Cardinals release Taguchi
Japanese outfielder So Taguchi, who helped the St Louis Cardinals win last year's World Series title, was released by the Major League Baseball club on Wednesday. The 38-year-old veteran of six US seasons, all with the Cardinals after leaving his homeland, enjoyed his best season in 2005 when he batted .288 with eight home runs and drove in 53 runs. Last year he hit .290 with three homers and 30 runs batted in over 130 games. For his career, Taguchi batted .283 with 19 homers and knocked home 154 runs over 578 games.
■ Football
Vikings star receives ban
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on steroid use. Coach Brad Childress said he was disappointed in Edwards and could not comment further because of the confidentiality surrounding the policy. The Vikings will turn to Erasmus James, rookie Brian Robison and Jayme Mitchell to fill in during Edwards' absence. Edwards is in his second year out of Purdue University and has been one of the Vikings' most consistent performers at defensive end. He is eligible to return to the team after the Dec. 30 season finale against Denver and could play if the Vikings make the playoffs.
■ Soccer
Player denies wrongdoing
Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ioannis Amanatidis has denied any wrong-doing after it was revealed he is being investigated by police over an alleged assault on a woman. The 26-year-old is alleged to have struck a 33-year-old Macedonian woman in Frankfurt on Tuesday after an argument with her father and is under investigation, a police spokesman confirmed on Wednesday. "I didn't hit anyone, neither the lady nor her companion," Amantidis said. But the alleged victim says the Greek international hit her after an argument broke out as she tried to park her car. "I wanted to protect my father and he [Amanatidis] hit me with his full palm on the left side of my face," the woman involved said.
■ Soccer
Expert says club wasn't Nazi
Hertha Berlin, the German capital's premier team, was not heavily linked to the Nazi party, according to a history expert's study. Professor Daniel Koerfer, who works at Berlin's Freie University, has conducted a study into Hertha, who play at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, to assess how much influence the Nazis had on the team during the Third Reich era. Koerfer's report shows the vast majority of players stayed away from the Nazi party and almost all the club's 400 members did not sympathize with the Third Reich regime. But the report does conclude several leading figures at the club became party members and co-operated with the Nazis, often to protect the club. Hertha president Bernd Schiphorst says the club is still often associated with the Nazi era because of their links to the stadium built by Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer. One of Hertha's most famous players, Hanne Sobek, who helped the Berlin side to become German champions in 1930 and 1931, joined the Nazi party in 1940, but later distanced himself. When the Nazis anti-semitic policy forced the closure of the stadium's Jewish stand, Sobek protested, according to Koerfer's study.
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