Posts

Chile will step out on the court tomorrow for Group A play of the 2020 ATP Cup in Brisbane, taking on heavyweights France. And the biggest draw in the rubber is the Cristian Garin vs Gael Monfils matchup. While the two have never faced each other before, it still makes for an intriguing match. Both men had a stellar 2019 season and will be looking to start the new year in the same vein, but only one of them can come out of the encounter unscathed....

Attack on Titan will follow the story of the anime’s first season closely, and will reportedly have players reliving the anime’s “most shocking, courageous, and exhilarating moments.” Players will take control of various key characters from the show, and help them fight off the threat of the large, man-eating Titans that give the franchise its namesake. As depicted in the trailer, Attack on Titan’s gameplay will allow players to explore an open world while completing missions that follow the plot of the anime....

Instead of the standard half-court shot, an Auburn fan was asked to sink a full-court putt in order to win a free car. All the fan had to do was hit a golf ball 95 feet on a basketball court through a three inch opening and the car would be his. The only thing missing is a celebratory #Dufnering photo. Oh well, a free car ain't bad.

North Carolina (29-7) was the first top seed eliminated from this year’s NCAA Tournament. Auburn (29-9) tied its 1998-99 mark for most wins in a season. The Tar Heels’ bevy of athletes could do nothing to slow down Auburn, which got 20 points and 11 boards from Chuma Okeke before he left with a gruesome knee injury late in the game. The big forward certainly didn’t do it alone as the Tigers had six in double-figures scoring, and they knocked down 17 of 37 3-pointers in a virtuoso shooting performance....

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix made waves in the rivalry on Monday after he appeared on “The Next Round” and claimed Alabama gets preferential calls from officials. He based his claim off Saturday’s meeting between the second-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 21 Arkansas, including a 40-yard touchdown reception by Jameson Williams that was reviewed by officials and ultimately upheld in a 42-35 win for Alabama. MORE: Shane Beamer admits South Carolina ‘ran the same two plays over and over’ in win over Auburn...

Casper Ruud (NOR) will start to ramp up his preparations for the Australian Open in Auckland, with the tournament returning after two years. The No.3 will be joined by Holger Rune (No.11) and Cameron Norrie (No.14) at the ASB Classic. Venus Williams is also confirmed as a wildcard for the women’s draw while Coco Gauff leads a talented group heading to Auckland. The men’s main draw begins Saturday, January 7 while the women’s schedule kicks off Monday January 2....

The announcement comes amid a rapid rise in popularity of the sport, combined with the expansion of races into the United States and Asia. Formula 1’s focus on sustainability and appeal among younger demographics has also been cited as key reasons behind the decision. “You just run out of arguments [against entering F1],” Diess said at a company event on Monday. Volkswagen Group re-joining the sport through either Audi or Porsche has been a constant talking point since their departure over 30 years ago....

Maxwell said on Thursday that he had been disappointed at some of the decisions by Wade, his captain in the Victoria state side, to bat ahead of him in matches this year. “I think the wicketkeeper should be batting at seven unless you’re trying to squeeze an extra bowler into your line-up,” Maxwell said on Thursday. When asked why Wade had batted ahead of him, Maxwell replied: “Because he’s captain, and he chooses the batting order....

Starting the fifth day on 136-3 and an improbable 326 more runs from victory, Australia batted for a draw and survived a testing last hour eight wickets down. After legspinner Yasir Shah snared Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, and Peter Siddle within eight balls, Australia captain Tim Paine, 61 not out, and No. 10 batsman Nathan Lyon, 5 not out, held out against every twist and shout by Pakistan. Australia finished on 362-8, its longest fourth innings for a draw, after 202 in the first innings....

Smith and Warner were on Wednesday banned from international and Australian domestic cricket for 12 months for their part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. A Cricket Australia investigation came to the conclusion that vice-captain Warner instigated the plan to tamper with the ball and instructed Cameron Bancroft how to go about doing the deed on day three of the third Test against South Africa. Skipper Smith was ruled to have had knowledge of the plot for Bancroft to use sandpaper in an attempt to alter the condition of the ball, a breach which resulted in a nine-month suspension for the opener....

Australia’s Matthew Ebden won his first ATP Challenger title with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 victory over defending champion Benjamin Becker in today’s final in Nottingham. Ebden, ranked 122nd in the world, took just over two hours to see off German world number 97 Becker and win the grass-court event, which is part of the ATP’s second tier Challenger circuit. The 25-year-old had to save seven break points at 3-3 in a tense first set before landing the crucial break to move ahead in the match....

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The Australian cricket board faces an uphill battle to convince players to jettison a revenue-sharing model that has underpinned the game’s development for 20 years, according to former union boss Tim May, who brokered the landmark deal in 1997. As the inaugural chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), May played a leading role in landing the model that has made the country’s cricketers among the highest paid in the world....

Favourites Australia on Sunday beat Canada to take the gold medal in the wheelchair rugby final, as the London Paralympics came to a close. The Aussies’ star player Ryley Batt was in supreme form, scoring 37 points to take his overall tally to 160 from five tournament starts in a match where the Canadians had an uphill battle after ending the first quarter 18-11 down. Australia won silver in Beijing four years ago behind the United States, whom Canada beat to get into the final....

Both sides struggled for momentum in the first half before Freddie Steward’s try cancelled out Tom Wright’s effort, just before the break, to hand England an 11-10 lead. Eddie Jones’ side kept their noses in front thanks to Owen Farrell’s kicking after the restart before Marcus Smith’s try put some daylight between them and The Wallabies. Folau Fainga’a’s bulldozer try set up a tense finale but an impressive rearguard action saw England over the line to victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground....

NOVAK DJOKOVIC Ranked: 1 Country: Serbia Age: 31 2018 Match Record: 53-12 2018 Singles Titles: 4 Career Singles Titles: 72 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 14 — Australian Open (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016), French Open (2016), Wimbledon (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018), U.S. Open (2011, 2015, 2018) Last 5 Australian Opens: 2018-Lost in 4th Rd, 2017-2nd Rd, 2016-Won Championship, 2015-W, 2014-QF Aces: Has won an ATP-best 27.4 percent of his return games against top-10 opponents over his career....

The back story is ridiculous, the stories of father Yuri abusing Fed Cup teammates, leaving Sharapova with few to nil friends bearing the same flag on tour. MORE: Must-see photos from Melbourne | Serena the final obstacle The on-court side of things sees an even less-friendly beast, the numbers spelling a hunger to put her countrywomen to the sword. Coming into her sixth match against Ekaterina Makarova, Sharapova led 5-0 in the head-to-head contests....

South Korea was among the first countries to welcome back professional sports in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Two weeks ago, the country’s baseball and soccer leagues—the KBO and K-League—both resumed behind closed doors. To address the lack of fans, FC Seoul opted to order 30 mannequins and dot them around the stadium in a bid to add a touch of realism to their game against Gwangju FC on Sunday....

Many never thought Nabbout would represent Australia, let alone lead the line at a World Cup, but the 25-year-old has lived out his dreams in Russia and is determined to keep doing so ahead of the Socceroos final decisive group game. The Urawa Reds attacker suffered a similar injury while playing for his Japanese club earlier this year and hopes recovery won’t take quite so long as a result....

In an alternate reality set sometime around the year 1955, a system failure at a Soviet facility has caused the machinery to rebel against humans, and the player is tasked with investigating the sudden radio silence, cleaning up the aftermath of the catastrophe, and preventing the leak of classified information. Players take on the role of an unstable KGB agent known only as P-3, who must rely on his skills to improvise weapons from scraps found onsite....