■ BASEBALL
Player traded for 10 bats
During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself. That sure changed this week — he’s the guy who was traded for a bunch of baseball bats. “I don’t really care,” he said on Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.” For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him on Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price — 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 86cm, C243 style. “They just wanted some bats, good bats — maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose Melendez said. The Prairie Sticks Web site says their maple bats retail for US$69 each, discounted to US$65.50 for purchases of 10 bats. “It will be interesting to see what 10 bats gets us,” Melendez said.
■ BASEBALL
Reds' Baker gets suspended
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker was suspended for two games and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and San Diego Padres hitting coach Wally Joyner were penalized one game on Friday after recent arguments with umpires. Major League Baseball also fined all three undisclosed amounts. Unlike players, managers and coaches cannot appeal suspensions. Baker made contact with umpire Eric Cooper during a dispute in Thursday’s 8-2 loss at San Diego. The suspension was set to start on Friday as the Reds continued their series against the Padres. Baker had gone onto the field after Cincinnati’s Edwin Encarnacion was ejected by Cooper for arguing a called third strike. Baker wound up getting ejected by Cooper, too.
■ BASKETBALL
Aussies take series win
Australia's women's basketball team beat Taiwan 90-58 on Friday in the second of a three-game series in Terrigal, New South Wales state. After losing the first game 100-57 on Thursday, Taiwan’s team performed well in the first three quarters, taking the lead several times and forcing Australia head coach Jan Stirling to call a time-out. At the beginning of the third quarter, Taiwan’s Chiang Feng-chun (姜鳳君) shot a three-pointer and narrowed the gap to 7 points. But Taiwan’s defense collapsed in the last quarter and they only scored 18 points in attack against Australia’s 33. Chiang top scored with 16 points for the visitors.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Konstantinov loses case
A federal jury rejected on Friday a request to award former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and a former team masseur nearly US$300 million for a 1997 limo crash that left them with disabling brain injuries. The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before deciding that Findlay Ford Lincoln Mercury, the Ohio dealership that sold the limo, was not responsible for the injuries the two sustained. James Feeney, an attorney representing the dealership, told the Detroit Free Press that the seven-person jury returned a “common sense verdict.”
■ SOCCER
Redknapp wins court case
Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has won his claim against police that a raid on his house as part of an inquiry into soccer corruption was illegal. The High Court in London ruled that City of London police carried out the early morning raid in November under a warrant issued unlawfully by the City of London Magistrates’ Court. The police were ordered to pay £1,000 (US$1,980) in damages to Redknapp and to pay his legal costs.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set