■ENGLAND
Black Cats sign Tainio
Sunderland completed the signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Teemu Tainio on Wednesday, with the Finland international’s clubmate Pascal Chimbonda expected to follow shortly. The pair were on Wearside on Tuesday undergoing medicals, which 28-year-old Finland international Tainio, Sunderland’s first close season purchase, passed. Sunderland manager Roy Keane is also targeting two other Tottenham players — Steed Malbranque and Younes Kaboul — and the Black Cats boss met the pair to discuss a move to the northeast over the weekend. Keane told the club’s Web site: “I’m delighted to sign a player of Teemu’s experience and quality, he’ll be a valuable addition to our squad.”
■COLOMBIA
Ministry probes finances
A senior Colombian finance ministry official has given prosecutors a report detailing “highly suspicious” activity by the country’s professional soccer clubs that he said could be linked to money laundering. “Situations present themselves that are highly suspicious,” the official, Marion Aranguren, said during a public seminar on the issue. He said some clubs have shareholders with criminal records and some make cash transactions worth billions of pesos (millions of dollars), evading controls designed to detect money laundering. The official said on Tuesday that the Finance Ministry began to see indications of the apparent irregularities in March when it asked the teams for a list of their shareholders. “We encountered a lot of resistance” getting the information, Aranguren said.
■ITALY
Mourinho jeered by fans
New Inter coach Jose Mourinho has already started hearing whistles from the crowd and the season is more than a month away from even starting. The Portuguese disciplinarian was jeered by his new club’s fans after insisting that Inter’s training at Riscone di Brunico near Milan on Wednesday be held behind closed doors. The jeers were not very loud, but started after fans, some of whom had traveled a long way to watch their idols train, found the gates to the training ground closed. Thereafter, some fans went to great lengths to try to catch a glimpse of Inter’s training by seeking out vantage points some way from the stadium.
■ENGLAND
Hammers sign Behrami
West Ham United acquired Valon Behrami from Lazio for £5 million (US$10 million) on Wednesday and signed the Swiss midfielder to a five-year deal. The 23-year-old international can also play at right back. “It’s my dream come true to play for West Ham and play in the Premier League,” Behrami said. “At last I am able to sign. After the Euro 2008 [European] Championships I spoke to West Ham who had expressed an interest, but I had to be sure it was the right thing for everybody. I have now made my decision and am looking forward to being part of this side and playing in the English league.”
■ENGLAND
Lampard staying put: Scolari
Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted Frank Lampard was staying with Chelsea as reports broke that the club was set to make the midfielder Britain’s highest paid player. “Frank is staying with us. Finished,” Scolari said. He said speculation was to be expected during the transfer window, but attempted to lay the matter to rest. “I said two days ago that Frank is here with us, training and playing very well as part of our group,” he said. Lampard has reportedly been offered £150,000 a week in a five-year deal worth £39 million.
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