■ FOOTBALL
Six to eight cases probed
Six to eight players are under investigation by the NFL for violating the league’s drug policy by taking a weight-loss diuretic that is considered a masking agent for steroids. A person familiar with the case provided the number of players involved on Monday, saying estimates of a higher figure were untrue. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the players are appealing the findings. The Denver TV station Fox 31 reported last week that six to 10 players had tested positive for Bumetanide, a pill that decreases the amount of water retained in the body by increasing urination. It causes the kidneys to get rid of unneeded water and salt from the body into the urine. Other reports put the number of cases as high as 18.
■ GYMNASTICS
IDs for gymnasts introduced
Gymnasts will now have to start showing ID long before the Olympics. Beginning on Jan. 1, all junior and senior gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets will need a license from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The licenses will include a gymnast’s name, sex, country and date of birth, and be the proof of age for their entire career. The licensing system, approved by the FIG’s executive committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, and announced on Monday, was in the works long before the Beijing Olympics. But it got new attention after questions were raised about the ages of China’s gold medal women’s team. The FIG announced on Oct. 1 that all six gymnasts were old enough to compete, but only after more than a month of reviewing passports, ID cards and family registers. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year in order to compete. The FIG also announced defibrillators will be required at every competition.
■ CRICKET
England invites West Indies
The England and Wales Cricket Board has invited West Indies to replace Sri Lanka in a tour of England next April and May for a Test series and one-day internationals. The series would follow England’s visit to the West Indies from January to April and provide a final tuneup ahead of the Ashes, when holders Australia visit England starting in July. England’s invitation, which the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said remains under discussion, would be for the Caribbean side to play two Test matches and three one-dayers. Sri Lanka pulled out of its scheduled England tour because most of the nation’s players will be involved in the Indian Premier League. Donald Peters, chief executive officer of the WICB, said a decision would be made in the coming weeks.
■ FOOTBALL
Man jailed over threats
An Arizona man accused of planning to kill people at this year’s Super Bowl in Glendale was sentenced on Monday to a year and a day in prison. Kurt William Havelock, 36, was accused of bringing a semiautomatic rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition to a parking lot near University of Phoenix Stadium where pregame activities were happening. He also sent letters to major media outlets promising to be “swift and bloody.” Havelock didn’t attack, however, and he later turned himself in to Tempe police. He was found guilty in June of six counts of mailing threatening communications. Havelock, a former restaurant owner, told the FBI he was angry over the Tempe City Council’s rejection of his liquor license application, according to court documents. “I will not be bullied by the financial institutions and their puppet politicians,” Havelock wrote, according to an FBI complaint.
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