Baltimore Orioles announce death of ‘cherished teammate’ Brian Matusz at age of 37

The Baltimore Orioles have confirmed the death of their former pitcher, Brian Matusz, at the age of 37. The team did not give a cause of death.“Our hearts are heavy tonight as we mourn the passing of former Oriole, Brian Matusz,” the team said in a statement on Tuesday night. “A staple in our clubhouse from 2009-2016, Brian was beloved throughout Birdland, and his passion for baseball and our community was unmatched. He dedicated his time to connecting with any fan he could, was a cherished teammate, and always had a smile on his face

England’s Feyi-Waboso in dilemma over surgery for sake of Lions ambitions

England’s Manny Feyi-Waboso is still in two minds about whether to undergo a shoulder operation that could affect his chances of British & Irish Lions selection later this year. The Exeter wing is scheduled to have surgery next week which would see him miss the entire Six Nations but has yet to reach a final decision.Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, says the 22-year-old has not yet ruled out having rehab work on the dislocated shoulder he suffered against Sale last month and delaying an operation until later in the year. A decision will need to be taken imminently, however, with Baxter suggesting that lengthy discussions between club and country have already delayed the recovery process.“Basically he’s got an operation date booked in but until that operation happens he’s still working very hard rehabbing his shoulder,” revealed Baxter

Peter Hain urges South Africa to protest Afghanistan game at Champions Trophy

The veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain has called on Cricket South Africa to challenge the ban on women’s and girls’ cricket in Afghanistan. In a letter seen by the Guardian, Lord Hain urges Cricket South Africa’s chief executive, Pholetsi Moseki, to take up the issue with the International Cricket Council before South Africa’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan in Karachi on 21 February.In a particularly striking passage, Hain draws a direct parallel to apartheid with the Taliban’s oppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan. “Having struggled long and hard for black and brown cricketers to represent their country like whites did exclusively for nearly a century, I hope that post-apartheid South African cricket will press for similar rights for all women in world cricket,” Hain tells Moseki. “Will South African cricket please raise the plight of Afghan women cricketers in the ICC and express firm solidarity with Afghan women and girls who wish to play?”Hain, who rose to prominence by challenging the South African rugby and cricket tours during the early 70s, reminds Moseki that female participation in sport has been outlawed since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021

The Spin | ‘Deep, minging, unpleasant’: cricket’s flooding problem is getting worse

ECB has been in touch with 27 clubs so far this storm season as the climate crisis bites. What can game do to stay afloat?The water started flowing into the New Road practice area at about 4pm on Monday afternoon, and just kept on rolling. It flooded the entire ground and half the car park, as well as the nearby racecourse, the rowing club and the public footpath – which is now a popular hang-out space for swans. The head groundsman, Stephen Manfield, a man of a remarkably perky disposition, sits on the balcony of the club’s sports bar watching the fourth flood of the off-season do its business, the water coming in from the burst banks of the Severn as well as round the back across the fields. For the benefit of Spin readers he pokes his measuring stick into the water – “four and a half feet in the shallow end”, and still rising

Can the New York Rangers be saved? Maybe not this current version

It’s possible that the 2024-25 Rangers haven’t quite bottomed out, but it feels like they’re close. Barring an unprecedented turnaround, a painful rebuild loomsOn 25 November, the New York Rangers had a 12-6-1 record. With 25 points, the Rangers sat in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, holding a playoff wildcard place. The team had just completed a swing through the Pacific Division, where they won against San Jose and Seattle before dropping two in a row to Calgary and Edmonton. As the Rangers headed back to New York City from their western road trip, there were rumblings of trouble, for at some point during that week, Rangers general manager Chris Drury had sent a memo to all NHL teams in which he said he was open to a trade to shake up his roster

Ollie Lawrence should be applauded for streetwise play – rugby must ditch holier-than-thou image | Gerard Meagher

A round of applause for Ollie Lawrence. Not for his apology after Bath’s last-gasp defeat by Northampton, which was entirely unnecessary, but for having the wherewithal to put his side into a winning position by demonstrating a streetwise streak all too seldom shown in elite rugby union.To recap, Lawrence was pilloried by Northampton supporters for going down in instalments after a fairly innocuous clash of heads with Alex Mitchell in the last few minutes of Saints’ thrilling 35-34 win over Bath on Sunday. He took himself down to his knees, clutched his face and in doing so, made sure that the match was stopped, the incident reviewed.Upon review, the referee Anthony Woodthorpe – who enjoyed an excellent match in the middle – determined that Mitchell was too high in his attempted tackle and the England scrum-half was shown a yellow card