Catalans Dragons players scurried for cover after a bull broke loose during a pre-match parade ahead of their Betfred Super League clash with St Helens.
The parade was contrived by Catalans owner Bernard Guasch, head of a local meat processing company, to celebrate the quality of beef in the region.
However, one of the bulls broke free, dragging its handler across the turf before shaking free and gallivanting towards the posts, sending players, who were warming up at the time, scattering into the stands.
The bull, one of three in the parade, was swiftly recovered with no damage done, and the match started as scheduled at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan.
In a statement prior to the incident, the Dragons said that “three prize-winning bulls, as well as two cows from the same Gascon breed, will perform a lap of honour during the warm-up”.
George Russell saw off Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes completed a surprise one-two finish in opening practice for the Miami Grand Prix.
In the closing moments of the one-hour running in the Sunshine State, Russell and Hamilton moved from the back of the pack to the front.
Hamilton held top spot for a handful of seconds before he was usurped by team-mate Russell. Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, one spot ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen.
Formula One is back in Miami for a second time at a 3.36-mile circuit constructed around the Hard Rock Stadium – home of NFL side the Miami Dolphins – 15 miles north of the city.
The race marks the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States this year as F1’s American owners Liberty Media continue to build on the rise of the sport across the Atlantic.
A debut event on the Las Vegas strip will take place in November, while Austin’s grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas – a permanent fixture on the F1 schedule since 2012 – also features.
Despite the boom of the sport, the actual competition is facing accusations of being “predictable” and “boring” with Red Bull winning 14 of the last 15 races.
Verstappen leads Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the standings by six points after the opening four rounds.
But Mercedes’ encouraging start here will provide hope that Red Bull might not have it all their own way in Florida.
Russell edged out Hamilton by 0.212 sec with Leclerc three tenths back. Verstappen ended the first running four tenths behind Russell, while his Red Bull team-mate Perez, who comfortably won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend, was only 11th.
The session was earlier suspended for nine minutes when Nico Hulkenberg crashed into the wall after he lost control of his Haas coming through the third corner.
With Hulkenberg’s broken machine in a precarious position, the red flags were deployed.
Behind the top four, Carlos Sainz took fifth for Ferrari, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly sixth and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso seventh.
Lando Norris finished 16th for McLaren, 1.8 sec back while home favourite and sole American in the field Logan Sargeant, who was raised in nearby Fort Lauderdale, finished 19th of the 20 runners.
The concluding action of the day gets under way at 17:30 local time (22:30 UK).
George Russell saw off Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes completed a surprise one-two finish in opening practice for the Miami Grand Prix.
In the closing moments of the one-hour running in the Sunshine State, Russell and Hamilton moved from the back of the pack to the front.
Hamilton held top spot for a handful of seconds before he was usurped by team-mate Russell. Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, one spot ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen.
Formula One is back in Miami for a second time at a 3.36-mile circuit constructed around the Hard Rock Stadium – home of NFL side the Miami Dolphins – 15 miles north of the city.
The race marks the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States this year as F1’s American owners Liberty Media continue to build on the rise of the sport across the Atlantic.
A debut event on the Las Vegas strip will take place in November, while Austin’s grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas – a permanent fixture on the F1 schedule since 2012 – also features.
Despite the boom of the sport, the actual competition is facing accusations of being “predictable” and “boring” with Red Bull winning 14 of the last 15 races.
Verstappen leads Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the standings by six points after the opening four rounds.
But Mercedes’ encouraging start here will provide hope that Red Bull might not have it all their own way in Florida.
Russell edged out Hamilton by 0.212 sec with Leclerc three tenths back. Verstappen ended the first running four tenths behind Russell, while his Red Bull team-mate Perez, who comfortably won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend, was only 11th.
Ross County manager Malky Mackay expects the cinch Premiership relegation battle to be closely-contested with nerve and fortune playing their part.
The Dingwall side slipped four points adrift at the foot of the table with a 6-1 defeat by Hearts immediately before the split and have lost seven of their past nine matches.
But they have beaten four out of five of their bottom-six rivals so far this season, including Saturday’s visitors, Livingston, and Mackay believes his side will make a fight of their survival quest.
When asked what will influence the survival fight, Mackay said: “The team that holds their nerve on the day… I also think the rub of the green will come into it over the five games in terms of maybe some decisions, and the VAR decisions that may take place.
“But I think there will be not a lot between the teams.”
It appears the Miami Heat will have their best player back on the court when their Eastern Conference semi-final series against the New York Knicks resumes on Saturday.
Jimmy Butler plans to play in Game 3, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, after he sat out Tuesday’s loss with a right ankle sprain sustained in Miami’s Game 1 victory at Madison Square Garden.
“Jimmy is working,” Spoelstra said Friday. “We’ll see. … We know what his intentions are.”
Butler injured his ankle late in the series opener on Sunday, and though he never came out of the 108-101 victory, he was noticeably limping after getting hurt and played a smaller role in Miami’s offense.
The injury was severe enough, however, to keep him on the bench Tuesday as New York evened the series with a 111-105 win.
One advantage that is working in Butler’s favour is the lengthy layoff between Games 2 and 3.
By sitting out Tuesday, the 33-year-old Butler will have five days off between games to get treatment on the ankle.
A return in Game 3 would be a huge boost for the eighth-seeded Heat after they scored their fewest points of the postseason without the NBA’s playoff scoring leader in Game 2.
The six-time All-Star is averaging a league-leading 35.5 points per game in the playoffs on 58.5 per cent shooting, along with 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
The last time the Heat played at home on April 24, Butler had a career-high 56 points in a 119-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks as Miami seized a 3-1 lead over the East’s top seed.
Steve Smith’s LV= Insurance County Championship debut innings was overshadowed by Sussex captain Cheteshwar Pujara’s classy century at Worcestershire.
Attention was fixed on former Australia captain Smith, whose union with Sussex for three Division Two matches ahead of this summer’s Ashes has raised eyebrows, after the visitors lost two quick wickets on the second morning.
But, just as he was finding some rhythm, Smith fell for 30 to a debatable lbw call before Pujara demonstrated why he is as highly regarded as the Australian with a fine 136 in Sussex’s 373 all out.
Worcestershire reached stumps on 34 for one – trailing by 75 heading into day three.
Australian fast bowler Michael Neser took the spotlight away from the returning Jonny Bairstow with a brilliant hat-trick as Glamorgan dominated against Yorkshire.
Bairstow made an unbeaten 20 in his first competitive innings after more than eight months out injured but he could only watch on from the non-striker’s end as Neser ripped through his colleagues at Headingley.
The 33-year-old, left out of this summer’s Ashes touring party, showed the Australia Test selectors what they could be missing as he claimed career-best figures of seven for 32 off 11 overs to help skittle Yorkshire for 106.
Boasting a first-innings lead of 139, Glamorgan reached 57 for two in their second innings before proceedings were brought to an early finish.
Nottinghamshire opener Haseeb Hameed fell three runs short of a first century of the season before Lancashire took the upper hand on a rain-affected second day at Trent Bridge.
England bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad both finished the day wicketless as Lancashire overturned a first-innings deficit of 35 to lead by 63 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand.
Essex seamer Jamie Porter claimed four wickets to pose the first serious questions about Surrey’s credentials of retaining their title.
Porter took his season’s total to 18 in four Championship games to help dismiss Surrey for 240, with the lead extended to 89 by Nick Browne and Sir Alastair Cook in five overs before stumps.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore blasted a thrilling first half-century for Somerset to bat them into a promising position against Northamptonshire at Taunton.
The visitors began by extending their overnight first-innings score of 137 for four to 255 all out. In reply, Somerset slipped to 61 for three before Cameron Bancroft (39) helped Kohler-Cadmore on his way to an unbeaten 95 off just 71 balls, with his side 199 for four and trailing by 56.
Sam Hain passed 50 for the third time in five innings this season as Warwickshire continued to dominate Hampshire.
Hampshire had found hope with three wickets in a truncated morning session to fashion a collapse from 83 without loss to 95 for three but half-centuries for Alex Davies (51), Ed Barnard (91 not out) and Michael Burgess (60no) accompanied Hain’s 85 as Warwickshire ended day two on 364 for five – a lead of 135.
Leus du Plooy and Wayne Madsen batted Derbyshire into a dominant position against Leicestershire at Derby.
The pair shared a stand of 122 from 184 balls, with Du Plooy failing by six runs to become Derbyshire’s first century maker of the season. The hosts closed on 326 for seven, a lead of 204.
Steve Smith had a brief but eventful cameo as his maiden LV= Insurance County Championship innings was put in the shade by Sussex captain Cheteshwar Pujara’s classy century at Worcestershire.
Attention was fixed on Smith, whose union with Sussex for three Division Two matches ahead of this summer’s Ashes has raised eyebrows, after the visitors lost two quick wickets on the second morning.
But just as he was finding some rhythm, Smith fell for 30 to a debatable lbw call before Pujara demonstrated why he is as highly-regarded as the Australian with a fine 136 in Sussex’s 373 all out, with Worcestershire going to stumps on 34 for one – trailing by 75 heading into day three.
The pair, who will be on opposing sides when Smith’s Australia take on Pujara’s India in next month’s World Test Championship final, put on 61 in a partnership notable for both batters being ordered to fasten neck protectors to the back of their helmets by umpires Chris Watts and Peter Hartley.
Smith has previously described stem guards – mandatory for all domestic cricketers in England but not in Australia – as “claustrophobic” and akin to “being stuck in an MRI scan machine” after experimenting with one following a blow to the neck by a Jofra Archer bouncer in 2019 which caused concussion.
Pujara then Smith were brought to the crease within the first 10 minutes of Sussex resuming on 63 for one in response to 264 all out as overnight batters Tom Alsop (13) and Ali Orr (34) quickly perished.
Smith faced a dozen deliveries without scoring, either side of a five-minute delay while adjustments were made to his and Pujara’s helmets, but he duly took advantage from his 13th ball – short and wide from Ben Gibbon – to get off the mark by cutting for four.
He looked to be warming to his work by clipping then pulling Josh Tongue for leg-side fours but while he was given the hurry up by the Worcestershire fast bowler, Smith was perhaps unfortunate the umpire’s finger went up after being struck well above the knee roll while already on his toes.
It was a key wicket for Tongue but he and the rest of the Worcestershire attack found the prolific Pujara trickier to dislodge. India’s Test number three played late but drove with aplomb and was ruthless to short and wide deliveries while he even uppercut Tongue for six.
Either side of Pujara reaching fifty, James Coles departed for 14 after an attempted whip off Gibbon brushed his inside edge while Oli Carter missed a drive at Matthew Waite and was bowled.
But Pujara found a willing ally in Fynn Hudson-Prentice, with the pair shining in the mid-afternoon sun after a short rain delay and taking Worcestershire’s bowlers to task in a 117-run stand in 16.4 overs.
Pujara cut Brett D’Oliveira for his 14th four and although he went to tea on 97, he got to a 138-ball ton shortly after the resumption, his third hundred already this season and an astonishing eighth in 12 matches for Sussex.
Waite trapped Hudson-Prentice lbw for 54 but, with Sussex having established a first-innings lead by this point, Ollie Robinson had licence to tee off against a flagging attack, the England seamer following up his seven for 59 the day before by lifting Joe Leach for two sixes.
Going for a third, Robinson miscued to long-on to depart for 33 off only 21 balls while Tongue had another important scalp as Pujara flirted outside off and nicked through to Gareth Roderick.
Sussex’s innings quickly concluded, leaving Worcestershire to negotiate a few tricky overs.
Robinson picked up where he left off on Thursday and drew the edge of Jake Libby, with Pujara holding on at fifth slip but Ed Pollock and Azhar Ali helped Worcestershire avoid any more damage.
France’s Matthieu Pavon maintained his two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the DS Automobiles Italian Open.
Pavon followed an opening 63, his lowest-ever round on the DP World Tour, with a 70 on Friday to reach nine under par, with compatriot Julien Guerrier and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui on seven under.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk is a shot further back after a second consecutive 68.
Starting on the back nine at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Pavon threatened to leave the field trailing in his wake when he carded a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th, but dropped three shots over the next 13 holes before closing with a 57-foot birdie on the ninth.
“Quite an up and down day,” Pavon said. “I started quite fast with a lot of good shots, made some birdies earlier on and that was great, but then I made some mistakes.
“Nothing really big but when you miss something here it feels like it is really tough to get the up and down done, so I dropped a few shots.
“I was a bit tired in the end also after a poor night yesterday, so to finish my round under par I am really happy.”
Defending champion Robert MacIntyre had earlier been forced out of the tournament due to a back injury less than an hour before he was due to tee off alongside home favourite Guido Migliozzi and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.
The Scot wrote on social media: “Gutted to withdraw this morning from the @ItalianOpen with a back strain. Hopefully nothing too serious. Now for a week of rest before the PGA Championship.”
MacIntyre, who defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September, had carded an opening two-over-par 73 on Thursday.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald missed the cut after consecutive rounds of 74 left him six over par.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Donald said.
“Great to be back here again, obviously had a nice dinner with the vice-captains one night and did a lot of work behind the scenes, it was a busy week and a productive week, (but) my game was a little bit off this week.”
EFL clubs have unanimously voted to accept a record £935million deal with Sky Sports that will see more than 1,000 matches broadcast a season, but which keeps the Saturday blackout in place.
The five-year domestic deal, made up of guaranteed payments of £895m and £40m in marketing rights, will begin in 2024-25 and run to the end of the 2028-29 season.
It represents a 50 per cent increase on the league’s current deal with Sky which expires at the end of next season.
Altogether 1,059 league, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy matches will be shown live either on a Sky main channel or via a Sky streaming platform, replacing the iFollow service for domestic viewers.
Streaming platform DAZN had been keen to acquire the rights to screen all EFL matches and bring an end to the Saturday blackout period between 2.45pm and 5.15pm.
The blackout stays in place in the Sky deal, but more matches are available to stream, with six games across the Championship, League One and League Two now set to kick off at 12.30pm each Saturday.
The deal means 26 out of 36 matches will still kick off at Saturday 3pm – seven Championship matches plus 19 across Leagues One and Two.
The EFL acknowledges the changes in kick-off times can make planning difficult for matchday fans, and has committed to placing all live matches up to the FA Cup third round before the start of each season.
It is understood that based on the EFL’s distribution formula, Championship clubs will earn 46 per cent more in guaranteed broadcast income and clubs in Leagues One and Two will be 25 per cent better off.
EFL had announced Sky as its preferred bidder in early April, following the issue of invitations to tender earlier in the year.
The deal means 10 league matches will be shown live each weekend, including six in the 12.30pm Saturday slot.
Every match in the EFL Cup will be shown live, plus every game in the EFL Trophy.
The PA news agency understands Sky has bought the EFL Cup rights ‘as is’ , despite the possibility of the competition having a significantly different look from 2024-25, with domestic calendar issues under discussion as part of the ‘New Deal For Football’ talks.
The EFL declined to comment on whether the deal included a rebate clause to Sky in the event that the format of the competition did substantially change.
All opening round and final day matches will be shown live, as will all games played on Bank Holidays including Easter, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day alongside the matches played in Sky Bet League One and Two during international breaks.
The deal also promises greater parity in the number of times clubs are selected for TV coverage is also guaranteed.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “This is a landmark broadcast deal for EFL clubs, establishing the league as a premium partner with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports.
“The EFL is an iconic sports property and one of the biggest and best attended leagues in European football.
“This increased investment and coverage from Sky Sports will showcase much more of our compelling match action to fans, while delivering record rights values as we seek to make our clubs sustainable at all levels.”
Clubs will gain an additional fee when selected for broadcast, but a debate on how these will be allocated will take place among the clubs later in the year.
No bid convinced the EFL to remove the blackout. The EFL estimated that removing it would cost £37m in matchday attendance revenue, and that had to be factored into any offer which sought to remove it.
Sha’Carri Richardson served notice that she might be ready to beat the best in the world in 2023 when she ran a world-leading 10.76 to win the 100m dash against a stacked field at the season-opening Diamond League meeting on Friday.
In the field that included Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the 2022 200m World Champion, Dina Asher Smith, Abby Steiner and Melissa Jefferson, Richardson started well and was on Jackson’s shoulder mid-way the race before pulling away to eclipse Jackson’s previous world lead of 10.82.
“I'm so blessed and thankful, I feel at peace,” said Richardson, who broke the previous meet record of 10.80 held by Tori Bowie, who died earlier this week.
“All I do is the best I do and I'm excited to do it. Like I said it before, I had to be kicked out from another 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”
The Jamaican finished second in 10.85 while Asher Smith ran season-best 10.98 for third place.
Earlier, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, continued her impressive from last season when she won silver at the 2022 World Championships, winning the 400m in 50.51 ahead of American Shamier Little, who ran 50.84.
Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland ran a season best 51.64 for third place.
World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams (52.05) and Jamaicans Candice McLeod (53.43) and Stephenie-Ann McPherson (52.93 SB) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
By her usually high standards Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wasn’t at her best last season but on Friday, she looked like she is getting back to her best while winning the 100m hurdles in a season-best 12.48. The USA’s Alaysha Johnson also ran a season-best of 12.66 for second place with 2019 World Champion Nia Ali finishing third in 12.69.
Jamaica’s Megan Tapper ran a season-best 12.76 for fourth.
In the 400m hurdles, Rai Benjamin held off a fast-finishing CJ Allen to win in 47.78. Allen ran a season-best 47.93 while Wilfried Happio of France finished third in 49.12.
The top seven athletes all set season bests in the men’s javelin but India’s Neeraj Chopra was the best of them all throwing a world-leading 88.67m.
Jakub Vadlejch was second with his effort of 88.63m. World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with an effort of 85.88m.
Fred Kerley surged late to win the 200m in 19.92, a season’s best. Kenny Bednarek of the USA was second in 20.11 with Canada’s Aaron Brown of Canada taking the final podium spot with 20.20.
EFL clubs have unanimously voted to accept a new £935million deal with Sky Sports which will see more than 1,000 matches a season being broadcast, but which keeps the Saturday blackout in place.
The five-year deal, made up of guaranteed payments of £895m and £40m in marketing rights, will begin in 2024-25 and run to the end of the 2028-29 season.
It represents a 50 per cent increase on the league’s current deal with Sky which expires at the end of next season.
Altogether 1,059 league, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy matches will be shown live either on a Sky main channel or via a Sky streaming platform, replacing the iFollow service for domestic viewers.
Streaming platform DAZN had been keen to acquire the rights to screen all EFL matches and bring an end to the Saturday blackout period between 2.45pm and 5.15pm.
The blackout stays in place in the Sky deal, but more matches are available to stream, with six games across the Championship, League One and League Two now set to kick off at 12.30pm each Saturday.
The deal means 26 out of 36 matches will still kick off at Saturday 3pm – seven Championship matches plus 19 across Leagues One and Two.
The EFL acknowledges the changes in kick-off times can make planning difficult for matchday fans, and has committed to placing all live matches up to the FA Cup third round before the start of each season.
It is understood that based on the EFL’s distribution formula, Championship clubs will earn 46 per cent more in guaranteed broadcast income and clubs in Leagues One and Two will be 25 per cent better off.
EFL had announced Sky as its preferred bidder in early April, following the issue of invitations to tender earlier in the year.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by beating Borna Coric to reach the final of the Madrid Open.
The Spaniard is bidding to win back-to-back titles in his homeland for the second year in a row after successfully defending the title in Barcelona last month.
Croatian Coric put up a good fight, with the first set in particular full of gruelling all-court rallies, but ultimately Alcaraz was too good and he claimed a 6-4 6-3 victory.
After the pair had shaken hands, the home hero was presented with an enormous birthday cake while the crowd sang happy birthday.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz. “It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play under-12s. Of course last year was amazing.
“Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”
Alcaraz’s latest win came amid the news Rafael Nadal will miss the Italian Open in Rome next week as he continues to recover from a hip injury, and the younger Spaniard is rapidly establishing himself as the French Open favourite.
Novak Djokovic missed Madrid with an elbow problem and, if he wins the title this weekend, Alcaraz will only need to play a match in Rome to ensure he returns to world number one.
Lionel Messi has publicly apologised to Paris St Germain following his unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
The Argentinian was reportedly fined and suspended by the Ligue 1 leaders after undertaking a promotional visit to the Middle East country without permission.
The 35-year-old, who is an ambassador for the Saudi Tourism Authority, was pictured in Riyadh on Monday, the day after his side suffered a surprise loss to Lorient.
Messi says he had to make the trip for contractual reasons having previously cancelled it, and had assumed he had a day off.
The issue has highlighted an apparent souring of the relationship between the World Cup-winner and PSG, with reports since emerging that he is set to leave the club in the summer.
Messi said in a video posted on Instagram: “I wanted to make this video due to everything that is happening.
“First of all, I want to say sorry to my team-mates and to the club. I honestly thought that we were going to be free after the game, as had been the case in previous weeks.
“I had organised this trip to Saudi Arabia, which had been cancelled previously and this time I couldn’t. I apologise again and I’m here for whatever the club decide. All the best.”
Messi, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, joined PSG in a blaze of publicity after Barcelona ran into severe monetary difficulties two years ago.
He has been linked with a return to the Nou Camp but it is widely thought the LaLiga leaders’ financial position makes that unrealistic. Saudi Arabia and the United States are rumoured to be other potential destinations.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 5.
Football
Napoli celebrated their first Serie A title win for 33 years.
Neil Warnock will be back in football in nine months…
Liverpool unveiled their kit for next season.
Cricket
Katherine Sciver-Brunt retired from England duty.
What a hat-trick ball.
Golf
Back trouble for Robert MacIntyre ahead of the PGA Championship.
Darts
Michael Van Gerwen was frustrated.
Formula One
A trip to the Dolphins for Valtteri Bottas.
Haas boss Guenther Steiner was mixing it up.
Can you speak up George Russell?
Some track fun for Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
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