■ BASEBALL
Valentine nears deal
Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine said Thursday he is close to signing a new contract with the Pacific League club. "We've had very good meetings about going forward," Valentine said. "The terms offered were very good but nothing has been signed." Valentine, who has been mentioned as a candidate to fill managerial openings with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, just completed his second season with the Marines. He guided the team to their first Japan Series championship in 31 years last month. Lotte owner Akio Shigemitsu told reporters earlier Thursday that the team was close to reaching an agreement with Valentine. "We have basically agreed on a new three-year contract," said Shigemitsu.
■ FOOTBALL
Paul Tagliabue eyes LA
The National Football League and city of Los Angeles officials have reached a preliminary agreement on terms to bring a pro gridiron team back to the Los Angeles Coliseum. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue made the announcement Thursday on the steps of City Hall. But he didn't identify a potential tenant or speculate when Los Angeles might get the team. He also spoke positively about a team playing at a facility proposed for the parking lot of the Major League Baseball's Angel Stadium in Anaheim and didn't rule out the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as a possible home field, either. As Tagliabue entered a limousine, he was asked if he could assess the significance of what he had just announced. He replied, "I'd rather not try." The commissioner did say: "It's the first time we've had agreement on term sheets. We're one step closer, two or three steps closer. Whether it's 2009, 2010, or 2000-whatever, our goal is to have definitive agreements on all subject matters well before our league meetings in March."
■ SOCCER
MLS awards Twellman
New England Revolution foward Taylor Twellman, who led MLS with 17 goals this season, was selected as the league's most valuable player on Thursday, three days before he'll play in the MLS Cup championship game against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Frisco, Texas. The 25-year-old Twellman becomes only the third US-born player to claim the honor and first in five years, joining Tony Meola and Jason Kreis, and adds to the All-Star Game MVP award he won in July. This is the second time Twellman has led the league in scoring, matching the feat of his 2002 rookie season when he scored 23 goals and six assists. Twellman also scored his first goal for the US national team this year, tallying in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Panama last month. He played in five games for the national team this year. Twellman's father, Tim, and uncle Steve played in the old North American Soccer League. His uncle Jay Delsing is a member of the US PGA Tour, and his grandfather Jim Delsing played in Major League Baseball, pinch-running for 1.09m Eddie Gaedel in 1951.
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