Northern Ireland centurion Jonny Evans is full of pride after becoming an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
The 35-year-old Leicester defender, who had won 100 caps for his country heading into this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, is one of a number of people from the world of football to be recognised.
Former Rangers captain John Greig becomes a CBE, ex-Arsenal, Crystal Palace and England forward Ian Wright was made an OBE while former Chelsea and England forward Eniola Aluko becomes an MBE.
Evans said: “When I got the letter through the door and it had the royal seal on the back I was a bit shocked, but it was also amazing.
“It made me feel very proud, especially when I saw that it was in recognition of my contribution to association football in Northern Ireland.
“It brought it home that playing more than 100 times for my country, and playing for so long for Northern Ireland, has been so good. I represented everyone in the country and had many good times along the way.”
Evans is already excited by the prospect of the investiture ceremony, on a date to be confirmed.
“It will be a really special day and one that we will really enjoy,” he added.
Wright becomes an OBE for services to football and charity.
He was a late developer and did not sign professionally until the age of 21 with Palace, having been playing in non-league for Dulwich Hamlet.
He scored a post-war record 117 goals for the Eagles and scored twice for them in a 3-3 draw against Manchester United in the 1990 FA Cup final, before the London club were beaten 1-0 in the replay.
He enjoyed even greater success at Arsenal after signing for them in 1991, finishing as the Gunners’ top scorer for six seasons in a row and scoring 185 goals for the club in total – a figure only surpassed by Thierry Henry.
Since retiring in 2000, Wright has become a regular and popular pundit on Match of the Day and on ITV’s coverage of the England men’s and women’s teams.
He has spoken powerfully about racism in football and last summer during the Women’s Euros added his voice for the calls for girls to be given equal access to the sport at school.
Aluko won 102 caps for the Lionesses during her playing career, having started out at Birmingham in 2001. She was part of the Chelsea squad which won the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Women’s Super League titles and the 2015 and 2018 FA Cup.
She was part of the Lionesses team which reached the final of the 2009 Euros, and a key component of Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.
Since her retirement, she has worked in director roles at Aston Villa and Angel City in the American National Women’s Soccer League, as well as a television pundit.
Greig’s CBE is recognition of an incredible career with Rangers, in which he won five league titles and six Scottish Cups, captained them to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972 and was voted by supporters as “The Greatest Ever Ranger” in 1999.
Also recognised is referee Amy Fearn, who in 2010 became the first woman to referee an EFL match when she took over officiating duties for the final 20 minutes of the game between Coventry and Nottingham Forest.
Fearn, who also became the first woman to referee in the men’s FA Cup first round in 2013, said: “It’s all a little bit surreal but all very nice at the same time.
“I got a letter through the post about a month ago to say that I had been nominated and would I like to accept it. My initial reaction was, who was winding me up?!
“The letter was totally out of the blue. When you make the phone call to confirm everything, I asked who it was that had nominated me but they said they couldn’t tell me.
“For someone to take the time to nominate me and go to this much effort is very nice and touching.”
Sarah Hunter is planning a beach holiday in Italy this summer with the aim of processing a momentous period of her life that has produced its latest achievement in the form a CBE.
England’s most capped player with 141 Test appearances has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list for services to rugby union.
Seven months ago the 37-year-old was coming to terms with a defeat to New Zealand in the final of the World Cup that left her needing a break from the sport.
When the decision to retire was made, England’s captain did it on her own terms by bowing out in her home town as the Six Nations got under way in Newcastle in March.
As one of the greatest champions for the advancement of women’s rugby, the farewell procession has been lengthy, but her association with the Red Roses endures after she was given the newly-created role of transition coach.
A breathless schedule means Hunter has so far been unable to book next month’s fortnight break on the continent, but when it comes it will finally provide the space to make sense of recent events.
“Never in a million years did I ever expect to have the career I’ve had and for it to be recognised like this,” she told the PA news agency.
“I’m just an ordinary girl from the north-east of England who has happened to have an incredible time playing rugby.
“I haven’t really had the time to take it all in. After the World Cup it was pretty difficult. We went into the tournament really confident but it didn’t pan out and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.
“When I came back I didn’t want to see rugby or be involved in rugby. My club Loughborough gave me time and space as a person and not just as a rugby player, which was really important.
“I was captain when we lost the World Cup final in 2017 and from that I learned to be kind to myself. You’re older and wiser and reflect that in sport these things happen. I didn’t want to be around rugby and that was an important thing to recognise.
“I’m really glad I took the time because while it’s all been a whirlwind, the last four or five months have been pretty special. Once I decided to call time on my career, doing it at Newcastle felt really right.
“I got to do it in a place that is so special to me with all my friends and family there. People think I was mad not doing it at Twickenham for the Grand Slam decider in front of 60,000, but for me it’s never been about the grandeur or magnitude of something, it’s about what matters to me.
“When I walked out on to the pitch, I knew it was the right moment and I’ve not missed playing since.
“Opportunities have come since then and it feels like I’ve been living in a bubble that I’m sure will be popped soon and the reality of what has happened over the last six month will finally hit me.
“From being in a mindset where rugby wasn’t a great place for me after the World Cup to being in a great place knowing what I’ve been able to take from the game is incredible.
“It’s been an eventful six months but I’m looking forward to sitting on a beach and reflecting on it.”
Hunter made her England debut in 2007 in front of fewer than 200 people at Old Albanians, just outside St Albans, and recalls that “no one knew it was happening.”
Fast forward 16 years and 10,200 crammed into Kingston Park to watch the number eight say goodbye in a match broadcast live on terrestrial TV. And at the end of the Six Nations, 58,498 gathered at Twickenham to see England clinch the Grand Slam – a world record attendance for women’s rugby.
“As I’ve got older, what has become really special for me is seeing how the game has grown,” said Hunter, who hopes to build on a coaching career that started at Loughborough.
“What has been the greater purpose of me playing?”
“While I will have special memories of winning the World Cup and Six Nations titles, and the team-mates I’ve had along the way, playing a small part in taking the game to an unbelievable level is one of the things I’m most proud of.
“Knowing I’ve done that as part of a generation of players who have taken the game to another place is special.”
John Greig thanked Rangers for the part they have played in his life as he dedicated his CBE to the club of his heart.
The 80-year-old spent his entire career with the Gers as a player, manager and director and he now holds an ambassadorial role.
Greig’s significance to the Glasgow club was highlighted in 1999 when he was voted by supporters as “The Greatest Ever Ranger”.
The Ibrox icon has now been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.
“One of the reasons I’ve got this is because I’ve managed to spend all my life with a great club in Rangers,” he told the PA news agency.
“The club and the fans have given me the support and the respect which has obviously put me in line to get this, which I appreciate very much.
“It’s a big honour and I look upon it as an honour to the club as well as myself.”
Greig admits news of his CBE came out of the blue.
“It’s most unexpected at my age,” he said. “I feel humbled because there are so many people more deserving of this than me.
“Nevertheless, I’m very honoured and proud.
“I didn’t know it was in the pipeline. I just got word from London a couple of weeks ago. I don’t even know how they got my address but they notified me by letter.
“My wife opened the letter and we got a shock because it was unexpected.”
Greig was not the only Scottish football personality recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Arbroath manager Dick Campbell was given a Medal of the Order of the British Empire “for services to Association Football and to the community in Angus”.
The charismatic 69-year-old has become one of Scottish football’s most recognised and popular characters during a managerial career spanning more than three decades.
Campbell, who has previously had spells in charge of Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Brechin, Partick Thistle, Ross County and Forfar, explained the recent death of his sister Margaret has lent a degree of poignancy to his recognition.
“To receive the Empire Medal is fabulous,” Campbell told the PA news agency. “I’m very surprised and I don’t know what to do. My sister died six weeks ago and I just wish she was living to hear about it. She knew nothing about it because I only found out about a month ago.
“It’s a special honour because it’s from the people of Angus for my services to football. I took Brechin up three leagues, I took Forfar up two leagues and I took Arbroath up three leagues so I don’t think anybody will ever repeat that!
“I’m a humble miner’s boy from Hill of Beath, I’ve been in the game a long time. I’m starting my 36th year as a manager this weekend so it’s a nice way to start the new season.”
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed another memorable moment in the US Open as Rory McIlroy remained in touch with the leaders at Los Angeles Country Club.
Fitzpatrick recorded the third hole-in-one of the week on the 115-yard 15th in the second round, his tee shot spinning back into the hole just as those of Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns had done on Thursday.
However, Fitzpatrick could not see where the ball had landed and was walking off the tee before the roar from the crowd sparked some enthusiastic, if rather belated, celebrations.
The eagle lifted Fitzpatrick from one over par to one under, but he had slipped back to one over by the time American Wyndham Clark set the early clubhouse target on nine under.
Clark added a 67 to his opening 64 to take over at the top of the leaderboard from Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, who were among the later starters.
Fowler and Schauffele had both shot 62 in the first round to record the lowest score in US Open history and equal the lowest in any men’s major, while the scoring average of 71.38 was another tournament record.
Tournament officials insisted they would not respond by making conditions “stupid hard”, although the par-three 11th was playing 297 yards on Friday and water had only been applied to “isolated spots on the putting greens for turf health”.
John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer of the USGA, told NBC: “[On Friday], as planned, we will play the golf course longer.
“We’re not going to force anything. We could do things that could make it stupid hard. We’re not going to do that.”
Dustin Johnson found the going hard enough on his own early on, the 2016 champion running up an eight on the second after tangling with a fairway bunker, thick rough and the barranca which runs down the left of the hole.
McIlroy was also among the early starters and dropped a shot on the 11th, but bounced back in style by holing a 32ft birdie putt on the 12th which had several feet of break from left to right.
Dropped shots on the 13th and 17th took McIlroy to the turn in 37, but the four-time major winner covered the first six holes of the front nine in three under to improve to six under overall.
It had, however, taken McIlroy’s group four hours to complete 13 holes as the pace of play began to prove the problem which had been feared.
Andy Murray completed a clean sweep of British victories on Nottingham’s Centre Court to make it through to the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open.
After Jodie Burrage, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson all reached the last four of the women’s event, Murray defeated Dominic Stricker 7-6 (2) 7-5 for his eighth-successive victory.
The 36-year-old is bidding to win a second-successive title on the second-tier Challenger Tour having triumphed in Surbiton last week and is yet to drop a set in Nottingham.
He said of the home success in his on-court interview: “Obviously this week’s been great. A couple of weeks ago we were hearing British tennis wasn’t doing well. Things change a lot on a week-to-week basis.
“You just want all of the players to reach their potential, make sure everyone’s working hard.
“Not everyone is going to win Wimbledon and grand slams but you just want to make sure everyone is making the most of this amazing opportunity to play tennis for a living.
“This week has obviously been brilliant, the women have done extremely well and hopefully that continues through the year. It should be a fun weekend for the British tennis fans.”
He did not have things all his own way against 20-year-old Swiss Stricker, with neither man able to create a break point in the opening set.
Murray played a fine tie-break to move in front, clenching his fist as he sat down in his chair, but it was Stricker who made the first move in the second set.
The eighth seed took his third chance to break for 3-1 only for Murray to respond straight away and Stricker then took a medical time-out for treatment to his back.
With the clock ticking past 8pm, Murray pushed for another break and finally got it, a Stricker backhand dropping wide to give his opponent the chance to serve for the match – and the Scot made no mistake.
Murray, who next faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges, feels he is heading firmly in the right direction, saying: “It was a really, really tight match today against one of the best young players in the world.
“He has a really good game, huge shots from the back of the court but also really nice touch up at the net.
“I’m really glad to get through that one because it was really close. That’s the best I’ve played across the last two weeks in terms of how I hit the ball and everything. It was really positive.”
Formula One first practice at the Canadian Grand Prix was embarrassingly cancelled after a CCTV failure at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The opening one-hour running of the weekend was red-flagged after just four minutes when Pierre Gasly broke down in his Alpine.
Only a handful of drivers had posted a lap with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell among those who had not taken to the track.
The running had been expected to restart as usual following the removal of Gasly’s Alpine, but F1’s governing body, the FIA, blamed “issues with local CCTV infrastructure” for the initial delay.
The suspension in play then became temporary with the FIA confirming at 14:20 local time (19:20 BST) that the session would not be resumed leaving an estimated 90,000 spectators short-changed.
The FIA said that the concluding running of the day, which was due to start at 17:00 local time (22:00 BST), would be brought forward to 16:30 to allow for 30 minutes more running.
An FIA spokesperson said: “The delay will be longer as the CCTV is not synced correctly and until the issue has been fixed we cannot run on track.
“This system is a local installation and they are continuing to work to resolve the problem.
“The clock will continue to run down on FP1 and the session will not be extended as there must be two hours between FP1 and FP2.”
Former driver Karun Chandhok, who competed in 11 grands prix and now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, was critical of the FIA’s decision to abandon the running.
“I feel we needed to get on track,” said Chandhok.
“I would argue that there’s races around the world where they haven’t got CCTV cameras and they rely on marshal posts to radio incidents in – then you can use the TV cameras to look at it.”
A group representing victims’ families and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States has welcomed the news that golf’s controversial peace deal will be investigated.
The PGA Tour announced last week it was creating a new commercial entity with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf League.
The United States Senate has already opened an investigation into the shock agreement, with Senator Richard Blumenthal writing to PGA Tour chief executive Jay Monahan to say that the PGA Tour’s “sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf” raised “serious questions”.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, a PGA Tour official informed employees that the US Justice Department also plans to review the agreement for antitrust concerns.
Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, said: “We are pleased to see and welcome these investigations into the circumstances surrounding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s attempted acquisition of one of America’s cherished institutions – the PGA Tour.
“9/11 Families United has long called into question the Saudi’s use of sportswashing with the LIV Golf Tour and this announcement proves that we are not alone in our fight for truth and accountability with the Kingdom, which has relied on an ‘army’ of paid consultants and lobbyists spanning several years to evade any responsibility for the brutal attack on our country and murder of our loved ones.
“As previous court documents made clear, LIV Golf was never about economics for the Saudis and there has never been a rational economic reason for spending billions on golf.
“As even the PGA Tour’s commissioner agreed only months ago, the Kingdom is using LIV Golf to improve the Kingdom’s standing in the world, and now the the Kingdom is leveraging LIV to take over the PGA Tour, giving it an even larger sportswashing enterprise.”
It is understood that the PGA Tour views the Justice Department’s reported investigation as an extension of the existing probe prompted by the litigation with LIV, litigation which was ended by the proposed deal.
The Golden State Warriors didn’t have to look far to find their next general manager.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. will take over as GM and successor to Bob Myers, the team announced Friday.
Dunleavy, who had been serving as the team’s vice president of basketball operations, is now tasked with following Myers’ 11-year run as president and GM that produced four NBA championships. Myers previously announced that he is stepping down on June 30.
“[Dunleavy] has a wealth of basketball knowledge, stemming from his family upbringing, a 15-year NBA playing career and five seasons serving under Bob Myers in our front office,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said in a statement.
“He's young and energetic, has established numerous relationships around the league and communicates well with players and coaches -- all important traits in this business. Mike's ready for this challenge and responsibility.”
Dunleavy will share decision-making power with executive vice president of basketball operations Kirk Lacob, ESPN reported.
Dunleavy was drafted by the Warriors and played for six NBA franchises over the course of his career.
He joined the Warriors’ staff as a scout in 2018 and was promoted to assistant general manager the following season.
The Warriors face a pivotal offseason after being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Draymond Green has a $27.6 million player option for next season, and Klay Thompson is entering the final season of his contract.
Tiger Woods will not contest next month’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool as he continues to recovery from surgery.
Woods pulled out of the Masters during the third round in April, saying at the time it was due to plantar fasciitis.
However, the 47-year-old then had a subtalar fusion procedure in New York to address the problem caused by a previous fracture of his talus, a bone in the ankle joint.
The 15-time major winner did not contest May’s US PGA Championship at Oak Hill or this week’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Woods had hoped to defy the odds to compete at Hoylake, where he won a third Open title in 2006 in his first tournament since the death of his father Earl two months earlier.
However, an R&A spokesman told the PA news agency: “We have been advised that Tiger won’t be playing at Royal Liverpool.
“We wish him all the best with his recovery.”
Woods feared his leg would have to be amputated due to the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021.
He made a remarkable return to action 14 months later and finished 47th in the Masters, but withdrew from the US PGA following a third-round 79 and skipped the US Open before missing the cut in the 150th Open at St Andrews.
Aidan O’Brien is confident Emily Dickinson will be better the further she goes as he prepares a two-pronged assault on the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
Though last year’s winner Kyprios has been ruled out through injury, the Ballydoyle maestro runs both Broome and Emily Dickinson in Thursday’s feature, which he has won on a record eight occasions.
The latter will have to recover from a lacklustre display when finishing a disappointing sixth as a 2-5 favourite in the Saval Beg at Leopardstown.
But O’Brien believes the four-year-old daughter of Dubawi will benefit from stepping up to two and a half miles, having previously won over two miles in testing ground at the Curragh in October – her first time at that distance.
“We always thought this race would suit her well, because we think she stays very well,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing.
“Obviously, she handles some ease in the ground well and when there is ease in the ground, stamina comes into it more.
“We think the trip will suit her and even though she handles soft ground, we don’t think she minds fast ground.”
Winner of three of her 13 runs, Emily Dickinson is the general 6-1 third-favourite behind Coltrane and Eldar Eldarov in what is considered to be an open race.
O’Brien feels Ryan Moore’s mount had excuses in the Saval Beg, run over a mile and three-quarters.
He added: “When we stepped her up to two miles at the Curragh she kind of grew another leg, then she won in very soft ground in Navan.
“The ground was soft, so it made it a testing, demanding race, and then she went back to Leopardstown for her next run and it was fast ground, they went no pace.
“Ryan got left in front. He didn’t want to be putting the gun to her head in that race, because it was obviously being used as a trial for the Gold Cup. He wasn’t too hard on her when he knew the race wasn’t going to suit her.
“She ran a nice race, obviously she will have to step up a lot from that but we think she will, going that trip.”
Last year’s Hardwicke winner Broome advertised his credentials with a Group Two success at Meydan in March, before finishing a close-up third to Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup last month.
The seven-year-old has yet to race beyond two miles, and O’Brien admits it will be “interesting” to see if he can handle the extra half-mile.
He added: “Obviously, we were delighted with him in Meydan and delighted with him the last day.
“I suppose the Gold Cup is an unusual race because a lot of horses get two miles, but when you go past that two miles, a lot of different stuff happens, especially in the last quarter of a mile, so it will be very interesting.
“Obviously he is a classy horse. Ryan gave him a brilliant ride in Dubai and he was very happy with him again the last time at York and he was staying on again, so it is going to be very interesting – will he get the trip?
“He is a very good-natured horse – he should relax. He should have no problem with the track or ground, so it will be interesting to see if he gets trip or not.”
Hopes are high Little Big Bear, who reverted to sprinting at Haydock after a disappointing experience in the 2000 Guineas, can back up his Group Two Sandy Lane success when he runs in the Commonwealth Cup.
He has already shown a liking for Ascot, winning the Windsor Castle at last year’s meeting.
“He is a big, powerful, classy horse,” added O’Brien. “We were delighted with him at Haydock. He is a big traveller. He looks like a big sprinter.
“Obviously, we tried him at a mile and we didn’t have time to go back again – the whole Guineas just went wrong on us and that was it.
“But we knew to go to Ascot that it would be a nice thing to have a run into him at this trip, rather than throwing him straight back in from his Guineas run.
“Frankie (Dettori) rode him and was very happy with him. Wayne (Lordan) has been riding him work since and seems very happy with him, so we’re hopeful.”
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed another memorable moment in the US Open as he recorded the third hole-in-one of the week at Los Angeles Country Club.
Fitzpatrick’s tee shot on the 115-yard 15th pitched beyond the flag and span back into the hole, although he could not see where the ball had landed and was walking off the tee before the crowd’s roar sparked wild celebrations.
The eagle lifted Fitzpatrick from one over par to one under, eight shots behind the lead held by American Wyndham Clark, who had covered his first seven holes in three under to overhaul Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele.
Fowler and Schauffele had both shot 62 in the first round to record the lowest score in US Open history and equal the lowest in any men’s major, while the scoring average of 71.38 was another tournament record.
Tournament officials insisted they would not respond by making conditions “stupid hard”, although the par-three 11th was playing 297 yards on Friday and water had only been applied to “isolated spots on the putting greens for turf health”.
John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer of the USGA, told NBC: “[On Friday], as planned, we will play the golf course longer.
“We’re not going to force anything. We could do things that could make it stupid hard. We’re not going to do that.”
Dustin Johnson found the going hard enough on his own early on, the 2016 champion running up an eight on the second after tangling with a fairway bunker, thick rough and the barranca which runs down the left of the hole.
Rory McIlroy was also among the early starters and had dropped a shot on the 11th, but bounced back in style by holing a 32ft birdie putt on the 12th which had several feet of break from left to right.
McIlroy bogeyed the 13th after a pulled drive finished underneath the branches of a tree and failed to birdie the par-five 14th to remain four under.
Richard Kingscote lamented the fact Keith Dalgleish plans to leave the training ranks having partnered his Chichester to victory in the Seat Unique Ganton Stakes at York.
Dalgleish announced earlier this year he planned to do something else and was not leaving the profession for financial reasons. And with results like this he will clearly be a loss.
A talented former rider, Dalgleish is closing in on 1,000 winners. Chichester (15-2) has provided him with six of them, but this was by far the biggest with the Listed event carrying an almost £40,000 first prize.
When odds-on favourite Shining Blue hit the front he looked sure to collect for Saeed bin Suroor, but Kingscote had been biding his time on Chichester who stayed on strongly to win by a length and three-quarters.
“It was a great bit of placing by connections, they found a five-runner Listed race for good money so fair play,” said the Derby-winning jockey.
“I always thought I was getting there, we actually went a decent pace for once because in general of late we’ve been going steady but he was able to get into a nice rhythm.
“He found plenty. He’s a funny old boy, he’s more than capable as we’ve seen but sometimes he needs things to go his way. He stays this trip well, he ran over 10 furlongs the last day.
“Keith knows what he’s doing and it’s a great shame he’s handing in his licence – he can certainly do the job.”
The improvement of the David Evans-trained Radio Goo Goo (11-2) shows no signs of stopping after she won her fourth race in a row in the British EBF Supporting Racing With Pride Fillies’ Handicap.
She won first time out this year at Wolverhampton off 72, was beaten on Good Friday at Lingfield and then rattled off a treble at Chester, Haydock and back at Chester.
Racing off a career-high 86 she looked beaten, but just got the better off Al Simmo by a nose under Ben Curtis.
“To be honest she wasn’t really travelling so I had to sit on her a bit longer than I wanted to fill her up,” said Curtis.
“I didn’t think I was going to win, but the last few strides her ears went back and she really wanted it.
“She finished second a fair few times last year, but that was over five and she kept bumping into one. She’s stronger this year and is better suited to six and Dave’s horses are flying at the moment. Hopefully she can keep rising.
The most valuable race of its kind every season is the SKF Rous Selling Stakes which went the way of Ollie Pears’ Celestial Flight (7-1) in a photo finish.
James Sullivan’s mount prevailed by a head from Up The Jazz on his second start and was bought back in for £25,000.
“We always like to target this. For an inexpensive horse it gives the owners a fantastic day out and the chance to run for a big pot,” said Pears.
“I bought him back in as there would have been an awful lot of disappointed people here if I hadn’t.
“We think he’s a horse who should go on and he’s a horse who should get seven furlongs.”
Karl Burke saddled his 11th individual juvenile winner of the season when Harvanna (5-1) won the Juddmonte British EBF Fillies’ Restricted Novice Stakes after finishing third on her debut.
Clifford Lee was on top and said: “She learned a lot on her debut and we saw the benefit of that.
“We’ve got some nice two-year-olds, hopefully I’ll be on a couple next week and we’ll just see how the ground is and everything before finalising.”
Mick and David Easterby’s Menelaus (15-2) followed up a recent win at Thirsk when stylishly pulling clear in the Andy Thornton Hospitality Furniture Apprentice Handicap under Connor Planas.
It was a third success in his last four rides for Planas, who is enjoying a breakthrough season.
Michael Jordan has reached an agreement to sell his majority share of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the team announced Friday in a press release.
The move will end the NBA Hall of Famer's 13-year tenure as the Hornets' primary owner. Jordan will still hold a minority stake in the franchise.
Jordan, who starred at the University of North Carolina prior to his legendary 15-year NBA playing career, had been the league's sole Black majority owner. The 60-year-old purchased the Hornets in 2010 for approximately $275 million.
Financial details of the proposed transaction, which will require approval from the NBA's Board of Governors, have not been disclosed. According to ESPN, the Hornets have a valuation of approximately $3 billion.
In the most recent ownership change involving an NBA franchise, the Phoenix Suns were purchased by mortgage investor Mat Ishbia for a reported $4 billion in December.
Plotkin, the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC, has been a Hornets minority owner and an alternate on the NBA's Board of Governors since 2019.
Schnall is currently a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and is in the process of selling his share of that team. He has been with the Hawks since 2015 and is also an alternate on the Board of Governors.
Other members of the new ownership group include country music star Eric Church and recording artist J. Cole.
Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in a remarkable eight-year span in the 1990s as a player but never came close to reaching the same heights as an owner. The Hornets made the playoffs just twice during his reign while compiling a 423-600 overall record, which ranks 26th of the NBA's 30 teams in winning percentage over that period.
The Hornets last won a playoff series in 2002 and their stretch of 19 consecutive seasons without a postseason series victory is tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the longest active streak in the league.
Charlotte had the NBA's fourth worst record this past season at 27-55 and holds the No. 2 overall pick in next week's draft.
The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for 25 games without pay for appearing in a second video on social media while brandishing a gun.
The league announced the punishment Friday in a statement, which also revealed that Morant’s reinstatement will be contingent on completion of a program to address his repeated “destructive” behavior off the court.
“The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.
“For Ja, basketball needs to take a backseat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Morant posed with a firearm for a social media live stream on May 13, less than two months after serving an eight-game suspension for posing with a gun for a video in a Denver nightclub on March 4.
After the first incident, Morant attended a counseling program in Florida and vowed to the public and to the league not to repeat his behavior.
Silver had hinted publicly that the league had decided Morant’s punishment two weeks ago, but the league chose to delay the announcement until after the NBA Finals.
After serving his eight-game ban in March, Morant was not voted to an All-NBA team despite an impressive season on the court. An All-NBA selection would have triggered an escalation to his designated rookie contract extension for an additional $38.9 million.
With the league’s newly implemented games-played minimum for awards, Morant will be ineligible for an All-NBA team in 2023-24.
Leeds forward Zane Tetevano has described suffering a stroke last month as a “scary episode”.
The New Zealand international was rushed to hospital after collapsing during a Rhinos training session.
The 32-year-old was later diagnosed with a hole in his heart.
Tetevano told the club’s website: “I was the first one out on the field and I had a spring in my step, ready to crack on with my session.
“I was pretty much just in my warm-up period when I just started slurring my words. I missed about three plays within a drill – just basic drills – and I remember just speaking to a team-mate of mine, slurring my words.
“I just couldn’t feel my tongue, my mouth, and that’s when everything started kicking in. I was kicking the ground, standing up, having the medical staff there, then the ambulance came.
“It was a scary episode. You just don’t know what was going on until you get told you’ve had a stroke.
“I guess everyone knows I’m quite an active person, I like my training. It was a shock, a kind of unreal feeling like, ‘No, I can’t be in this position’. But I’ve come out on the right side.”
Tetevano has recovered well from the stroke but requires surgery to repair his heart problem. He is hopeful of returning to action before the end of the season.
He said: “It might sound a bit weird but, after having a stroke, I was kind of hoping that I had something wrong – a hole in your heart, ‘OK, let’s fix that thing and crack on with life’.
“At the same time I was actually nervous, thinking this can’t be, but again I was just like, ‘Good news, the quicker I get surgery done the better’.”
Tetevano has been cleared to resume non-impact aerobic training to maintain a level of fitness prior to his operation but he cannot yet play contact sport.
To help motivate himself, he is to run the Leeds 10k this Sunday to raise money for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
He said: “I was just running around the canals and one of the coaches mentioned it. I was pretty keen to jump straight on it.
“It’s something that has a deep place in my heart. It’s a little thing that I can do from my episode to help raise funds for the young ones and families.”
Tajalla will put his sprinting credentials to the test as Roger Varian seeks back-to-back victories in Sandown’s Molson Coors Scurry Stakes.
The speedy son of Kessaar burst on to the scene at Newmarket last spring, but injury soon struck meaning he was ruled out of the rest of the season and was not seen again until making a successful reappearance at Hamilton last month.
Having confirmed his powerful engine remains intact during that venture north of the border, the Carlburg Stables handler has now decided to try the three-year-old in Listed company at the Esher track and in a race he claimed 12 months ago with the progressive Mitbaahy.
“It’s a nice race, it’s competitive and we will learn a bit more about him tomorrow because he has only run in two novices,” said Varian.
“He’s a promising young sprinter, I think the stiff five furlongs at Sandown should suit him and we’ll see how we go.
“He’s only really had one setback which was quite a major setback and came a few weeks after his debut at Newmarket. It meant he had to miss he rest of last season, but he’s come out this year and won nicely at Hamilton and I think that form is solid with the second well regarded.
“We never planned to take him to Ascot and this looked a nice race so we have hung on. It’s a nice race for those horses who don’t quite hit that Ascot window. I don’t know if he will win or not but we will find out more about him.”
Richard Fahey’s Great State claimed the Listed Westow Stakes at York last month and attempts to extend a three-race winning run, while also looking to continue a consistent run of form is George Boughey’s Perdika.
The filly claimed her second Chantilly Listed race of the season in the Prix Marchand d’Or in between her two triumphs in France has gone close in three other Listed and Group events.
“She likes soft ground, but she won on quicker ground on French Derby day on her latest start so she is pretty versatile,” said Boughey.
“She has come out of her last race in super shape. She doesn’t do much at home and we’ve never opened her up here. We like to save her for the track.
“It is a credit to her and the guys in the team here that look after her as she is trained like a real sprinter.
“I’ve had very few horses like her and she is coming into the Oscula category now. My long-term plan is to run her in the Prix de l’Abbaye back at Longchamp in the autumn.”
Karl Burke’s Yahsat returns from 344 days off the track and was last seen chasing home The Platinum Queen on the Knavesmire, with Clive Cox’s Katey Kontent also on the comeback trail following over 300 days on the sidelines.
The daughter of Havana Grey, who shaped like a useful prospect at two, missed an intended engagement at York last month but is now reported to be back in tip-top condition.
“She had a little hold up ahead of going to York with a pulled muscle which was one of those things but I’m pleased to say we are back on track now,” said Cox.
“She is a filly that we hold in good regard and we hope she shows the promise she did early in her career.
“She has got bags of speed and showed a lot of class early on last year, but everything happened quite quickly for her.
“She has matured and developed well over the winter and we are looking forward to seeing her back in action. We feel she is in that Listed bracket hence her entry here.”
Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart had a fiery exchange at the net after the British number one’s victory at the Nottingham Open.
Boulter completed a 6-3 7-5 win in the all-British match to reach her first WTA Tour-level semi-final, but as the players shook hands Dart had clearly taken exception to something.
She appeared to question her opponent’s professionalism, to which Boulter replied “It’s nothing personal. Mate, I do it every single match.”
Afterwards Boulter said in her on-court interview: “It was a battle out there. You could see how much it meant to me to get through that match.
“It’s awful playing a friend but I tried to play the ball and not the player. Today it was my day.”
Boulter was joined in the semi-finals by British number three Jodie Burrage, another debutant in the last four, after coming through a tight match against Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
The 24-year-old won five games in a row to take the first set, finishing it off with an ace.
But she looked up against it after requiring a medical time-out on her way to dropping the second, and fell a break down early in the third.
However, Burrage broke straight back and went on to clinch a 6-2 3-6 7-5 victory in two hours and 21 minutes.
“I’m absolutely knackered now,” she said on court. “I wish I could stop playing three-set matches, but if it gets me the win, then I’ve got to grind through it.
“It was a really tough match. I am feeling it a little bit and in the second set, I was thinking too much about that and not about the tennis. Then I picked it up in the third set.
“This week has given me so much confidence. To come out and make my first semi-final in a WTA event, the confidence it gives me is massive and I will take it through to the next tournaments.”
Tributes have been paid to Holocaust survivor and Olympic weightlifter Sir Ben Helfgott after he died aged 93 on Friday.
Poland-born Helfgott faced appalling conditions in the Piotrkow Ghetto and then survived the Buchenwald and Terezin concentration camps and the Schlieben labour camp.
He lost almost his entire family in the Holocaust and was one of 732 child survivors who came to the UK to rebuild their lives after the Second World War.
Just 11 years after he was freed from the Nazi concentration camps, Helfgott captained the British weightlifting team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
He represented Britain again at the 1960 Rome Olympics and the 1958 Commonwealth Games where he won a bronze medal.
Helfgott also became the honorary president of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and a honorary patron for the Holocaust Educational Trust. He was knighted in 2018.
A statement from the 45 Aid Society, a charity which supports Holocaust survivors and their families, and of which Helfgott was a founding member, read: “It is with the deepest sadness and sorrow that we have to share the news that we’ve lost the founder and father of @45AidSociety, Sir Ben Helfgott.
“Ben was one of the greatest ambassadors for the Boys and, indeed, for all Holocaust survivors. He represented Britain at the Olympics within a few years of his liberation, went on to fight for his fellow survivors and continued to educate all generations about the horrors of the Holocaust right up till just a few years ago.”
Paying tribute, Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “Sir Ben Helfgott was a giant amongst men. A Holocaust survivor, Olympic champion, campaigner, visionary and our leader.
“Despite all he endured, Ben taught us all about resilience, tolerance and the crucial importance of educating future generations. He was our friend and mentor and we mourn his loss deeply.
“Ben always worked to ensure that survivors were looked after – he was a true leader of the survivor community.”
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” to hear Helfgott had died.
The Labour Party leader said: “Sir Ben was one of life’s polymaths. He was a hugely accomplished sportsman, representing Britain at the Olympics in weightlifting.
“He was one of only two Holocaust survivors to take part in the Olympics, an extraordinary tribute to his talent and determination.
“Throughout his life, Sir Ben demonstrated compassion and understanding, campaigning for tolerance and peaceful coexistence between communities.
“These are values by which we should all live. His life and legacy will be an inspiration to us all.”
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