■Baseball
Piazza quits diet-drug use
New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza said he stopped taking an ephedra-based nutritional supplement following the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler in spring training. Piazza said he didn't use the supplement on a regular basis and quit completely after Bechler's death, believed to be related to the pitcher's use of an ephedra-based diet pill. "I just used it a couple of times," Piazza said Monday. "And this was before the guy [died]. Obviously, I wouldn't recommend it now." Piazza addressed the subject Sunday when asked about a story in the current of issue of Playboy magazine that quotes the star catcher as saying, "Ripped Fuel is kind of cool." Ripped Fuel is a nutritional supplement that contains ephedra. "Obviously, that interview happened before [Bechler died]," Piazza told the Daily News on Sunday.
■ Boxing
Fighters may unionize
Fighters may soon have the chance to become card-carrying Teamsters. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Monday it has begun the process of affiliating the Joint Association of Boxers as a professional fighters' union. "Every other sport is organized, now the boxers will be organized," said James P. Hoffa, Teamsters general president. "Boxers need health insurance. Boxers need pensions. Boxers need to get a fair share of the proceeds of their labor." The new union was founded by former fighter Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, who lobbied the Teamsters to help organize the sport. An organization headed by former fighter Gerry Cooney called FIST -- the Fighters' Initiative for Support and Training -- announced last month it was also a professional union within Local 153.
Agencies
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was