Jason Day Leads Players Championship After Day One

World number one Jason Day equaled the course record to take a two-shot first-round lead at the Players Championship.

The Australian hit a nine-under-par 63 at Sawgrass to move ahead of a group of five players that includes England’s Justin Rose and Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

Lowry picked up seven shots on the back nine to come home in a tournament record 29 strokes.

Masters champions Danny Willett is seven adrift on two under, while Jordan Spieth is one further back.

Rory McIlroy, one of the later starters, was one over after nine holes.

Day, starting on the back nine, began his round with three straight birdies and reached the turn in four under par.

He then added five more birdies when he got to the front nine to equal the course record shared by Martin Kaymer, Roberto Castro, Greg Norman and Fred Couples.

Lowry, 29, has recorded only one top-10 finish this season but joined Rose and American trio Bill Haas, Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale in a homeward run that included chipping in for an eagle-three at the par-five 11th.

Willett and Spieth, both playing their first tournaments since an Augusta duel won by the Englishman, ended up well adrift on a day of low scoring.

Indeed, Spieth took a seven on the par-five ninth, his final hole, after taking five shots to get down from a greenside bunker.

BBC

Jason Day Leads Players Championship After Day One

Cyclist Dies After Two Heart Attacks

A Dutch cyclist has died in a hospital a week after suffering two heart attacks while competing at an under-23 race in Poland.

Gijs Verdick, 21, suffered the first cardiac arrest at about 1am on Tuesday, May 3, following the third stage of the Carpathian Couriers Race.

He was taken to hospital in Poland, where he suffered a second cardiac arrest and was subsequently placed into an artificial coma.

Verdick was transferred to a hospital in the Netherlands on Sunday, but a statement published on the website of his team, Cyclingteam Jo Piels, confirmed he had died on Monday.

It read: “We are very touched by this loss and very sad for the whole team. It is unreal what happened. For Gijs the transition to Cyclingteam Jo Piels was the dream to come true.

“Gijs was a fine boy to race with and we will miss him enormously. Our sympathy goes out to the family; we wish you a lot of power and strength during the processing of this loss.”

Verdick is the third cyclist to have died in just over six weeks.

Antoine Demoitie died after being hit by a race motorbike at Gent-Wevelgem in March, and just a day later, Daan Myngheer died after suffering a heart attack at the Criterium International.

Skysports

Cyclist Dies After Two Heart Attacks

AC Milan After Real Madrid Midfielder

Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva may change clubs in the next transfer window if reports coming from Italy are to be believed.

According to the information from Italian website Calcio Mercato, AC Milan director Adriano Galliani met with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez to discuss a loan move for midfielder Lucas Silva, who spent this season on loan at French club Marseille.

For Marseille, he entered the field 33 times but the former Cruzeiro player doesn’t want to continue in French football after a mediocre season with the club where they finished in the bottom half of the league table.

Negotiations between Real Madrid and AC Milan would be similar to the one that took Spanish striker Álvaro Morata from the Bernabéu to Juventus.

Milan would have an option to buy Lucas permanently at the end of the loan contract, but Los Blancos will keep the right to repurchase him in the future, possibly for a fixed price.

Milan haven’t been the first Italian team to show interest in the player, as both Juventus and Napoli also keep an eye on him.

Sambafoot

AC Milan After Real Madrid Midfielder

Cameroon"s Ekeng Dies After On-Pitch Collapse

Dinamo Bucharest and Cameroon midfielder Patrick Ekeng has died aged 26 of a suspected heart attack after collapsing on the pitch.

Ekeng fell to the floor in the 70th minute of a televised Romanian league match between Dinamo and Viitorul.

He was pronounced dead in hospital two hours later.

The Cameroonian FA confirmed the news on Twitter, while Ekeng’s former club Cordoba tweeted: “We have no words to express our sadness at the loss.”

Ekeng had also previously played for Le Mans and Lausanne.

In 2003, Cameroon international midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe died after collapsing during a Confederations Cup match against Colombia in France.

BBC

Cameroon"s Ekeng Dies After On-Pitch Collapse

Manchester United After Brazil Teen Sensation

English Premiership giants, Manchester United are believed to have tabled in a bid for one of the most coveted players in the Brazilian game, Gabriel Jesus.

The Palmeiras’ forward is sought after by some of the top clubs in Europe, and he is expected to leave the club after the Olympics later this year.

Behind the scenes, agents are already trying to sell him and says that they have big proposals from clubs like Atlético Madrid and Manchester United.

His release clause at Palmeiras is €30 million, and clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have all shown interest in the 19-year old.

Manchester United have made their move, and, he could be heading to Old Traford next season should negotiations go through with his parent club.

Gabriel Jesus will be expected to star for Brazil at the Olympics in August as they attempt to win the football tournament for the first time.

The player has also been included in the Brazil preliminary 40-man squad for the Copa America.

Manchester United After Brazil Teen Sensation

GPL Update: Hasaacas Has Worse Defensive Record After Nine Games

Sekondi Hasaacas has the worse defensive record of all the 16 teams after nine games in the ongoing Ghana Premier League (GPL) even at this early stage.

The club has conceded 18 goals in their opening nine games of the season and the prospects of them adding to that tally in their next game, is high.

They visit the Dawu Park this weekend to take on the might of Dreams FC who have showed a very positive mood at home on their debut in the Ghanaian top-flight league.

Dreams FC have scored seven goals in the nine goals they have played so far, and, against such a porous defence, they will fancy their chances of adding to that tally.

Bechem United and Medeama SC have both conceded 13 goals, with the later having played a game less. They have an outstanding game with Inter Allies this afternoon (Wednesday) at home in Tarkwa.

The team with the best defensive record so far is Wa All Stars who have conceded four followed by WAFA who have let in five.Bechem United, New Edubiase United and Ebusua Dwarfs have each scored six goals from nine games indicating that they hold the record for the least returning rate in front of goal.

Of the nine games played, All Stars have won the most games, six, followed by Hearts of Oak, Liberty Professionals and Berekum Chelsea who have all won five games.

Bechem United, Ebusua Dwarfs, Medeama SC and Hasaacas have all lost five games with Hearts of Oak remaining the only club yet to lose an away game this season.

GPL Update: Hasaacas Has Worse Defensive Record After Nine Games

Parma Promoted To Serie C In First Season After Bankruptcy

Parma have returned to Italy’s professional ranks after the reborn club clinched promotion in their first season following bankruptcy.

The new club secured promotion to the third tier with a 2-1 victory over Delta Calcio Rovigo on Sunday.

The two-time Uefa Cup winners were wound up last summer after racking up debt of more than 200m euros (£143m).

“The message that comes from Parma is that we’re back,” said captain Alessandro Lucarelli.

Parma have eased through Serie D, the highest level of amateur football in Italy, setting a league record of 85 points from 35 matches.

The new club, formed in July, is backed by pasta maker Guido Barilla with former coach Nevio Scala as president.

Scala, 67, guided Parma to three of their four European successes in the 1990s.

In addition to two Uefa Cups, between 1992 and 2002 Parma also won the European Super Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup, three Coppa Italias and an Italian Super Cup.

“We are enjoying the rewards of an extraordinary ride,” said Scala.

“Let’s enjoy the victory, as it’s the first of a process that we hope will see us as contenders again next year.”

Coach Luigi Apolloni, the former Italy defender who played for Parma between 1987 and 2000, added: “This was a victory for the whole city.”

Credit: BBC

Parma Promoted To Serie C In First Season After Bankruptcy

Boxer In Coma After Bout

British boxer Nick Blackwell has been placed in an induced coma after losing a domestic title fight.

Saturday’s British middleweight belt contest at London’s Wembley Arena saw Blackwell stopped in the tenth round by Chris Eubank Jr after the ringside doctor ruled a closed left eye meant he could not continue.

It was not the first time a member of the Eubank family had been involved in a contest that ended with a boxer being taken to hospital.

Michael Watson sustained life-threatening brain injuries after being stopped by Chris Eubank senior after 11 rounds of their 1991 World Boxing Organisation super-middleweight title bout at Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane ground in north London.

The 25-year-old Blackwell was carried out of the ring on a stretcher and was still in hospital, under observation, on Sunday.

British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Robert Smith said “I spoke to one of the doctors this (Sunday) morning and he said there is a bleeding of the brain.

Boxer In Coma After Bout