■BASEBALL
IBAF to lobby for women
The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) has formed an 11-member panel to push its case for inclusion of women’s baseball in the Olympics. The women’s baseball committee is headed by Donna Lopiano, the former CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation in the US, and includes members from Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Nigeria, India, Cuba, Portugal, Australia and South Korea. The move is a central part of the IBAF’s bid to get baseball reinstated as an Olympic sport for the 2016 Games. Baseball and softball were dropped from the Olympics for the 2012 London Games in a vote by the International Olympic Committee in 2005.
■BASEBALL
MLB suspends Zambrano
Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano was given a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine on Thursday for throwing a temper tantrum after being ejected from Wednesday’s game against the visiting Pirates. Zambrano was ejected by umpire Mark Carlson after boisterously arguing a call at the plate in the seventh inning of a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh. He thought he had tagged out Nyjer Morgan at home trying to score from third base on a wild pitch, but the umpire ruled Morgan safe making it 2-2 at the time. After being thrown out of the game, the Cubs pitcher hurled a baseball into left field, flung away his glove and took a bat to a soft-drink machine dispenser in the Cubs’ dugout on his way to the clubhouse.
■BASEBALL
Aussie pitcher may return
Australian pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith threw five scoreless innings in his second rehabilitation start with the Seattle Mariners’ minor league affiliate on Thursday. Rowland-Smith, who impressed when converted from a reliever to starting pitcher in the second half of a disappointing Mariners season last year, struck out three batters while throwing 81 pitches for Tacoma Rainiers against the Nashville Sounds. He staked the Rainiers to a 5-0 lead before leaving, and Tacoma eventually won 5-3 in the Pacific Coast League. The left-hander has been on the disabled list with tightness and fluid in his pitching elbow since his only start of the season, April 10 at Oakland, California. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu has said he expects Rowland-Smith to return to the rotation early next month.
■GOLF
Four Aussies banned
The Asian Tour has rejected appeals from four Australian golfers and banned them for the rest of the season after they played on the rival OneAsia Tour at the Volvo China Open. Jason King, Chris Gaunt, Brad Kennedy and Ashley Hall were also hit with a maximum US$5,000 fine. They were penalized for opting to play the China Open without getting an official release from the Asian Tour, of which they are members. All other Asian Tour players, except those who qualified through the European Tour, boycotted the event amid an ongoing row over OneAsia’s emergence.
■FORMULA ONE
Fuji may give up Grand Prix
Toyota’s Fuji Speedway circuit is considering giving up next year’s Formula One Japanese Grand Prix to cut costs. A spokesman for Toyota said yesterday that Fuji were weighing up their options as motor racing continued to feel the pinch of the global economic crisis. Honda pulled its team out of Formula One last December, while Subaru and Suzuki quit the world rally championship and bike maker Kawasaki scrapped its MotoGP team.
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