■ Baseball
Japan wins, Taiwan loses
Defending champion Japan slammed host China 7-0 at the Junior Women's World Softball Championship. Karino Ayumi put Japan on the board in the fourth inning Thursday, driving in three runs, the Xinhua News Agency said. In other results Thursday, the US beat Taiwan 6-1; New Zealand shut out South Korea 8-0; Australia beat the Philippines 4-1; the Netherlands edged Argentina 4-3; and Canada stomped Thailand 17-0. Also, the Philippines beat the Czech Republic 2-0, and Russia defeated Thailand 1-0. The championship, which runs until today, is being held in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing. It includes 14 teams including last year's top three -- Japan, the United States and Taiwan.
■ Football
Raider sues teammate
Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski was sued by teammate Marcus Williams, who was seriously injured when they fought during practice. The suit, filed Thursday in Alameda County court, seeks unspecified damages for alleged battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Romanowski instigated the fight Aug. 24 when he ripped off Williams' helmet and punched him in the face, breaking a bone around his left eye. The fracture put Williams on injured reserve -- ending his season before it began.
■ Cricket
South Africans ride luck
Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis rode their luck Friday as sloppy Pakistan fielders dropped three catches on the first day of the first cricket test, allowing South Africa to reach 145 for two. At the end of an extended first session of 2 1/2 hours due to Friday prayers, Kirsten was unbeaten on 46 and Kallis not out on 27. Kallis was also lucky not to be given out by English umpire Neil Mallender, standing in his first test. One run later, Kallis, who celebrated his 28th birthday Thursday, rode his luck once again when Moin Khan couldn't hold onto a thick edge behind the wickets.
■ Baseball
Murder suspect enters plea
One of two men charged with murder in the shooting of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium pleaded innocent. Manuel Hernandez, 33, is being held on US$1 million bail pending his Nov. 3 court date. He entered his plea Thursday. Pete Marron, 19, also is accused of murder in the killing of Mark Allen Antenorcruz near the end of the Dodgers-Giants game Sept. 13. Marron, who is at large, also has been charged with discharge of a firearm.
■ Baseball
MLB accused of racism
A former Major League Baseball employee accused the sport's business arm of fostering an environment in which anti-Asian hostility thrived. Juri Morioka said in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed Thursday in US District Court in Manhattan that the hostilities were evident while she worked for one year as an administrative assistant in Major League Baseball's Broadcasting Department. Morioka, a Japanese citizen, said she was told when she was hired in February last year that her Japanese language skills and familiarity with the Japanese culture would help MLB's International Department deal with Japanese clients. Yet, she said, she was repeatedly subjected until her May termination to an "unreasonable, offensive and demeaning anti-Japanese and anti-Asian hostility that pervaded the entire International Department."
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but