■ BASKETBALL
Nene has tumor removed
Denver Nuggets forward Nene underwent surgery in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday to remove a testicular tumor, and a biopsy will determine if it was cancerous. The Brazilian player took an indefinite leave of absence on Friday, and there is no timetable for his return. "Nene is recovering well and in good condition," Dr Fernando Kim said. The operation was done at Denver Health Medical Center. Kim said a "right testicular mass was found incidentally and it was managed surgically." The tumor was found last week in an exam by team physician Dr Saurabh Mangalik.
■ OLYMPICS
Dion enters song contest
Canadian pop superstar Celine Dion will play her first concert in China in April and has submitted an entry for the Beijing Olympics theme song competition, Games organizers said yesterday. The 39-year-old multiple Grammy Award winner has scheduled a stop on her worldwide tour at the newly renovated Workers' Stadium in the Chinese capital on April 13, which will be part of Beijing's official celebration of the Games. Dion sang the theme song The Power of the Dream at the opening ceremony of 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. So far, more than 30 artists from China and abroad have submitted their works for the theme song.
■ SOCCER
Barca ends Sevilla's reign
Barcelona ended Sevilla's reign as King's Cup holders on Tuesday as a dull 0-0 draw was sufficient to see the Catalan giants through in their last 16 second-leg clash. Barcelona progressed thanks to the away goal rule, as the first leg had finished 1-1. With both sides missing several key players who had either been called away on African Nations Cup duty or were suspended and injured, the quality of the game in Barcelona slipped a notch or two from their previous encounters. The defeat leaves Sevilla effectively with just the Champions League to play for this season, as they are 10 points adrift of Real Madrid in the title race.
■ SOCCER
Del Piero rescues Juventus
Alessandro Del Piero rescued Juventus again on Tuesday, converting a decisive penalty in a 5-3 win over Empoli in Turin that qualified the Bianconeri for the Italian Cup quarter-finals. Coach Claudio Ranieri inserted Del Piero in the 65th minute and the Juventus captain scored 13 minutes later after Vincenzo Iaquinta was tripped. Juventus advanced on 6-5 aggregate after Empoli won the first leg 2-1. Juventus will play the winner of today's contest between Inter Milan and Reggina. Inter won the first leg 4-1. Del Piero also converted a 90th-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw with Catania in Serie A on Saturday.
■ OLYMPICS
Rio, Doha unveil 2016 bids
Rio de Janeiro and Doha released details of their 2016 Olympics bids on Tuesday. The Rio bid committee released plans to hold all sporting events within the city, a metropolitan area of 12 million people. Rio plans to use 19 existing venues, including many that will be in place for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Seven new venues will be built, and four temporary venues. Doha proposed to hold the games in October to avoid Qatar's searing summer temperatures. Daytime and evening temperatures as well as humidity levels will be conducive to the performance of athletes and the comfort of spectators, the committee said. The average temperature at 3pm during the proposed dates has been 31oC over the last 10 years.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite