Haaland’s day among soccer best
Erling Haaland made soccer history with five goals, including a first-half hat trick, to send Manchester City into the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a 7-0 win over RB Leipzig on Tuesday at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, to win 8-1 on aggregate.
Haaland joined Lionel Messi as the only players to score five times in a Champions League knockout stage game, and one of only three players (along with Luiz Adriano) to score five in any Champions League match.
In the other round-of-16 match, FC Porto and Internationale played to a 0-0 tie, with Internationale advancing 1-0 on aggregate.
Firewolves make a deal
The Albany Firewolves picked up forward Marshall Powless from the Saskatchewan Rush for a secondround pick in the National Lacrosse League’s 2025 entry draft. Powless has 32 points, including 10 goals and 22 assists, in 17 games over the past two seasons with Saskatchewan.
Johnson adds to NASCAR slate
Jimmie Johnson is adding Coke and COTA to his NASCAR schedule. The seven-time NASCAR champion said Tuesday he will drive the No. 84 Chevrolet in the March 26 race at the Circuit of the Americas and the May 28 Coca-cola 600 as part of his limited race lineup this season. Johnson returned to NASCAR this season after a two-year hiatus when he bought into the ownership group of Legacy Motor Club and signed on as a parttime driver. He topped the speed chart last month at practice for the Daytona 500 and was on pace for a top-10 finish in the race until he was collected in a late wreck and finished 31st. Johnson previously announced he would drive in July in the Chicago street course race.
Ukraine gymnast’s ban halved
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The doping ban which caused Olympic gymnastics champion Oleg Verniaiev to miss the Tokyo Games was halved at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday and freed him to compete immediately. The decision potentially paves the way for Verniaiev’s return at next year’s Olympics in Paris. The 29-year-old Ukrainian, who won Olympic gold on the parallel bars and silver in the all-around in 2016, tested positive for the banned substance meldonium in an out-of-competition test in August 2020 and was originally banned for four years from that November.
NHL forward done for season
RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov is out for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs because of a torn ligament in his right knee.
The team announced Svechnikov would undergo reconstruction surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament Thursday at Raleigh Orthopaedic. He was injured Saturday night in a loss to Vegas.