CNN – Sports

By Jack Bantock, CNN Scottish rugby international Siobhan Cattigan has died at the age of 26, Stirling County rugby club confirmed on Tuesday. “Our love, thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Shibby’s family at this devastating time. We very much hope their privacy will be respected by everyone as they deal with their tragic loss,”

By Wayne Sterling, CNN Tiger Woods spoke about his golf future on Tuesday in his first press conference since suffering serious leg injuries in a February single-vehicle rollover accident. Woods is hosting the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas this week. The 15-time major champion said he doesn’t know when he would play again but

By Matias Grez, CNN With “no clear indication” that recent measures implemented by governing bodies and social media companies have done anything to tackle racism in football, worldwide players’ union FIFPro wants to help set up an independent research center to gather data on incidents of abuse. The research center is part of FIFPro’s new

By Jack Bantock, CNN It was an unhappy birthday for Russell Wilson on Monday Night Football as the quarterback saw his potential game-tying pass intercepted to seal a 17-15 loss for the Seattle Seahawks (3-8) against the Washington Football Team (5-6), scuppering a dramatic comeback. Playing on his 33rd birthday, Wilson threw a 32-yard touchdown

By Amanda Davies and George Ramsay, CNN With less than a year to go before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, questions surrounding host nation Qatar’s handling of humanitarian issues show few signs of abating — specifically concerning the state’s anti-homosexuality laws. Nasser Al Khater, the chief executive of the tournament’s organizing committee,

By Travis Caldwell, CNN Louisiana State University announced Tuesday morning Brian Kelly has been hired as the school’s head football coach. Kelly will be introduced on Wednesday. Kelly — Notre Dame’s head coach since the 2010 season — will replace current LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. LSU announced October 17 the school and Orgeron will

By Kevin Dotson, CNN In an exclusive interview with Golf Digest, Tiger Woods spoke publicly about his golfing future for the first time since his car crash earlier this year. “I think something that is realistic is playing the tour one day, never full time, ever again, but pick and choose, just like Mr. (Ben)

By Wayne Sterling, CNN Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and English Premier League team Liverpool, has reached an agreement to acquire controlling interest of the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins. FSG made the announcement on Monday and said as part of the transaction, Hockey Hall of Famer, Mario

By Aleks Klosok, CNN Manchester United has announced Ralf Rangnick as the club’s interim manager until the end of the season. The appointment of the 63-year-old German, who was previously head of sports and development for Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow, follows Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal earlier this month following a three-year spell as manager in

By Ben Morse, CNN The 24-year-old Lydia Ko has had more success than most golfers can imagine. The Kiwi player has won two majors, as well as becoming the youngest player ever to win a professional golf tour event aged just 14. In 2015, when she was just 17 years, nine months and nine days

By Amy Woodyatt and Patrick Snell, CNN They are safe and alive, and have the prospect of new lives in the United Kingdom, but for 130 Afghan female football players and their families it’s an existence still full of uncertainty. When the Taliban seized control in mid-August as the United States and Western allies withdrew

By Jacob Lev, CNN Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid returned to the court on Saturday night after being forced to miss nine games due to a positive Covid-19 result. Embiid told reporters after the game he thought he wasn’t going to make it. “That jawn hit me hard,” Embiid said. “I really thought I wasn’t

By Wayne Sterling, CNN Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter, an outspoken critic of human rights issues, will become a US citizen Monday and legally change his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, the NBA player told CNN’s John Berman. Moving forward, “Freedom” will be Kanter’s last name, and Kanter will be his middle name. Kanter told

By Ben Morse, CNN Midfielder Jorginho went from zero to hero as Chelsea and Manchester United played out a pulsating 1-1 draw on Sunday in the Premier League. Chelsea was completely dominant in the first half, striking the bar and forcing United goalkeeper David De Gea into numerous saves. But after the halftime break, Jadon

By Ben Morse, CNN Frank Williams, the founder of the Williams Formula 1 team and the longest-serving team principal the sport has ever seen, has died at 79. The Williams F1 team, founded in 1977, dominated much of the 1980s and 1990s under his guidance, and has 117 race victories in total. The team built

By Ben Morse, CNN George Kambosos Jr. produced one of the shocks of the years as he beat Teofimo Lopez to become the unified world lightweight champion on Saturday night. The unfancied Australian, who came into the fight a heavy underdog, knocked Lopez down in the first round and survived being knocked down in the

By Homero De la Fuente and Susannah Cullinane, CNN Former Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers legend Curley Culp died Saturday, according to a statement from his family. Culp was 75 years old. “On behalf of our family and with a broken heart, I announce the passing of my husband, Curley Culp early this morning.

By Wayne Sterling, CNN New York Islanders games have been postponed through at least Tuesday due to a Covid-19 outbreak within the team, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced on Saturday. “As a result of an additional New York Islanders Player entering COVID Protocol this morning, and up to eight Players potentially unavailable to play

By John Sinnott CNN It proved less of a match, more a walk in the park for Brooks Koepka. So much so that the fifth edition of “The Match” in Las Vegas, which was scheduled to be over 12 holes, didn’t go the distance. Bryson DeChambeau didn’t win a single hole, before conceding on the

By Becky Thompson and Pauline Lockwood, CNN The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) “remains deeply concerned” that Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai “is not free from censorship or coercion.” In an email statement on Saturday, the WTA says CEO Steve Simon has attempted to reach out to Peng “via various communication channels,” including two emails “to

By Eoin McSweeney, CNN The press conference in Dubai ahead of the World Chess Championship is running 30 minutes late. However, that hasn’t quelled the feverish anticipation of the crowd of journalists clambering for a good spot to photograph Magnus Carlsen, the world’s best chess player. He will face off against challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi across

By Ben Morse, CNN Daniel Carlson kicked a 29-yard field goal in overtime to condemn the Dallas Cowboys to a heartbreaking home 36-33 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving. In what was a penalty-ridden NFL game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a pass interference called on Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown kept the

By Becky Thompson, CNN Ralf Rangnick is set to be been named as Manchester United’s interim manager, the Athletic and other media outlets reported on Thursday. Rangnick would replace the recently sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the team’s coach for the rest of the season, while they seek a full time replacement. The 63-year-old joins

By Matias Grez, CNN Video by Finn McSkimming, CNN Even as a three-year-old, Tom DeBlass noticed that his father sometimes looked different when he returned home. He was too young at the time to truly understand that this was the result of alcohol addiction, but his family tried to explain it to him anyway, referring

By Jack Bantock, CNN A season-high tally and getting two fans ejected — a return from suspension was always going to make LeBron James the center of attention, but even by his standards, Wednesday night was eventful. The LA Lakers star was back on court for the first time following his second-ever career ejection against

By Joseph Ataman, Xiaofei Xu and Ben Church, CNN It all started with a broken cell phone. In 2014, French footballer Mathieu Valbuena was looking to get some data off his old phone when his life changed forever and he fell into a blackmail plot. More than seven years later, Valbuena’s ex-France teammate Karim Benzema,

By George Ramsay, CNN Manchester City came from behind to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 on Wednesday as both teams qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Having been on the back foot throughout the first half, PSG took the lead at the start of the second period when Lionel Messi’s deflected cross was

By Gregory Lemos, CNN The ex-girlfriend of former NFL player Zac Stacy testified Wednesday that she fears for her and her two children’s safety after allegedly being violently assaulted by Stacy on November 13 in Oakland, Florida. “I was punched, slapped, literally picked up and thrown into my TV and then (he) picked me up

By Ben Church, Xiaofei Xu and Meredith Ruleman CNN Soccer star Karim Benzema has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined 75,000 euros ($84,000) over his involvement in the attempted blackmail against former French national teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, the Olympiacos player’s lawyer confirmed to CNN. The court went further

By CNN Sport Staff Famous college basketball announcer Dick Vitale could not hold back the emotion as he returned to commentating on Tuesday night. Last month, Vitale announced that he has lymphoma and would undergo six months of chemotherapy. And on Tuesday night, an emotional Vitale returned to the commentary booth for ESPN’s coverage of

By George Ramsay, CNN Manchester United started life without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 2-0 victory against Villarreal on Tuesday courtesy of goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho. The win means United, which parted with manager Solskjaer at the weekend after a poor string of results, qualifies for the knockout stages of the Champions

By Rob Iddiols and Duarte Mendonca, CNN Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of sportswashing serious human rights violations in the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. During a virtual press conference Tuesday, HRW China Director Sophie Richardson denounced the IOC’s role in collaborating with Chinese authorities on Peng

By Ben Morse, CNN Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned to winning ways on Monday Night Football, beating the New York Giants 30-10 at Raymond James Stadium. Brady threw 307 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs ended their two-game losing streak on Monday night, continuing the Giants’ season of struggles. The

By Patrick Snell and Ben Morse, CNN Bubba Watson sunk to his knees and asked for “God to take” his life. Back in 2017, a stomach issue had meant he’d lost a lot of weight and golf wasn’t going so well, leaving him considering retiring from the sport he loves. On top of that, his

By Jacob Lev and Travis Caldwell, CNN Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Monday was suspended for a game without pay for the first time for making contact with Detroit Pistons star Isaiah Stewart in the face. James had been ejected during a game against the Pistons on Sunday. The ejection was only the

By Homero De la Fuente, CNN Golfing legend Tiger Woods posted a short video of himself taking a practice shot out on a golf course on Sunday. Woods, who has not played in a golf tournament since his car accident in February, shared a three-second video on social media with the caption “making progress.” In

By Homero De la Fuente, CNN International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach held a video phone call with three-time Olympian Peng Shuai, the Olympics governing body announced on Sunday, amid a wave of global concern about Peng’s wellbeing and whereabouts. The two were accompanied on the video call by a Chinese sports official, Li Lingwei,

By Matias Grez, CNN Lewis Hamilton put in a faultless drive to win Sunday’s inaugural Qatar Grand Prix and cut Max Verstappen’s championship lead to just eight points. Verstappen finished almost 30 seconds behind Hamilton in second, but was impressive in clawing his way back from seventh, having been given a grid penalty after qualifying.

By Matias Grez, CNN Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta played down his furious touchline row with Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp during the Gunners’ 4-0 defeat at Anfield on Saturday. The Spaniard was incensed after a 30th-minute clash between Takehiro Tomiyasu and Sadio Mane left the Arsenal defender on the turf, with Arteta’s assistant coaches having

By Rob Picheta and Matias Grez, CNN Manchester United have confirmed the departure of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, one day after the club suffered a humiliating 4-1 Premier League defeat at Watford. Solskjaer has overseen a disappointing start to the season, with the club sitting in seventh place in the Premier League. They have lost

By Ben Morse, CNN The 2021 season has been a pivotal one for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, both on and off the field. A No. 1 overall pick in 2018, he has helped transform the franchise from bottom-dwelling strugglers to playoff qualifiers through a combination of his toughness and leadership. However, he and the

By Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN New video of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai released on Saturday is insufficient to allay concerns about her health and safety, the head of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said. Peng, who is one of China’s most recognizable sports stars, had accused former Vice Premier Zhang

By Brenley Goertzen and Coy Wire, CNN Last year, driver Kyle Larson watched the NASCAR Cup Series Championship from afar. This year, in one of the most dominant racing seasons seen in over a decade, he overtook his teammate and former winner Chase Elliott to claim the sport’s ultimate prize. After 312 laps at the

By Becky Anderson and Jack Bantock, CNN As athletes grapple with the pros and cons of using social media, Usain Bolt says he has the utmost sympathy for them as he recalled the way he was treated as a young athlete. The eight-time Olympic champion — widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all-time —

By Travis Caldwell and Jorge Venegas, CNN With the 2020 editions of the biggest football matches in South America postponed and played in front of a handful of fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s upcoming tournament finals are promising a different look by bringing supporters back in the stands. The championship matches of

By CNN staff Players will have to be fully vaccinated to participate in the upcoming Australian Open, with Tennis Australia Chief Executive Officer Craig Tiley hopeful that men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be competing. “It’s been made very clear when the Premier announced several weeks ago that in order to participate at the

By George Ramsay, CNN “From early on there was a lot of, ‘You lot sit over there near the toilets,’ the word ‘P***’ was used constantly, no one ever stamped it out,” said former cricketer Azeem Rafiq as he laid bare this week his experience of racial abuse at one of England’s top clubs. November

By Amanda Davies and Jack Bantock, CNN There are just three races to go in one of the hardest fought, most closely contested Formula One championships in recent history — and Valtteri Bottas believes he knows where the drivers’ title is headed. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton trails Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 14 points

By Ben Church, CNN Tim Paine has stepped down as Australia’s Test cricket captain over an investigation into texts sent to a female colleague in 2017. In a tearful news conference, the 36-year-old Paine said that ​an investigation at the time found he had not violated the league’s code of conduct, but “on reflection,” he

By Ben Morse, CNN After a down year following the departure of Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots Patriots once again look like one of the best teams in the NFL. Their latest display of dominance came during Thursday Night Football, thrashing the lowly Atlanta Falcons 25-0 at the

By Ben Church, CNN The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has emphatically hit back at match manipulation allegations made by South Africa after the sides’ World Cup qualifying match on Sunday. In an extraordinary statement Thursday, GFA said the South African Football Association (SAFA) had created a “mountain of lies” after it had lodged an official

By Don Riddell and George Ramsay, CNN While South Africa’s rugby team has decided not to take a knee before games, former Springbok Bryan Habana says he would have done so if he had the opportunity during his playing days. Male and female rugby players at club and international level chose to take a knee

By Helen Regan, CNN China continues to face pressure over tennis star Peng Shuai, who disappeared from public life after making explosive allegations of sexual assault against a retired top Communist Party official. Peng, 35, one of China’s most recognizable athletes, accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of coercing her into sex, according to screenshots

By Brenley Goertzen Baseball’s sensational two-way star Shohei Ohtani was unanimously voted the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player on Thursday. Ohtani, 27, is coming off a historic season that saw him starring on both the mound and at the plate for the Los Angeles Angels, a feat that has drawn comparisons to the Hall

By Darren Lewis, Ben Church and Zayn Nabbi, CNN World Cup winner Lilian Thuram has urged White footballers to take a more active role in the decision to stop matches by walking off the pitch if Black players are being racially abused. “The day when White players understand that they are a part of the