Sports

Reuters reports: The former governor of Rio de Janeiro state said in court testimony on Thursday that he paid $2 million (1.59 million pounds) to buy votes to ensure the sprawling Brazilian seaside city would be chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Sergio Cabral told a judge the money went to Lamine Diack, the former president of the International …

The New York Times reports: It’s OVER!! The United States is back in the World Cup final! The United States returned to the World Cup final with a thrilling 2-1 victory over England on Tuesday in Lyon, France. Christen Press, a surprise starter for an injured Megan Rapinoe, and Alex Morgan, on her 30th birthday, scored for the Americans. It …

WNBA star Sue Bird writes for The Players Tribune: What’s it like to have the literal President of the literal United States (of literal America) go Full Adolescent Boy on your girlfriend? Hmm. Well… it’s WEIRD. And I’d say I actually had a pretty standard reaction to it: which was to freak out a little. That’s one thing that you …

Yahoo Sports reports: U.S. soccer star Ali Krieger defended her teammate Megan Rapinoe after President Trump criticized her on Wednesday. Krieger tweeted that like Rapinoe, she also would turn down an invitation to the White House if the U.S. women’s national team wins the World Cup. Krieger is the first USWNT player to turn down Trump’s invitation, not counting the …

This is what Glorious Leader is ranting about: As if we needed more reasons to root for Megan Rapinoe, here she is dropping this gem [clip below] in an interview that hit Twitter Tuesday. She previously talked with Jenny Ventras of Sports Illustrated and said she won’t visit the White House if the USWNT won the World Cup. But not …

The BBC reports: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo have been announced as the hosts of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee voted for Italy’s joint bid ahead of Stockholm, Sweden, to stage the event. Skating sports and ice hockey will be held in Milan, while most alpine skiing events will take place in the resort of Cortina. …

The BBC reports: A controversial fundraising page set up by sacked Australian rugby player Israel Folau has been shut down for promoting the exclusion of LGBT people, website GoFundMe says. Folau had his contract with Rugby Australia (RA) terminated in May after he said that “hell awaits” gay people. He asked for public donations to help him with a legal …

Music site 5Mag reports: “There’s an undercurrent of hatred for disco,” said the much-despised shock jock Steve Dahl, infamous for starting Chicago’s Disco Demolition in Comiskey Park. In a publicity stunt concocted the summer of 1979 during a Chicago White Sox game against the Detroit Tigers, Steve Dahl encouraged everyone to bring their Disco records in order to destroy them. …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Sun-Maid, the popular raisin company with deep roots in the central San Joaquin Valley, has terminated its partnership with the Fresno Grizzlies. Sun-Maid announced its termination Wednesday evening, citing the Grizzlies’ Memorial Day debacle when the minor league baseball club aired a video tribute that equated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the likes of North Korea dictator …

The Sacramento Bee reports: The Fresno Grizzlies have apologized to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a scoreboard video shown during Monday night’s doubleheader that appeared to equate her with Kim Jong-un and Fidel Castro. The video was 3 1/2 minutes long, called a “Memorial Day Tribute – We Are Americans.” It’s mostly filled with patriotic-themed images playing behind excerpts from the …

The Guardian reports: On one side of the sumo ring stood a tall, hefty man with an unconventional hairstyle, bowing and smiling as the crowd applauded; opposite Donald Trump stood a professional wrestler, who on Sunday became the first recipient of a winner’s trophy awarded by the US president during his state visit to Japan. Trump had been spared the …

Axios reports: An electronic radar system called TrackMan will soon be calling balls and strikes in the Atlantic League, an independent East Coast league that has emerged as MLB’s testing ground for new rules and equipment initiatives. In a simple test to make sure that TrackMan data could be successfully transmitted and understood, home plate umpires were fitted with earpieces …

According to former NBA star Lamar Odom’s new memoir, he panicked about his “daily” weed smoking when he learned he’d be drug-tested after making the 2004 US Olympic basketball team. People Magazine reports: “We started googling ‘fake penises’ and studied different ways to beat a drug test,” he writes. “After an exhaustive search we ordered a giant, rubber, black cock …

The Guardian reports: Israel Folau’s rugby career appears over after an independent panel backed Rugby Australia’s intention to rip up his four-year, $4m contract following the player’s controversial social media posts which said hell awaits “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers” and others. The three-member panel, comprising John West QC, Kate Eastman SC and John Boultbee AM, announced on Friday that it had …

The Guardian reports: Israel Folau has been dropped by Asics in response to homophobic social media posts he published last month. The sportswear company is a personal sponsor for Folau as well as the Wallabies and has acted after the 30-year-old was found to have committed a high-level breach of Rugby Australia’s code of conduct. “Asics is dedicated to sport …

The Hill reports: The Chicago Cubs have indefinitely banned a fan from Wrigley Field after he made what appeared to be a “white power” symbol behind a black reporter during Tuesday’s broadcast. Crane Kenney, the team’s president of business operations, said in a statement Wednesday night that an investigation concluded that the fan had violated the Cubs’ long-standing guest code …

The Associated Press reports: Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will not attend the ceremony at the White House on Thursday honoring the 2018 World Series champions. Cora cited the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in his native Puerto Rico as the reason for his decision. “The government has done some things back home that are great, but we …

CBS Sports reports: The University of Virginia men’s basketball team will not visit the White House after winning the national championship, head coach Tony Bennett has announced. Bennett cited scheduling difficulties as a reason to decline the invitation. “With several players either pursuing pro opportunities or moving on from UVA, it would be difficult, if not impossible to get everyone …

The Palm Beach Post reports: The public won’t be seeing videos of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly receiving sex at a Jupiter day spa until his case is resolved, a circuit court judge said. In an order issued Tuesday, Judge Leonard Hanser ruled that Kraft’s right to a fair trial trumps the media’s request for the videos to …

Agence France-Presse reports: Wallabies fullback Israel Folau on Wednesday formally challenged Rugby Australia’s decision to sack him over anti-gay social media posts, thrusting the sport into further turmoil ahead of the World Cup. The latest showdown with the devoutly religious 30-year-old — who last year was embroiled in a similar row — came after he posted on his Instagram account …