2018 Winter Olympics Pyeong Chang

Midfielder Steven Pienaar has announced his retirement from playing football The former Everton, Tottenham and Sunderland man had been at Bidvest Wits Pienaar said: 'It's time to close the book on what has been a great part of my life' He also told Sportsmail that he is keen to return to England in the near future By Simon Jones for MailOnline Published: 20:38, 28 February 2018 | Updated: 23:19, 28 February 2018 Former Everton and Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar has announced his retirement from the game. The 35-year-old, who was capped 61 times by South Africa , had been playing for Bidvest Wits in his home country's Premier Soccer League. Speaking to Sportsmail he said: 'It's time to close the book on what has been a great part of my life and open up a new chapter. South African midfielder Steven Pienaar has announced his retirement from playing football The 35-year-old will be best remembered by English supporters for his spells with E...

The NHL has no regrets about not sending its players to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, says commissioner Gary Bettman. "We've very comfortable with the decision we made as a league," Bettman said Wednesday. The NHL announced last April it would not participate in the Pyeongchang Games. It was the first time in five Winter Olympics where the world's best hockey players didn't play. Not having players in South Korea meant there was no "disruption to our season," Bettman said, adding it also ensured players remained healthy for the run to the playoffs. "The fact our teams would have come back in varying conditions, some teams more banged up and tired than teams where there weren't that many players at the Olympics, we're very comfortable with it," he said. NHL 'justified' in its decision Canada's men's hockey team, a collection of former NHL players mostly playing in Europe, won bronze at the Olympics. The team from Russia ...

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Blackmun, who had been CEO since 2010, had faced calls to resign The head of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has resigned, citing health reasons. Chief Executive Scott Blackmun recently revealed he was battling prostate cancer, but has faced extensive criticism in the wake of an abuse scandal involving US gymnastics. His departure was announced at the same time as initiatives to tackle abuse. Former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar was jailed last month on hundreds of counts of abuse spanning decades. Two US senators called for Mr Blackmun's resignation earlier this month after a report in the Wall Street Journal newspaper suggested he had been told about allegations against Nassar in July 2015 . The organisation responded by saying they would not part ways with Mr Blackmun until an independent investigation was complete. But on Wednesday they announced his departure had been agreed. He had held the position since 2010...

Scott Blackmun resigned as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee on Wednesday, citing difficulties with prostate cancer and the federation's need to urgently move forward to address the sex abuse scandal that has rocked gymnastics. Blackmun, 60, was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this winter and did not attend the Pyeongchang Games. He leaves amid calls for his departure, including from two U.S. senators who said neither Blackmun nor the USOC reacted properly to sex abuse cases involving Larry Nassar, the doctor who abused members of the U.S. gymnastics team. The USOC is conducting an independent review of when Blackmun and others learned the details about abuse cases at USA Gymnastics and whether they responded appropriately. "The USOC is at a critical point in its history," the organization said in a statement. "The important work that Scott started needs to continue and will require especially vigorous attention in light of Larry Nassar's decades-long abus...

Christine Brennan  |  USA TODAY Sports While there are those who undoubtedly are rejoicing over the resignation of U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, the proper response to this news should be sadness. Sadness over the awful sex abuse scandals that have befallen the U.S. Olympic world in two of its most popular and successful sports, gymnastics and swimming. Sadness that our culture — not just leaders of the USOC, but all of us — has been so slow to react to protect our children from these horrors of youth sports. Sadness that Blackmun, 60, a man who brought internal change and international respect to the USOC over the past eight years, has decided to leave due to ongoing health issues resulting from his recent surgery for prostate cancer. Had Blackmun been healthy, he quite possibly could still be on the job today, leading an embattled organization through its most trying times. Would t...

Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godín, Luis, Koke, Partey (Perez 60), Niguez, Correa, Griezmann (Gameiro 73) Costa (Torres 73). Subs not used:  Gabi, Vrsaljko, Werner, Montoro. Booked: Griezmann Goals: Griezmann 26, 35, 56, 67 Leganes:  Cuellar, Bustinza, Mantovani, Munoz, Rico (Amrabatat 45), Ramos, Gumbau, Appelt Pires (Gutierrez Mozo 45), García, Eraso (García Naranjo 56), Guerrero. Subs not used:  Champagne, Dos Santos, Zaldua, Salazar. Booked: Bustinza, Ramos, Gumbau  Referee: Javier Estrada Fernández Attendance: 35,033 Source link

Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal and his wife say their infant daughter died of a terminal birth defect. The team released a statement Wednesday from Staal and his wife, Heather. The Hurricanes announced Hannah's death Sunday, though they didn't publicly reveal the cause. In the statement, the Staals say it had been "a longer road than most people know" and that they had "prayed for a miracle," but that Hannah was stillborn. They say they are "very thankful for our short time with her." Hurricanes Captain Jordan Staal and his wife, Heather, today issued the following statement. <a href="https://t.co/dVdO5rx5oj">pic.twitter.com/dVdO5rx5oj</a> &mdash; @NHLCanes They also thanked friends, family and the hockey community for support. The Hurricanes say Staal rejoined the team Wednesday and is expected to play Thursday against Philadelphia. Source link

0:55 Steph Curry has long led his squad humbly and by example, and his selflessness permeates the team and community. It was exactly a year ago when teammates first noticed a change in Stephen Curry . The Golden State Warriors had just witnessed Kevin Durant suffer a knee injury, which immediately cast doubt on the team's chances of advancing to the NBA Finals for a third consecutive year. When the Warriors found out the next day that Durant would be available for the postseason, they were relieved. But no one within the organization knew if there would be enough time for the 6-foot-11 forward to return to his All-Star form during the playoffs. The pressure was mounting for a team with championship expectations, especially after the offseason acquisition of KD. That's when teammates say Curry, a team captain along with Andre Iguodala , made adjustments to his leadership approach. It started behind the scenes. Players said they would arrive for practices to find Curry was alre...

AP TOKYO (AP) — The schoolchildren have had their say: A pair of futuristic digital characters will be the mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Organizers unveiled the winning designs at a school in Tokyo on Wednesday. A total of 205,755 classes at 16,769 elementary schools took part in selecting three short-listed designs, with their classes casting a single vote. The winning pair, clad in the 'ichimatsu" checkered pattern of the Games' official logo, received 109,041 votes. "The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games finally have their mascots," said Ryohei Miyata, head of the mascot selection panel. "This means a lot, especially in Japan. I cannot wait to see these two characters coming to life in the stadiums, on the streets and on TV." MORE: Olympians share best memories, biggest surprises MORE: 5 athletes that could be Team USA's next big stars ...

By Chang Dong-woo SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- K-pop group BTS on Wednesday won the Musician of the Year award at the 2018 Korean Music Awards (KMA), an independent music award show that focuses on both mainstream and genre music by South Korean artists. BTS was chosen winner of the award by the KMA's selection committee, composed of 56 judges who are music journalists, radio and television music program producers, columnists and critics. BTS was nominated earlier this month along with singer-songwriter IU, indie rock band Hyukoh and folk musician Kim Mok-in for the highly-coveted award category. This file photo shows South Korean boy group BTS posing for a photo during a showcase for the group's EP album "Love Yourself: Her" in Seoul on Sept. 18, 2017. (Yonhap) The seven-piece boy band last year released its fifth EP album, "Love Yourself: Her," which sold over 1.58 million copies to become the highest-selling album in South Korea in 16 years, after id...

Amid the talk of balls and brass monkeys the FA Cup presented another night of video assisted farce, this time with the unexpected feature of a 12-minute hat-trick by Fernando Llorente. Tottenham scored six in the snow and they might easily have had more with a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) for an innocuous foul and a penalty disallowed for an illegal feint by Son Heung-min. By the end of the night, this decision cost Son his hat-trick but he settled for two goals and an assist as Spurs finally saw off the spirited challenge of their League One opponents. Fernando Llorente scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 second-half minutes to seal Tottenham's passage to the next round Llorente celebrates with his Tottenham team-mates as a second-half rout undid the hard work of League One side Rochdale Llorente celebrates with his Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min, who also hit the back of the net twice on a snowy night Stephen Humphrys and his Rochd...