■ Rugby Union
New trophy up for grabs
A little-known player born in Melbourne nearly 150 years ago and raised in Wales will have his name on a new trophy representing rugby superiority between Australia and Wales. The James Bevan Trophy unveiled yesterday honors the player who captained the inaugural Wales international side against England in 1881. Bevan was born in the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda in 1858. He lived with relatives in Wales following the death of his parents when he was seven, completing his education at Cambridge University before his rugby career. The new trophy will be contested in the forthcoming two-test series between Australia and Wales, the first tomorrow in Sydney.
■ Basketball
Magic fire Brian Hill
Brian Hill was fired as coach of the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, the Orlando Sentinel reported, saying the NBA club dumped him despite two years remaining on his deal. The Magic finished 40-42 and reached the NBA playoffs for the first time in four years, but Orlando was swept out by the Detroit Pistons in the first round. The newspaper reported that Magic general manager Otis Smith "expected" Hill to return but noted Hill was frustrated with his role and often criticized by fans hungry for a winner. Hill, 59, guided the Magic to their only NBA Finals appearance in 1995, but was fired in 1997. Hill was 76-88 in his second stint as coach of the Magic.
■ Tennis
Golovin, Peng withdraw
Tatiana Golovin of France and Peng Shuai of China have pulled out of the French Open because of injury, organizers said on Wednesday. Golovin, ranked 17th, has failed to recover from a right-foot injury picked up during Fed Cup play last month, while 32nd-ranked Peng has a left ankle injury, the French tennis federation said. Golovin will be replaced in the main draw by a lucky loser, while Germany's Angelique Kerber steps in for Peng. The French Open starts tomorrow.
■ Olympics
Austria fined US$1 million
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday slapped a US$1 million sanction on Austria following last year's Winter Olympic doping scandal. The Austrian National Olympic Committee was barred from receiving US$1 million in grants or subsidies from the IOC and warned that it must show that internal changes have been implemented by June 30 next year, the IOC said in a statement. Six Austrian cross country skiers and biathletes caught doping at last year's Turin Winter Olympics were banned for life by the IOC's disciplinary commission last month.
■ Ice Hockey
Billionaire to buy Predators
Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold reached an agreement to sell the franchise to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie. Leipold told Predators' employees of the sale in a meeting on Wednesday afternoon in Nashville, according a person familiar with the sale who spoke to the press on Wednesday night on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized. It was unknown whether the sale would involve relocating the franchise. The NHL's Board of Governors must approve any sale. Balsillie, the co-CEO of Blackberry makers Research in Motion, has offered an undisclosed amount for the team, Canadian sports network TSN reported.
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