Sport

Olympic organisers have insisted that the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro this August will not be affected by the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil, but also warned athletes and visitors to smother themselves in mosquito repellent to minimise the risks. At a press conference staged the day after the World Health Organisation declared that the clusters of brain-damaged babies – linked to but not proven to be…

A Russian teenage ice hockey prospect has died in hospital three weeks after he was hit in the neck by a puck that was travelling at more than 100mph. Alexander Orekhov, a junior with Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the KHL, suffered a broken neck in the second period of a game on 14 January. The shot struck Orekhov, 16, with enough force that it “damaged the carotid artery and broke several…

When 11-year-old Mary Kippenhan showed up for her Special Olympics basketball game in Hanover last night, she was stunned to find that the young boys who have embraced her as an honorary member of their elite hockey team had skipped practice to cheer her on. Decked out in their Boston Junior Terriers uniforms, a raucous cheering section of 10-year-old boys crowded into the stands at the Cardinal Cushing Centers gym,…

RELATED: Stewart through the years NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart has been hospitalized with a back injury after an all-terrain vehicle accident, according to a spokesperson from his Stewart-Haas Racing team. According to the SHR statement, Stewart was hurt in an accident Sunday afternoon while driving an all-terrain vehicle on the West Coast. He was transported to a hospital in an undisclosed location and is able to move all his…

Does this scenario sound familiar? In a popular uprising, voters rally behind an insurgent outsider candidate. The establishment panics and tries to quash the outsider’s campaign. But voters are undeterred, rallying around their candidate by the tens of thousands and leading him to an upstart victory. Bernie Sanders? Donald Trump? Nope. I’m talking about a professional hockey player named John Scott. For those who don’t follow hockey, Scott is a…

Competitive cycling has been rocked by the discovery of a motor concealed in a bike at the world cyclo-cross championships in Belgium on Saturday, the first high-profile discovery of its kind. The UCI, the sport’s governing body, confirmed the news. The Belgian cyclist Femke Van Den Driessche has been reported to have been riding the bike but has denied that the bike that was seized was in fact hers, insisting…

The 5-year-old Afghan boy who became Internet famous last month — for a viral photo of him wearing an Argentina soccer jersey, improvised from a plastic bag, in honor of his hero Lionel Messi — will finally get to meet his idol. “I love Messi and football,” young Murtaza Ahmadi said in an interview with al-Jazeera on Monday. “I will meet him one day.” That day could come soon, with…

In the end it came down to a business decision. Manuel Pellegrini, the club’s 62-year-old Chilean manager who guided the team to its second Premier League title in 2014, announced on Monday that he would leave at the end of the season and be replaced by Pep Guardiola, the ingenious architect of what was arguably the best team in soccer history. It was simply a matter of replacing a good, older manager…

Chris Froome has claimed he warned cycling authorities about possible mechanical doping in the sport. Related: Sport may need its own Untouchables to root out the bad guys | Sean Ingle After decades of struggling to combat illegal drug use, cycling’s image suffered a fresh blow on Sunday when stewards at the world cyclo-cross championships found an electric motor in the Belgian teenager Femke Van den Driessche’s bike. Den Driessche…

The Olympics will remain on the BBC until at least 2024 after the corporation agreed a deal with the US broadcasting giant Discovery to sub-license the rights. Last year, the BBC lost control of the future destiny of Games coverage after Discovery won the pan-European rights from 2018 onwards, and 2022 in the UK, in a £920m deal. But despite wider pressure on the BBC’s budgets, it has now agreed…

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick is scheduled to return as race analyst for FOX Sports’ coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016, beginning with the season opener from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 20 (3:30 PM ET) on FS1.  The 2014 champion was the first of five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2015 to rotate in the FOX and FS1 booth for FOX Sports’ inaugural…

Headlined by the addition of four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, FOX broadcasts the 58th running of the DAYTONA 500 — the Great American Race — from the newly-renovated Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. ET, with live coverage beginning at Noon ET with FOX NASCAR Sunday. Marked by the network’s 16th consecutive season covering the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, FOX NASCAR’s presentation of Daytona Speedweeks features…

RELATED: Bowyer to drive for HScott in 2016   HScott Motorsports and Clint Bowyer have welcomed a new sponsor. A VISINE paint scheme will adorn Clint Bowyer‘s No. 15 Chevrolet fielded by HScott Motorsports as primary sponsor in three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this season. VISINE will also serve as an associate sponsor and marketing partner for the entire season.   The primary sponsorship includes the races at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, Texas Motor Speedway on…

German authorities have issued cartoon posters in public swimming pools The illustrations are warning migrants not to harass or grope women  Comes after migrants were banned from some swimming pools in Germany Three Syrian teenagers arrested in Munich for attack on girls at public pool Swedish police are sending undercover officers into Stockholm’s pools By Amie Gordon For Mailonline Published: 05:15 EST, 1 February 2016 | Updated: 11:50 EST, 1 February…

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Media playback is not supported on this device Pellegrini confirms Man City exit Pep Guardiola has agreed a three-year contract to become Manchester City manager in the summer. The 45-year-old, currently in charge at Bayern Munich, will replace Manuel Pellegrini, who will leave on 30 June. A statement from City said Chilean Pellegrini, 62, was “fully supportive” of the announcement being made. The club said negotiations with former Barcelona coach…

Yee-Haw! Hockey’s finest will be heading to Music City as the Nashville Predators play host to the NHL All-Star game. We’ve got your way to watch all the icy fun on Live Stream! Get ready for hockey to go country! Nashville is getting is first chance to play host to the annual NHL All-Star Game and the city is going to do everything possible to show some southern hospitality to the…

RELATED: Best photos from Rolex 24 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona was certainly rare of late, in that none of the current NASCAR drivers entered in the great sports car race hoisted an overall winner’s trophy. Since Casey Mears became the first full-time Sprint Cup Series driver to score an overall victory in this event in 2006 — NASCAR drivers have won five more grand Rolex titles,…

Yee-Haw! Hockey’s finest will be heading to Music City as the Nashville Predators play host to the NHL All-Star game. We’ve got your way to watch all the icy fun on Live Stream! Get ready for hockey to go country! Nashville is getting is first chance to play host to the annual NHL All-Star Game and the city is going to do everything possible to show some southern hospitality to the…