Sports
Aonishiki hopes to boost sumo's global popularity
Amid sumo’s growing popularity at home and abroad, rising young wrestler Aonishiki Arata hopes his success can help thrust Japan’s ancient sport further into the global spotlight. The 21-year-old Ukrainian broke records in November by becoming the first sumo wrestler from his country to be appointed ozeki, the second-highest rank… Read
49ers will play LA Rams in first regular-season NFL game in Australia
The San Francisco 49ers will be the team facing the division-rival Los Angeles Rams in the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Australia next season, the league said Thursday. The league had announced last year that it will be playing a game in 2026 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,… Read
Dallas Stars surge into Olympic break on 6-game winning streak
The Dallas Stars surged into the Olympic break winning six games in a row, and now have to pause their longest streak of the season. “I kind of hate the timing of this, to be honest. You know, feeling good as an individual and then as a team, we’re rolling,”… Read
LA officials call for Olympic chief to resign over Epstein file emails
Multiple Los Angeles officials have called on 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step down, after the latest batch of files in the Jeffrey Epstein case revealed racy emails between the sports executive and the disgraced financier's girlfriend. Wasserman, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,… Read
Japan eyes Premier League parity by aligning calendar with Europe
Japan's J.League can one day compete with England's Premier League if a calendar switch helps clubs bring in bigger transfer fees, its chairman told AFP ahead of the new season. Japanese teams have sold a steady stream of players to Europe, including Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, but the sums involved are… Read
Olympic hosting race for 2036 set to be more transparent when India, Qatar vie for votes
With the race to host the 2036 Olympics on hold, the IOC gave its clearest signs yet Wednesday how it will decide with more transparency a contest India and Qatar crave to win. More than 100 International Olympic Committee members got confirmation of what many lobbied for under their new… Read
Man City beats Newcastle 3-1 to advance to English League Cup final
It's Manchester City vs. Arsenal in the English League Cup final. The current top two in the Premier League will go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium next month after City beat Newcastle 3-1 on Wednesday to complete a 5-1 win on aggregate in the semifinals. Both City and Arsenal are still… Read
IOC elects first female member from Iran to join exclusive global Olympic body
The IOC elected its first female member from Iran on Wednesday, who became its current youngest representative and opened the Olympic body to scrutiny over the country's record on women in sports. Soraya Aghaei, who competed for Iran in badminton at the Tokyo Olympics, is now the 107th member of… Read
Pakistan's boycott of game against India looms over cricket's T20 World Cup
With a boycott looming, the Twenty20 World Cup may be the first major International Cricket Council tournament in 14 years to miss a head-to-head contest between traditional rivals India and Pakistan. The T20 event opens Saturday with Pakistan against Netherlands, and with India finishing off the Day 1 program against… Read
U.S. immigration agents will have no role at Super Bowl: security chief
NFL security chief Cathy Lanier said Tuesday that officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would have no role at this weekend's Super Bowl in California. Recent U.S. media reports have said ICE officials were expected to be on duty at Sunday's showpiece at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara,… Read
