■ Soccer
Hamburg hires new coach
Hamburg SV has fired coach Kurt Jara and hired Klaus Toppmoeller as his successor, the Hamburg newspaper Morgenpost reported Wednesday. Hamburg spokesman Marinus Bester confirmed Jara's departure. In an article distributed in advance of publication yesterday, the newspaper said Toppmoeller received a three-year contract and would be presented today. Toppmoeller was fired in February by Bayer Leverkusen, when the team went into a dizzying slump just a few months after reaching the final of the Champions League and the German Cup and narrowly missing the Bundesliga title. Jara, an Austrian, became Hamburg's coach two years ago. He led the club to a fourth-place finish last season but Hamburg has faltered this season, dropping to 13th to the table and getting ousted in the first round of the UEFA Cup. It lost 4-0 at Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
■ Basketball
Warrior gets suspended
Jason Richardson of the Golden State Warriors has been suspended for three games without pay for being convicted of domestic violence over the summer in Michigan, the NBA announced Wednesday. Richardson's suspension will begin with the Warriors' first game of the 2003-2004 season, next Wednesday night against Dallas. He also will miss games against Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers. "This is the result of an extremely personal matter. I deeply regret being involved in any situation that results in the embarrassment of my family, friends and fans, the Golden State Warriors and the NBA," Richardson said in a statement released by the league. "I fully understand the seriousness of the implications and I accept the penalty imposed by the commissioner. I'm glad to have these issues addressed and behind me."
■ Ice hockey
Paul Kariya out indefinitely
Colorado left wing Paul Kariya will be out indefinitely with a sprained right wrist, so the Avalanche acquired left wing Steve Konowalchuk in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Kariya was injured midway through Colorado's 4-1 loss to Boston on Tuesday night. He did not have any broken bones. The Avalanche acquired Konowalchuk and a third-round selection in the 2004 draft for Bates Battaglia and the rights to forward Jonas Johansson. Konowalchuk was drafted by the Capitals in the third round in 1991. A regular with the Caps since the 1992-93 season, Konowalchuk had 15 goals and 15 assists in 77 games last season. Kariya, one of the NHL's top forwards, signed with Colorado in July along with fellow unrestricted free agent Teemu Selanne.
■ Tennis
Anastasia Myskina advances
Top-seeded Anastasia Myskina of Russia defeated countrywoman Elena Bovina 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the US$585,000 Generali Open. Myskina, who has won four times this year, beat Bovina for the first time in three tries. Bovina won earlier this year in Sydney and Stuttgart. In a close first set, one break was enough for Myskina to take the lead, but Bovina leveled the match by taking the second set. In the third set, Myskina proved the stronger as Bovina seemed to tire after playing a tough match the previous day. Fourth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia also advanced to the quarterfinals, beating countrywoman Lina Krasnoroutskaya 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB