The $10bn LA Lakers sale proves sports have outgrown even most billionaires

The sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is many things.First of all, it is a record. The glitziest team in basketball is changing hands at a valuation of $10bn, the biggest ever for a sports franchise. Second, it is probably an excellent deal for the buyer, even at that astonishing valuation. And third, the shift in majority ownership from the Buss family to an investment group led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, is something else: inevitable

Star-studded WR Chess repeat World Blitz title amid controversy in London

WR Chess, the star-studded world top 10 team, retained their World Team Blitz crown in London last week, but only after an almighty scare and with significant help from the appeals committee. WR had already been beaten for the World Rapid title by MGD1, a Pune-based group led by India’s Arjun Erigaisi.WR lost 2-4 to Germany in their Blitz quarter-final, but got the match annulled on the grounds that they had been advised of the wrong start time so had arrived two minutes late for a three-minute game. All the other teams arrived on time.WR stands for Wadim Rosenstein, a tech billionaire who plays on the amateur board of his team and who persuaded Fide to launch this new competition two years ago

The first Lions match is about laying down a marker – but Pumas bring range of threats | Ugo Monye

Every single member of the British & Irish Lions squad is in the perfect sweet spot at the moment. Blair Kinghorn aside, they all arrived into camp with a spring in their step and a smile on their face because their dreams have been realised. Speaking from experience, it is amazing how quickly you can leave national allegiances at the door.At this stage, there is no sense of what the Test team will be, no division, or feeling that you have to make do with being a midweek dirt-tracker – the thing you are probably most nervous about is who your roommate will be. You know it will be someone from a different country and my first roommate was Keith Earls

Sister act: Whoopi Goldberg gives Super Netball a boost with global broadcast deal

Hollywood icon Whoopi Goldberg is taking Australian netball to the world with her new global sport television network dedicated exclusively to women’s sport.Netball Australia and the All Women’s Sport Network (AWSN) announced on Monday a multi-year broadcast deal to show Super Netball matches to more than 65 new countries.Goldberg said she was “so proud” to see the Super Netball competition join AWSN.“I think y’all are terrific,” she said in an Instagram video. “I just watched you play and I see that your fans are really loving you, so we want to make sure that we put you everywhere in the world so that everybody knows about you

Ruthless Pacers throttle Thunder to push NBA finals to decisive Game 7

Fueled by defense, depth and defiance, the Indiana Pacers stormed to a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, leveling the NBA finals at three games apiece and setting up a decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City.Obi Toppin came off the bench to score 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 points with four assists and Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds as Indiana bounced back from consecutive losses. Tyrese Haliburton, cleared to play only hours before tipoff due to a strained right calf, delivered 14 points, five assists and two steals in 22 high-impact minutes.ScheduleBest-of-seven-games series. All times US eastern time (EDT)

England and India face red-hot series opener and Jasprit Bumrah conundrum

If there was an enduring image from the last Test series between India and England, it was probably that of Jasprit Bumrah detonating Ollie Pope’s stumps in Visakhapatnam – a feet-seeking yorker so ridiculously sweet that the Food Standards Agency could have marked it red on their traffic-light system.A year and a bit on from England’s 4-1 defeat in India on Friday, Bumrah remains the standout in the two attacks going into the first of five blockbuster Tests, beginning at Headingley on Friday. Even saying this sells him a bit short. Of the 86 bowlers to go past 200 Test wickets, none have done so at a lower average than Bumrah’s 19.4