A Beijing newspaper yesterday was investigating a story it published this week, quoting Chen Haitao -- the owner of the Guangdong Tigers basketball club -- saying forward Yi Jianlian would "definitely not" sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Yi was drafted No. 6 two weeks ago and is expected to be the fourth Chinese to play in the NBA.
The Chinese-language Beijing News said it stood by its story, but a top Guangdong club official said it was untrue and the club had not spoken with the newspaper.
Wang Jin, chief sports editor with the newspaper, said yesterday that its story was accurate. He said the reporter involved conducted a telephone interview with Chen, who was quoted saying Yi might return to the Chinese Basketball Association.
Wang said it was unclear why club officials deny having talked with the newspaper.
Liu Hongjiang, a club vice president, said club officials had not talked with the newspaper.
"The reporter never interviewed anyone at the club," Liu said.
Liu said he spoke later with the reporter and "expressed strong anger."
"The club supports Yi playing in the NBA and is very willing to work with the Bucks," Liu said. "We are waiting for any chance to cooperate with the Bucks."
Liu said he believes Milwaukee is "not a suitable team for Yi, but this is not the same thing as saying he will not play with Milwaukee."
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