■ ATHLETICS
Legat wins sixth Wanamaker
Bernard Lagat used his signature finishing kick to win his sixth Wanamaker Mile at the 101st Millrose Games on Friday. The reigning 1,500 and 5,000m world champion pulled into the lead with a lap and a half to go as the Madison Square Garden crowd roared. He easily held off Australian Craig Mottram, who gave him a tough race last year to finish in three minutes, 57.51 seconds. Lagat immediately confirmed he'll return to chase another record. The Kenyan-born American moved a victory away from matching the record seven wins -- the last in 1987 -- by Irishman Eamonn Coghlan, dubbed the "Chairman of the Boards" for his dominance on the old wooden Millrose track.
■ FREESTYLE SKIING
Kravchuk, Li win aerials
Stanislav Kravchuk of the Ukraine won his first World Cup aerials, and world champion Li Nina of China topped the women's field on Friday in Park City, Utah. Kravchuk led after the qualifying round, so he was the last jumper in the finals at Deer Valley. He tried not to pay attention as most of the other jumpers slipped on their landings. And then he was the first. A tailwind pushed Kravchuk's triple-twisting triple flip out a little far off of the kicker, but he nailed the landing. Once he straightened his knees after the impact, Kravchuk pumped his fist, knowing he had won it.
■ MOTOR RACING
Fisichella boosts morale
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella boosted the morale of his Force India team on Friday by posting the fourth-best time in testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. "I think we made a lot of progress," the 35-year-old Roman said in a team statement after completing 100 laps in the team's Ferrari-powered interim car without any major mechanical problems on a cold day at the Spanish track. "I felt more comfortable in the car too -- we are definitely going in the right direction and the times were pretty good. I'm very happy as we are showing the potential we have now," the former Renault driver said.
■ BOXING
Thai wins olympic spot
Thailand's 2004 Olympic champion Manus Boonjumnong was among 19 boxers to win a spot at the Beijing Games via this week's Asian Olympic qualifying tournament. Uzbekistan was the most successful nation at the tournament, winning four places, while South Korea, Thailand and China all claimed three Olympic places. A further 19 places will be at stake in another regional qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan next month. In all divisions except heavyweight, both finalists in this tournament received an Olympic berth, giving extra emphasis to winning semifinals.
■ GOLF
Blind golfer hits hole-in-one
A hole-in-one is rare on the golf course, but what are the odds of a blind golfer sinking one? Leo Fiyalko couldn't see it, but his golf buddies did -- a hole-in-one on the fifth hole at the Cove Cay Country Club. Fiyalko is 92 and has macular degeneration. He's been golfing for 60 years, but his 100m shot with a five iron on Jan. 10 was his first hole-in-one. "I was just trying to put the ball on the green," Fiyalko said. Fiyalko tees off every Thursday with a group of golfers ranging in age from 70 to 90-plus. He used to have a seven handicap, but now he needs help lining up his shots and finding his golf balls because he only has peripheral vision in his right eye.
■ FIELD HOCKEY
Argentina thrash the US
Lucas Vila scored three goals as world No. 7 Argentina beat the US 9-1 in their opening match at a men's field hockey Olympic qualifying tournament yesterday. Ireland beat France 4-0 and New Zealand defeated Trinidad and Tobago 12-0 on the opening day of the six-nation tournament which continues until next Sunday. The winner qualifies for the field hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics. Vila opened Argentina's scoring after two minutes and completed his hat-trick four minutes into the second half.
■ SKELETON
Uhlaender wins again
Katie Uhlaender of the US won her third straight skeleton World Cup race on Friday in Koenigsee, Germany, after holding off three German sliders. Uhlaender led by 0.05 seconds over Marion Trott of Germany after a first heat time of 49.59 seconds. The American clocked 49.76 seconds in the second run for a total time of 1 minute, 39.35 seconds, edging Kerstin Juergins. Juergins was the fastest in the second run in 49.68 seconds moving up from fourth to finish in 1 minute, 39.42 seconds. Trott earned her first podium finish by clocking 1 minute, 39.459 seconds.
■ BOBSLED
Martini scores first victory
Cathleen Martini scored her first victory of the season on Friday and led a German sweep at a women's bobsled World Cup event in Koenigsee, Germany. Martini and brakewoman Janine Tischer put together the fastest runs in both heats -- 50.58 seconds and 50.51 seconds -- for a combined time of 1 minute, 41.09 seconds. Olympic champion and World Cup leader Sandra Kiriasis and brakewoman Berit Wiacker were second, 0.22 seconds behind, after runs of 50.80 seconds and 50.53 seconds. Claudia Schramm and Nicole Hirschmann had runs of 50.90 seconds and 51.11 seconds to come third in 1 minute, 42.01 seconds.
■ BIATHLON
Rottman receives ban
Austrian biathlete Wolfgang Rottmann has been banned for two years for his involvement in a blood-doping scandal at the 2006 Turin Olympics. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) banned Rottmann for the possession, use and attempted use of albumin, considered a prohibited substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The retroactive penalty expires on July 15, next year. "It includes all biathlon competitions that are organized by the IBU or one of its member federations during this time," the IBU said in a statement on its Web site on Friday. The IBU said Rottmann used an intravenous blood injection on or just before Feb. 18, 2006.
■ CYCLING
Boonen wins Tour of Qatar
Tom Boonen of Belgium won the Tour of Qatar on Friday after capturing his third stage victory in the six-day cycling race. The Quick Step rider won in an overall time of 15 hours, 27 minutes, 44 seconds to beat Alberto Loddo of Italy by 1 minute, 22 seconds. Luciano Pagliarini of Brazil was third, 2 minutes, 2 seconds back from Boonen. Boonen covered the 120km sixth stage in 2 hours, 49 minutes, 47 seconds for his 16th overall stage victory in five years after winning the second and third earlier this week. "Winning in Qatar is something that has become a habit now," Boonen said. "My team has done well here in Qatar. The last few years have been good for us.
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