USC lands All-American WR Addison from Pitt
LOS ANGELES » All-American receiver Jordan Addison is transferring from Pitt to Southern California.
The Biletnikoff Award winner announced his decision Thursday on social media, ending weeks of speculation on where the top receiver in college football will play this season.
“The last few weeks have been very difficult,” Addison wrote. “I struggled with my decision as to whether I should exercise my right to enter the portal. Student athletes have not always had that opportunity, and I made that choice.”
Addison entered the transfer portal before the May 1 deadline. He visited Texas and USC and strongly considered Alabama before choosing the Trojans. Addison reportedly has a close relationship with new USC quarterback Caleb Williams, a fellow Washington D.C.-area native who transferred from Oklahoma earlier in the offseason.
Addison made 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns in the 2021 season, his second with the Panthers.
Female refs to work men’s Cup for 1st time
GENEVA » Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men’s tournament for the first time in Qatar.
Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty, including one man who caused controversy when refereeing a chaotic African Cup of Nations game in January while suffering with heatstroke.
French referee Stéphanie Frappart already worked men’s games in World Cup qualifying and the Champions League, after handling the 2019 Women’s World Cup final. She also refereed the final of the men’s French Cup this month.
Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan are also on the list of 36 referees preparing for the 64 games at the tournament.
Ismail Elfath is the lone American selected. The 40-yearold was born in Morocco, moved to the U.S. when he was 18 and refereed his first Major League Soccer match in 2012.
Oldani earns first professional win
GENOA, ITALY » Italian cyclist Stefano Oldani claimed his first professional victory by winning the 12th and longest stage of the Giro d’Italia while Juan Pedro López kept the pink jersey.
Oldani, who rides for Alpecin-Fenix, edged compatriot Lorenzo Rota by half a bike length, and Dutch cyclist Gijs Leemreize was third at the end of the 127-mile route from Parma to Genoa.
Osaka gets rematch in return to French Open
PARIS » Naomi Osaka will not have the luxury of easing into her return to the courts of the French Open, facing a tough foe in her very first match.
Week 2 at Roland Garros, meanwhile, could be quite fascinating for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — the three leading favorites for the men’s title ended up on the same side of the bracket for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, meaning only one can reach the final.
Because she is not seeded at the French Open, Osaka was not safe from facing a seeded opponent right away, so that’s what will happen against No. 27 Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American who was a 2019 semifinalist in Paris.
Anisimova won their third-round encounter at the Australian Open in January by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Osaka was the defending champion at Melbourne Park.
Ruud, Opelka advance
GENEVA » Second-seeded Casper Ruud advanced to the Geneva Open semifinals in defense of his title by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 7-6 (3). No. 8-ranked Ruud forced the only service break in the first set of a quarterfinals match that saw only four break-point chances created.
Ruud will next face fourth-seeded American Reilly Opelka, who beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The 6-foot-11 Opelka fired 14 aces and won 85% of points when landing his first serve.
Canada wins at worlds after delay, U.S. rolls
TAMPERE, FINLAND » Canada was on the ice until nearly midnight to extend its perfect start at the world hockey championships by beating Kazakhstan 6-3 after a fire at the rink played havoc with the schedule.
A small fire at the Helsinki Ice Hall set off the alarms shortly before Germany and Denmark were due to start The arena was evacuated. The International Ice Hockey Federation said no one was hurt.
Sabres forward Dylan Cozens had a hat trick in Canada’s fourth win from four games. The United States beat winless Britain 3-0. Ben Meyers gave the U.S. the lead, and Kieffer Bellows scored two power-play goals.