Yahoo Sports' Launch Pad - Biggest blasts from opening week
Yahoo Sports compiles the three longest and most impressive home runs from the first weekend of the 2021 season.
Yahoo Sports compiles the three longest and most impressive home runs from the first weekend of the 2021 season.
India has recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 coronavirus infections while authorities in Sweden have again extended restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19.Health officials across northern and western India including the capital New Delhi said they were in crisis on Thursday, with most hospitals full and running out of oxygen.
Tournament host Rafa Cabrera-Bello has revelled in some socially-distant support as he's enjoyed an excellent start to his bid to end nearly four years without a win on home soil.Cabrera-Bello is following in the footsteps of the big names like Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood in hosting a European Tour event, the inaugural Gran Canaria Lopesan Open.
Bevan French has marked his return to action with two tries in his first match of the season as Wigan Warriors beat Castleford 22-12 in a thrilling and tough encounter.Back in the side after missing the opening three weeks of the season, the Australian flyer immediately showed what Wigan had been missing as he went over for a try with three minutes left in the first half on Thursday.
London's High Court has paved the way for a case that could force its judges to take a view on who invented bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency which last week soared to all-time highs.The court has allowed Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who alleges he created bitcoin, to serve a copyright infringement lawsuit against the operator and publisher of the bitcoin.
Alexei Popyrin's impressive progress on the clay in his breakthrough season was halted rudely by Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager at the Serbia Open in Belgrade while John Millman's difficult season suffered another setback.Popyrin cut a frustrated figure as he went down 7-5 6-2 to Mager after one of his most disappointing matches in recent weeks on Thursday, a few hours after Millman had given up a one-set lead against Japan's Taro Daniel before losing 3-6 6-2 6-3.
Russia says it is ordering troops back to base from the area near the border with Ukraine, apparently calling an end to a build-up of tens of thousands of soldiers that had alarmed the European Union.The currencies of both Russia and Ukraine rose sharply after the announcement, signalling relief among investors just hours after Russia also ended war games in Crimea, the peninsula it occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score 6,000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) - but the great man was still upstaged by his young opening partner.India skipper Kohli reached the milestone in 196 matches and leads the list ahead of Chennai's Suresh Raina (5,448 runs), Delhi's Shikhar Dhawan (5,428), Hyderabad's David Warner (5,384) and Mumbai's Rohit Sharma (5,368).
The UK parliament has called for the government to take action to end what MPs described as genocide in China's Xinjiang region, stepping up pressure on ministers to go further in their criticism of officials in Beijing.But Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government again steered clear of declaring genocide over what it says are "industrial-scale" human rights abuses against the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang.
Daunte Wright, the young black man shot by police during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, is being remembered at a funeral just two days after a former police officer was convicted in the death of George Floyd.Hundreds of mourners wearing COVID-19 masks packed into Shiloh Temple International Ministries to remember Wright, a 20-year-old father of one who was shot by a police officer on April 11 in the small city of Brooklyn Center.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was left saluting the courageous effort of Alex de Minaur after ending Australian singles hopes at the Barcelona Open by knocking out the country's No.1-ranked player in straight sets.
An armed group has taken control of a county in western Ethiopia, the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says, citing reports that civilians had been killed and public servants kidnapped.The commission said it had received reports that Sedal Woreda, in the Kamashi Zone of the western Benishangul-Gumuz Region, was "under near full control of an armed group as of April 19".
A medical trade union leader and ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says she and her group are asking the jailed opposition politician to call off his hunger strike."To continue (the strike) would be dangerous for his life and health," Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Doctors Alliance union, told Reuters.
Newcastle must fit four into three with Lachlan Fitzgibbon set to return from a shoulder injury against the Sydney Roosters next Saturday night.Fitzgibbon has not played yet this year, with the Knights back row having beefed up with Tyson Frizell arriving from St George Illawarra.
Nathan Cleary claims it's only a matter of time before Cameron Ciraldo becomes a head coach after the Penrith assistant knocked back a move to Cronulla.Ciraldo confirmed on Thursday night he wouldn't join Craig Fitzgibbon's new coaching staff next year, instead remaining committed to his Penrith deal.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has gone to the NRL over fears the Panthers' attack is at risk of being stifled by rivals deliberately infringing in the ruck early in sets.Penrith carried on their winning ways on Thursday night against Newcastle, becoming the first side in eight years to go 7-0.
Outspoken MP George Christensen has used his impending retirement from federal parliament to condemn the "broken" state of Australian politics.The Queensland Liberal National MP on Thursday announced he would not re-contest his seat of Dawson at the next election, ending his controversial career in federal politics.
Western Force coach Tim Sampson isn't expecting the Queensland Reds to give his team a free pass when the clubs lock horns in Perth on Friday night.The unbeaten Reds have already locked up top spot and a home grand final, meaning they have little to gain from their final-round Super Rugby AU clash.
Premiership defender Zaine Cordy and Lin Jong will play their first game of 2021 as the Western Bulldogs seek to extend their undefeated start to the AFL season.The Bulldogs have recalled Cordy, Jong, reigning best and fairest Caleb Daniel, ruckman Stefan Martin and speedster Laitham Vandermeer for Friday night's clash with rivals GWS at Manuka Oval.
Two NRL seasons away from family and friends in New Zealand has given Isaiah Papali'i the clarity he needed to take his NRL game to a new level at Parramatta.In 2020 he was based in Australia with the Warriors and again he's away from his family and partner, professional netballer Elle Temu, who is based in Auckland.
Better protecting oceans and marine life is the focus of a $100 million package announced by the federal government as it faces pressure from the US to do more on climate change.The funding will go towards ocean management and methods to draw carbon out of the atmosphere involving seagrass and mangroves.