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As Canada continues to wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic, the country's national soccer team will play two more of its home World Cup qualifying matches south of the border in June. Canada will face Aruba in Bradenton, Fla., on June 5, and will take on Suriname in suburban Chicago on June 8, Canada Soccer confirmed Monday. The games are Canada's last two of four matches in CONCACAF Group B. A March 26 Canadian home match against Bermuda was held in Orlando, Fla., which

The Los Angeles Lakers could receive a jolt of energy this week with the return of the team’s best player. According to The Athletic, LeBron James is targeting Tuesday's home contest against the New York Knicks for his return to the floor. James suffered a right, high-ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20, forcing him to miss 20 games in a row. James returned from the injury six weeks later at the end of April. He played in two games against

SHANGHAI: Chinese media hailed Zhang Yufei as "the new butterfly queen" after she soared at the national swimming championships, firing a warning of intent with the Tokyo Olympics under three months away. The 23-year-old walked off with five gold medals and a silver after the action - which doubled as Olympic trials - concluded on Saturday (May 8) in the coastal city of Qingdao. She clocked 2:05.44 in the women's 200m butterfly, easily the fastest time in the world this year, and also

ROME: Serena Williams will this week play her first match since her Australian Open semi-final exit in February but the American does not feel unprepared for the WTA 1000 event having had enough practice before arriving in Rome. The 39-year-old said she felt "pretty fresh" ahead of the clay court swing as she prepares for the French Open, which starts at the end of May. "I trained for the past two-and-a-half weeks at Patrick's (coach Mouratoglou's) academy, and then training a lot on

LONDON: Red Bull need Sergio Perez much closer to the front to put pressure on Mercedes and help Max Verstappen in his title battle with Lewis Hamilton, team boss Christian Horner said after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Mexican Perez started in eighth place, after suffering shoulder pain in qualifying, and finished fifth at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya - more than a minute behind Mercedes' winner Lewis Hamilton. Seven-times champion Hamilton and Verstappen were so far ahead of the rest that the decisive strategy

Manchester United's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani has signed a one-year contract extension at the Old Trafford outfit having hit a purple patch in recent matches, the Premier League club said on Monday. Free agent Cavani arrived at United on a one-year contract in October with an option of another 12 months but was undecided about his future after a difficult start to life at the club after a social media faux pas resulted in a three-game ban. The former Paris St Germain forward's

LONDON: Russian Daniil Medvedev overtook Rafael Nadal and moved into No 2 in the ATP rankings on Monday. And for the first time since the computerized rankings began in August 1973, there is no American man in the top 30. Novak Djokovic remained No 1, extending his all-time record to 320 weeks. Medvedev slid in behind him after Spain's Nadal fell to eventual champion Alexander Zverev of Germany in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open last week. A first-round loss in Madrid

LONDON: The Premier League has welcomed the British government's announcement on the easing of lockdown restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Executive Richard Masters said on Monday it is their priority to have full stadiums next season. The government said in February that under the third stage of its four-stage "roadmap", stadiums would - if all conditions are met - from May 17 be allowed to hold up to 50 per cent of their capacity, or 4,000 people, whichever is lower. A

TOKYO: International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has been forced to postpone a visit to Japan, organisers said Monday (May 10), after a COVID-19 state of emergency was extended less than three months before the Tokyo Games. Bach's trip was scheduled for May 17-18 but organisers "decided to postpone it based on various situations including the (government's) extension of a virus state of emergency". It is just the latest coronavirus disruption for the postponed 2020 Games, which have seen several test events cancelled,

The remainder of the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) season will have to be played outside the country, the organising Indian cricket board said, though it is unclear whether a window can be found to play the outstanding 31 games. The popular Twenty20 league was suspended indefinitely last week after several personnel tested positive for COVID-19. India reported 366,161 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, taking the caseload to 22.66 million. Sourav Ganguly, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),

Japan's Naomi Osaka said on Sunday that while she has spent her entire life waiting to compete at the Olympics, the risks of holding the Tokyo Games amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic should continue to be carefully discussed. Opinion surveys have shown that most Japanese oppose holding the Games this summer due to worries about the coronavirus, and Tokyo itself is currently under a state of emergency to tame a rise in infections. Osaka, the world number two women's tennis player and one

Talking Points from the Premier League weekend: HAVE CHELSEA GAINED A PSYCHOLOGICAL EDGE Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Manchester City made sure City's title celebrations remained on hold but perhaps more importantly sent out a message to Pep Guardiola's side for the Champions League final and next season's title race. Surprisingly, Guardiola made wholesale changes to his side when victory would have sealed a third title in five seasons. When Sergio Aguero fluffed a Panenka-style penalty to give City a 2-0 lead, it sparked

PARIS: Paris St Germain's Ligue 1 title hopes took a major knock on Sunday (May 9) when the defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Stade Rennes, leaving Lille holding a three-point advantage at the top with two games remaining. Neymar opened the scoring with a penalty on the stroke of halftime but Serhou Guirassy equalised in the 70th minute to leave PSG, who finished with 10 men after Presnel Kimpembe was sent off in the 87th minute, on 76 points.

TURIN, Italy: Juventus started the season looking to win a 10th straight Serie A title but instead find themselves in danger of missing out on a Champions League spot after a 3-0 home defeat by top-four rivals AC Milan on Sunday left them fifth with three games left. Goals from Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori secured the win and sent Milan up to third on 72 points from 35 matches, leaving Juve a point behind fourth-placed Napoli and needing teams to

LONDON: Alexander Zverev underlined his credentials as a French Open title contender with a battling 6-7(8) 6-4 6-3 victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini on Sunday to claim his fourth Masters 1000 crown and second Madrid Open title. Germany's Zverev, conqueror of claycourt specialists Rafa Nadal and Dominic Thiem en route to the final, dropped his first set of the tournament. However, he fought back under a closed roof at the Manolo Santana stadium to lift his first claycourt title since 2019. "I feel

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday after a 3-1 loss at Arsenal sent them straight back down to the Championship after one season in the top flight. The defeat left the Baggies in 19th place with 26 points, 10 points behind fourth-bottom Burnley with only three games left to play. It is the first time manager Sam Allardyce has suffered relegation from the Premier League during his 17 campaigns. West Brom started brightly but struggled to move

Rory McIlroy shot 3-under-par 68 to win his first PGA tournament in more than 18 months on Sunday, finishing at 10-under 274 in capturing the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. McIlroy finished one shot ahead of Abraham Ancer, who shot a 5-under 66. McIlroy overtook 54-hold leader Keith Mitchell, who shot 72 and finished tied for third with Viktor Hovland (67) at 8-under par. Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, rounded out the top-five at 7

BIRMINGHAM: Manchester United recovered to beat Aston Villa 3-1 away in the Premier League on Sunday (May 9) as Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani scored in the second half to put on hold the title celebrations of champions-elect Manchester City. The result left United second on 70 points from 34 games, 10 behind City who have played a game more and missed a chance to secure the title on Saturday after they suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea. It also

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt's induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame will be deferred by a year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions from Australia to the United States, the Hall of Fame said on Thursday. Australian great Hewitt, who won two Grand Slam titles during his career, was named to the Class of 2021 in February and was to be honoured at a July 17 induction ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame. "Unfortunately due to the circumstances

Spain's Rafa Nadal was named the 2021 Laureus Sportsman of the year on Thursday, while fellow tennis player Naomi Osaka won the top women's honour. Japan's Osaka won her second U.S. Open title last year, while Nadal equalled Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles by claiming his 13th French Open crown. Nadal picked up his fourth Laureus honour, having previously scooped the Breakthrough, Comeback and men's individual awards. "The rest of the sportsmen probably deserve the trophy the same as me,