■ Germany
Team contract lotto fever
Lottery fever gripping the nation has even spread to the national team with all 21 players of Joachim Loew's squad buying tickets for yesterday's rollover 35 million euro (US$44 million) jackpot, the German Football Federation said on Friday. Germany captain Michael Ballack and company have chosen their respective numbers and if they come up the winnings will go to charity. The squad were in Rostock ahead of yesterday's friendly with Georgia as they prepare for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovakia four days later.
■ Portugal
Big Phil wishes Silva well
National coach Luiz Felipe Scolari on Friday wished a rapid recovery for Uruguay striker Dario Silva, who had his right leg amputated following a car accident. "We want to send a message of concern and solidarity to Dario. He's an athlete who has had a misfortune and we hope that he recovers as soon as possible," the Brazilian World Cup-winning manager told reporters in Lisbon. Silva, 33, left a hospital in Montevideo on Thursday, 10 days after doctors amputated his leg below the knee.
■ Trinidad
Ince banned for going AWOL
Goalkeeper Clayton Ince was suspended by FIFA from playing for his English club Walsall for 10 days from yesterday for rejecting an international call up from Trinidad and Tobago. Ince was the first-choice goalkeeper of new Trinidad coach Wim Reisenbergen for friendlies against St. Vincent and the Grenadines yesterday and Panama on Wednesday. But he turned down the request, citing a groin strain he said he needed to rest. However, he then went and played a full game for Walsall last weekend in England's League Two. On Trinidad and Tobago's request, FIFA instructed Walsall it couldn't play Ince during the period of the Soca Warriors' two friendlies, and added a five-day suspension from next Thursday.
■ England
Chelsea accused over sand
Premiership champions Chelsea on Friday denied suggestions they had deliberately damaged their pitch ahead of a Champions League clash with Barcelona. Reports in the English press had drawn attention to pitch repairs carried out at Stamford Bridge this week that involved pouring tonnes of sand on the field. It was claimed the sand may have been put down to hinder Barcelona's fluid passing football when the European champions play Chelsea on Oct. 18. But Chelsea insist the sand was part of routine pitch work and a club spokesperson said: "Whilst the Chelsea players are away representing their national teams, an 18-day break between home fixtures has allowed our ground staff to carry out routine maintenance work on the Stamford Bridge pitch."
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