A Nevada woman lost her bid in a US court to force international men’s soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009. US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas kicked the case out of court on Friday to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct” and the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers. Dorsey said that tainted the case beyond redemption. Stovall did not immediately respond Saturday to telephone and email messages. Text messages to associate Larissa Drohobyczer were not answered. They could appeal the decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In a statement referring to Kathryn Mayorga only as “plaintiff,” Ronaldo’s attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, said Cristiano’s legal team welcomed the decision. The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through Stovall and Drohobyczer to make her name public.
Ferreira scores 4 goals in US men’s victory
Jesús Ferreira tied the United States men’s national team international record with four goals and the Americans beat Grenada, 5-0, on Friday night in Austin, Texas, in a World Cup soccer sendoff, a CONCACAF Nations League match 164 days before their opener in Qatar … The Ukraine men’s soccer team earned its second straight win in the Nations League, beating Armenia, 3-0, thanks to three second-half goals in a game played in neutral territory in Lodz, Poland. The Ukrainians, who cannot play at home because of the invasion by Russia, scored through Ruslan Malinovskyi, Oleksandr Karavaev and Vitaliy Mykolenko to follow up a 1-0 win at Ireland on Wednesday … Bulgaria’s men’s soccer team was involved in a bus crash in Tbilisi, Georgia, ahead of a Nations League game, leaving one player needing intensive care treatment, UEFA said. The crash occurred Friday night after the team arrived in Georgia and involved one of the two buses transporting the players, the Bulgarian Football Union said. Attacking midfielder Todor Nedelev underwent a successful operation for a head injury, and no other players or staff were hurt, the BFU said.
Auto racing
Larson takes pole at Sonoma
Kyle Larson will start on the pole for the fifth straight time in the NASCAR Cup Series race at his home track in Sonoma, Calif., after edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. Larson, who turned a lap at 92.11 miles per hour in his Chevrolet, has won four consecutive poles for the race at Sonoma since 2017… Alexander Rossi won his first IndyCar pole in three years and will now try to snap a losing streak that dates just as long. Rossi will start from the pole Sunday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., site of his last IndyCar Series victory 44 races ago on June 23, 2019. Rossi turned a lap in qualifying of 1 minute, 44.8656 seconds on the 14-turn, 4.048-mile permanent road course considered one of the best in the world … Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won the pole for the fourth consecutive race with a blistering lap around the street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan, but he has failed to convert any of his last three pole positions into victories. Leclerc ran a lap at 1 minute, 41.359 seconds with his last run of the session to beat Sergio Pérez of Red Bull by .282 seconds. Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen qualified third in the other Red Bull, .347 off Leclerc’s pace.
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Tennis
Murray reaches Stuttgart final
Andy Murray will play his first grass-court singles final since winning the men’s Wimbledon title in 2016 after beating Nick Kyrgios in straight sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, in the Stuttgart Open semifinals in Germany. The British three-time Grand Slam winner held his serve throughout the match. Kyrgios said he faced racist abuse from the crowd during the semifinal loss. The Australian posted on Instagram following the match that he had heard abusive comments from the stands. “When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd?” he wrote. “I understand that my behavior isn’t the best all the time — but ‘you little black sheep’ ‘shut up and play’ little comments like this are not acceptable. When I retaliate to the crowd I get penalised. This is messed up.’’ … Alison Riske and Beatriz Haddad Maia won their semifinal matches to face each other for the Nottingham Open women’s title Sunday in England. Riske, the sixth-seeded American, beat Viktorija Golubic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, in a rain-delayed match. Haddad Maia, the seventh-seeded Brazilian, advanced when Tereza Martincova was forced to retire in the second set. Haddad Maia was leading, 6-3, 4-1. In the men’s event, top-seeded Dan Evans of Britain beat Jack Sock of the United States, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to a final against Jordan Thompson, who won an all-Australian semifinal match, 6-4, 6-2, against Alexei Popyrin.
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NFL
Washington’s Del Rio deletes Twitter account
Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio deleted his Twitter account, one day after he was fined $100,000 by the team for comments he posted almost a week ago referring to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the US Capitol as a “dustup.” … Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson canceled next week’s three-day, mandatory minicamp — at least for most of the team. No practices. No meetings. Not even a weightlifting session. Pederson essentially gave veterans an extra week of vacation before training camp next month. He also nixed the last of 10 organized team activities, instead loading players and assistants onto buses and taking them to a nearby golf facility for a few hours of frivolity. The Jags traded running in the sweltering summer sun for chilling in the shade and building bonds that could pay dividends down the road.
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WADA
Ruling may affect doping cases
A breakthrough court ruling in the Russian doping saga should lead Olympic sports bodies to revisit evidence for possible disciplinary cases against other athletes, the World Anti-Doping Agency said. Three Russian canoeists, including a 2012 Olympic champion, were banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday for their part in a state-backed doping program eight years ago. WADA prosecuted the case using evidence it received from a Moscow laboratory that had been manipulated and withheld by Russian authorities for several years. WADA has also given Moscow lab data to about 40 other sports bodies since 2019 and now wants some of them to review those cases after the evidence held up in court.
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Miscellany
WooSox fall to Bisons
The host Buffalo Bisons scored two runs each in the second and seventh innings, beating the Worcester Red Sox, 4-1, in Triple A baseball … The host Portland Sea Dogs lost their fifth straight game to the Hartford Yard Goats, 7-3, in Double A … University of Kentucky junior Abby Steiner set a collegiate record in the 200 meters at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore. Steiner’s time of 21.80 seconds bested LSU sophomore Favour Ofili’s record of 21.96 set this year. Ofili was second behind Steiner … Penny Taylor, DeLisha Milton-Jones, DePaul coach Doug Bruno, Becky Hammon, Debbie Antonelli, Wayland Baptist star Alice “Cookie” Barron, Paul Sanderford, who coached Western Kentucky to three Final Fours, and coach Bob Schneider, who ranked third all-time with 634 Division II victories, were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Taylor, Milton-Jones and Bruno made a plea for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for more than three months.
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