The Fiji Times

Lakers’ LeBron James set to return vs. Pacers

The Los Angeles Lakers will have LeBron James back in the lineup for Saturday’s pivotal road game against the Indiana Pacers, coach Frank Vogel said Saturday. James participated in the team’s Friday practice and had been listed as questionable before Vogel’s announcement. James has missed six consecutive games since a brief, two-game return from a...

‘Dear Kobe, thank you’: Lakers legend Bryant enshrined in Hall of Fame

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was inducted posthumously to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, as the class of 2020 was enshrined after months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The five-time NBA champion died last year aged 41 in a helicopter crash alongside his daughter and seven others, shocking...

Federer calls for end to Tokyo Olympics uncertainty

Tennis star Roger Federer has called on Olympics organisers to end the uncertainty around the Tokyo Games, with the 20-times Grand Slam winner saying he was still in two minds whether to compete. The Olympics are set to run from July 23 to Aug. 8 after being postponed in March last year over the coronavirus...

Rookie kayaker qualifies NZ Olympic spot

Just 10 months after he first sat in a kayak, Corbin Hart has qualified a New Zealand boat in the KL3 200m for the Tokyo Paralympics. Hart, 26, finished seventh in the A final at the canoe-kayak sprint and paracanoe World Cup in Szeged, Hungary today. It was his first ever international regatta and just...

From bullying victim to Olympics dream, Connor Bell finds ‘silver lining’ to his story

The bullies left their marks on Connor Bell, even if they’re not visible to the naked eye. The scars are deep and painful and even now, more than seven years on, they form a major part of the story of this courageous young Kiwi Olympic athlete. Bell, at 19, has been chosen to compete in...

NBL: Breakers homecoming marred by Hawks steal in heartbreaking loss in Wollongong

The New Zealand Breakers fell agonisingly short of ending their stay in Australia with a win, going down 73-71 to the Illawarra Hawks in an NBL thriller. The Breakers flew home on Sunday after being forced to spend the past 153 days away from family due to coronavirus-enforced travel restrictions. And they could’ve celebrated by...

New Zealand men’s rowing eight close in on Olympic qualification in Lucerne

The New Zealand men’s rowing eight have landed a big psychological blow two days out from their crunch Olympic qualifying race. They will just be hoping their opponents weren’t foxing with them and keeping their powder dry. Racing at the ‘last chance’ regatta at Lucerne in Switzerland, the Kiwi crew need to finish in the...

Young Timaru basketball referee wins NZ award

One day Reagan Ashley might be able to fly himself around New Zealand to referee matches. At present, the Timaru 19-year-old who dreams of becoming a pilot is certainly flying high in basketball picking up Basketball New Zealand’s young volunteer of the year award in Wellington recently. Due to Covid-19 disruptions in 2020 the award...

Black Caps veteran Tim Southee returns to happy English hunting ground

Tim Southee jokes the Black Caps’ new wave have it easy compared to the side’s senior pros. Test wins were few and far between in his early days of international cricket in a New Zealand team, renowned for inconsistency. Debuting as a 19-year-old in 2008, he won just one of his first 14 tests and...

Tokyo Olympics: Why doesn’t Japan cancel the Games?

The Tokyo Olympics are now just over two months away and calls to ditch the Games in the face of the pandemic are getting louder by the day. So why isn’t Japan talking about cancelling the Games? The answer as it turns out, is not that simple. The situation is not looking great in Japan....

Why Laurel Hubbard can compete at the Tokyo Olympics when Caster Semenya can’t

While New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is poised to become the first transgender athlete to compete at an Olympic Games, the two-times champion in the women’s 800m looks certain to be barred from defending her title. South African track superstar Caster Semenya is awaiting a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights to give...

Cameron Bancroft suggests Australia’s bowlers were aware of ball-tampering

Former test opener Cameron Bancroft has suggested Australia’s bowlers were aware of ball tampering in South Africa. His comments, made to the UK’s The Guardian newspaper ahead of his return to English county club Durham, will bring back the memories of the seismic events at Cape Town that rocked Australian cricket three years ago. Former...

England IPL stars expected to miss first test with Black Caps at Lord’s after fleeing India

England’s Indian Premier League (IPL) contingent are expected to be unavailable for the first test against the Black Caps at Lord’s on June 2. The BBC reports that English returnees from the postponed IPL, including Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Moeen Ali, will not be rushed back for the first of...

The heartbeat of the Black Caps: Where does BJ Watling stack up with our great test glovemen?

Sweat pouring off him in Colombo’s steamy humidity, a defiant glare aimed at each Sri Lankan bowler, Bradley-John Watling was right in his element. It was August 2019, New Zealand’s first series of the new World Test Championship, and they were 1-0 down with 60 WTC points on offer in the second and final test...

Turkey drops off F1 calendar, Austria gets second race

Formula One scrapped plans to hold the Turkish Grand Prix in June due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and announced Austria would host two races in a row with the French Grand Prix moving forward a week. The French race at Le Castellet will now be on June 20, kicking off a ‘triple header’ of three...

Covid vaccine boosts confidence in Tokyo Olympics

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says he is confident the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead as planned this year with Covid-19 vaccines giving athletes greater access to training and competitions in the build-up. The Olympics were postponed in March last year following the start of the pandemic but Coe said he believes athletes are in...

Covid-19: Japan expands coronavirus state of emergency ahead of the Tokyo Olympics

Japan further expanded a coronavirus state of emergency from six areas, including Tokyo, to nine, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga repeated his determination to hold the Olympics in just over two months. Japan has been struggling to slow infections ahead of the games. The three additions are Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, where the Olympic...

White Sox beat Twins to complete second straight sweep

Tim Anderson and Jake Lamb each hit solo home runs and the Chicago White Sox held on for a 4-2 win to complete a three-game sweep over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon. Andrew Vaughn and Yermin Mercedes also drove in one run apiece for Chicago, which won its sixth game in a row....

MPI launches investigations into drugging of horses and greyhound

Separate Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigations have been launched into a trainer who injected two horses with a banned substance, as well as a greyhound that won a premier race on methamphetamine. On Friday an MPI spokeswoman confirmed to Stuff investigations were under way into two high-profile drugging cases. One is in relation to disgraced harness racing trainer...

Scott Dixon early favourite for Indy 500

New Zealand driver Scott Dixon is the early favourite with United States bookmakers to win the Indy 500. The 2008 champion is listed at $6 on the PointsBet sportsbook. Fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin, who will make his debut at the famous race at The Brickyard on May 31 (NZT), is a rank outsider, paying $60.

Home court a confidence booster for Manawatū Jets in NBL

A return to home court this weekend will be a welcome relief for the Manawatū Jets. The Jets have started the season with two away doubleheaders in the first two weeks – one to Auckland and the other to the South Island – and are still looking for a win after four games. They are...

Isaiah Moss, grounded Jets and Doomsday Double: NBL’s talking points ahead of round 3

There are three unbeaten sides and two still looking to get off the schneid as New Zealand’s National Basketball League heads into its third round starting Friday. The 11-time champion Wellington Saints and newcomers the Auckland Huskies share the competition lead with 3-0 starts to their season, while title favourites the Hawke’s Bay Hawks sit...

‘Bat blade must consist solely of willow’: MCC gives bamboo the cut

The Marylebone Cricket Club has rejected bamboo bats as an alternative to willow, because bamboo is grass and not wood. For the bats to be given the go-ahead, there would need to be an amendment to the laws of cricket, and the MCC has pledged to discuss this at the next laws subcommittee meeting. The...

Furious cyclist hit by rival team’s support car during Giro d’Italia

Belgian rider Pieter Serry had a lucky escape at the Giro d’Italia overnight (NZ time) after an opposition’s support car crashed into him. Australian Team BikeExchange’s support car ran straight into the back of Serry on the approach to the final ascent in stage six of the race. The rider, stricken for a while before...

Jet Runners Club to target young athletes

The Jet Runners Club of Nadi will introduce a kids foundation this year with programs to groom more athletes who could represent the nation in the future. The club specialises in holding fun run events together with middle and long distance races and cross country runs. The club will target primary school athletes to be...

Car Club tells members to adhere to restrictions

The Fiji Motorsports Association is calling its members to adhere to restrictions put in place by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. According to association president Raizal Haniff, their have been no races in the past six weeks and he is requesting members to have patience as they will have the next race as...

Mitchell and Phillips offered Black Caps contracts

Canterbury all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and Auckland batsman Glenn Phillips have been offered national cricket contracts for the first time following impressive seasons for the Black Caps. The pair are the only new faces on the 20 strong national contract list, with the players nominated having until May 22 to accept or decline their offers. Mitchell...

Fear of missing out keeps athletes onside for Tokyo

Ten weeks before the start of the Olympics, Tokyo remains in a state of emergency, 60% of Japanese do not want the Olympics to go ahead, and only about 3% of them have been vaccinated for COVID-19. Yet the message from the International Olympic Committee, local organisers and the Japanese government has been consistent —...

US track and field team cancels pre-Olympic trip to Japan

The United States track and field team have cancelled their pre-Olympic training camp in Japan because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Host city Tokyo is under a state of emergency amid a surge in cases, 10 weeks from the start of the Games. American athletes were due to train in nearby Chiba and the...

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New Zealand men’s rowing eight qualifies for Tokyo Olympics