■ Boxing
Coke lands champ in hospital
Five-time world boxing champion Johnny Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition on Monday after an apparent cocaine overdose, the latest episode outside the ring in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, fighter's turbulent life. Police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said the 40-year-old Tapia was taken to Presbyterian Hospital after paramedics responded to an early morning call about a person who wasn't breathing at a hotel room. "It appears to be an overdose. He will be charged with possession of a controlled substance," Hoffman said. Police found a plastic bag containing a white substance, which Hoffman said was confirmed by tests as cocaine.
■ Soccer
PSV's Alex out for six weeks
PSV Eindhoven defender Alex, whose goal against Arsenal last week put the Dutch side into the European Champions League quarter-finals, has a torn hamstring and will miss at least six weeks, the club announced on Monday. "An MRI scan ... this afternoon confirmed that defender Alex's left hamstring is partially torn," the club said on its Web site. "This injury will keep the Brazilian out of action for six weeks and he misses among other matches, the ... [two-leg] meeting with Liverpool." PSV faces Liverpool in first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at home on April 3. The Brazilian, who has been linked to a possible move to Chelsea at the end of the season, was carried off the pitch on Sunday during PSV's 0-0 draw with Excelsior Rotterdam.
■ Sled Dog Racing
Mackey keeps Iditarod lead
Lance Mackey maintained his lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Monday -- but just by minutes. Mackey was the first musher to arrive in Koyuk, Alaska, taking about a three-hour rest. He and his 13 dogs left Koyuk at 12:13 pm, 14 minutes before Paul Gebhardt arrived. Gebhardt didn't rest long; the 50-year-old musher had his 10 dogs back on the trail for the 77km segment to Elim after resting just 9 minutes. Meanwhile, Martin Buser and Zack Steer arrived later Monday in Koyuk, 275km from the race's end in Nome. Also, Canadian musher Karen Ramstead scratched from the race at the Grayling checkpoint after one of her dogs died. Race officials said she wanted to be with her family to grieve the loss of Snickers, a six-year-old female.
■ Olympics
Beijing mulls smoking areas
The 2008 Beijing Olympics are under pressure to be smoke-free, falling into line with other Olympics. Beijing Organizing Committee officials have talked with Health Ministry officials "about setting aside special smoking areas in Games venues so as to ensure most parts of these venues are free of tobacco smog," Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. Enforcing such a ban will be difficult in China, where about 350 million people -- about one-quarter of the population -- are smokers.
■ Swimming
Dutch champion retires
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands retired on Monday. "My career is over," De Bruijn told Dutch news agency ANP. "It can't get any better. I'm at the ceiling and see no more challenges. I'm 33 years old -- in swimming that's a grandmother." She hadn't competed in any major events since the 2004 Athens Olympics, and completed her career with eight Olympic medals overall, and five world championships.
■ Basketball
Isiah Thomas extends deal
New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has been signed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced on Monday. The Knicks are 29-34 in Thomas's first year as coach and are in the playoff hunt with the eighth best record in the Eastern Conference. "The Knicks have grown tremendously, both in terms of team performance and player development, and much of the credit goes to Isiah and his staff," James Dolan, chairman of team owner Madison Square Garden, said in a statement. Thomas was the team's president last year but became coach in June following a disastrous 23-59 season that cost Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown his job.
■ Baseball
Japanese imports meet up
The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees took on an Asian flavor on Monday when three Japanese players met before their exhibition game. Cameras clicked wildly as Boston's US$103.1 million investment Daisuke Matsuzaka and lefty reliever Hideki Okajima bowed and shook hands with Yankees' veteran slugger Hideki Matsui. With Matsui already established in the Majors and six years Matsuzaka's senior, the Red Sox right-hander paid his respects to the Yankees outfielder, MLB.com reported. Okajima said he was excited to see Matsui and that he looked forward to meeting him again and having dinner with him. The game, the only pre-season meeting between the two, was won by the Red Sox 7-5.
■ Golf
Rookie Francella seals win
Meaghan Francella sunk a 4-foot putt for birdie and beat Annika Sorenstam on the fourth hole of a playoff on Monday to win the rain-plagued MasterCard Classic for her first victory on the US LPGA Tour. The 24-year-old American was making only her sixth start on the US women's tour after earning her tour card last year with a fifth-place finish on the Futures Tour money list. Francella, the second-round leader, closed with a 3-under 69 to match Sorenstam (66) at 11-under 205 on the Bosque Real Country Club course.
■ NFL
Receiver Sharon charged
Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Charles Sharon was charged with stealing a handgun that police found under the seat of his sport utility vehicle during a drug-related search. Sharon and a companion were arrested on Saturday night after a Tampa, Florida police officer noticed the odor of marijuana coming from his Chevrolet Tahoe in the Ybor City entertainment district, a police report said. A search turned up a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol under the driver's seat. Jebidiah Crawford was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after an officer found less than an ounce of it in a Jaguars duffel bag in Sharon's vehicle. Sharon was released on Sunday morning after paying a US$4,000 bond, jail records showed. Jaguars spokesman Dan Edwards said the team had no comment on the arrest.
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