HIGH SCHOOLS
Portland’s volleyball team opened its season by defeating rival Deering in four sets on Tuesday night.
Deering (3-1) erased an early 10-3 deficit in the first set, getting five straight service points from Aalliyah Ferriera, to grab an early lead en route to a 25-20 win.
The Rams rallied again in the second set, coming back from 15-11 to lead 19-17, but the Bulldogs closed on an 8-4 run to win 25-23 and tie the match.
In the third set, the score was tied on a dozen occasions before Coral Smith closed it out with a kill to give Portland a 25-22 win.
In the final set, Emily Pozzy had six kills and Gianna Smith closed it out with a pair of aces as Portland won 25-20 to clinch the match.
TENNIS
It has been 20 years since Venus Williams won her home tournament, and her stay at the 2021 Miami Open was brief.
Williams was eliminated on the first day of play Tuesday by 89th-ranked Zarina Diyas, 6-2, 7-6 (10).
The 40-year-old Williams, ranked 79th, was making her 21st appearance in the tournament, now held 75 minutes from her residence in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Williams’ most recent title in the event came in 2001, when she beat Jennifer Capriati in the final. She also won the 1998 and 1999 titles.
Crowds were small for the first day of play, and will continue to be. Because of the pandemic, only 750 fans will be allowed on the grounds per session, and the 5,000-seat grandstand will be used for showcase matches.
Seeded players have first-round byes, including No. 1 Ash Barty, who can use the extra time to adjust her body clock. She arrived in Miami after a 45-hour trip from her native Australia.
“Brisbane-Sydney, Sydney to LA, LA on to Miami is usually quite an easy trip,” Barty said. “We had a flight cancellation leaving Australia, and another flight cancellation when we got to LA. It was quite a wriggle-around.”
Missing from the tournament are Serena Williams and the three players who have dominated men’s tennis for years – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic decided against making the trip from Serbia, and the others cited health issues.
SPORTS BETTING
A Tennessee sports betting company has sued state officials to try to overturn their suspension of the firm’s sportsbook, a move taken last week due to suspected fraud and money laundering in accounts on the betting platform.
On Monday, Tennessee Action 24/7 filed the lawsuit against Tennessee Lottery officials for the suspension that came at the outset of the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, a huge sports betting event that continues for several weeks. The company is challenging the regulatory process used to suspend them and is calling into question the level of debit card fraud an investigator suspects occurred.
The company is one of six authorized so far to run sportsbooks under Tennessee’s online-only sports betting law, which saw its first bets in November. The move marked the first time an online sportsbook operator has had its license suspended in the U.S., according to Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for the PlayUSA.com sports betting news website. The suspension remains in effect indefinitely until a review finds that proper internal controls are in place going forward.
Danny DiRienzo, a sports betting investigator for the lottery, last week said the activity would have been stopped early on, with fewer victims and less money in losses, if the company had implemented the internal controls they spelled out in their application as a sportsbook operator.
DiRienzo said in one instance, a player made a $10 deposit almost immediately followed by 184 attempted deposits from seven cards with seven names, 124 of which were successful, with minimal bets placed and then multiple withdrawals out to an account with the player’s name. He called it a clear case of what could be charged as credit card fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft or wire fraud.
HORSE RACING
PREAKNESS: The Preakness will be run in front of a limited capacity of 10,000 fans at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on May 15.
Organizers of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown announced the decision Tuesday. Churchill Downs has said it expects the Kentucky Derby to be run in front of roughly 40-50% of capacity May 1 in Louisville. Typically, the Preakness draws over 100,000 spectators.
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont were run out of order last year with no fans in attendance. It’s not immediately clear what the capacity will be at Belmont Park on June 5, though New York State has set 10% capacity limits for other sports.
SOCCER
EUROPA LEAGUE: Scottish police are investigating claims of racial abuse and assault which are alleged to have taken place during and after a Europa League match between Glasgow club Rangers and Czech team Slavia Prague.
Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara has alleged he was the subject of “deliberate and premeditated” racial abuse by Slavia defender Ondřej Kúdela during Thursday’s game at Ibrox. Slavia and Kúdela denied those allegations, and the team claimed Kúdela was punched after the game, which Slavia won 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
“Officers are liaising with both clubs and enquiries are continuing,” Police Scotland said in a statement on Tuesday.
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