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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland - Adam Scott already has spent seven days at Royal Portrush, three of them with Darren Clarke, and the advice was invaluable to the end. They stood off the 18th green Sunday as Scott listened intently to a former Open champion whose game was forged on these links.

How the course plays in different wind directions?

Whether it's worth hitting driver down the steep hill on the 17th?

No, this was where to spend the next few days away from the course, with the Bushmills Distillery the leading option.

''I've seen enough now,'' Scott said. ''I feel ready.''

What he saw was better than he imagined. Royal Portrush hasn't hosted golf's oldest championship since 1951 and has a mystique except for the few who know it well. Clarke is on that list, having made Portrush his adopted home. Graeme McDowell is the only player who was raised in Portrush. Rory McIlroy is famous for the course record he set (61) at the North of Ireland Amateur when he was 16.

It's not usual for Scott to show up at The Open a full week ahead of time, as he did at Carnoustie a year ago.

''I was a bit surprised, my first look, at how demanding a golf course it is,'' Scott said. ''Sometimes on a links you can get away with wide shots. Here, you don't. It's so penal off the tee, no matter what you hit. If you start spraying it, there's going to be reloading a lot. If the wind doesn't blow, there will be less of that. It is a very, very strong golf course.''

The strength of this Open might be the support. For the first time in 159 years of this championship, tickets for the competition days had to be purchased in advance (and since then, the same ''all ticket'' policy applies to Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds). Tickets were even sold on Sunday, a rarity, and several grandstands along the back nine were filled.

The largest crowd in the morning made it clear that Tiger Woods was on site. Woods, who has not played since June 16 at the U.S. Open, arrived Sunday morning and played 18 holes with Patrick Reed.

''Where's Tiger?'' one fan asked a marshal, and he was told to find the big gallery across the way at the 17th.

Scott says Clarke gave him more than he could have wanted. He asked for a practice round, just to see how Clarke approached these links, and wound up playing three times with him.

''He's gone out of his way to spend way too much time with me,'' Scott said. ''I love watching how he plays the links he grew up on, to see what he thinks and how he navigates. He's been incredibly helpful. It's nice to have a good level of comfort to go play the tournament.''

The advantage of playing so much so early was seeing at least three different wind directions.

''This is not the wind we will see,'' Clarke said as they walked up to the 16th tee, a ferocious par 3 known as ''Calamity Corner,'' and the name fits. It is 236 yards on the card, with a steep drop to the right of the green that can send a golf ball 50 feet below the green unless the thick grass holds it up.

Scott hit 4-iron with a wee breeze at his back. He saw the traditional wind earlier in the week. He hit 3-wood.

Clarke introduced him to the ''Bobby Lockes,'' a swale to the left of the green. Into a strong wind in the 1951 Open, Locke aimed left of the green all four fourds toward a walkway into the swale, and all four times got up-and-down for par.

Clarke says he once had to smash driver when the wind was up. That begged the question: When it was blowing 40 mph in the rain, what was he doing out there?

''In my younger days, I would be playing,'' he said. ''Now I would be at the bar.''

Some three dozen players were playing on Sunday, some who missed the cut at the Scottish Open (Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner, Jimmy Walker). Others were coming over from Scotland later Sunday, or from the John Deere Classic in Illinois on Monday morning.

On this day, with a blue sky and blue Atlantic Ocean and a lovely shade of green, it was ideal.

''I haven't played the tournament yet, so you might want to ask again later Sunday,'' Scott said. ''But Muirfield is my favorite Open venue, and this is right up there as far as the quality of the golf course. The other thing it has going for it is it's spectacular. There's more elevation. You see the ocean, the dunes. Often you come into a links, you drive in and you don't see anything but flat. Here, it's a spectacular course.''

Griezmann: I'll repay 'Decision' snub with assists

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 14 July 2019 13:30

BARCELONA -- Antoine Griezmann insists he has no regrets about snubbing an offer from Barcelona last summer via a documentary after being presented at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Barca finally completed the signing of Griezmann from Atletico Madrid on Friday after the forward's lawyer deposited his €120 million release clause with La Liga.

Griezmann, 28, arrived in Barcelona on Saturday, undergoing a medical and signing a five-year deal on Sunday before being presented with the No. 17 shirt in front of his friends and family.

However, the arrival of the World Cup winner has divided the club's supporters. Some can't forgive the public way he rejected them in his "The Decision" TV special in favour of staying at Atletico last year.

"I have done various bad things in the past," the France international said when asked about the documentary. "But I have never regretted anything because they're things I wanted to do at the time.

"I didn't play with either of the two sides. In the end, [Barca and I] are now together, and I can't wait to wear the shirt. If I have to apologise, I will do so on the pitch. That's where I do my best talking."

Catalan outlet Diario Sport even suggested in May that Barca's dressing room had vetoed Griezmann's arrival because of the documentary.

Asked if he could understand why the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez would be annoyed with him, he added: "Maybe. We will see when I get the chance to meet up with them. Everything can be fixed with assists on the pitch.

"What makes me most happy is being able to share a mate [a South American drink] with Messi. I am really happy, he's the No. 1 and a reference for all players. He's going to be a legend for my kids and for their kids. It's a joy to be able to play with him."

Griezmann spent five years at Atletico, where he scored 133 goals in 257 games, but he felt now was the time to take on the challenge at Barcelona after having turned them down last year.

"I had a family to move: a daughter in school with all her friends, a wife with a good life [in Madrid]," he said when asked why he declined to go to Barca 12 months ago. "I wasn't ready to make this step. I thought I still had something to achieve with Atletico. This year it was different.

"But it's always difficult to leave a home, a place you feel very comfortable, where your family, friends and teammates are. It was difficult. I only have admiration for Atletico. I am grateful to them and to Cholo [Simeone].

"Now I have the challenge to try and improve myself, to find my place at Barcelona, to get in the team, to be an important part of a great club and to try and win the league, the cup and the Champions League -- that's what I am lacking in my honours."

USWNT get $529K gift from Secret deodorant

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 14 July 2019 13:33

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble, a sponsor of the U.S. women's national team, is now supporting its members' fight for equal pay.

The company, which supports U.S. Soccer through its Secret deodorant brand, says it will donate $529,000 -- $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the U.S. team that won the World Cup earlier this month -- to help close the pay gap. The sponsor took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on Sunday urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to "be on the right side of history."

"Let's take this moment of celebration to propel women's sports forward," Secret says in the ad. "We urge the US Soccer Federation to be a beacon of strength and end gender pay inequality once and for all."

In March, 28 members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit claims the federation pays the women less than members of the men's national team.

'I thought I'd seen everything in cricket'

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 14 July 2019 12:10

New Zealand - 241 for 8 in 50 overs. England - 241 all out in 50 overs. Super Over. England - 15 for no loss. New Zealand - 15 for 1, Martin Guptill run out off the last ball. England win the World Cup, for the first time, on boundary count. It was about as dramatic as a cricket match has ever been and here's what England's world champions had to say immediately afterwards on the host broadcast.

Ben Stokes: Yeah. Don't know, I'm pretty lost for words. All the hard work over the four years, to be champions is an amazing feeling. This is what we aspire to be. To do it in such a good game, don't think there'll be a better game in history than this. Pretty done to be honest, Playing against New Zealand is a great event to be part of. They're great lads. I think I'll be apologising to them for the rest of my life [for that overthrow for four off his bat in the last over]. There's no chance I wasn't going to be there till the end. You live for these moments. That kid Jofra [Archer, who bowled the Super Over] was unbelievable, I backed him. It's absolutely fantastic, without the lads in both the one-day and Test team, and my family - the support has been incredible.

Jonny Bairstow: Elated! Massive commiserations to New Zealand. One hell of a game, edged one way and then another. What a hell of a tournament. The way the guys came out in the Super Over, huge! Ben Stokes' performance was amazing. They bowled pretty well, they put us under heck of a lot of pressure. The ball was doing something. The way Jos [Buttler] and Stokes put together that partnership, it won us the game at the end of the day. What a special moment, what an atmosphere. To play at Lord's is one thing, to play at Lord's in a World Cup final is a completely different matter. To have friends, family and rest of the amazing fans - it's difficult to put to words.

Jos Buttler: It's unbelievable! I thought I'd seen everything in cricket. The game was ridiculous, amazing occasion. Very hard to put words to it at the moment. What an unbelievable day. We wanted to take it deep, knew the run rate won't be an issue if we batted till the end. We wanted to put a partnership together and tried to put the pressure back on New Zealand. Unbelievable.

Joe Root: Unbelievable! Wow! Hard to sum it up. What a tournament. The lads have done everything asked of them. We've come through difficult periods in the group stages, performed when the pressure was on. Feel for Ben - he's been through a tough time, his family has been through a lot, and now to see him here, can't be more pleased for him.

Liam Plunkett: It hasn't sunk in yet. What a great finish! Great game. Hats off to the Kiwi boys. We're over the moon. I knew we still had batters when I got out. I just felt like it was going to happen for us.

Jofra Archer: I'm pretty sure I was going to bowl it [Super Over]. So I just had a double check. Heart's still racing, sorry. [laughs] It's the biggest thing. It's one of the only tournamnets I've ever won in my life. The boys started so well. It'd be really disappointing if we didn't win. Especially this man Stokes calming me down before I bowled. It's the best family.

'It just wasn't going to be today' - Kane Williamson

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 14 July 2019 13:09

Kane Williamson finished the World Cup with 578 runs - fourth on the overall list - and took home the Player-of-the-Tournament award. Scant consolation, perhaps, for not being able to lead his team to glory in what was, arguably, the most thrilling ODI ever. He spoke to the host broadcaster STAR in the end, conceding it was a bitter pill to swallow, the loss to England on boundary count after 100 overs and two Super Overs had ended with nothing to separate the two teams.

On the decision to bat first after winning the toss
The pitch was on the dry side, so we felt runs on the board… as it proved, it was going to be challenging. And we were able to get the runs on the board. Yes, we may have liked another ten or 20, in a World Cup final, 250-240 might be enough. The guys went really hard out there, put England under pressure on a tough surface. It was a fantastic game of cricket. Both sides showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart. Obviously to go down to the last ball, and then the last ball of the next little match [Super Over]… Yeah, credit to England, and a lot of positives in this experience for our boys as well.

On the four overthrows off Ben Stokes' bat in the last over
It was a little bit of a shame, wasn't it? It's unfortunately the sort of game we play, this sort of thing happens from time to time, you just hope it doesn't happen in moments like that. It's pretty tough, but it probably wasn't going to be for us.

On opening with Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill in the Super Over
Both guys hit the ball really hard, it's the right-hand-left-hand combination as well with the slightly shorter side boundaries. It was a decision that was made, and we were tossing up on the No. 3. No regrets. It is tough to perhaps review the match and such small margins, as we know, in any game but especially one we saw today.

On the thinnest of margins on which the match was decided
It certainly wasn't just one extra run. There were so many small parts in that match that could have gone either way as we saw throughout the whole game, but congratulations to England, they have a fantastic game plan and they deserve the victory.

On the overall performance of the New Zealand team
It has been challenging, the pitches have been a bit different to what we expected, there was a lot of talk about 300-plus scores, but we haven't seen many of those, it was a tough fight, and I want to thank our side, the New Zealand side, as well for the fight they showed this whole campaign on some tough wickets, showed a huge amount of heart to get us to this stage, a tie in the final, it just wasn't going to be today. We have a really well-balanced attack, with so many parts to it, the guys are shattered at the moment - it was obviously very devastating - but their performance throughout the tournament was at such a high level, gave us every opportunity to go on. Pretty tough to swallow at this stage but a fantastic effort from our guys.

USWNT get $529K gift from Secret deodorant

Published in Breaking News
Sunday, 14 July 2019 13:19

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble, a sponsor of the U.S. women's national team, is now supporting its members' fight for equal pay.

The company, which supports U.S. Soccer through its Secret deodorant brand, says it will donate $529,000 -- $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the U.S. team that won the World Cup earlier this month -- to help close the pay gap. The sponsor took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on Sunday urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to "be on the right side of history."

"Let's take this moment of celebration to propel women's sports forward," Secret says in the ad. "We urge the US Soccer Federation to be a beacon of strength and end gender pay inequality once and for all."

In March, 28 members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit claims the federation pays the women less than members of the men's national team.

Rays lose combined perfect game bid in 9th

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 14 July 2019 13:53

BALTIMORE -- The Tampa Bay Rays' bid for the first combined perfect game in major league history ended Sunday with a leadoff single in the ninth inning by the Orioles' Hanser Alberto.

The hit off reliever Ryan Yarbrough came Sunday at Camden Yards. Alberto hit an easy grounder to the right side, through the Rays' overshifted infield.

Tampa Bay's try came two days after a pair of Los Angeles Angels pitchers teamed up for a no-hitter while wearing the jerseys of late teammate Tyler Skaggs.

Rays right-hander Ryne Stanek pitched the first two innings before Yarbrough took over.

Recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, Yarbrough retired 18 straight batters before Alberto's hit.

The Rays have had only one no-hitter in franchise history, by Matt Garza against the Detroit Tigers on July 26, 2010.

Briton adds 1500m title to her 800m win after four races in four days in Sweden

Britain’s Jemma Reekie completed an historic middle-distance double at the European U23 Championships in Gävle, Sweden, adding the 1500m title to her 800m gold claimed the day before.

After four races in four days, the 21-year-old clocked 4:22.81 to become the first British athlete to ever win two individual gold medals at the European under-23 event.

It was another fine performance by the Andy Young-coached runner, who is a training partner of British 1500m record-holder Laura Muir. With her latest win, it means that all the female European 1500m titles are currently held by either Reekie or Muir, with Reekie also the reigning European under-2o champion and Muir having both the senior indoor and outdoor titles to her name.

“I don’t think it has hit me yet,” said Reekie. “I am really tired, my legs are sore and the girls did not make that easy for me, both days, but I am really pleased.

“I didn’t know the last lap was as fast as it was (59.6) but it did feel hard so I am glad it was fast.

“I know I said coming here that I would be happy with two medals but there was only one colour I wanted in both and I am really pleased I got it right.”

Elise Vanderelst of Belgium secured silver with a time of 4:23.50, while bronze was claimed by Italy’s Marta Zenoni in 4:23.96.

As the championships came to a close, the British team finished fourth on the medals table and third on the placing table as Germany ended up on top after a strong last session featuring six gold medals.

Among the nation’s winners was Niklas Kaul as he achieved an impressive 8572 points to take the decathlon title, breaking the championship record with his European-leading PB.

The 21-year-old adds this gold to a CV which also includes 2015 world under-18 and 2016 world under-20 titles, plus 2017 European under-20 gold.

He pushed all the way to the line in the final event, clocking his second quickest ever 1500m of 4:17.63 to complete a series which also featured an 11.17 100m, 7.26m long jump, 15.19m shot put, 2.03m high jump, 48.67 400m, 14.83 110m hurdles, 47.35m discus, 4.80m pole vault and dominant 77.36m in the javelin.

Estonia’s 2017 European under-20 silver medallist Johannes Erm had led the decathlon at the end of the first day and went on to secure silver with a national under-23 record score of 8445 points, while Kaul’s team-mate Manuel Eitel claimed bronze with 8067 points.

Germany’s other titles on the final day were claimed by both 4x100m relay teams, as the men’s quartet ran 39.22 and the women’s clocked 43.45, plus the men’s 4x400m team (3:03.92), steeplechaser Frederik Ruppert (8:44.49) and Annika Fuchs, who improved her PB by more than a metre with 63.68m to win the women’s javelin title.

GB teams secured silver in both 4x400m events as individual 400m medallist Cameron Chalmers anchored the men’s team to a time of 3:04.59 before Hannah Williams crossed the finish line with 3:32.91 on the clock to finish behind individual 400m champion Natalia Kaczmarek as she powered past on the final leg to get gold for Poland in 3:32.56 after running a 51.84 split.

Silver medals were also claimed by Britain’s Spencer Thomas, as he came through to clock 1:49.06 behind Poland’s Mateusz Borkowski (1:48.75) in the 800m, plus Tom Gale, as he cleared a season’s best of 2.27m in a high jump competition won by European senior silver medallist Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus with a 2.29m clearance.

In the 4x100m events, GB’s women’s team finished fifth in 44.54, while the men’s team was unable to get the baton around.

Earlier on in the day, the GB team co-captain Callum Wilkinson (1:22:13) had claimed bronze in a 20km race walk contest won by Russia’s authorised neutral athlete Vasiliy Mizinov (1:21:29), as Britain’s Cameron Corbishley placed 12th in 1:27:07.

The women’s 20km race walk title was won by Turkey’s Ayse Tekdal in 1:34:47.

Back on the track, Denmark’s Anna Emilie Møller won a battle between champions in the women’s 5000m, running a national record of 15:07.70 to add that title to her 3000m steeplechase win in Gävle as Germany’s 10,000m champion Alina Reh was second in 15:11.25.

GB’s Jodie Judd ran a PB of 15:51.67 to place sixth and Amelia Quirk, who trains with St Mary’s University student Møller in the UK, clocked 16:08.71 for 12th.

France’s Hilary Kpatcha won the women’s long jump title with a 6.73m (+0.5m/sec) leap after jumping a PB of 6.81m in qualifying, while GB’s Alice Hopkins was seventh with 6.12m (+2.4m/sec).

Turkey’s Necati Er leapt to triple jump success with a national record-breaking mark of 17.37m, while Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh won the discus with a throw of 63.82m.

The 400m hurdles gold medals were claimed by France’s 2017 European under-20 champion Wilfried Happio (49.03) and Paulien Couckuyt of Belgium with a PB of 56.17. GB’s Alex Knibbs finished eighth in the men’s event in 50.82.

Switzerland’s Angelica Moser retained her pole vault title by clearing 4.56m.

Results can be found here, while a report on day one action is here, a day two round-up is here and a day three report is here.

Watch the winning moment Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 13-12 (7-3) in a final-set tie break to secure his fifth Wimbledon title.

FOLLOW LIVE: Wimbledon men's final: Djokovic v Federer - TV, radio & text

Available to UK users only.

Novak Djokovic saved two championship points to retain his Wimbledon title with a thrilling final-set tie-break win over Roger Federer.

On a Centre Court, with an atmosphere that felt at times more akin to football than tennis, Djokovic won 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 13-12 (7-3).

The Serbian world number one has now won 16 Grand Slam titles.

It was the longest Wimbledon final, at four hours 57 minutes, with a Federer error handing Djokovic victory.

"It's quite unreal," Djokovic said after winning his fifth Wimbledon title.

Federer, who at 37 was chasing a record-equalling ninth Wimbledon singles title, added: "It was a great match, it was long, it had everything. Novak, congratulations, man, that was crazy."

A meeting of the greats serves up a classic

A highly anticipated final between two of the sport's greats always had the potential to go the distance - and this did that and more.

With fans unable to watch at times, while leaping to their feet and chanting at others, a nerve-jangling final set turned this into a classic .

When Federer had two championship points at 8-7, Djokovic held his nerve to save both and then break back, eventually taking it to the new tie-break at 12-12.

The Serb - who for extended periods of the match had been second best - had won the match's previous two tie-breaks and he did so again, snatching victory when Federer scooped a return high.

The Swiss had been seeking to become the oldest Grand Slam champion of the Open era but instead found himself part of a different record as the match time surpassed the Wimbledon record of four hours 48 minutes play of the 2008 final he lost to Rafael Nadal.

More to follow.

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