With a professional squad thanks to the advent of Major League Rugby, the USA have taken their first major scalpOut of chaos, Nietzsche said, comes order. Of late, American rugby union has been particularly chaotic: political upheaval at the governing body, a lawsuit from the owner of a dormant professional league. But on Saturday night in Houston the men’s national team put all that aside, achieving a historic win over Scotland. Related: USA beat Scotland in Houston for first win over major rugby nation Related: HR McMaster on rugby: 'The warrior ethos is what a good team has' Continue reading...
North American bid was the rational choice to host the 2026 World Cup but it is difficult to see less privileged countries ever getting the opportunity nowSafe, rational and bountifully lucrative as the Fifa decision is to have the 2026 World Cup hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, it is also disappointing for romantics fancying another tournament in Africa – and laced with contradictions, too.Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, looked opportunistically quick to immediately put himself forward for re-election next year, and he was followed by US president Donald Trump with a self-congratulatory tweet. Hosting World Cups and Olympic Games is openly a politicians’ prestige-burnishing project now, not only for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin or Qatar’s Emir, seeking soft power...
The American leads calls for fairness to prevail at Shinnecock Hills after the debacle that was the 2004 tournamentThe world’s best golfers fear being lulled into a false sense of security. Those who have visited Shinnecock Hills for reconnaissance work on a venue that will stage the US Open from Thursday have encountered wide fairways and generally soft conditions. What’s the catch?The overwhelming sense is that such generosity will not continue. First, Brooks Koepka won the US Open on 16 under par last year, a tally contrary to the tournament’s status as the toughest in golf. It was also 12 shots better to par than the previous year. And second, Shinnecock Hills specifically. The historic and illustrious American course was...
The world No 1’s coach believes the player can now cut loose after showing new maturity to beat Sloane Stephens at the French Open for her first major titlePerhaps Darren Cahill, the coach of Simona Halep, put it best. “She’s been close these last couple of years, she’s worked really hard for it, she’s been kicked in the stomach a couple of times, when she’s had chances. They say the destination is more beautiful if there’s a bit of a bumpy road and you eventually get there, and that’s what happened to her today. It’s a magical moment for her, she did it the hard way against a great opponent and I’m just really proud of her, and really happy for...
For the snakebitten expansion Golden Knights, a bunch of near-misses added up to one big defeat to the Washington CapitalsFirst thing’s first: The Las Vegas Golden Knights were close.No Stanley Cup final series can be reduced to mere millimeters, but when so many small distances conspire to create such a large difference, it’s difficult not to notice them. The most obvious was The Save – Washington Capitals’ goaltender Braden Holtby’s sprawling stick stop against Alex Tuch with two minutes left in Game 2. The Capitals were up 3-2, but down 1-0 in the series. They hung on for the win. Continue reading...