■ Sailing
Yachtsman goes it alone
New Zealand yachtsman Graeme Kendall embarked Tuesday from Auckland on a lone, nonstop voyage around the world through the famous Northwest Passage in the icy waters of northern Canada. Kendall, 58, said he expected the 40,000km solo voyage to take about six months. He planned to sail the 12.5m cruising yacht Astral Express to the North Atlantic via Cape Horn, to navigate the treacherous Northwest Passage and to return to New Zealand through the Pacific. European navigators and adventurers were tantalized for centuries by reports of a sea passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in icy wastes north of Canada. The discovery of such a passage promised to take months off a voyage from Europe to the rich trading posts of Asia and the East Indies. Many expeditions were mounted and hundreds of lives were lost in the search for the northern trade route before Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen first navigated the route early in the 20th century.
■ Soccer
Beckham sues former nanny
David Beckham and his wife Victoria are suing their former nanny for leaking allegations about the state of their marriage to a tabloid newspaper, a spokeswoman for the couple said Tuesday. In a story published in Britain's tabloid News of the World on Sunday, former nanny Abbie Gibson claimed the couple's marriage was on the rocks. Spokeswoman Jo Milloy said the Beckhams were suing Gibson, who quit her job this month after working for the couple since October 2003, for breach of confidence. Milloy said the Beckhams would also launch legal action against News of the World. The celebrity couple are already suing the newspaper over the publication last year of details of an alleged affair between David Beckham and his personal assistant, Rebecca Loos. Beckham, captain of England, plays for Real Madrid. His wife is a former pop star and member of the Spice Girls.
■ Golf
Nick Price gets exemption
Three-time major champion Nick Price accepted a special exemption on Tuesday into the US Open and won't have to worry about qualifying. The US Open will be played on June 16-19 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Without the exemption, Price would have had to finish in the top 50 rankings after the US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament from June 2-5 to avoid qualifying. He currently is No. 72. Price earlier this year was presented the Bob Jones Award by the US Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The 48-year-old Zimbabwean has won a British Open and two PGA Championships in his 22-year pro career.
■ Soccer
Ronaldo's fiance miscarries
Daniella Cicarelli, the fiance of Real Madrid striker Ronaldo, had a miscarriage on Tuesday in a Sao Paulo hospital, MTV Brasil said. Cicarelli, who hosts a show on MTV Brasil, was rushed to Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital on Monday afternoon after feeling sick while taping a dating game show. She had the miscarriage early Tuesday morning. Ronaldo and Cicarelli announced on April 1 she was four weeks pregnant. Cicarelli was released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and was resting in her home where she was being cared for by members of her family, a statement released by her press agent said. Ronaldo and Cicarelli formally will marry later this year.
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