Jahrome Hughes put on a show as New Zealand won Rugby League World Cup Group C by hammering Ireland 48-10 at Headingley on Friday.
Hughes scored two and set up three of the Kiwis' 10 tries as they ended the group stage with a perfect record and are expected to face Fiji at the quarter-final stage.
Slippery halfback Hughes, making his World Cup debut after recovering from a thigh strain, ghosted in for an opening solo try after Ed Chamberlain's penalty put Ireland in front and his pinpoint kick put one of a plate for Jordan Rapana.
Peta Hiku's quickfire double extended the Kiwis' advantage following a Louis Senior intercept try at the other end and Ronaldo Mulitalo's four-pointer made it 24-6 at half-time.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for a high tackle on James Bentley late in that frantic first half.
New Zealand were not at their brilliant best, but Rapana and Hughes helped themselves to doubles, with James Fisher-Harris, Kenny Bromwich and Joseph Manu also crossing in the second half.
Senior pounced on a mistake to become the joint-leading try-scorer in the tournament with six as Ireland showed plenty of fight, but are on the brink of elimination with Lebanon poised to move into the last eight.
After a four-year wait to receive monetary damages from the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF), gymnast Thema Williams received payment on Thursday afternoon, following a ruling from a High Court judge.
High Court judge Frank Seepersad ruled on Thursday that Republic Bank at which the TTGF held an account, make out a cheque payable to Williams for $223,800.19. The amount includes interest accrued on the original judgement in 2018 of TT$200.000.00. According to the Newsday publication, the bank complied with the order about two hours before the 4:00 pm deadline set by the judge.
Her lawyer Martin Daly SC, meanwhile, has expressed concern over how the athlete was treated by the federation while it was collecting funds from the Trinidadian government mirroring comments made by Judge Seepersad in his ruling.
In his written judgement the judge stated; "Transparency of conduct, strict compliance with the law and accountability must define the way in which persons, organizations and entities operate. It is difficult to comprehend why the Judgment Debtor has continued to be in receipt of State funding and donations when it stands in violation of a court order."
In 2018, Williams won a court battle against the TTGF that was deemed to have discriminated against the gymnast when they withdrew her from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio Brazil. In her place, the TTGF selected Canadian-born gymnast Marisa Dick.
Williams had sought to recover damages of TT$11 million but the court ordered that she receive TT$150,000 in exemplary damages and a further TT$50,000 in lost earnings.
At the time of Thursday’s order, the amount in the TTGF’s account was just over TT$257,000.
Daly told Sportsmax.TV that he was delighted at the outcome but expressed concerns over how the state had treated the athlete who had to wait as long to be compensated after being egregiously wronged.
"I am pleased that she has finally got her money," he said while highlighting comments from Judge Seepersad during his ruling on Thursday.
"I think the most important comments in the judgement yesterday is the criticism of the state for continuing to provide funds for a federation that had behaved in the way that it did."
It brings into question the accountability of sporting bodies and why would a government continue to provide subvention to a body that had behaved in that way. One of the things that had greatly upset me was that as few as 14 days after the original judgement there was a picture in the newspaper of officials from sporting bodies receiving money from the state and included in that was the TTGF and I just could not understand why they couldn't have, as we say colloquially, 'mash brakes and think about what they were doing.
"So I think there is a very important long-term outcome of this which is the judge's criticism of the state being blind to egregious acts by sporting bodies. That is the long-term message we should take from this."
Former Napoli defender Massimo Tarantino does not believe he is a hero, despite stepping in to halt the man responsible for multiple stabbings at a supermarket near Milan.
One person died and Monza's on-loan Arsenal defender Pablo Mari was among five who were injured during a terrifying incident on Thursday.
A suspect was arrested after he was disarmed by Tarantino, who has explained what prompted him to step in.
He told Stats Perform: "I was with my wife and daughter, we were at the till. We were putting the stuff on the checkout belt, and we realised [that something was going on], because there were very loud screams. We all kind of stopped at the tills, trying to figure out what was going on.
"But then there were more screams, one after the other in the space of a few seconds. At that point, the whole supermarket was kind of frozen, trying to figure out what was going on.
"After a few seconds, from one of the aisles right next to our till, someone came out who was probably one of those who had been stabbed; he was shouting for help and had blood all over his shirt. At that point there was a bit of panic, because people were clearly running away as they couldn't understand what had happened.
"After a few more seconds, another man came out. It was the person with the knife who was unfortunately aiming at the tills where I was with my wife and child. There wasn't much distance from that lane to the tills, about fifteen metres. So the instinctive reaction was to push my wife and daughter away and run.
"He was already almost there [close to me]. But in front of me there was this other employee who was between me and him, and he got stabbed. In the stabbing, they probably both lost their balance and fell into the checkout shelves where all the sweets are. Then I had the instinct not to run away.
"I had taken a step back, but I didn't run away and took advantage of the fact he was on the ground. I kicked him in the hand where he held the knife, and at that point he lost it, but it wasn't too far away, so I quickly ducked down and threw it far away and immobilised him. At that point he had no reaction.
"All of this happening in an atmosphere of terror, with blood on the ground. A bit of a strange atmosphere."
In spite of his actions, Tarantino – who played for Napoli between 1989 and 1996 and coincidentally also had a loan spell with Monza during his career – refused to be labelled a hero.
"No, I don't feel it belongs to me [this role] and I'm also a bit uncomfortable [with it]," he said. "I think heroes are other people. There are definitely people who do things that are impossible to do. They deserve, perhaps, that recognition.
"I, again, just found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and maybe instinctively decided to make the right choice, but nothing more than that."
The 51-year-old said his instinct was to "protect my family" and insisted it was not something he thought a great deal about at the time, adding: "I think these are irrational moments. I didn't think, I didn't reason. I just saw this person heading towards us.
"I think the first instinct is to protect my family, so I just had the instinct to move them away, to get them away, to run away. Immediately after he stabbed the employee, so a metre and a half away from me, my first reaction was to move one step back; but afterwards my instinct probably didn't make me run away, but told me that maybe that was the ideal moment to help.
"So I didn't go back, and I kicked this person in the hand holding the knife. But again, these things are irrational. When I think about it, it wasn't a calculated, intentional thing, it was just an instinctive reaction."
Tarantino confirmed he and his family are fine after the ordeal, though reiterated sympathy for those who were harmed.
"Yes, luckily for us it went well, unlike others; but we all came back home uninjured," he said. "On the one hand we're happy; on the other, I repeat, we're still sorry for everyone who unfortunately got caught up in this.
"The only message I have is that I want to wish the best of luck to all the people who suffered this physical assault and who have to deal with this problem right now.
"Then I think that all the other people, probably like me, like my wife and daughter, have had a bad night, a huge scare, and I hope that they, all of us, will get over it as quickly as possible.
"But the biggest wish goes out to all the people who suffered this physical attack; and I feel a huge sorrow for the family of the person who didn't make it."
Mari stated that he and his family are "fine" after the Spanish defender underwent back surgery following the attack.
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month's Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.
The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain's team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.
Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April's qualifier against Czech Republic.
However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.
"It's disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won't be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil," Raducanu said.
"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time.
"Since my last tournament I've been working every day on physical training and rehab. I've got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year."
Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.
Aston Martin have been fined €450,000 (£388,830) after being found in breach of Formula One financial regulations for the 2021 season.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA announced earlier this month that an audit determined Aston Martin and Red Bull – who were hit with a €7million (£6.1m) fine on Friday – broke the rules during the 2021 reporting period.
Aston Martin's financial documentation claimed their costs were under the budget cap, but the team was found to have misrepresented their outgoings.
In a statement, the FIA revealed Aston Martin "incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs" relating to the construction of their "new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services".
Aston Martin subsequently entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA, meaning they must pay a fine within 30 days and reimburse costs incurred by the administrators who conducted the financial review.
Announcing the ABA, the FIA said: "The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR [Aston Martin] has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach."
With Aston Martin entering an ABA, there is no possibility for the team to appeal their fine and the matter is now closed.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are ending their 13-year marriage after announcing they have started divorce proceedings.
Multiple outlets reported that Bundchen filed documents in the couple’s home state of Florida on Friday morning, hours after Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt a 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The pair have reportedly reached a settlement on property and custody of their two children.
"We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration," Brady wrote in an Instagram post. "Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world."
The announcement ends months of speculation that the high-profile marriage was close to unravelling. Brady briefly left the Buccaneers’ training camp in August for personal reasons that were rumoured to be related to the couple’s marital problems.
“The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,” Bundchen wrote in a statement.
Brady had announced his retirement in February, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but reversed course 40 days later and re-signed with the Bucs for a 23rd NFL season.
Bundchen admitted her displeasure over her husband’s decision in an interview with Elle magazine in September.
“Obviously, I have my concerns,” she said. “(Football) is a very violent sport, and I have my children and would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again.
“But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for (them). He needs to follow his joy, too.”
Brady and Bundchen, a successful supermodel born in Brazil, were married in 2009 and had their first child, Benjamin, later that year. Their second child, Vivian, was born in 2012.
The 45-year-old Brady has endured a difficult year on the field as well. The Buccaneers were among the NFC’s preseason favourites but fell to 3-5 with Thursday’s loss – the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career his team is under .500 eight games into a season.
Pablo Mari says he and his family are "fine" and the on-loan Monza defender expressed his gratitude for the support he has received after being stabbed on Thursday.
The Spaniard, who joined Monza from Arsenal on a season-long deal in August, is expected to be out of action for at least two months after undergoing back surgery following the horrific attack in a supermarket near Milan.
One person died and a suspect was arrested after being disarmed, with former Napoli footballer Massimo Tarantino named as being among those who stopped the assault.
Mari stated on Friday that he felt lucky to be alive before posting a picture of himself and his wife giving the thumbs up in hospital on Instagram.
The 29-year-old wrote: "After the hard moment we experienced yesterday, both my family and I want to communicate that fortunately we are all fine despite the circumstances.
"We want to thank all the messages of support and affection that we are receiving.
"In addition, we want to send our condolences and all our strength to the family and friends of the deceased person, and we sincerely wish that all injured people recover as soon as possible."
Liverpool fans will say their team is like a box of chocolates at the moment in that you never know what you're going to get, and also they can be hazardous to your health.
A wobbly start to the campaign looked to have got back on track after wins against Manchester City and West Ham, only for an insipid defeat at Nottingham Forest last week to send Jurgen Klopp's men back into crisis.
A 3-0 win at Ajax on Wednesday to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League should boost confidence again, but it is still anyone's guess as to which version of the Reds will turn up when they host Leeds United on Saturday.
Jesse Marsch heads to Anfield under serious pressure himself, with Leeds having not won in eight Premier League games (D2, L6) since beating Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road in August.
Stats Perform has taken a look behind the numbers heading into this clash to try and get to the bottom of what can be expected.
Home comforts can calm Reds nerves
They may have not had the best start to the campaign domestically, having not won any of their five Premier League away games (D2 L3), but Liverpool remain a force to be reckoned with at Anfield.
Klopp's side are unbeaten 29 league home games (W22 D7), scoring 73 goals and conceding just 16 in that run.
It has not all been plain sailing, having fallen behind in five of their previous six at Anfield prior to back-to-back 1-0 wins against City and West Ham, but more often than not they get the job done.
Virgil van Dijk is still yet to suffer a Premier League defeat in his home stadium since his move from Southampton in January 2018 (70 games – W59 D11).
You've lost that winning feeling
When Leeds were celebrating a well-earned victory against Chelsea on August 21, few would have thought they would not have experienced another by late October.
As mentioned, the Whites are winless in their last eight league games, which is the longest current run of any team in the Premier League.
Leeds have also lost each of their past four away games, last losing five in a row on the road in the top flight between January and March 2003 – the fifth game of which was at Liverpool, where they were beaten 3-1.
They will also be missing several players through injury, with Rodrigo Moreno's likely absence a blow as the Spaniard has scored five goals in 10 Premier League games this season, just one fewer than he netted in 31 appearances last season, and just two less than he managed in his best scoring season in the competition in 2020-21 (seven in 26 games).
Mo Salah, fewer problems
Mohamed Salah has been the subject of much debate this season, seemingly not hitting his usual heights.
Last season's joint-top scorer in the Premier League seemingly enjoys facing Leeds, though, having been involved in six goals in two home appearances against them (five goals, one assist).
Salah has 10 goals in 17 games in all competitions, and is coming off another fine finish to open the scoring in Liverpool's victory in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
The Egypt forward has also created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season (28). He is creating 2.6 chances per 90 minutes on average this season, his best rate in a single campaign in the competition.
No more bottom feeding
While they have dropped some sloppy points this season, Liverpool could at least take some comfort in the fact their only Premier League defeats had been against fellow big fish Manchester United and Arsenal.
That was until last week when they handed three points to bottom club Forest, and they will be looking to avoid a similar story this time around.
Liverpool have not lost consecutive Premier League games against sides in the relegation zone since March 2012, when a defeat at QPR was followed by a home loss to Wigan Athletic.
They have already lost more league games this season (three) than they did in the whole of 2021-22 (two), while their 16 points from 11 games is their worst return at this stage of a campaign since 2014-15 (14).
Leeds might smell blood, or arguably more likely, face the wrath of a wounded beast.
Jamaica’s Fraser McConnell is set to go up against some of the best drivers in the world when the fourth leg of 2022/2023 Nitro Rallycross Championship gets underway in Los Angeles, California this weekend, October 29 and 30.
SportsMax will carry the action live.
On October 2, the 24-year-old McConnell crashed and rolled during third-leg of Group E qualifying in Minneapolis but recovered to finish third.
Standing in his way for top honours this weekend will be Robin Larsson and Andreas Bakkerud, who have 160 and 141 points, respectively, to occupy first and second place. McConnell is third in the standings with 114 points.
Hel looks forward to the challenge at the iconic Glen Helen Raceway, where cars fly and the track thrills.
“Glen Helen is a track I enjoyed last year. It’s super-fast and almost 100 per cent dirt with eight or nine jumps, so you have to ensure you’re timing the speed right so that when you land, you get as much downhill of the speed as you can,” he said.
“My job is to ensure the car is making the gaps. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The 2022-23 NITRO Rallycross Championship will see action over 10 legs across the USA, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. The series runs from June 2022 to March 2023.
Multiple-time winner Lennox Braithwaite of Guyana won the Grand Aggregate in the individual event at the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championships on Thursday. The championship is being held at Twickenham Park in St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Brathwaite, who lamented the pandemic-induced relative lack of preparation coming into the tournament, won with a score of 467.39 out of a possible 480 points. He defeated Emmanuel Gauvin and Avtar Nanrey of Canada as well as compatriots Sherwin Felicien and Ransford Goodluck, who finished in the top five.
Guyana had five shooters in the top 10.
Jamaica’s national champion Dwayne Forde scored 449.30 to finished seventh while Karen Anderson was 17th.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Jordan-Cousins of Barbados scored 436.20 while out-dueling Anderson (435.25) to win the Amazon trophy which goes to the top female shooter. Women shoot against the males on the same targets and use same equipment in the competition.
The competition continued on Friday, October 28, with the team event which comprises a short-range and long range component.
The long-range team match, for the Milex Cup, began on Friday and will be followed by the short-range (300m/500m/600m) team match for the Wogarth Cup.
Braithwaite is the defending champion. The short range team match is Saturday, October 29.
Massimiliano Allegri wants Juventus to channel their Champions League "anger" and show the rest of Serie A they remain a force to be reckoned with.
Under-pressure head coach Allegri said Juventus would "play an unspectacular game if necessary" on Saturday to get the better of Lecce.
After recent wins over Torino and Empoli, Juventus are looking for a third Serie A victory on the bounce, but results in Europe have been dreadful by comparison, with defeats to Maccabi Haifa and Benfica dumping the Bianconeri out at the Champions League group stage.
Italian media have not been slow to link Tottenham boss Antonio Conte with a return to Juventus, possibly at the end of the season when the former Italy coach's contract expires at Spurs, though the Premier League club do have an option to extend that agreement.
But Allegri wants to prove his Juventus are not a busted flush, and a long streak of league wins would be timely, possibly for the 55-year-old's job security.
The last time the Bianconeri won three league games in a row without conceding was back in February 2021, but winning 1-0 at Torino and 4-0 at home to Empoli last weekend has set up that possibility.
Now Lecce stand in Juve's way, and Allegri said: "We have to react after the elimination from the Champions League and carry the anger with us throughout the Serie A season.
"We will have to play an unspectacular game if necessary. Up to now Lecce has always kept the games in the balance, we know the importance of tomorrow's match, we will have to take it on as a team, with great consistency."
He will be without striker Dusan Vlahovic due to injury, while midfielder Manuel Locatelli misses out for personal reasons, with Allegri taking a 19-player group.
Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba are not ready to return from their injury lay-offs, while Allegri was unsure whether he would field young midfielders Nicolo Fagioli and Fabio Miretti.
Juventus have 19 points from 11 games, losing twice, and they trail leaders Napoli by 10 points.
Their next Serie A assignment, after this weekend, is a clash with improving Inter.
The Lecce game is far from a formality, but Juventus have lost only four of 32 previous Serie A encounters with the team from the Salento peninsula.
"Right now we have to do something more to get out of this situation," Allegri said, quoted on his club's official website.
"It's an opportunity for everyone, it's a time for growth, I have a group of guys who have important moral values. Talking about the Scudetto today is useless, now we have to react starting from Lecce."
Diego Simeone does not care what Atletico Madrid's fans think of him following their Champions League exit, insisting he is only focused on the future.
The Rojiblancos crashed out of Europe's premier club competition with 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, in which Yannick Carrasco missed a late penalty.
Third-placed Atleti also trail LaLiga leaders Real Madrid by eight points ahead of a trip to Cadiz on Saturday.
While Simeone acknowledges he needs a response from his side this weekend, the Atleti head coach does not concern himself with the opinions of supporters over his future.
"I feel that we have to play a great game tomorrow, that we have to continue working and giving everything since we arrived," he stated.
"I don't think about anything other than what lies ahead. 'I don't care what they think of me,' said a great Spanish writer, I think the same. This does not end today."
Simeone says his players must not dwell on their Champions League failure.
"Everything goes ahead," he added. "I still think that the team is doing well, finding what identifies us in the game and being strong."
The Argentine would not be drawn on video footage of Joao Felix that appeared to show the Portugal international partying in the aftermath of the Leverkusen game.
"I have nothing to say about his private life," he added. "If I have something to say I would say it to him. I'm not talking about anyone. They are internal things."
About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.
This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.
“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.
“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time. His name will always be there on the records as a past winner. Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer. He did a lot for young golfers coming up. He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”
Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.
"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.
“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid. Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event. The Jamaica Open is our premier event."
With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.
"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good. We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place. We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.
“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day. We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before. Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."
The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.
Red Bull have been fined $7million and have been hit with a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research for breaking Formula One budget cap regulations.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA revealed that Red Bull were guilty of spending £1.86m more than they were permitted to last season, which ended dramatically when Max Verstappen won his first world title.
The FIA on Friday confirmed the sanctions imposed on the constructors’ champions after the Red Bull Racing accepted breaking the rules.
It was taken into account by the FIA that Red Bull Racing had "acted cooperatively throughout" what was the first review process under F1 financial regulations.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
