Digest

SOCCER

Oscar denies China move 'only for money'

Shanghai SIPG midfielder Oscar has laughed off an Italian report in which the Brazilian is quoted as saying he joined the Chinese Super League (CSL) side "only for money".

"Fake news! This is very funny news, I never said that I came to China to play football only for money, I want to accept a new challenge," Oscar wrote on Weibo on Monday.

The 29-year old posted a screenshot of a translation of the Italian article.

"I came to China only for money; I don't want to be poor when I am getting old. All the foreign players came to China to earn more money to help their families," the report quoted Oscar as saying.

Oscar joined SIPG from English Premier League side Chelsea in 2016 and won the CSL title with his team in 2018.

Son, Lloris make peace after Spurs bust-up

Hugo Lloris insisted he had made peace with Son Heung-min after the Tottenham stars were involved in a furious row during their side's 1-0 win against Everton on Monday.

As Son walked towards the tunnel at halftime, France goalkeeper Lloris confronted the South Korea forward, shouting at him and shoving his shoulder.

The usually placid Son responded angrily and the pair had to be kept apart by teammates Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko as the altercation threatened to boil over.

Lloris was irked by Son's failure to close down a loose ball.

"I think to concede a chance a few seconds before halftime because we didn't make a press annoyed me. But yeah, that's football," Lloris said.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said of the incident: "If you want to blame somebody for that, it's me. I was critical of my boys because they are not in my opinion critical enough with themselves, I asked them to demand more from others."

BASKETBALL

Liaoning pours cold water on exit rumors

The Liaoning Flying Leopards on Monday shrugged off rumors that star duo Gao Shiyan and Liu Zhixuan are set to part ways with the club.

Speculation has swirled over the players' futures following the resignation of Guo Shiqiang as head coach. Guo, who led Liaoning to the 2018 CBA title, stepped down after seven years in charge late last month following the team's poor start to the CBA's resumption in Qingdao.

Gao was being tipped to follow Guo out the door after the guard deleted Flying Leopards content from his Weibo account.

However, he has since been pictured training with the team in preparation for the upcoming second phase of the CBA's regular-season restart.

"No one in the club has mentioned Gao's departure. Your trust will be the utmost support to him and the team," read a Liaoning post on Weibo.

Top draft Wang lands Rising Star honor

Beijing Royal Fighters forward Wang Shaojie on Monday claimed the CBA's latest Rising Star of the Month award.

This edition of the prize took into consideration action in January and the first five games of the CBA's recent restart.

Wang averaged 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 steal during that period. The CBA's top draft pick in 2019 beat Jilin Northeast Tigers forward Jiang Yuxing and Qingdao Eagles center Liu Chuanxing in the vote.

Guangzhou Loong Lions' Ray Chen and Guangdong Southern Tigers' Hu Mingxuan won the previous two editions of the award.

Coached by Stephon Marbury, the Royal Fighters last week clinched a playoff berth for the first time since they joined the CBA in the 2014/15 season.

MOTOR SPORTS

Vietnam hopes to host F1 race in November

Vietnam could host its first Formula One Grand Prix in late November, the ruling body of the country's capital city Hanoi said on Monday.

The Vietnam Grand Prix was initially due to take place in Hanoi on April 5 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country is approaching three months without domestic transmission of the coronavirus. Grand prix organizers said they would monitor the virus situation and pick another time for the race.

"We are assessing all virus-related issues and will discuss them with the organizers. Hopefully the race can be resumed by end-November," Hanoi's chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said at a meeting attended by local media, of which a recording was obtained by Reuters.

BASEBALL

MLB unveils schedule for 60-game season

The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals will host the New York Yankees on July 23 in the first game of the 60-game MLB season, the league has announced.

Later that day, the San Francisco Giants will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fourteen games are scheduled for July 24, and the final day of the regular season will take place on Sept 27, followed by playoffs.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to shorten its 162-game season to 60 games after an agreement between the players and team owners. The revised 2020 schedule features each club playing 40 games against intra-division opponents, as well as 20 games against their opposite league's corresponding geographical division in an effort to cut down on travel.

Xinhua - Agencies