■BASEBALL
Mexico remain unbeaten
Raul Rojas hit a two-run homer and got five outs on the mound to finish a one-hitter, helping Reynosa of Mexico beat Chiba City of Japan 6-0 to advance at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Unbeaten Mexico will face Willemstad of Curacao or Taoyuan of Taiwan in the international final tomorrow. Taiwan faced Willemstad in yesterday’s semi-final. San Antonio of Texas beat Staten Island of New York 4-1 to reach the US final. Georgia and California were to meet yesterday to decide the other berth.
■SOCCER
Player chokes on gum
A Vasco da Gama player ended up in hospital after colliding with an opponent and choking on his chewing gum during a second-division match in Brazil. Striker Aloisio lost consciousness for a few moments as he collapsed after challenging for the ball in the second half of Vasco’s 1-0 win over Brasiliense at the Boca do Jacare stadium in Brasilia on Tuesday. Doctors said he sustained a head injury and stopped breathing momentarily as the chewing gum obstructed his airways. Doctors rushed on to the field and an ambulance came on to the pitch to take the striker to hospital. “I don’t remember a lot,” Aloisio told local media on Wednesday. “I only remember the doctor taking the gum out. I have never been scared like this — no more chewing gum for me.”
■SOCCER
Gay group rebukes Lippi
Italy coach Marcello Lippi was rebuked by one of Italy’s leading gay associations on Wednesday for saying two members of the national team could not have an open homosexual relationship. “Why, dear Lippi, couldn’t soccer players openly experience gay love when they show their flirts with every type of showgirl in front of every TV camera?” said a statement on the Arcigay association’s Web site. The 2006 World Cup winning coach had made his comments in an interview with Swiss media expert and journalist Klaus Davi published at www.youtube.com/klauscondicio.
■CRICKET
Afghanistan seize victory
Four months after securing one-day international status, Afghanistan on Wednesday celebrated their maiden first-class victory with a one-wicket victory over the Netherlands. In the four-day match in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, part of the Intercontinental Cup tournament, Afghanistan began the final day needing 168 to win, with eight wickets to spare, and reached their target when Samiullah Shenwari smashed Mudassar Bukhari for a boundary. In a low-scoring, rain-affected match, the Dutch were bowled out for 181 in their first innings with Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi grabbing four wickets each. Afghanistan were dismissed for just 107 with Nowroz Mangal top-scoring with 41 before the Dutch were then bowled out for 132 in their second innings. This time, Shapoor Zadran and Mirwais Ashraf claimed four wickets each.
■BOXING
UK’s Woods eyes title
Britain’s Clinton Woods will try to reclaim the vacant International Boxing Federation light heavyweight crown tonight in a 12-round matchup with unbeaten US contender Tavoris Cloud in Hollywood, Florida. Woods, 42-4 with one drawn and 24 knockouts, might face his last title bid if he cannot handle home-state hero Cloud, 19-0 with 18 knockouts.
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