■ Baseball
Pitcher gets long suspension
Minnesota Twins pitcher Anthony Swarzak was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a drug of abuse under Major League baseball's minor league testing program on Friday. The 21-year-old right-hander was 0-2 with an 11.12 ERA in one start and one relief appearance over 5 2-3 innings this season for New Britain of the Double-A Eastern League. He is the fourth minor leaguer suspended under the drug program this year, the second for a drug of abuse. There were 37 suspensions under the program last year -- 32 for performance-enhancing drugs and five for drugs of abuse.
■ Rugby Union
All Black to join Saracens
All Blacks lock Chris Jack will join English club Saracens after this year's Rugby World Cup, the latest in a growing line of top players to quit New Zealand for clubs overseas. Jack, 28, told a news conference yesterday that he was reluctant to leave New Zealand but had to put his wife and family first. He joined other departing All Blacks in saying payments offered by British clubs were irresistible. Jack has played 57 Tests for the All Blacks since 2001 and has been seen as a key figure in New Zealand's recent international successes. His departure follows that last week of All Blacks prop Carl Hayman, who has signed with the Newcastle Falcons in England.
■ Soccer
Moyes sues Rooney
Wayne Rooney was sued on Friday by Everton manager David Moyes for libel over comments in his autobiography. Moyes is suing the England striker after he said in My Story So Far that the manager was overbearing, controlling and ultimately responsible for the player's move from Everton to Manchester United in 2004. In the book, Rooney claims he told Moyes he wanted to leave Everton after a newspaper alleged he had used prostitutes. Rooney then suggested Moyes leaked details of the conversation to the Liverpool Echo newspaper, which led Rooney to quit the club he had supported from childhood. Moyes has started libel proceedings against the book's author, Hunter Davies, and publishers Harper Collins.
■ Soccer
Ticketless fans warned
Greece's police chief urged English soccer fans not to travel to Athens for the Champions League final on May 23 unless they have a ticket. About 20,000 officers will be deployed from greater Athens and other cities for the match in security measures similar to those used for the 2004 Olympics. One English team is guaranteed to play the final. In the semi-finals, Liverpool face Chelsea and Manchester United play AC Milan. Security cameras at the Olympic Stadium will be upgraded for the final. Greek officers are working with British and Italian law enforcement agencies for the game.
■ Cycling
Leipheimer wins again
Levi Leipheimer surged to the top of Brasstown Bald to capture his second straight stage victory in the Tour de Georgia, while Janez Brajkovic remained the overall leader on Friday. Leipheimer, an American riding for the Discovery Channel team, covered the 172km course through mountainous north Georgia in 4 hours, 33 minutes and 33 seconds. Teammate Tom Danielson finished second 38 seconds back. Brajkovic, a Slovenian who also rides for Discovery Channel, led the US' Christian Vandevelde of Team CSC by 12 seconds in the overall standings.
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