The Guardian

American on course for victory after short program 21-year-old had disastrous sake at Winter Olympics Ilia Malinin bounced back from his disappointment at this year’s Winter Olympics by leading after the short program at the figure skating world championships on Thursday. Malinin, sporting a new haircut, gave fans what they expected from the defending two-time world champion at O2 Arena in Prague…

Role as minority owner of Raiders causes problems Former QB says he is ‘very happily retired’ Tom Brady says he explored the idea of making a return to the NFL as a player but the league “don’t like that idea very much”. Brady’s last NFL game came in a defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in January 2023. Since then he has become a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders as well as a television analyst for F…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! It’s Geopolitics World Cup playoff day, dear reader, and Gibraltar are playing Latvia in a winner-takes-all clash. Sadly, for football romantics, that game is the first leg of a Nations League promotion/relegation playoff. Uefa’s scheduling feels a bit cruel, like making some poor flunky do the graveyard shift while Bacchanalia Revisited takes p…

Lewis Hall, Luke Shaw and Nico O’Reilly are the three leading contenders for a position that remains up for grabs By WhoScored A year ago, when England began their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Albania , the prospect of Nico O’Reilly making the squad seemed very distant. He was yet to earn a cap and had played just 23 minutes of Premier League football. But he is now close to …

Lens were opposed moving the Ligue 1 game The top two sides will now play on 13 May Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to Lens, potentially a crucial encounter in the Ligue 1 title race, has been postponed to give PSG more time to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool. The match between the top two teams in France’s top division – PSG lead Lens by a point – was scheduled for…

Our cartoonist steps into the mind of Gianni Infantino as Australia prepare to host the tantalising new global event Continue reading...

DSD athletes also face exclusion from future Olympics IOC says move will protect fairness and safety’ The International Olympic Committee has banned transgender women and DSD athletes from the female category of events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and future Games in a landmark decision. Kirsty Coventry, president of the IOC, said: “It would not be fair for biological males to compete in the …

Former world champion’s ultimatum blindsided me, but there are more serious issues than an F1 driver being cross with you for doing your job In the grand scheme of things I enjoy a remarkably privileged career, paid to cover Formula One, a sport I have loved since 1976. So I am loth to complain, but was deeply disappointed when Max Verstappen chose to eject me from his press conference on Thursda…

George Raynor led Sweden to Olympic glory and a World Cup final, but he was never appreciated back home By The Set Pieces Nobody wanted him. An ambitious young English coach who was bursting with new ideas grew more and more frustrated as his efforts to land a job in his homeland fell flat. Application after application came to nothing, his reputation as a lower-league player meaning he rarely re…

Countdown to tournament begins in earnest with friendly against Uruguay so it’s time to forget other countries are good at football Is it too early to start plotting England’s inevitable route to World Cup glory? If nothing else it’ll stop me refreshing the internet to find out if Tim Sherwood is going to manage Spurs for the next three games before Dave from Chas & Dave comes in for the final Ha…

The Uruguay coach, who had such an impact at Leeds, needs a result at Wembley on Friday after a downturn for the South American side The pattern is not unfamiliar. Marcelo Bielsa arrives. The force of his personality, the radicalism of his ideas, his charismatic eccentricity, elevates everybody. Results are good, performances intoxicating. The football is not merely successful but comes to be reg…

Lawyer says witnesses clear player of wrongdoing Receiver was guilty only of ‘horseplay’, says lawyer Star Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua has been sued by a woman who says he made an antisemitic statement and bit her on the shoulder on New Year’s Eve. The civil lawsuit was filed this week in Los Angeles, according to TMZ . The suit also cites gender violence and negligence. Madison Atiabi a…

British world champion mocks club in tweet Club refusing to vacate stadium for event in 2029 Keely Hodgkinson has playfully poked fun at West Ham after it emerged they could ruin London’s chances of hosting the 2029 World Athletics Championships. Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, has made it clear he wants those world championships to be held in September as a finale to the athletics …

The relatable, endearing authenticity of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending NBA champions is a wonder to behold Winter is over, though perhaps most NBA fans feel as if it’s just beginning. After a midseason slump, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won 12 of their last 13 games They’re clinging to a slim but steady three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs atop the otherwise chaotic Western C…

Mauricio Pochettino will use friendlies against Belgium and Portugal to answer the final World Cup roster questions When the US men’s national team booked Belgium and Portugal for the final pair of friendlies before the 2026 World Cup roster is named, it looked like a couple solid tests against European teams who will expect to reach this World Cup’s business end. They should be worthy tests of t…