(flickr.com)CINCINNATI, Oh. – Ownership changes are taking place with the Cincinnati Reds.Louise and Louis Nippert began a 46-year ownership interest in the team when they bought into the Reds in 1966.The Nipperts purchased a majority interest in 1973 and retained that until 1981.Mrs. Nippert held a minority interest in the club until her passing in 2012.On Friday, the Reds approved the sale of the interest to New York City businessman Frank Cohen. He is the fourth generation of the Cohen family to be raised in Cincinnati.Cohen is a Senior Managing Director for The Blackstone Group, a global investment advisory firm, and also serves as director for EOP, CarrAmerica, TRZ Holdings and the Kellog Real Estate Advisory Board at Northwestern University.Bob Castellini remains the current principal owner of the team.
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Northern Ireland game “to go ahead”
All first division matches in Cyprus this weekend have been cancelled but Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson is confident the international in Nicosia on Wednesday will take place. Nelson, in Zurich for the International FA Board meeting, said: “The latest information is that the incident would have nothing to do with international football and wouldn’t put the game in jeopardy. “However, we’re being sensible, we’re monitoring developments, we’re going to be in touch with the Cypriot FA again later today, we’re waiting for the FCO – the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – to comment on it and we’re keeping our eyes on it.” The car of a top Cypriot official – named by the Cyprus Football Association as Leontios Trattos – was damaged by a bomb explosion on Friday morning, but no one was injured. A friendly between Ukraine and the United States is also scheduled for Larnaca on Wednesday due to political unrest in the eastern European country. England’s women are also due to play Italy in the Cyprus Cup in Nicosia on the same day. Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill named a 22-man squad for the match, with the likes of Southampton’s Steven Davis and West Brom duo Gareth McAuley and Chris Brunt included. O’Neill will not be able to call on Sammy Clingan for the match though after he was forced to withdraw through injury on Saturday, with Dundee United’s Paul Paton being called up to replace him. Kilmarnock midfielder Clingan was replaced after 26 minutes of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership defeat at St Mirren after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury having come off worse in a strong challenge on Sean Kelly. Northern Ireland’s friendly in Cyprus next week is expected to go ahead despite the bombing of a referee’s car on the island. 
Press Association
World T20 should get precedence over IPL: Allan Border
Sydney: While many of the current and former Australian players have themselves said that they dont see the likelihood of the World T20 happening in October-November as per initial schedule due to the restrictions that have come in due to the coronavirus pandemic, former Australia skipper Allan Border has made it clear that the Indian Premier League (IPL) shouldnt be given priority over the showpiece event. “(I’m) not happy with that, the world game should take precedence over a local competition. So, the World T20, if that can’t go ahead, I don’t think the IPL can go ahead,” Border said on ABC’s Grandstand Cafe radio program. “I would question that decision (to replace it) — it’s just a money grab, isn’t it, that one? The World T20 should take precedence, for sure.” Border also warned that if the IPL took precedence over the T20 World Cup, it would set a bad example. He went to the extent of asking full members to bar their players from playing in the IPL. “That would be just shut the gate, you know, India running the game. They’re pretty close to it now, but I suppose if you’re responsible for 80 percent of global (cricket) income, you’re going to have a fair say in what goes on, I get that,” Border said. “But I think the world game can’t allow that to happen. The home boards should stop their players going to the IPL if that’s the case. I don’t think you can have India superseding what the international game has in place. That would be going down the wrong path.” Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts has revealed there is still no clarity yet on the fate of ICC T20 World Cup. 16 teams from around the globe are currently scheduled to travel Down Under in October and fight it out for the glittering trophy. All cricket around the world has been suspended since March due to coronavirus pandemic and dark clouds are circling over the showpiece event in Australia as well. IANS Also watch: Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Naba Doley briefing
Cricket News IPL 12: Ticket sales for opening match to commence on March 16
Chennai: Sale of tickets for the opening match of IPL 12 between defending champion Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be played on March 23, will commence on March 16.Online sales of tickets will be start at 11.30 AM on March 16 and would continue till the tickets are sold out, a press release said.Book My Show (in.bookmyshow.com) is handling CSK’s entire ticketing for home matches. Counters for sale of tickets will open at TNCA at 11.30 AM on March 16, the release said, adding details of ticket sales for the remainder of CSK’s home matches would be announced at a later date.Tickets have been priced at Rs 1,300 (C, D and E lower tier), Rs 2,500 (C & E upper tier) and ospitality tickets at Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,500. For all the Latest Sports News News, Cricket News News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Archer excluded from second Test for protocols breach
ENGLAND fast bowler Jofra Archer was excluded from the second Test against West Indies after breaching the bio-secure protocols.The 25-year-old went to his Brighton home between the first Test in Southampton and second in Manchester.All of England’s matches this summer are being played behind closed doors and in a bio-secure environment.“I am extremely sorry for what I have done. I feel like I have let both teams down,” said Archer.With Mark Wood and James Anderson rested, Archer was set to be the only member of England’s pace attack from the first Test retained in the side for the second.After he was excluded, England opted to include Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran in their side at Emirates Old Trafford.England captain Joe Root said Archer’s actions were “disappointing”.He also said any questions over why players made their own way between venues, rather than travelling together, were for those making logistical arrangements, rather than him.‘I have let both teams down’Archer, who made his England debut last summer, said: “I have put not only myself but the whole team and management in danger. I fully accept the consequences of my actions and I want to apologise to everyone in the bio-secure bubble.“It deeply pains me to be missing the Test match, especially with the series poised.”Former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special: “I would think the management would feel very let down. He’s a young kid who has made a silly mistake, and England will miss him.“I look at the West Indies and what they’ve given up to be here.“They have come to a country that has been hit by COVID more than most. They’ve had to live at Old Trafford for two and a half weeks. For one England player to break that protocol, when he’s only been away from home a couple of weeks…”Former England captain Alastair Cook said: “It does throw it into a little bit of disarray. England wanted to have some pace and bounce in their bowling attack throughout the summer but now they’re going to be robbed of that.”BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said: “They put the trust in the player and 99.9% of the people involved have done the right thing.”West Indies limited-overs all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite told TMS: “As a personal friend, I’m disappointed, not only in what Jofra’s done, but the scrutiny you get from the media.“That said, it does not excuse what he does. Without me trying to sound disrespectful or accepting of what he did, there’s a lot worse things he could have done, outside of popping home.”How did it happen?Cook said all the England players would have known they were not allowed to return home between Tests.“He knew what he was doing was wrong,” said Cook. “He will have been briefed; he’s been in the bubble for long enough.“Someone will have questioned ‘can we go home?’ and it would have ‘no, this is what we’ve agreed to’.“What we don’t know is did he go home to get something he genuinely needed and it’s just a mistake.”Vaughan said: “I’m led to believe that (team manager) Phil Neale sent a WhatsApp group message to the England players just before 7:50 this morning saying ‘I need to see you all’, before the news about Jofra Archer got out at 8am.“One or two of them didn’t see it because they were fast asleep and woke up about 8:30-8:45 and were like ‘eh what’s going on here?’”Archer must now isolate for five days, during which time he will take two coronavirus tests, both of which must return negative results before he can return to the England squad.West Indies were informed of the sanctions and were satisfied with the restrictions imposed.AnalysisAn extraordinary amount of planning went into creating the bio-secure environment and the punishment for what some might see as a minor indiscretion from Archer shows just how seriously England are taking the safety protocols.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had previously acknowledged the need for players to leave the bubble from time to time, but on this occasion they were expected to head straight from Southampton to Manchester.The experience in Southampton demonstrated just how strict life in the bubble is – regular coronavirus tests, temperature checkpoints, mandatory face masks and hand sanitiser in every location imaginable. The movement of everyone on site – players, staff, media and hotel workers – is tracked by a fob worn around the neck.Archer will have known what is expected. It is a great shame for him and the England team that he has erred.(BBC Sport).
Trojans head north to take on No. 6 Stanford, Pacific
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the USC men’s volleyball team seems to have finally come into its own. After three big conference wins over spring break, the Trojans will head north this weekend to take on Stanford and Pacific for two more crucial Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matchups.Digging deep · Senior outside hitter Henry Cassiday ranks second in the nation and first in the MPSF conference with 3.15 digs per set. – Nick Entin | Daily Trojan“It feels good,” said USC head coach Bill Ferguson. “We’re definitely playing our best volleyball right now, and you always want to be peaking at the end of the year, and we’re starting to do that.”The Trojans (14-8, 13-8 MPSF) beat crosstown rival UCLA (14-8, 11-7) in four sets on March 15. The team went on to beat Cal State Northridge (7-14, 6-12) last Friday in straight sets, then pulled out a four-set victory over Long Beach State (15-6, 12-6) the next day.USC beat the Bruins by a score of 25-20, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Freshman outside hitter Lucas Yoder led the team with 20 kills, senior outside hitter Maddison McKibbin had 12 kills and senior opposite Tanner Jansen added 10 kills. The Trojans had previously fallen to UCLA in straight sets at home this year on Feb. 9, losing by a score of 25-20, 25-23, 25-19.The Trojans avenged another sweep from earlier in the season against the Matadors. After losing at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 24 by a final score of 25-19, 25-21, 25-21, the Trojans earned a sweep of their own while hosting Cal State Northridge by a final score of 25-20, 25-20, 25-20. The trio of Jansen, Yoder and McKibbin led the team again in kills with 13, 11 and 8 respectively.To complete the undefeated spring break campaign, the Trojans beat Long Beach State by a final score of 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 27-25. Leading the team in kills again was Jansen with 26, followed by Yoder with 22 and McKibbin with 13. USC had beaten the 49ers in three sets by a score of 25-19, 25-22, 33-31 at Long Beach State on Jan. 22.“We’re playing better every single game,” McKibbin said. “Our passing has gotten better, our hitting percentage is going up, we’re blocking a lot more balls, we’re getting a lot more aces. It feels like we’re steadily reaching our peak, which is what we planned to do.”Both the Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State home games were played in the North Gym, rather than the usual Galen Center, as the Galen Center was booked that weekend for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. The North Gym, located inside of the Physical Education Building in the heart of campus, was the team’s home court when the program first became a varsity sport in 1970 until 1988. The North Gym and the Lyon Center split time as the team’s home court between 1988 and 2006 before the Galen Center became the official home court of the team in 2007. The North Gym can only hold about 1,000 spectators, about a tenth of the capacity of the Galen Center, and was the home court for the team three of the four seasons USC has ever won a national championship.“I love playing in North Gym,” said senior libero Henry Cassiday. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost here. It’s a gnarly home court advantage with the low ceiling, and we practiced with that a little before. We have our fans here and they’re really close, they’re right next to the action, so it’s really fun.”The three-game winning streak featured the same starting lineup for the Trojans each match. Along with McKibbin and Yoder starting at the two outside hitter spots and with Jansen starting at opposite, the USC starting lineup has featured freshman Andy Benesh at the first middle blocker spot, junior Chris Lischke at the second middle blocker spot, Cassiday starting at libero and junior Micah Christenson as the starting setter. With relatively few exceptions, Cassiday, Christenson, Yoder and Benesh have started every game for the Trojans this year, though the team has used more of a committee for the second outside hitter spot, second middle blocker spot and the opposite. Cassiday, however, said that the group of seven starters from the last three games has developed a lot of chemistry together and look to be the starters for the rest of the season.The Trojans take on Stanford (14-7, 11-7) today and will spend the night in northern California before taking on Pacific (2-19, 1-15) Friday. The Trojans fell to Stanford at home on March 9 in straight sets by a score of 25-15, 25-14, 25-22 but swept Pacific by a score of 25-20, 25-22, 25-15 at home on March 7.The Trojans are ranked as the No. 7 team in the country, according to the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, with Stanford coming in at No. 6 and Pacific unranked. The Trojans are currently in fifth place out of 13 teams in the MPSF, 4.5 games behind BYU, who leads the conference at 16-2.Both matches this week are set to start at 7 p.m. If USC can win both, the team will have won five straight matches for the first time this season.
Tipperary Club action results
Also over the weekend, there were wins for Ballina, Silvermines and Portroe in the North…while Killenaule and JK Brackens came out on top in their County Senior Hurling Championship games. County Champions Thurles Sarsfields had a convincing win over Moyne Templetouhy last evening in the Mid competition, the final scoreline was 1-15 to 10 points. Several of the Tipperary senior players took part in the clash, including Denis Maher and Michael Cahill…although Padraig Maher and Lar Corbett didn’t play. Elsewhere, in the West Tipp championship, Clonoulty Rossmore had a good win over Cappawhite…it finished 5-28 to 0-6. 
2017 County Intermediate Hurling Championship Draw
Group 2MoneygallRoscreaDrom’n’InchGroup 3Moyne-TempletuohySt Mary’s ClonmelBoherlahan-DuallaGroup 4Sean TreacysShannon RoversCarrick DavinsCashel King CormacsGroup 5Lattin-Cullen GaelsCappawhiteKiladanganArravale RoversGroup 6Kilsheelan-KilcashGaltee RoversMoyle Rovers This is how the teams came out of the hat at the Sarsfields Centre in Thurles:Group 1Thurles SarsfieldsGolden-KilfeacleGortnahoe-GlengooleBallinahinch
South Korea Name Squad, Arsenal’s Park Chu-young Included
Arsenal striker Park Chu-young is going to his third World Cup for South Korea despite concerns about his lack of game time in the Premier League.Hong Myung-bo picked Park among nine Europe-based players in the 23-man South Korea squad he announced Thursday.The South Korea coach unveiled a youthful and predictable squad — with just one player, Kwak Tae-hwi, older than 30.The selection of Park has been a point of serious national debate in recent, weeks simply because the 28 year-old forward has played so little for Arsenal since his move to London in August 2011.A fine goal in his first national team appearance in a year against Greece in March helped him make the cut.”Among Korean forwards, I couldn’t find another attacker to replace Park,” Hong said. “I have thought long and hard about this selection and decided on the final list just last night.” Other English Premier League players Ki Sung-yeung and Kim Bo-kyong were also selected.Park is likely to be the lone striker in Brazil with German-based Son Heung-min expected to appear on the left side of midfield.There are five survivors from the squad that reached the second round in South Africa 2010, a second ever appearance in the knockout stage in South Korea’s eight World Cup appearances to date. Goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryung, Ki, Kim, Park and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Lee Chung-yong are hoping to at least repeat that feat in June.South Korea’s best-ever World Cup performance was in 2002, when it cost-hosted the tournament with Japan and reached the semifinals under with Hong as captain. The 45-year-old Hong also coached South Korea’s Under-23 team, containing many of the players in his current squad, to the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics”Brazil is going to be the biggest challenge,” said Hong, who took over as coach last July after Choi Kang-hee guided the team through an unimpressive qualification campaign. “But we go as one team to give the best performance that we can. We have a team with a lot of international experience and we have the players who can show what they can do at the highest level.” Hong admitted that the position that gave him most problems was at left-back. Park Joo-ho of FC Mainz in Germany returned to South Korea early to try and recover from injury but ran out of time and has been replaced by QPR’s Yun Suk-young.As Hong promised, there were few surprises in the squad. Pohang Steelers attacking midfielder Lee Myung-joo, perhaps the standout player of the 2014 K-League season, has been overlooked. Of the 20 outfield players in the squad, just three play in the domestic league.Hong said “Lee has been excellent for Pohang this season,” but explained that he wanted more cover for defensive midfielders and took Park Jung-woo and Han Kook-young.The captain will be announced after the squad has gathered. After a training camp in Paju, the South Korea squad plays a friendly against Tunisia at home on May 28 before traveling to Miami for a pre-World Cup training camp that includes a warm-up game with Ghana on June 10.South Korea starts its Group H campaign against Russia on June 17 before taking on Algeria and Belgium. Squad:Goalkeepers: Jung Sung-ryeong (Suwon Bluewings), Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Horang-i), Lee Bom-young (Busan I’Park)Defenders: Kim Jin-soo (Albirex Niigata, Japan), Yun Suk-young (QPR, England), Kim Young-kwon (Guangzhou Evergrande, China), Hwang Seok-ho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan), Hong Jeong-ho (Augsburg, Germany), Kwak Tae-hwi (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Lee Yong (Ulsan Horang-i), Kim Chang-soo (Kashiwa Reysol, Japan).Midfielders: Ki Seung-yeung (Sunderland, England), Ha Dae-sung (Beijing Guoan, China), Han Kook-young (Kashiwa Reysol, Japan), Park Jung-woo (Guangzhou R&F, China), Son Heung-min (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Kim Bo-kyoung (Cardiff City, Wales), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ji Dong-won (Augusburg, Germany).Forwards: Koo Ja-cheol (Mainz, Germany), Lee Keun-ho (Sangju Sangmu), Park Chu-young (Arsenal, England), Kim Shin-wook (Ulsan Horang-i).
Robinho added to Brazil squad for friendlies
Dunga has picked striker Robinho and left back Marcelo for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies against France and Chile.Brazil will play France at Stade de France on March 26 and Chile at Emirates Stadium in London on March 29. The games will serve as preparation for the Copa America in June, which will be Brazil’s first official competition since its elimination in the semifinals of the World Cup.Brazil hasn’t played since beating Turkey 4-0 and Austria 2-1 in November, when Robinho and Marcelo were left out of both games. Robinho was playing with Santos in the final stages of the Brazilian league.Dunga also picked Neymar, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Oscar, Willian and Philippe Coutinho.