The week in sport
LA Lakers sold, the original Panenka, Premier League games uncertainty, all about cricket
The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10bn valuation, ESPN reported on Wednesday, marking the end of an era for one of the NBA’s most influential families.
Mark Walter, the CEO and chair of holding company TWG Global, is set to take the majority ownership under the agreement. Walter was already a minority owner in the Lakers and is also primary owner and chair of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
The late Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and turned it into one of the most popular and valuable franchises in all of professional sports, winning five championships during their now-iconic “Showtime” era in the 1980s.
His daughter, Jeanie Buss, took over as principal owner after Jerry Buss died in 2013, making her one of the most powerful women in sports. The modern-day Lakers have continued to attract big stars with mixed success, including recently with LeBron James, with whom the team won the 2020 NBA title. This year, the team swung a blockbuster trade for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić.
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Fans have been warned by the Premier League that fixtures could be moved at "relatively short notice" next season because of the number of teams playing in Europe.
A record nine top-flight clubs have qualified for Uefa competitions in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Premier League said there is an "increased likelihood" that games will be rescheduled if English teams reach the latter stages, and it suggested fans take this into consideration when planning their attendance at games.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League next season. Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have qualified for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be playing in the Conference League.
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On this day in 1976…possibly the most remarkable penalty kick of all time. In the final of the 1976 European Championship Czechoslovakia were locked at 2-2 with West Germany after extra time, so the European Championship would be decided by a penalty shoot-out for the first time. After four penalties each Czechoslovakia were leading 4-3. Step forward Antonin Panenka - if he scored, Czechoslovakia won. He raced forward as if he was going to blast it into the side of the goal, causing the German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to dive to his left. Seeing the keeper committed, Panenka simply delicately chipped the ball down the middle into the empty net.
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Once a sport that epitomised timeless tradition, cricket has probably experienced more change in the past 20 years than in the previous 150. New formats, new competitions, new investors, and an ever-changing media landscape are transforming the sport for owners, fans and players. Here, three people at the very epicentre of this cricketing revolution discuss the opportunities and challenges with Charlie and Harry Stebbings, co-hosts of The Business of Sport podcast.