■CRICKET
Zimbabwe top Kenya in ODI
Zimbabwe beat Kenya by 66 runs to secure a fourth consecutive victory in their one-day international series in Nairobi on Sunday after some punishing displays by batsmen Forster Mutizwa and Hamilton Masakadza. Masakadza opened up with a 58-run knock which included eight fours off 56 balls, while Mutizwa rounded off the Zimbabwe innings with 61 as the visitors rattled up a total of 285-8 off 50 overs at Nairobi’s Gymkhana Club Ground. Kenya replied with a fighting 219 all out, thanks to an outstanding unbeaten 96 from batsmen Alex Obanda. The five-match ODI series finishes at the Gymkhana Club Ground tomorrow.
■CYCLING
Wiggins takes yellow jersey
Bradley Wiggins of Britain took the yellow jersey and his team, Garmin Slipstream, won the time trial in Doha on Sunday on the opening day of the Tour of Qatar. Wiggins finished the 6km race in six minutes, 34 seconds. Seventeen teams are taking part in the six-day race, which ends on Friday.
■GOLF
Perry wins FBR Open title
US Ryder Cup player Kenny Perry survived a scare on Sunday, winning at the third playoff hole to top Charley Hoffman for the title at the US$6 million FBR Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. Perry had a chance to win in regulation but bogeyed from a bunker at the 72nd hole for a 69 that saw him join Hoffman (67) on 14-under 270. Perry salvaged the win with a 20-foot birdie putt at the third hole of sudden death, the par-four 17th. “Those are the putts you think about when you’re a kid — you’re on the putting green saying, ‘This is to win the Masters’ or whatever, and I finally made one. It took me a long time to do it,” Perry said.
Perry, 48, captured his 13th USPGA Tour title. Three of them came last year as he played his way onto the US Ryder Cup team that triumphed over Europe in September in his native Kentucky.
■RUGBY UNION
Dan Carter’s season finished
All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter was on Sunday ruled out for the rest of the French season because of an Achilles tendon injury, having played just five matches for Perpignan. “It is a partial tear of the Achilles tendon, which means he will be unavailable for around six months,” spokesman Benoit Brazes said. The 26-year-old Carter, who was signed by the Catalan club on a lucrative six-month deal worth a reported 35,000 euros (US$45,000) a match was hurt in Saturday’s 13-13 draw with Stade Francais. His brief stay with the French side, which began in December, was plagued by injury and his time on the pitch amounted to just 361 playing minutes.
■BASEBALL
Caribbean Series opens
San Diego Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez was to lead Mexico against the winter league champions of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela in the annual Caribbean Series that began in Mexicali, Mexico, yesterday. Gonzalez won the Mexican winter league tournament with Mazatlan’s Venados and the team is seeking its second Caribbean Series title. “I came to have a good time with my teammates,” said Gonzalez, who led the Padres with 36 home runs and 119 RBI’s in 2008. The Dominican Republic’s Licey Tigers are the defending champions. Licey is the all-time leader with 10 Caribbean tittles, and the Dominican Republic leads all countries with 17 crowns.
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