Watford captain Troy Deeney will not return to training this week over fears he could pass coronavirus on to his five-month-old son.
Deeney has consistently voiced his concerns over the speed with which the Premier League hopes to return to playing matches despite the United Kingdom having the second-highest death toll in the world.
England's top-flight clubs are due to return to training in small, socially distanced groups on Tuesday.
Training will then be stepped up to full contact with the aim of resuming the season by the middle of next month.
"We're due back in this week. I've said I'm not going in. It's nothing to do with financial gain," Deeney said on the Talk The Talk podcast.
"My son is five months and he's had breathing difficulties. I don't want to come home and put him in more danger." All players and staff will be regularly tested, but Deeney highlighted the contradiction of contact sport returning at a time when the public are told to continue following social ...

Watford captain Deeney refuses return to training

PTI Automatic

Disgraced former American cyclist Lance Armstrong has revealed he first started doping from the age of 21, during his first season as a professional.
"Wow, straight to the point, probably 21," Armstrong replied when asked how old he was when he first doped as part of an ESPN documentary.
The exchange with US journalist Marina Zenovich appeared in a 90-second trailer released on Monday for a two-part documentary called "Lance" which will be broadcast by ESPN on May 24 and 31.
During the clip, in which former US Postal Service team-mates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie respond to the same question about performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong, now 48, explains there are "a bunch of ways to define doping".
"The easiest way to define it is breaking the rules. Were we getting injections of vitamins and other things like that at an earlier age? Yes, but they weren't illegal. I always asked (what I was being given). I always knew, and I always made the decision on my own," he said.
"Nobody 

Lance Armstrong admits to first doping 'probably at 21'

Tyson Fury has set his sights on emulating Wladimir Klitschko's sustained dominance as the British fighter warned he can remain a world champion until he retires.
Klitschko was the undisputed world champion for over four years until Fury earned a shock win against the Ukrainian in 2015.
Fury was unable to defend those titles amid mental health problems, but he has bounced back impressively.
The 31-year-old wants to stay at the top after regaining his WBC heavyweight belt in February with an emphatic win over Deontay Wilder, who he is due to face again once the coronavirus is subdued.
"I've won every single belt in boxing. From the English title to becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world. All done, all finished. Considered the best, done," Fury told Sky Sports on Tuesday.
"If I don't box again, I'm happy, but if I do box again, then I continue to box. If we get past this thing, which hopefully we will, then we're going to keep boxing and just keep taking on ...

Fury plans to emulate Klitschko's longevity

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to training with Juventus in Turin on Tuesday after an absence of over two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 35-year-old drove himself into the Juventus Training Centre in a Jeep with tinted windows.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will undergo medical and physical tests before joining up with his teammates in training, according to media reports.
Juventus players returned to individual training on May 4, the day Ronaldo returned to Italy after spending lockdown in his native Portugal.
For the past two weeks, he has been in quarantine in his villa in Turin.
Ronaldo played in Juventus's last Serie A game before the season was suspended, a 2-0 win over Inter Milan behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium on March 8.
Italy has been one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 32,000 deaths.
Juventus are leading Lazio by one point as they target a ninth consecutive Scudetto.
Ronaldo is the first Juventus foreign ...

Ronaldo back training at Juventus after two months

Australian Rules footballers have reportedly been told to limit their sexual partners to minimise the chances of COVID-19 disrupting plans for a season restart next month.
AFL officials have told players that one-night stands will not be banned but they could be punished if they engage in risky behaviour such as a string of hook-ups, Melbourne's Herald-Sun reported.
"I think what it is saying is calm down a bit guys and just keep the visitors down to a minimum," Collingwood club president Eddie McGuire told radio station Triple M.
"There's no point going through this if randoms (sexual encounters) are coming from everywhere." The AFL intends to resume on June 11 and has implemented strict health protocols for players.
However, Melbourne player Jake Lever said some of his teammates were not happy with what one media outlet has described as the "bonk ban".
"It doesn't really affect me. I've got a little baby at home and a wife so lucky for me, I'm pretty happy," he told the ...

Aussie rules Romeos warned over one-night stands: report

Fifteen years ago in a packed Kuala Lumpur stadium, rising stars Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei met in a final for the first time, setting the stage for what would become badminton's greatest rivalry.
Malaysia's Lee, then 22, fell to the floor, punched the air and blew kisses to the crowd after his see-sawing, 88-minute 17-15, 9-15, 15-9 victory, when he fought back from behind in the first and last games.
"Everyone saw how (Lin) played," said Lee, who was the defending champion, after his win at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium.
"He is excellent in attack and his overhead smashes and forehand crosscourt shots are dangerous. So it is very satisfying to beat him."
It was a fittingly tense start for a match-up that would span two Olympic finals and two world championship deciders, and drew a new generation of fans.
But the match would remain one of the high points for Lee, who lost his four world and Olympic finals against the Chinese great and retired last year without winning either of ..

Lin Dan v Lee Chong Wei: how badminton's great rivalry was born

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has announced that all its competitions, including Serie A, will remain suspended until June 14.
The Lega Serie A had hoped for a return on June 13 but the FIGC has pushed back the date in line with a government decree that all sports competitions be suspended until next month.
The FIGC said the choice was made "pending any further... decision by the authorities", suggesting the possibility of a restart on June 13 might still exist.
The Italian season has been on hold since March 9 amid the pandemic which has killed more than 32,000 people in Italy.
But Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday said he needed "more guarantees" before the green light could finally be given for football to resume.
A meeting is planned in the near future between Conte and Italian football bosses.
The government's technical and scientific committee will decide in the coming days if it accepts the new health protocols proposed for a return to group training ...

No Serie A restart before June 14, says FIGC

La Liga's proposed restart next month has left fans juggling the excitement of football's return and the disappointment it will resume without them.
More than two months after the coronavirus pandemic halted the season in Spain, players have begun training in small groups as they aim to be as ready as possible for the planned reboot on June 12.
Yet goals, saves and tackles will all be greeted by silence or at best, artificial cheers approved by authorities to be pumped out of a sound system.
Even for Sevilla against Real Betis, the usually-heart thumping Andalusian derby that encapsulates the importance of supporters more than any other Spanish fixture, the atmosphere will be non-existent on the first weekend back.
But for clubs, there is a financial necessity given La Liga president Javier Tebas has estimated cancelling the season could cost them 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion).
"People need their dose of football," Adolfo Barbero, a commentator on Movistar, Spain's primary football .

Fans torn as Spanish football prepares to begin recovery without them

The US Golf Association is cancelling qualifying for the US Open, which remains scheduled for Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, in September.
The major championship was originally set for June 18-21 at Winged Foot, and postponed as part of the major revision of the international golf calendar in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the US Open remains on course for September 17-20, the USGA said that the usual local, sectional and final qualifying would not take place.
"As you can imagine, this was an incredibly difficult decision, as qualifying is a cornerstone of USGA championships," said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director of Championships for the USGA.
The governing body said the fields for the US Open and the US Women's Open would be filled entirely through exemptions, with information regarding expanded exemption categories to be made available in the coming weeks.
"We take great pride in the fact that many thousands typically enter to pursue their dream of ...

USGA scraps qualifying for US Open

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has said  he's eager for the NBA season to resume, as long as the health of players and their families won't be endangered amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
James, speaking on the "WRTS: After Party" programme on the Uninterrupted multi-media platform, said he hoped the NBA season resumes sooner rather than later.
"Definitely not giving up on the season," said James, whose Lakers led the Western Conference when the NBA suspended play on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.
The virus brought global sport to a virtual standstill, but as lockdowns aimed at preventing its spread have begun to ease, sport has begun to re-emerge.
Germany's Bundesliga became the first top European football league to resume after a two-month hiatus at the weekend.
In North America the popular NASCAR stock car series resumed without spectators on Sunday and golf stuck a toe in the water with a made-for-TV charity event featuring ...

Lakers' LeBron eager to get back to basketball

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has said he is looking for a challenge "at the top level" and is not ruling out a return to Formula One, amid increasing speculation he could sign for Renault.
"I'm in great physical shape and my motivation is sky high, so I wanted to focus on a top-level category, be it the return to F1, the endurance championship, Indycar..."
Alonso said in a video call with students at the Real Madrid Graduate School-Universidad Europea.
Alonso, who won his two world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, quit Formula One at the end of the 2018 season.
The Spaniard is a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance event and finished 13th in his Dakar Rally debut in January. He also plans to race at this year's Indianapolis 500.
"It was when I was searching for challenges and options for the coming years that I decided to opt for the Dakar adventure," Alonso said.
"It was like tossing a coin and seeing how I could enjoy what's a really different car. It was 

Alonso open to Formula One return

Jamaica's Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt has become a father for the first time after welcoming the birth of a baby girl with partner Kasi Bennett, reports said.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness appeared to confirm the birth of Bolt's daughter in a social media post.
"Congratulations to our sprint legend Usain Bolt and Kasi Bennett on the arrival of their baby girl!" Holness wrote on Twitter.
Local media reports said the couple's daughter was born on Sunday.  No further details were immediately available.
Bolt, 33, had revealed he was expecting a daughter with Bennett on social media in March, jokingly warning any future suitors to steer clear of his daughter.
"Any man! Any boy! Don't play with me!" the eight-time Olympic gold medallist quipped.
Bolt, the world record holder at 100m and 200m, retired from athletics in 2017 after a decade of dominance in men's sprinting.
At the 2016 Olympics, Bolt became the only man to win the 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive

Sprint legend Bolt and partner welcome baby girl

The coronavirus has left the English cricket season in limbo but Lancashire were dealt a devastating personal blow when they lost their chairman, David Hodgkiss.
Just weeks later the Manchester-based county have returned record financial results -- a fitting legacy for Hodgkiss, who died in late March at the age of 71 after contracting the virus.
And they have put themselves in the frame to host Tests during the English summer.
Lancashire, who chose not to follow other counties in furloughing players during the COVID-19 crisis, have announced their highest-ever annual turnover of ?34 million ($41 million).
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) for the Red Rose county in 2019 were ?7.6 million, a 10-fold increase since 2015 and a record for a first-class county.
"Excluding minority interests and one-off legacies it is absolutely a record," CEO Daniel Gidney told AFP.
"It's a very proud day for the club.
"A hundred percent it is David's legacy. He was a .

Lancashire offer to stage Test cricket during crisis as they post strong earnings

Celtic's grip on Scottish football remains unbreakable after a ninth consecutive league title was confirmed even though they have not kicked a ball for two months.
Nine in a row is a landmark staging post in Scottish football. Only twice has it been achieved before, once on either side of the Glasgow divide -- by Celtic and Rangers.
But Celtic's feat in matching those historic achievements feels like an anti-climax after the coronavirus lockdown deprived them of the chance to win it on the pitch.
"They are the ones who have lost out the most in terms of the opportunity to play in front of the supporters, going for nine in a row," said Celtic manager Neil Lennon of his players.
"I feel so sorry for them." Scottish league chiefs on Monday declared the season over, drawing a line under a bitter squabble over how to finish the campaign.
Rangers failed to gain sufficient support among the other 41 league clubs for an independent inquiry into the controversial vote that allowed the season ..

Celtic celebrate nine in a row despite anticlimactic end to Scottish season

Exactly 60 years ago, in an era when going to a big football match meant cramming together with no thought to social distancing, 127,000 people crowded into Hampden Park in Glasgow to see the European Cup final and were rewarded with "a fantasy staged in heaven".
Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 to win a fifth straight European Cup in a game that marked both a start and an ending.
It was just the fifth year of the European Cup's existence, but the brilliance of the football and an international television audience of 70 million, a record for a live broadcast by the BBC, created an unprecedented buzz.
The match also marked the end of Real's first period of European domination and a final international peak for a pair of 33-year-olds: Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano.
Real had other stars including winger Francisco Gento, defender Jose Santamaria and captain Jose Maria Zarraga, but Di Stefano and Puskas were the first 'Galacticos'.
For Di Stefano this was a fifth straight ...

The night Real Madrid and European football struck gold

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday condemned the World Health Organization's delay on whether to grant Taiwan observer status, saying it proved the UN body's chief was pleasing China.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' "lack of independence deprives the Assembly of Taiwan's renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO's credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most," Pompeo said in a statement.

Pompeo says Taiwan exclusion 'further damages' WHO credibility

China on Monday announced 80.5 percent tariffs on Australian barley, days after suspending beef imports from the country -- a move that could escalate tensions between the countries.
Following a government investigation into Australian grain exports, China found Australian subsidies and dumping had "substantially damaged domestic industry," the commerce ministry said in a statement.
A 73.6 percent anti-dumping tariff and 6.9 percent anti-subsidy tariff on imports of Australian barley will take effect Tuesday, the ministry said.
Last week, China suspended imports from four major Australian beef suppliers, amid a diplomatic standoff between the two countries over Canberra's push to probe the origins of the coronavirus.
China's foreign ministry has denied a link between restrictions on trade with Australia and the inquiry, saying they are "two completely different things." But Beijing's ambassador Cheng Jingye told the Australian Financial Review last month that Australia's push for an ..

China says to levy 80.5 percent in tariffs on Australian barley

France was right to end its football season, said the country's sports minister on Monday, casting doubt on the wisdom of restarting the Bundesliga, despite the coronavirus pandemic, at the weekend.
"It was important for me to give primacy to the health and the psychological well-being of athletes over economic considerations, which, indeed, in other countries, have taken precedence," said Roxana Maracineanu on a visit to the French high performance institute (INSEP) on the outskirts of Paris.
While the French league season has been declared over with Paris Saint-Germain champions, the Bundesliga resumed on Saturday, behind closed doors.
"Each country was affected differently" by Covid-19, said Maracineanu, who also pointed to the German federal system in which "the regions make their own decisions, whether it's to reopen schools or resume sport."
While "the stakes are not the same in Germany and France", the minister questioned "the notion of fairness" in the event of the resumption .

Sports minister says French football put health first

An antibody from a patient who recovered from SARS has been shown to block COVID-19 infection in a laboratory setting, researchers said Monday in another potential breakthrough in the search for coronavirus treatment.
Scientists based in Switzerland and the United States previously isolated the antibodies from the patient in 2003, following the SARS outbreak that killed 774 people.
They experimented with 25 different types of antibodies -- which target specific protein spikes on viruses -- to see if they could prevent cells becoming infected with COVID-19.
Both SARS and the pathogen which causes COVID-19 are coronaviruses, thought to have come from animals, and so their structures are similar.
The researchers identified eight antibodies that could bind to both COVID-19 and the infected cells.
One candidate, known as S309, was shown to have "particularly strong neutralising activity" against COVID-19.
By combining S309 with other less potent antibodies they were able to target ...

SARS antibodies can block COVID-19 infection: study

Thomas Mueller expects Bayern Munich's showdown behind closed doors at closest rivals Borussia Dortmund in a week's time to decide who wins the Bundesliga title.
Goals by Robert Lewandowski and Benjamin Pavard sealed a 2-0 win for Bayern at Union Berlin on Sunday as the German top flight restarted behind closed doors.
The result in Berlin maintained Bayern's four-point lead at the top of the table after the league took a two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second-placed Dortmund smashed Schalke 4-0 on Saturday with Erling Braut Haaland opening the scoring before Raphael Guerreiro netted either side of a Thorgan Hazard goal.
Dortmund host Bayern on May 26 and Mueller expects the potential top-of-the-table clash to be a key factor in determining whether Munich will go on to clinch an eighth straight league crown.
"The match in Dortmund will decide how exciting and close it will be in the next few weeks, that's for sure," said Mueller.
Former Dortmund striker Lewandowski ...

Dortmund showdown set to decide German league, says Mueller

The Greek Super League is waiting on government approval to return from its coronavirus-enforced suspension on June 6 after the league's board voted unanimously on Monday to complete the 2019/2020 campaign.
A positive decision to Monday's request is expected from the state health authorities this week.
An important step towards resumption was made with clubs being allowed to begin training in larger groups in line with health protocols.
The play-offs to determine the title and European spots is expected to be completed by July 19 with the Greek Cup semi-finals between PAOK and Olympiakos and AEK and Aris to follow.
Government health authorities said last week that should league action resume and a player is found to be affected by COVID-19, he would be placed in quarantine at home and the rest of the team will be isolated for five days.
Up to now, no player has been found with the virus during regular checks at training sessions.
The government had given the okay for teams to train in 

AFP

AFP

Page 5 - Afp