The survival of Newcastle Falcons as a professional team will require more than just a one-off £4m bailout from the remaining nine Premiership clubs, according to Steve Diamond, their director of rugby. He has confirmed Newcastle may have to negotiate a potential short-term loan to participate in next season’s Premiership, raising fresh doubts about the … Read more
Real Madrid stunned Arsenal at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano to put themselves in control of their quarter-final tie. Goals in either half from Linda Caicedo and Athenea del Castillo earned them a hard-working victory in the first leg against Renée Slegers’ team. This was the first competitive encounter between these sides and of the … Read more
The Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has said he initially wanted to play on after suffering a gruesome ear injury in his side’s FA Cup win over Millwall. The Lions goalkeeper Liam Roberts was sent off for a horrific challenge that left the Frenchman needing 25 stitches after being rushed to hospital during Palace’s 3-1 … Read more
The Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he had thrashed out the circumstances of his lengthy exile from the national side with teammates on his return and hoped the controversy over his almost two-year absence was settled. The 32-year-old has not played for Belgium since June 2023 when he walked out before a European Championship qualifier … Read more
The Dodgers were a long way from Los Angeles on Tuesday but with Shohei Ohtani and two more Japanese stars they were the home team for Tokyo fans in a historic MLB season-opening 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, with starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the win for five … Read more
As unpalatable as it may be to fans, there are times when NFL teams must rejig their roster to cast off contracts which could get in the way of future success. The San Francisco 49ers, who have appeared in four of the last six NFC Championship games, and two of the last six Super Bowls, … Read more
Pressure? It comes with the territory for Mauricio Pochettino, what with his territory these days being the United States and the job of managing the men’s national team. For a World Cup. That the US will largely host next year. And yet Pochettino felt the dial turn a little further on the Friday before last … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Tom Garry After a three-month wait for restless fans since the conclusion of the group stage, Europe’s top clubs finally return to continental action this week as the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals get under way. The main question on everybody’s mind … Read more
There are only two teenage players currently in the top 100 of the WTA rankings. Women’s tennis, in some ways, was built on the success of its legendary child prodigies – from Chris Evert and Monica Seles to Martina Hingis and the Williams sisters – players who audaciously stormed towards the top of the sport … Read more
GOING SOUTH It can’t have been a coincidence (it was) that the announcement of a resurrected North v South football match came so swiftly after Newcastle beat a team wearing red 2-1 in a Wembley cup final. That happens also to be exactly what transpired when they faced Arsenal in the 1932 FA Cup showpiece, … Read more