Augusta provides an unexpected oasis amid the Trump maelstrom | Andy Bull

Augusta National must be the only known corner of the western world where you can’t buy a Coca-Cola. The company has its worldwide headquarters a couple of hours’ drive down the I-20 in Atlanta, its chief executives seem to receive a standing invitation to join the membership, and the club’s co-founders Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones made their money running a chain of bottling plants. But still, there’s no Coke. Or Sprite, or Powerade, let alone, God forbid in this part of the world, any Pepsi if that happens to be your preference. Instead, the concession stands around the grounds pump “Lemon-Lime”, “Sports Drink”, and good old generic “Cola”

Augusta National chair defends allowing Cabrera to return to Masters

Fred Ridley, the chair of Augusta National, has defended the decision to allow Ángel Cabrera to return to the Masters despite the 2009 champion serving a prison sentence for crimes against women. Cabrera’s reappearance has drawn criticism from women’s rights campaigners.Cabrera is technically entitled to play in the Masters for as long as he wants, as a past winner. Whether Augusta should have honoured that entry condition has been widely questioned after the Argentinian spent 30 months in jail. Cabrera was found guilty of assault, theft and intimidation against former girlfriends in 2021 and 2022

‘Perth is primed for fast times’: Australian athletics’ Generation Next set to light up nationals | Jack Snape

Conditions are ideal at this week’s national championships, with the prospect of a sub-10s 100m driving much of the pre-meet excitementIt’s not a good week to be a national record. The Fremantle doctor, Perth’s famous heat and 14mm of vulcanised rubber are exciting clock-watchers at this week’s Australian athletics championships as a new generation of sprint stars take to the swift WA Athletics Stadium.All-age events are yet to begin but already the meet has delivered one high-profile record – teenager Leah O’Brien’s new under-18 100m mark that is just four hundredths off Torrie Lewis’s senior standard – and emerging stars including Gout Gout and Lachie Kennedy are greedy for more sprinting history after their spectacular recent development.Kennedy is racing in the 200m against Gout, after the memorable showdown between the pair at the Maurie Plant meet two weeks ago. But they will not meet over 100m, with Kennedy running the open category and Gout only the under-20 event

Boat race feud results in Oxford and Cambridge ditching women’s trial race

The bad blood between Oxford and Cambridge continues to fester in the buildup to Sunday’s University Boat Race, with the fallout from the row over would-be competitors being barred for studying for a postgraduate certificate in education rather than a degree leading to the abandonment of a trial race between the two clubs on Wednesday morning.The Guardian has learned that Cambridge were unable to field a crew in the women’s spare race after Oxford insisted that the ban on PGCE students taking part also applied to what is a practice race for squad members not selected for the Boat Race.Oxford are also understood to have said that the Cambridge University Boat Club president, Lucy Havard, could not take part as she was deemed ineligible due to the 12-year rule, which prevents anyone taking part in the Boat Race if it is 12 years since they first enrolled on an undergraduate degree.As result Cambridge did not have enough rowers to fill their main women’s boat and were replaced by London Rowing Club, who beat Oxford over a shorter stretch of Sunday’s course on the Thames. Oxford declined to take part in a women’s lightweight spare race due to what sources described as “river conditions,” while Cambridge won both men’s spare races

Dončić says he was trash talking fan rather than ref before ejection in Lakers loss

Luka Dončić didn’t wait for his much-anticipated return to Dallas to crank up the drama.The night before he faces the franchise with which he spent his first six-and-a-half NBA seasons, he was ejected from the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.Dončić scored 23 points on Tuesday night before his ejection. He said he was talking trash back and forth with a fan, but the officials thought he was directing abuse at a referee and he was ejected after picking up a second technical foul.“If [the fan is] going to talk, I’m going to talk back, like always,” said Dončić

Athletes bring colleges prestige and money. What are they owed when they graduate?

Former sports stars can often feel forgotten after their college days are over. Some are taking the matter into their own handsTwo very different scenarios – a long-awaited title and a dramatic upset – unfolded in San Antonio and Tampa last weekend. UConn’s women’s basketball team won their first national title in almost 10 years and Houston’s men pulled off a stunning comeback victory over Duke in the Final Four.Both teams were well supported by alumni, including former Huskies Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Sue Bird. Taurasi and Bird were on broadcast duties, but Moore and Stewart were in the stands during UConn’s victory and breezed on to the court to celebrate the win