Sports
Dutch MotoGP brings mixed bag of emotions for Marquez brothers
Marc Marquez widened his lead in the world championship by winning the Dutch MotoGP on Sunday, as his closest rival and younger brother, Alex Marquez, fractured his left hand during the race.
Marc Marquez came home on his Ducati ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) with the winner’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia third.
His victory at the circuit known as the “Cathedral of Speed,” celebrating its 100th anniversary, brought him level with legend Giacomo Agostini on 68 elite wins, still 21 adrift of Valentino Rossi.
Marquez leads Alex by 68 points with Bagnaia 126 adrift after 10 of the 22-race season.
Bagnaia got a superb start, shooting straight past pole sitter Fabio Quartararo, the Frenchman’s hopes of delivering Yamaha a victory on their 70th anniversary receding rapidly as he dropped down the field.
At least he remained in the race, Japan’s Ai Ogura’s participation ended on the first lap as he was taken out by Miguel Oliveira.
Marc Marquez moved into second on the second lap with British MotoGP winner Bezzecchi gliding into third.
Marquez passed his teammate on the fifth lap, but a lap later, his sibling Alex Marquez caught a cropper, tussling with Pedro Acosta, he came to grief.
Alex Marquez jumped back to his feet but was gingerly holding his wrist as he was biked back to the pit lane and was taken to the medical center for a check-up.
An attritional race claimed two more riders as Joan Mir and Fermin Aldeguer suffered heavy crashes – both consoling each other.
Bagnaia’s hopes of a fourth successive Assen win – Australian icon Mick Doohan won five in a row 1994-98 – was over by the 11th lap, as he dropped to fourth, passed by Bezzecchi and Acosta.
Bezzecchi then turned his attention on Marquez’s Ducati, ramping up the pressure on the leader.
Marquez, though, responded like the champion he is in setting the fastest race lap at the halfway mark of the 26-lap race.
Bagnaia regained a place on the podium, passing Acosta, who eventually dropped off the pace, settling for fourth spot.
With three laps remaining, Marquez held a lead of over a second on Bezzecchi and although the valiant Italian ate into it, the Spaniard had more than enough to spare to take the honors.
Bezzecchi’s delight was slightly tempered with a most unseemly fall on the lap of honor but his smile had returned by the time he greeted his Aprilia mechanics.
The whole circus has a weekend off before they reunite for the German MotoGP in a fortnight.
By the time they return to Assen next year, there could well be a new kid on the block after a historic win in the Moto2 race.
Diogo Moreira, 21, became the first Brazilian to take the chequered flag in that category – and could well follow now retired five-time Grand Prix winner Alex Barros into the elite series.
“I am super happy, the race was amazing, finally first victory,” he said, holding up the national flag.
Emma Raducanu strides onto the grasscourts of Wimbledon on Monday as the British No. 1, a world away from the wide-eyed teenager who burst onto the scene at the All England Club four years ago.
“It does feel like a long time ago. A lot has happened in the last four years,” Raducanu told reporters, reflecting on her meteoric rise from obscurity to the fourth round in 2021, a run that preceded her astonishing U.S. Open triumph later that year.
Raducanu faces 17-year-old British wildcard Mingge Xu, who will be making her own Grand Slam debut this year.
“It’s good to see a new generation, it keeps us on our toes. It keeps us hungry to improve. It’s just healthy competition between all of us,” Raducanu added.
The intervening years have been more of a cautionary tale, as injuries and the constant changing of coaches prevented the 22-year-old from building on that early success.
A recent back injury also forced her to withdraw from the Berlin Open and Raducanu arrives at Wimbledon with a question mark over her physical condition, saying her back is not yet at 100%.
Once the darling of British expectations, Raducanu now seeks to manage them carefully, speaking with the hard-earned wisdom of someone who has experienced both the summit and the struggle of professional tennis.
“Truthfully, I don’t expect much from myself this year,” she said. “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things. I just want to go out there and embrace the moment, embrace the occasion.”
While most top seeds fine-tuned their game on Wimbledon’s pristine practice courts this week, Taylor Fritz was busy collecting silverware on England’s south coast, a strategy the American hopes could finally unlock his Grand Slam potential.
The ninth seed arrives at the All England Club as the in-form player on grass having claimed two titles, beating Alexander Zverev on his home turf to lift the Stuttgart Open before he defended his Eastbourne Open title on Saturday.
“One more title and I might have to buy a house here,” quipped Fritz after clinching his fourth Eastbourne crown in six editions on Saturday.
Fritz’s unconventional preparation, playing competitively right up to the start of Wimbledon while rivals opt for closed practice sessions, represents a calculated gamble for a player whose Grand Slam performances have failed to match his seeding.
Despite enjoying fourth-seed status at both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, the 27-year-old American failed to reach the second week at both majors.
But where some players might see risks related to fatigue with such a tight turnaround, Fritz sees a competitive advantage.
“It is what it is, having to play at Wimbledon on Monday,” Fritz said.
“I’d rather go into a tournament with a lot of confidence than being there for the whole week just practising.”
Chelsea outlasted Benfica in a nearly five-hour marathon at the Club World Cup on Saturday, securing a spot in the quarterfinals against Brazil’s Palmeiras in the U.S.-hosted tournament.
The London club were grateful to extra time goals by Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to give them a 4-1 victory over Benfica.
Their late burst of scoring settled a last-16 tie which took 4 hours, 39 minutes to complete at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina after a near two-hour weather delay.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was left satisfied with his team’s victory but slammed the delay that turned the tie into a near five-hour marathon.
“I think it’s a joke, it’s not football,” Maresca said.
“For 85 minutes, we were in control of the game. We created enough chances to win the game. Then after the break, the game changed – for me personally, it’s not football.”
Earlier, Chelsea had been seemingly poised for victory after Reece James’ opportunistic second-half free kick had left them 1-0 up with four minutes of regulation time remaining.
But just as Chelsea began to think about their quarter-final assignment, the arrival of a storm over Charlotte triggered local safety protocols, which required the game to be halted.
It marked the sixth occasion during the Club World Cup that a game has been disrupted by a weather warning.
When play resumed just under two hours later, a revitalized Benfica grabbed an injury-time equalizer after Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area following an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Benfica’s Argentine veteran Angel Di Maria stepped up to roll in an ice-cold penalty, sending the game into extra time.
An end-to-end first half of extra time saw Benfica, reduced to 10 men following Gianluca Prestianni’s second yellow card at the end of regulation, threaten to take the lead as they chased an improbable victory.
But instead, it was Nkunku who fired Chelsea back in front, the French international bundling in from close range after Moises Caicedo’s low shot squirted underneath Benfica goalkeeper Antoliy Trubin.
As the game opened up, Benfica were increasingly vulnerable on the counterattack and Chelsea pounced.
Neto made it 3-1 with a nerveless finish after going clean through on goal in the 114th minute and three minutes later Dewsbury-Hall completed the rout to send Chelsea through to the last eight.
They will now return to Philadelphia, where they played two games in the group stage, to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Paulinho settles Brazilian derby
The Brazilian club were grateful to an extra-time winner by substitute Paulinho as they edged domestic rivals Botafogo 1-0 in a battle of attrition earlier Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The winger came on at the same time in the second half as Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira withdrew teenage sensation Estevao Willian, a move that appeared baffling at the moment but ultimately proved inspired.
The tie had reached the 100th minute without a goal when Paulinho collected a pass by Richard Rios on the right flank and was afforded the time and space to come inside into the box before slotting a low shot into the far corner.
That sparked wild celebrations among the Palmeiras fans who made up the vast majority of the 33,657 crowd and the side from Sao Paulo held on to win the tie despite having captain Gustavo Gomez sent off late on.
“That is why he came, so he could play for long enough to decide a game. He is going to have to stop again after the tournament,” Ferreira said of Paulinho, who has struggled with injury since signing for Palmeiras at the start of the year.
Winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021, Palmeiras will now hope to match the feat of their Brazilian rivals Flamengo, who defeated Chelsea during the group stage.
The last-16 action continues Sunday when European champions Paris Saint-Germain take on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Atlanta. Later on, Bayern Munich face Flamengo in Miami.
No retrospective action will be taken after the controversial Olympic boxing tournament held last summer in Paris but ensuring fairness for female athletes going forward has the “overwhelming support” of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, President Kirsty Coventry said.
The tournament drew criticism after Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting won gold medals despite being disqualified from the previous year’s World Championships over alleged gender eligibility violations.
World Boxing – now officially recognized by the IOC as the sport’s international governing body – has since introduced mandatory sex testing.
It said Khelif will not be eligible to compete in the women’s category unless she complies. Khelif has maintained that she was born female, has always lived as a woman and has competed as one throughout her career.
The IOC faced criticism for its handling of the controversy in Paris and for a perceived failure to lead on the issue more broadly.
Now Coventry, in one of her first acts as president, said there was unanimous backing from IOC members to establish a broad consensus and announced a working group would be formed to focus on protecting female sport.
She insisted, however, that nothing the group develops would affect events in Paris.
“It was very, very clear from the members that we have to protect the female category. First and foremost, we have to do that to ensure fairness,” Coventry said at a briefing Thursday.
“There was overwhelming support from all of the members … that we should protect the female category.
“It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this, and that we should be the ones to bring together the experts, bring together the international federations and ensure that we find consensus.
“We understand that there will be differences depending on the sports, but it was fully agreed that as members and as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on the protection of the female category.
“We’re not going to be doing anything retrospectively. We’re going to be looking forward. From the members that were here, the sentiment was, ‘What are we learning from the past, and how are we going to leverage that and move that forward to the future?’”
Many sports, including athletics, cycling and swimming, have tightened their rules at the global level to bar competitors who have undergone any stage of male puberty from the female category.
In March, World Athletics approved swab tests to determine biological sex and eligibility for its elite female category.
Coventry added that World Athletics would be one of the global federations with “a seat at the table” in the discussions.
“Every sport is slightly different, but it was pretty much unanimously felt that the IOC should take a leading role in bringing everyone together to try and find a broad consensus, so that really is what will be guiding the working group,” she added.
Coventry, who officially became IOC president on Monday, said the working group’s membership and terms of reference would be decided in the coming weeks but said it was too soon to set timelines for when any recommendations might be brought forward.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this year he would deny visas to transgender athletes seeking to compete in female categories at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
A U.K. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, which clarified wording in the 2010 Equality Act, has led several sports governing bodies to amend their transgender inclusion policies, including the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Coventry said members had also called for a review of when and how future Olympic Games hosting decisions are made, noting a desire for greater IOC involvement in the process.
She said the review would not affect ongoing discussions with countries interested in hosting future events.
A man who interrupted Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance by waving a flag reading “Sudan and Free Gaza” has been charged with two misdemeanors, Louisiana State Police announced Thursday.
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, of New Orleans, faces counts of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interrupting a lawful assembly. The charges stem from a Feb. 9 protest in which Nantambu ran across the field at the Caesars Superdome, momentarily halting one of the most-watched broadcasts in the world.
Nantambu had been hired as an extra performer in Lamar’s 400-person halftime cast but deviated from his assigned role when he grabbed the flag and dashed across the stage. Law enforcement said he refused to stop when ordered and was quickly tackled by security.
Though Nantambu had clearance to be on the field as part of the performance crew, authorities said the protest was unauthorized.
The NFL responded swiftly, banning him for life from all league stadiums and events.
The New Orleans Police Department initially did not press charges.
However, state troopers from Troop NOLA took over the investigation because of the protester’s access to a restricted area in a high-security environment.
An arrest warrant was issued through Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, and Nantambu turned himself in on June 26.
As of Thursday, no attorney was listed for him in court records. If convicted, each misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to six months in jail.
After his arrest, Nantambu posted a video outside the jail, calling the NFL’s response “excessive” and describing his act as a “liberation demonstration” to draw attention to ongoing humanitarian crises. In a February interview with Al Jazeera, he said: “I had to show Allah my faith is strong. I fear God more than man.”
Reactions on social media were divided. Supporters praised the message, while others criticized the disruption and defended the NFL’s crackdown.
The incident sparked a wider security review by the NFL and local authorities. Louisiana State Police Sgt. Kate Stegall said the agency is working with the league to reassess its protocols, particularly in high-risk, high-profile events.
The case has also drawn renewed focus due to Nantambu’s link to a separate attempted murder investigation involving former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown. Nantambu is listed as a victim in that unrelated case, according to The Athletic.
With Wimbledon kicking off Monday, the sport’s freshest Grand Slam champions are Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year-old Spaniard, and Coco Gauff, the 21-year-old American.
Both sit at No. 2 in the rankings and are riding high after thrilling French Open victories over the world’s top-ranked players.
Young, charismatic and equally at ease under the spotlight both on and off the court, Alcaraz and Gauff are ushering in a new era of tennis.
Alongside No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and former No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the women’s game, plus men’s No. 1 Jannik Sinner, they represent a vibrant future for a sport that has recently bid farewell to legends like Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – and is watching closely to see how long Novak Djokovic will remain in the hunt for major titles.
“Tennis is just in such a great, great place right now. We are so fortunate to have not only Coco, not only Carlos, but a deep bench of young stars that are just propelling the growth of our sport,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said. “I’ve been around a long time, and when we have lost great, iconic champions in the past, there’s generally been a little bit of a dip. We have had the exact opposite during this transition. … I always like to say the champions of today are standing on the shoulders of the champions of the past. These champions have jumped off the shoulders of the past champions.”
One key for a sport, especially an individual one, to gain attention and grow popularity is to have rivalries that demand buy-in.
Alcaraz vs. Sinner clearly provides that, much in the way Federer vs. Nadal or Nadal vs. Djokovic did.
The five-set, 5.5-hour men’s final at Roland Garros was as full of momentum swings, terrific tennis and athleticism as anything those greats conjured.
“The level,” two-time reigning Wimbledon champion Alcaraz said, “was insane.”
The way he and Sinner, 23, are currently divvying up the biggest prizes – they’ve split the past six major trophies and eight of the past 11 – is certainly reminiscent of the Big Three’s dominance, albeit over a much smaller sample size so far.
“Having these two guys fighting for big trophies – I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis,” said Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s main coach. “For them, for sure it’s something that they raise their level every time that they go on the court. They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy, and it’s something that is going to help for sure each player to raise the level even more.”
It sure does seem as though Gauff vs. Sabalenka could provide that sort of dynamic and buzz, too.
Consider that, like Alcaraz and Sinner, they occupy the top two spots in the rankings. And consider that, like those other two, both own multiple major titles.
Gauff’s two Slam triumphs came via three-set victories over Sabalenka in the finals.
Plus, their latest meeting, at Roland Garros less than a month ago, came with some added spice because of Sabalenka’s post-match comments that were seen as less than fully gracious toward Gauff.
It became such a thing that Sabalenka felt the need to issue a pair of apologies – one privately via writing to Gauff, and one publicly in an interview at her next tournament.
Add that sort of off-court intrigue to the on-court interest, and if there are rematches at the All England Club a couple of weeks from now, no one who is invested in tennis will be displeased.
“There’s incredible momentum and wind in our sails as we think about the sport, in total,” said Lew Sherr, who is about to leave his role as CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association. “We’ve had five consecutive years of participation growth … and that certainly is being, in part, fueled by the great talent and inspiring players we have at the professional level, and also is feeding record attendance, record interest, record viewership. Those things go hand in hand. We have not missed a beat.”
Fenerbahçe Beko sealed a dominant season with a championship flourish, overpowering Beşiktaş Fibabanka 84-68 in Game 5 of the Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Süper Lig Finals to win the series 4-1 and lift their 12th league title.
The sold-out Ülker Sports and Event Hall erupted as the yellow-navy juggernaut completed a season sweep – EuroLeague, Turkish Cup, and now, the domestic crown.
Night of dominance
After falling behind 13-0 early, Fenerbahçe responded with poise and purpose.
A late three by Nicolo Melli gave them a 21-18 edge to close the first quarter. From there, they never looked back.
With Errick McCollum leading the charge and Nigel Hayes-Davis stretching the margin, Fenerbahçe widened the gap to double digits by halftime (48-40).
In the third quarter, MVP Khem Birch flexed his strength inside, sparking a 7-2 run that forced Beşiktaş into timeout.
Marko Guduric’s poise, Melih Mahmutoğlu’s leadership, and relentless team defense crushed Beşiktaş’s comeback hopes.
By the final buzzer, the scoreboard and the celebration were all yellow and navy.
Unity and farewell
Following the win, silver medals were handed to Beşiktaş captain Yiğit Arslan by TBF Vice President Harun Erdenay.
Then, Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak and TBF President Hidayet Türkoğlu presented the championship trophy to Fenerbahçe’s long-time captain Melih Mahmutoğlu.
In a touching gesture, Mahmutoğlu called up teammate Marko Guduric, and the two raised the trophy together – a moment that ignited jubilant chants in the arena.
Fenerbahçe used the post-game stage to honor two key figures marking their exits: Serbian guard Marko Guduric, who had two memorable stints at the club, and Italian executive Maurizio Gherardini, a behind-the-scenes architect of Fener’s golden era since 2014.
Guduric, emotional with his wife and children by his side, saluted fans as they returned the favor with thunderous ovations. “We made history,” he said. “This will always be home.”
Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç and Beşiktaş President Serdal Adalı shared the sidelines, reflecting mutual respect between two storied clubs on Turkish basketball’s biggest stage.
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