RelatedPosts Neymar bags two-match ban Neymar risks seven-game ban, Gonzalez 10 Neymar, four others sent off as Marseille grab rare win at PSG Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain thrashed 10-man Olympique Lyonnais 5-1 on Wednesday to reach the French Cup final and remain on course for a domestic treble. Ligue 1 leaders PSG, who will also face Lyon in the League Cup final, prevailed, thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s treble and goals by Neymar and Pablo Sarabia after Martin Terrier had put the hosts in front early on. Lyon finished with 10 men after Fernando Marcal was sent off in the 61st minute for picking up a second yellow card, leaving his team to exposed with the scores level at 1-1. PSG will take on holders Stade Rennais or St Etienne at the Stade de France on April 25. Terrier put the hosts ahead on 11 minutes when he latched onto Karl Toko-Ekambi’s pass. Mbappe equalised three minutes later by deflecting in Layvin Kurzawa’s header for his 28th PSG goal of the season in all competitions. Marcal’s handball earned PSG a penalty and the Brazilian defender his second yellow card. Neymar converted the spot kick and Mbappe took advantage of PSG’s extra man by adding a third at the end of a dazzling 60-metre run. Sarabia rubbed salt in Lyon’s wounds with a fourth from close range and his seventh in the competition this season – before Mbappe rounded it off with another goal in stoppage time. Reuters/NAN.Tags: French CupKylian MbappeNeymarOlympique LyonnaisPablo SarabiaPSG read more

Brisbane: The Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova on Sunday secured her 12th WTA title with a victory over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko at the final of Brisbane International.In two hours and 13 minutes, the former world No.1 came from a set down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 over her rival, who was playing her first career Brisbane final, reports Efe.“This is my favorite tournament! I have great memories here,” the 26-year-old said, according to the official website of the Brisbane International.Pliskova was crowned champion in the tournament’s 2017 edition after her lopsided win 6-0, 6-3 over Alize Cornet of France. IANSAlso Read: Former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova claims Pan Pacific Open title

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – Fast bowling legend Sir Andy Roberts has slammed the decision by Cricket West Indies to allow the tour of England to go ahead amid the COVID-19 pandemic, without ensuring there was financial benefit to be derived from the three-Test series.The 69-year-old said while he did not have a problem with the series in principle, he did not believe West Indies should have been used as “guinea pigs” for the historic “bio-secure” series without financial reward, especially since the England and Wales Cricket Board stood to save 380 million pounds sterling by convincing teams to honour commitments during the summer.“I don’t have a problem with them negotiating to go to England,” said Sir Andy, who snatched 202 wickets from 47 Tests between 1974 and 1983.“What I have a problem with is that there are talks about West Indies are not going to benefit from this tour financially which I think would be a mistake because the chances we’re going to take I don’t think much more countries are willing to take that chance. “We’re taking a chance no one else is willing to take and why we’re taking that chance is to save England nearly 380 million pounds because if no one goes to England, they have to pay back that money.“They are not willing to pay it back so why should we as guinea pigs go and sacrifice ourselves for nothing.”West Indies were scheduled to tour England last month but the three-Test series was postponed as the United Kingdom wrestled with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.In a bid to rescue their summer schedule – and hundreds of millions of dollars in television revenue – the ECB proposed staging the series in a radical “bio-secure” environment.Players will be isolated for the duration of the seven-week tour and play each Test behind closed doors at “bio-secure” venues with hotels on site.Only recently, CWI chief executive Johnny Grave, said while the ECB had covered the “costs of all the mitigating factors” of the tour, the regional governing body would pick up the tab for player match fees and other allowances.Further, Grave said the ECB would keep all revenue as was the norm for bilateral tours.However, Sir Andy reiterated that the “risk” undertaken by West Indies on the tour should have accompanied by some special compensation.“I think West Indies should have benefitted from this tour financially … because to save England 380 million pounds is a lot of savings,” the icon told Starcom Radio’s Mason and Guest show here.“If they’re going to benefit financially from the tour, that’s not a problem but if they’re not going to benefit from it, then I have a problem. Why take the risk and sacrifice the guys for it.“At this time, if we’re not going to benefit financially, I don’t think we should be the first to go.”West Indies arrived in England on Tuesday and will undergo two weeks of quarantine and training at Old Trafford in Manchester ahead of the first Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting July 8.The last two Tests will be staged at Old Trafford, starting July 16 and July 24 respectively.Pakistan are expected to follow behind West Indies and are carded to play three Tests and One-Day Internationals in August. read more

By Brenna Hughes NeghaiwiZURICH (Reuters) – Criminal proceedings have been opened against FIFA president Gianni Infantino by a special prosecutor looking into dealings between the head of the global soccer body and Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber, Swiss authorities said on Thursday.The special prosecutor Stefan Keller, appointed last month to review complaints against the two men and others, had found indications of criminal conduct related to their meetings, according to the AB-BA watchdog which oversees the Attorney General’s Office.“This concerns abuse of public office, breach of official secrecy, assisting offenders and incitement to these acts,” the watchdog said in a statement. Both Lauber and Infantino have denied wrongdoing.FIFA said in a statement that it would cooperate fully while Infantino said that it was “perfectly legitimate and perfectly legal” to meet the Swiss Attorney General. “It’s not a violation of anything,” he said. “It has been my aim from day one, and it remains my aim, to assist the authorities with investigating past wrongdoings at FIFA,” he added. “FIFA officials have met with prosecutors in other jurisdictions across the world for exactly these purposes.”Infantino was elected in 2016 to replace disgraced Sepp Blatter, who also become the subject of criminal proceedings in 2015.Blatter, suspected of criminal mismanagement, was banned by FIFA’s own ethics committee although the investigations against him are still ongoing and he has not been charged. He denies wrongdoing. On being elected, Infantino promised to clean up FIFA and to put the focus back on football.FIFA was embroiled in the worst corruption scandal in its history in 2015 which led to several officials being indicted in the United States on corruption-related charges.Lauber last week offered to resign after the Federal Administrative Court concluded he had covered up a meeting with Infantino and lied to supervisors while his office investigated corruption surrounding soccer’s governing body..The court said he had made “implausible” statements about a meeting with Infantino. While Lauber had acknowledged two meetings with Infantino in 2016, he had denied a third meeting reported by media to have occurred in 2017, prompting a disciplinary probe by the agency that supervises the attorney general’s office.He later said he did not recall the third meeting but that it must have occurred based on diary entries and text messages. Lauber officially tendered his resignation on Tuesday, his office said, with his last day of active duty set for Aug. 31.The AB-BA watchdog said Keller had now opened proceedings against both Infantino and regional public prosecutor Rinaldo Arnold who was involved in the meetings, and was seeking parliamentary approval to have Lauber’s immunity from prosecution waived.“I take note of the fact that a lawsuit has been opened. This is actually a logical step to clarify the facts,” Arnold told Reuters. “It should be mentioned that a case against me was closed last spring last year.” read more

Amaju Pinnick By Duro IkhazuagbeAs the Amaju Melvin Pinnick-led executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) winds up at the fresh elections scheduled to hold in Katsina on Thursday, there appears to be fresh moves to scuttle the elections through court injunctions.And if those opposed to the September 20 NFF board elections succeed in scuttling the gathering, Nigeria will not be too far from an immediate ban from FIFA. Already, THISDAY is in possession of one of the court papers filed by those who are against the elections in Katsina. They are asking the Federal High Court in Jos to stop the election as they purportedly have a non-existing Supreme Court judgment in Chris Giwa’s favour as the duly elected NFF president.Just last month, the Federal Government gave FIFA the assurance that Nigeria as one of the affiliates of the world football governing body would do everything to abide by its statutes and rules.Then Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo who was standing in for President Muhammadu Buhari who was on vacation in the UK, pledged to FIFA the government’s unalloyed support for the Pinnick-led board of the NFF as the dully elected NFF board. Osinbajo further assured FIFA that everything would be done to ensure that the board performed its role without any hindrance.It was on the strength of this that FIFA pulled back on hitting Nigeria with its sledge hammer of suspension from all football matters.But ahead of the September elections, FIFA has already dispatched a delegation to be on ground to monitor the elections.Also, CAF has also appointed a delegation that has as chairman, the president of the Burkina Faso FA, to also monitor the Nigerian FA election in Katsina.As at the weekend, the electoral committee of the NFF released the list of all qualified candidates to contest for various positions.According to the list of contestants released by the NFF Secretariat, incumbent,   Amaju Melvin Pinnick, is seeking a return to the Glass House. He has his immediate predecessor in office, AAminu Maigari to contend with.Also gunning for the coveted post is a former General Secretary of the NFF, Taiwo Ogunjobi and Chinedu Okoye, proprietor of amateur league club, Bimo FC.For the position of the first Vice President, two contestants from the same South-west zone, incumbent Seyi Akinwunmi is been challenged by a former member of Pinnick-led board who jumped ship to pitch camp with Giwa, Otunba Sunday Dele-Ajayi.While Akinwunmi is a lawyer and current chairman of Lagos FA, Dele-Ajayi got deposed as Ondo FA chairman and has lost his goodwill amongst football stakeholders.For the position of Chairman of Chairmen, it is to be seen how far the power of incumbency can go as incumbent, Ibrahim Musa Gusau will battle money-bag club proprietor, Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah.The other contestants are seeking positions as board members. They includeAlhaji Sharif Rabiu Inuwa, a member of the present board who is the only candidate from the North West.The battle in the North Central has been somewhat narrowed with the withdrawal of FCT FA Chairman Musa Talle. However, Alhaji Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’ and Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, ranking members of the Board, have to contend with Busari Ishola, chairman of Kwara State FA.Similarly, incumbents Babagana Kalli and Musa Duhu from the North East have to contend with Farouk Yarma Adamu.In the South East, Chidi Ofor Okenwa (presently Chairman of the Nigeria National League), will vie with Enyimba FC Chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu (ranking member of board); Jude Obikwelu (Vice Chairman, Anambra State FA); Emmanuel Ochiagha (Vice Chairman, Imo State FA) and; Emeka Inyama (former Chairman of the NNL and former Chairman of NFF Marketing and Sponsorship, and also Chairman of NPFL side Abia Warriors).From the South West, only Ganiyu Majekodunmi, chairman of Ogun State FA, is seeking an Executive Committee member position. From the South South, Oswald Atuake from Cross River State is up against Emmanuel Ibah, chairman of the Akwa Ibom State FA.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram read more

In order to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, Undergraduate Student Government, along with the rest of the Pac-12 schools, is hosting a campus-wide campaign called It Ends Here on Oct. 17-21.USG Senior Director of Communications Luke Southwell-Chan took charge of organizing the campaign. As lead coordinator, he has been working with student governments from other universities as well as different departments on campus since August. “Over the summer there was a Pac-12 leadership summit, and we decided to do a joint project tackling the issue of sexual assault because it was pertinent to all 12 campuses, and it’s something important we should all be addressing,” Southwell-Chan said. “As a whole, we have a lot more power than just one single university.”Southwell-Chan’s main goal was to show students who, though aware of the dangers of sexual assault, felt they lacked the power as single individuals to instigate any significant change. “We are trying to encourage students to take action, which I think could really make a difference in making this a bigger issue and changing the culture surrounding sexual assault,” Southwell-Chan said. The campaign kicked off with an art gallery consisting of original works submitted by students that focused on the theme of sexual assault. Carrie Zhang, a junior majoring in public relations and co-director of the Performing Arts Committee, was responsible for gathering the works, which consisted of both visual and written word pieces. “These pieces share a lot of people’s personal narratives about their relationship with their bodies, their sexualites, sexual assault and gender and sex-based harm,” Zhang said. “The art itself expresses parts of human emotions that could not otherwise be iterated into words.” Orian Raviv, a sophomore majoring in human biology, was one of the students who displayed her artwork — three charcoal portraits of the female form. “Your body is for yourself and not for anybody else,” Raviv said. “The whole culture of sexualizing women’s bodies is a really important issue that we need to discuss, and this is a great way to create a dialogue and a conversation.” Additionally, a teal wall was set up in the VKC courtyard, which students could take pictures in front of to show their support and solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. Justin Yang, the USG assistant director of photography and the designated photographer for this aspect of the campaign, hoped the awareness week would point victims of sexual assault toward the help available to them. “Right now, there are different resources on campus, like the Health Center, USG, [Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services], but they aren’t integrated, so when students encounter sexual assault, they don’t know where to go,” Yang said. “We are trying to raise awareness of the different organizations students can turn to when they need.” read more

Photo: © lionsrugby.com “Desperate” and “predictable” is how New Zealand rugby union head coach Steve Hansen’s described recent comments from British and Irish Lions counterpart Warren Gatland.The Lions boss claims the All Blacks targeted Conor Murray’s standing leg when he was kicking during the world champions’ first Test win on Saturday.Hansen phoned into a radio station to dispute the allegation – which he says is “disappointing”. He says they’d never deliberately try to injure a player.

TT police to charge students involved in criminal activityThe Police in Trinidad and Tobago are expected to charge students of a secondary school after a video surfaced showed them engaged in criminal activities including extorting money and beating up other students on the school compound.Swift curtailment“With the incidence of school indiscipline and violence on the decline, greater attention must be paid for the swift curtailment of such behavior,” Education Minister Anthony Garcia said in a statement.“The Ministry holds fast to its commitment to safety and security in our nation’s schools and all measures will be put in place to secure our students. I can say with certainty that no parent sent his child to school with the expectation that their child would be an aggressor or victim of assault.”Incidents posted on social mediaThe incidents are reported to have occurred at the Siparia West Secondary School, south of Port-au-Spain, and posted on the various social network platforms, including Facebook and Whatsapp.The statement from the Ministry of Education noted that the Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon has indicated that police officers were expected to be on site at the school on Monday “to lay charges on the students involved in the altercations”.Garcia said that the Education Ministry will also be investigating how supervision is conducted at the school to alleviate any possible future occurrence. read more

Echo Fox‘s ownership group Vision Esports has raised $38 million (£27,200,400) after a funding round saw major celebrities invest.The esports organisation, owned by Rick Fox, received backing Kevin Durant (along with his business partner Rich Kleiman), Odell Beckham Jr., the St. Louis Cardinals, Shamrock Holdings, Seth Bernstein Capital Management, and First Access Entertainment’s Simon Tikhman.The funding round was organised and led by Evolution Media, a firm that is backed by the Creative Artists Agency and TPG Growth. Vision Esports owns and invests in a number of esports properties, first being formed by Stattos Sclavos (a former minority owner in the San Jose Sharks), Jace HGall, and Chris Nordling. The organisation owns competitive gaming organisation Echo Fox, Twin Galaxies, and Vision Entertainment.Dan Good, Vice President, St. Louis Cardinals explained why the company decided to back Vision and subsequently, Echo Fox. “We have been following the esports sector for several years. In the last year, we have gotten to know the team at Vision Esports and felt this was an exciting investment opportunity.”“In addition to the sector’s growth potential, we were impressed with Vision’s depth of experience that is applicable to the new esports ecosystem, including Stratton Sclavos’ experience with the San Jose Sharks; Jace Hall at Warner Brothers Interactive; Chris Nordling at MGM Resorts and Mike Mossholder at UFC,” Good continued.This funding comes in addition to the investment Echo Fox received from the New York Yankees last October. Rick Hess, Founder, Evolution Media discussed this recent venture from Vision. “Evolution Media has spent several years advising and analyzing companies in the esports sector, and we’re particularly excited to partner with a world class management team led by Stratton, who we’ve known since his days running Strikeforce and the San Jose Sharks. Esports is one of the highest growth sectors within all media and entertainment. We couldn’t be more bullish on the space and Vision’s market position.”Esports Insider says: Echo Fox can only benefit from this additional funding, and it’s interesting to see more big time athletes getting involved – no matter the capacity – in the esports industry. We’ll be keeping an eye on the organisation to see where it goes next. read more

AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThisAlpena, Mich.- The Alpena Symphony Orchestra hosted their annual holiday celebration. The concert was held at Alpena High School.There wasn’t an empty chair inside of Alpena High School’s auditorium as locals came out to support the concert.The annual holiday celebration featured Christmas classics including, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’ Each year the orchestra performs in order to maintain funds for their non profit organization.AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThisContinue ReadingPrevious Operation Holidays: Toys for Kids in Desperate Need of Donations for ChristmasNext Local Band Raises Funds in Honor of Leonard Kinn