OFF AND RUNNING
Ronaldo suspended for one match over alleged offensive gesture
Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for one match for making an alleged offensive gesture during a Saudi Arabia league game while playing for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
After Al-nassr defeated Riyadh rival Al-shabab 3-2 on Sunday, video footage appeared to show Ronaldo cupping his ear and repeatedly thrusting his hand forward near his pelvis, in a gesture that seemed to be aimed at Al-shabab fans.
CANADIAN FOOTBALL
EX-CFL coach alleges harassment by Argonauts QB Kelly, wrongful dismissal
TORONTO>> The Canadian Football League is investigating allegations made by a former Toronto Argonauts strength and conditioning coach who alleges to have been wrongfully dismissed after being harassed by quarterback Chad Kelly, the league announced Wednesday.
The coach filed a statement of claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last week alleging a pattern of harassment by the former Broncos quarterback that began with unwanted romantic advances and escalated into instances of threatening language.
NFL
Fedex ends agreement for the Commanders stadium
Fedex has ended its naming rights agreement to the Washington Commanders’ stadium in Landover, Maryland, a venue that had been known since 1999 as Fedex Field. The move comes two years prior to the expiration of the current agreement scheduled for 2026, and as the NFL club under new ownership looks for a site on which to build a new stadium that would open later this decade.
TENNIS
Murray says he’s unlikely to play “past this summer”
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES >> Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray reiterated that he is likely to retire from tennis before the season is over.
“I’m likely not going to play past this summer,” the 36-yearold Murray said after losing 6-2, 6-4 to fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert at the Dubai Championships.
MLB
Rangers coach Ortiz dies at 54 after long cancer battle
PHOENIX>> Hector Ortiz, who spent the past 18 years as a manager and coach in the Texas Rangers organization, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 54.
The Rangers said Ortiz died at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, not far from the club’s spring training home in the suburb of Surprise.
Stacy Wakefield dies just months after her husband
Stacy Wakefield, the widow of former Boston Red Sox pitcher and two-time World Series champion Tim Wakefield, has died.
Her family said in a statement released through the Red Sox that she died Wednesday, less than five months after her husband died at the age of 57. Stacy was 53, according to online records.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Kansas’ Leipold gets deal worth more than $40M
LAWRENCE, KAN. >> Kansas football coach Lance Leipold signed an amended contract Wednesday that increased his overall compensation to more than $40 million through the 2029 season while giving him a sizeable pool of money for hiring assistants and staff. The contract does not extend his previous deal, but it does feature a substantial bump in salary from the $5 million Leipold made last season, when he led the long-suffering Jayhawks to a 9-4 record and a victory in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.