Lindsey Vonn second at St Moritz a day after historic World Cup win

At 41, Lindsey Vonn is no longer defying expectations so much as resetting them. One day after becoming the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, the American came within a quarter-second of doing it again, finishing second in Saturday’s downhill at St Moritz behind Germany’s Emma Aicher.Less than 24 hours after rewriting the World Cup age record, Vonn briefly looked on course for another victory as she surged ahead of Italy’s Sofia Goggia on the sunlit Corviglia course. But Aicher, skiing immediately after her, attacked the increasingly rutted track and edged Vonn by 0.24 seconds to deny her a rare opening-weekend double

England caught up in Ashes media fallout over security guard’s row with TV crew

England’s embattled tour of Australia suffered a public relations setback on Saturday as the result of a testy altercation between a member of security staff and a local camera operator at Brisbane airport.In footage released by Channel Seven, England’s minder Colin Rhooms is heard repeatedly telling the camera operator Nick Carrigan to “get out of my face, mate” and eventually pushing him back as he attempted to film players in transit.The team were en route to Adelaide for the third Ashes Test that starts on Wednesday, with Channel Seven, the host broadcaster, later defending its crew’s conduct and suggesting the matter could be taken further.“While conducting routine filming in a public space, the camera operator was physically confronted despite acting respectfully and professionally,’’ a spokesperson told Code Sports. “The safety and wellbeing of our staff is paramount

Local hero Greg Blewett rates Adelaide Oval as England’s best hope for revival

The last time England played a Test match during daytime hours at Adelaide Oval was in 2013. The ground was a building site and Mitchell Johnson was the wrecking ball, a seven-wicket spree confirming the panic he induced during the first Test in Brisbane was no one-off.Not only were England’s Ashes hopes lamented by the visiting media that year, but also the ground of old. Gone were the terracotta roofs that invoked the sepia world of Don Bradman and in their place there were the early signs of what was to become a 53,000-capacity multi-purpose venue with a drop-in pitch.But heritage listing for the scoreboard that dates back to 1911 meant part of the grass hill remained untouched

As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity

While UAE-backed forces are accused of mass killings in Sudan, the NBA is deepening its partnership with the controversial Gulf state. This is what sportswashing looks likeAs paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.The tournament is the most visible example of the NBA’s expanding partnership with the UAE – a partnership that includes annual preseason games in Abu Dhabi, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Emirates airlines, and plans for a new NBA Global Academy at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus.Larger deals are expected to follow. The NBA is reportedly seeking Abu Dhabi’s investment in a new NBA-branded European league, which could launch as early as 2027

Adelaide should be England’s best chance: expect changes after Noosa debrief | Ali Martin

All being well, England’s cricketers should land in South Australia on Saturday. Those on the port side of the plane will have spotted the mighty Adelaide Oval during their descent. Although at 2-0 down in this Ashes series, a visual cue as to what is at stake next week is hardly needed.The mini-break spent licking wounds in Noosa generated headlines and interest but was hardly unprecedented as modern tours go. Among the reaction was Alex Carey recalling how Australia’s players scattered after the third Test on the 2023 Ashes tour and he personally visited Edinburgh

‘It’s not normal to walk into the tornado’: To fans, there was only one Ricky Hatton. Those who loved him knew many

“Of course I remember,” Billy Graham says quietly as he pushes back his straw trilby to show me his wounded expression. “I can remember everything.”Graham, who trained Ricky Hatton for all but the last three of his 48 fights, used to sit with his fighter on the grimy steps outside their first boxing gym in Salford in the late 1990s. It was a more innocent time and, rather than being called The Preacher and The Hitman, they were just Billy and Ricky then.They were still years away from the mass adulation and the desperately lonely end