Mike Dean claims he played secret games for a laugh while refereeing matches

Slovenian wins stage 12 as Mas strengthens position Tim Merlier claims stage two in Tour of Britain Spain’s Enric Mas extended his overall lead in the Vuelta a España with a late attack on his rivals as Slovenia’s Jakob Omrzel won stage 12 to Calar Alto on Thursday. Movistar rider Mas burst out of a chasing group including red jersey contenders Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall with around ​13km of the mountainous 166.6km ride left and powered away. Roglic and Gall, who began the day second and third on general classification, could not respond as Mas finished 27 seconds clear of Roglic to strengthen his hold on the race...

Irish fight legend can cap a special career by retiring as the undisputed super-lightweight champion with victory against Flora Pili on Saturday “I won’t be like Tyson Fury, coming back again and again,” Katie Taylor told me with a little smile a few years ago as she explained how, when she finally retired, she would leave boxing for good. The moment is almost here because, on Saturday night, in front of 80,000 fans at a fevered Croke Park, Taylor will fight for the very last time. She will depart as a quietly defiant pioneer and an overwhelming force for good – both in Ireland and women’s boxing. The fight game is full of heartbreak and broken promises, corruption and damage, but it also produces singular characters who elevate the world. Joe Louis in the 1930s, and Muhammad Ali in the 1960s, had a profound impact on American society...

At this week’s world championship, the women’s record holder who once feared a 5K will try to top her own 144-hour distance – and beat the US men’s mark While many teachers head back to school this week, middle-school math teacher Megan Eckert will be 5,000 miles from her classroom in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has a good reason to miss a few classes: she’ll be competing at the Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners World Championship. On Thursday, more than 100 runners will gather on a start line in Balatonfüred, Hungary, and attempt to run as many miles as they can in six days...