Digest

BASKETBALL

Academy drops Mamba name out of respect

The Mamba Sports Academy is retiring "Mamba" from its name out of respect for the late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

Academy chief executive Chad Faulkner announced the move on Tuesday, saying Bryant's legacy should continue "on its own".

Faulkner and Bryant had launched a joint athletic training and business venture in 2018, and the academy, located in Thousand Oaks west of Los Angeles, was part of it.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Jan 26 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people as they were headed to the academy, where Bryant was going to coach Gianna in a youth basketball game.

"Our beliefs and thoughts are Kobe is one of one," Faulkner told The Undefeated on Tuesday. "And with that as we carry on as the Sports Academy, it's more appropriate to put Kobe in another Hall of Fame, if you will, and to really respect a legacy that is really unrivaled, frankly, and let that live on its own."

Yao's adviser resigns, son lands NBA role

Veteran basketball executive Ma Guoli has resigned as an adviser to Chinese Basketball Association president Yao Ming due to personal reasons, the CBA announced on Tuesday.

Ma, 67, joined the CBA in 2017 as an adviser to hoops legend Yao, and went on to make a huge contribution to the league's overall growth over the last three years.

"The CBA league expresses sincere gratitude to Mr. Ma for his dedication over the past decade, and wishes him all the best," read a CBA statement.

Ma rose to prominence in the basketball world when he was appointed president of Infront Sports & Media (China), then the commercial operator of the CBA, after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Ma's son, Michael Ma, was on Tuesday appointed as NBA China's new chief executive. He will start the role on June 1 and takes over from American Derek Chang.

Players polled over possible resumption

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is informally polling players to gauge where they stand on restarting the season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday.

NBPA regional representatives began asking players to respond to a "yes or no" question about their desire to return to the court during the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Wojnarowski.

Some teams were asked the question in group texts, per the report, and names of the players and their individual responses will be kept confidential.

However, in a statement to The Athletic, the NBPA said it "is not engaging in and has not authorized any formal poll of its players".

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, executive committee members including president Chris Paul and other players held a conference call on Friday with league commissioner Adam Silver to discuss various topics related to resuming play, chiefly health and finances.

Yahoo! Sports' Chris Haynes reported Paul held a private conference call with superstars across the league on Tuesday, with all wanting to resume the season at some point.

SOCCER

Bundesliga shepherds goat away from restart

Cologne will be without its mascot, Hennes the goat, for the first time in 12 years when the team resumes its Bundesliga season on Sunday against Mainz, with the animal having fallen victim to strict health regulations.

The Bundesliga will become the first major sports league to restart on Saturday after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but games will be played in empty stadiums.

Just over 300 officials and staff are allowed in or around the stadiums for each league game, to reduce the risk of infection and players have been quarantined all week to avoid contact.

Among those who failed to make the cut are all mascots, including Hennes, who is usually paraded onto the pitch at the start of each home game.

According to Cologne newspaper Express it will be the first time since 2008 that Hennes or any of his namesake predecessors failed to appear before kickoff.

MOTOR SPORTS

Verstappen veering toward Sainz at Ferrari

Max Verstappen suggested on Tuesday that Carlos Sainz would replace Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari after saying he didn't think Daniel Ricciardo would move to the Italian Formula One outfit next season.

Ricciardo and Spaniard Sainz are the favorites to move to the 'Scuderia' following Vettel's announcement on Tuesday that he will be leaving at the end of the 2020 campaign.

Italian-speaking, Australia-born Ricciardo is nearing the end of a two-year contract with Renault.

Asked by former F1 racer David Coulthard whether the seat would go to an Italian-sounding name or a Spanish-sounding name, in reference to Ricciardo and McLaren driver Sainz, Verstappen said: "I think it's not going to be the Italian-sounding name."

"Let's see. At the end of the day, it's just a guess. We'll have to wait and see," the Dutch driver added during an Instagram Q&A.

BEACH GAMES

Sanya on schedule to deliver 2020 Games

Preparations for the Asian Beach Games Sanya 2020 are progressing quickly as planned, organizers said on Tuesday.

The 6th Asian Beach Games, due to take place from Nov 28 to Dec 6 in Sanya, Hainan province, will be held as scheduled, according to the organizing committee.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction of the athletes' village is underway 24 hours a day. The first building will be completed on May 16, with the rest of the venues to be ready before Sept 30, said Zhang Wei, vice director of the venue construction department of the organizing committee.

Zhou Jun, the vice mayor of Sanya, said that preparations for the Beach Games have brought great changes to the city.

"In addition to the construction of 17 venues, it will further improve the infrastructure of the whole city, including communication, medical treatment, transportation and the reconstruction of the Sanya Bay scenic area," Zhou said.

NFL

YouTuber's $800K bill for dinner with Brady

YouTube star Logan Thirtyacre has won a coronavirus charity auction that includes dinner with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady after he laid down a $800,000 bid.

The 25-year-old Thirtyacre, who has amassed a fortune on his puppet-show skits based on the Super Mario Brothers arcade game, told TMZ he had been willing to pay up to $2 million for the chance to dine with his idol.

"I just can't wait to hang out with him," Thirtyacre, who goes by the online alias SuperMarioLogan, told the celebrity tabloid website.

The 'All In Challenge' won by Thirtyacre includes tickets to Brady's first game with the Bucs in Tampa Bay, his first game-worn jersey and cleats, as well as the dinner.

Money raised by the auction goes to providing food for people struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.

Xinhua - Agencies