Guardian they expect the dispute to go down to the wire before their scheduled meeting in Colombo next weekend. Intensive negotiations are continuing behind the …

The job is not done yet, far from it. But on a rainswept evening in West Yorkshire, the collective response from everyone associated with Leeds United for each of their goals left you in no doubt that this had the whiff of a season-defining night. With Leeds and Nottingham Forest sitting an advantageous but not decisive six points above the relegation zone before kick-off, and 18th-placed West Ha…

Briton beats Oleksandra Oliynykova in three tough sets Chance to revive memories of Flushing Meadows success Emma Raducanu has reached her first final since the 2021 US Open. The British No1 beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a tough semi-final to take her place in Saturday’s Transylvania Open final in Cluj. She now has a shot at winning her first tournament since her incredible success …

Lightning-fast attacker lines up at full-back against England insisting that his gridiron tilt will only help his rugby The late, great Tom Petty wrote the song that, ultimately, defined Louis Rees-Zammit’s American football adventure. “Runnin’ down a dream, that never would come to me … ” Twelve months ago Rees-Zammit was in New Orleans watching the Superbowl and still hoping to carve out a mult…

Head coach’s previous deal ran until 2028 Bompastor won domestic treble in first season Sonia Bompastor has agreed a contract extension as Chelsea’s head coach, the Guardian can reveal, as the club issue a strong signal of trust and confidence in the Frenchwoman. Bompastor has been in charge at Chelsea since the summer of 2024, when she succeeded Emma Hayes on a deal to 2028. The 45-year-old comp…

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Harry Brook’s team opt for confidence building at hotel before opener with practice a three-hour round trip away Sitting in the BCCI’s Mumbai headquarters, adjacent to the Wankhede Stadium, three days before the start of England’s World Cup campaign, Harry Brook was asked about captaining a T20 side in its latest, even-more-wild-scoring iteration, against opponents looking to flay sixes with ungo…

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Trainer Nicky Henderson reveals news that Yogi Breisner has been enlisted but says the focus is on the troubled horse’s first run on the Flat Nicky Henderson, the trainer of Constitution Hill, said on Friday that he is focusing “on Southwell at the moment and only on Southwell” ahead of the former Champion Hurdler’s Flat racing debut on 20 February, despite having booked the legendary jumping spe…

Expectations abound for Six Nations and Bath winger deserves another shot in the starting lineup to show his raw attributes Optimism abounds about England’s Six Nations chances. They go into a tournament considered as one of the genuine favourites for the title for the first time in years and they have the body of work to back that up after 11 consecutive victories . That sort of winning streak l…