Ronaldo sets international men’s scoring record
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but still broke the men’s international scoring record before adding a second goal as Portugal beat visiting Ireland 2-1 in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday.
Ronaldo grabbed his 110th goal in the 89th minute to move ahead of former Iran striker Ali Daei.
Six minutes into stoppage time, Ronaldo made it 111 in 180 games to break Irish hearts after defender John Egan gave his nation the lead in the 45th.
“I’m very happy, not only because I beat the record but for the special moments that we had,” Ronaldo said. “Two goals at the end of the game is so tough, but I have to appreciate what the team did. We believed until the end.”
But Ronaldo, who has returned to join Manchester United, is still 76 goals behind the game’s most prolific international scorer. Christine Sinclair, who is 38 years old, scored her 187th goal for Canada last month at the Tokyo Olympics.
U.S. DOWN TWO FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIER>> U.S. star Christian Pulisic and goalkeeper Zack Steffen will miss the Americans’ opening World Cup qualifier at El Salvador on Thursday night.
Pulisic, the top American player, is regaining fitness after testing positive for COVID-19. He has said he is fully vaccinated.
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said it is too early to determine whether Pulisic will be available for Sunday’s match against Canada in Nashville.
Steffen has back spasms. Berhalter said Matt Turner will start against El Salvador.
After the Americans host Canada, they play at Honduras on Sept. 8. LAFC LOANS OUT FORMER GOLDEN BOOT WINNER >> Los Angeles FC has loaned high-scoring forward Diego Rossi to Fenerbahçe in Turkey’s top division.
The MLS club announced the move to part ways with the winner of last season’s Golden Boot as the league’s top goal-scorer.
The 23-year-old Rossi has been a key part of LAFC since the franchise’s inaugural season in 2018. Rossi recorded 44 goals and 21 assists while appearing in 103 matches for LAFC. Although he was an MLS All-Star last month at LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium, Rossi has just six goals in 19 games this season.
Motorsports
RAIKKONEN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROMF1>> Kimi Raikkonen will retire at the end of the Formula One season, concluding a career that spanned two decades and included the 2007 world championship.
Raikkonen is in the final year of his contract with Alfa Romeo. The Finn announced his departure on Instagram on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
“This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1,” Raikkonen wrote. “This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.
“Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this! Sincerely Kimi.”
Raikkonen’s retirement will open a seat at Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season. The team has fielded the same drivers’ lineup of Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi for the past three seasons.
Raikkonen, 41, was relatively unknown when he made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2001 and scored points in his debut to quickly gain attention. He replaced Mika Hakkinen at McLaren in the 2002 season and won his first race the next year while finishing second in the championship.
He moved to Ferrari in 2007 and won his only championship.
NBA CAPELA SIGNS EXTENSION WITH HAWKS>>
Clint Capela and the Atlanta Hawks agreed to a two-year extension that ties the center to the team for a total of four seasons. ESPN reported the extension is worth $23 million per season.
Capela, 27, had two years remaining on his contract and is now signed through the 2024-2025 season.
The NBA leader in rebounding at 14.3 per game, Capela averaged 15.2 points and 2.0 blocks per game in 2020-21 as the defensive linchpin for the Hawks.
NHL
ISLANDERS SIGN FOUR KEY PLAYERS >> After a mostly quiet summer, the New York Islanders signed four players to multiyear contracts. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin got $12 million over three years, homegrown winger Anthony Beauvillier $12.45 million over three years, trade deadline pickup Kyle Palmieri $20 million over four years and fourth-line mainstay Casey Cizikas $15 million over six years. The deals keep together a core that reached the third round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons.
The Islanders’ only other signing of the summer was a $46 million, eight-year deal with defenseman Adam Pelech in early August. BLUES’ PARYAKO GETS 8-YEAR EXTENSION >> The Blues signed defenseman Colton Paryako to an eight-year, $52 million extension, the longest allowed, with an average annual value of $6.5 million per year.
Parayko would have been an unrestricted free agent after this season and now has a deal that will run through the 2029-30 season. He will have just turned 37 when the contact expires. His AAV puts him even with two of his blueline teammates, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk.
Colleges
MICHIGAN STATE HIRES NEW AD >> Michigan State named football alumnus and deputy athletic director Alan Haller as its 20th athletic director. Haller served as deputy athletic director since 2019, having been with the athletic department since 2010.
He was a lieutenant for the university police department for 13 years.
Haller played cornerback for the Spartans under coach George Perles from 1988-91 before playing for multiple NFL teams from 1992-95.
He will replace Bill Beekman, who resigned in August.