■GOLF
Sabbatini, Marino in lead
South African Rory Sabbatini shot a five-under 66 to snap out of a form slump and earn a share of the first round lead with American Steve Marino at the BMW Championship on Thursday. Sabbatini stumbled with a bogey at the first but notched five birdies in his last 12 holes to put two missed cuts at the first two PGA play-off events behind him. In-form Australian Marc Leishman and American Bo Van Pelt trail the leaders by a stroke, while Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington were among a large group two behind.
■GOLF
Hansen ahead by one stroke
Former winner Soren Hansen of Denmark fired a seven-under-par 65 on Thursday to lead the Mercedes Masters by a stroke. Hansen, the 2007 champion at Gut Larchenhof in Germany, picked up four shots in his last six holes with an eagle and two birdies, to edge in front of British youngster Chris Wood. Last year’s Ryder Cup debutant is on course to pick up 320,000 Cup points and also to vault into Europe’s money-list (Race to Dubai) top 15 who will share a US$10 million bonus pool at the end of the season.
■FOOTBALL
Camel protests against Vick
Philadelphia Eagles fans thirsty for predictions on whether their NFL team will win or lose each week won’t get them from a New Jersey camel. Princess, the star of Popcorn Park Zoo, won’t predict the results of any Eagles games this season to protest the signing of quarterback Michael Vick. Vick spent 18 months in prison for organizing a dogfighting ring. The 1,100kg camel was accurate in 17 of 21 games last year and correctly picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl. The zoo’s manager places a cracker in each hand, and writes the name of a competing team on each hand. Whichever hand Princess eats from is her “pick.” Meanwhile, a suburban Philadelphia animal welfare group, Main Line Animal Rescue, announced that it plans to donate dog food every time Vick is tackled.
■FOOTBALL
Accuser wants names
The lawyer for a woman who is accusing Ben Roethlisberger of rape is prepared to ask a Nevada court to compel the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback to name all the women he has had sex with, court documents show. Reno lawyer Cal Dunlap also said that if Roethlisberger’s request to waive court rules and speed up the evidence-gathering process is granted, he also should be given immediate access to the quarterback’s phone records, Internet communications, and names of any women who have claimed improper sexual conduct by the two-time Super Bowl winner. The possible demands were included in a lengthy motion filed late on Tuesday in Washoe District Court in Reno, Nevada.
■BOXING
Event expels Mongolia
Four officials of the Mongolia team were expelled from the world championships in Milan, Italy, on Thursday for allegedly trying to bribe a referee with a watch. The boxers, their coaches and doctor were allowed to stay to the end of the championships today, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) said. AIBA rules say gifts offered to a referee must be authorized. Gifts can be exchanged “only as a mark of respect or friendship” but must have a nominal value. AIBA spokesman Richard Baker said the Mongolian delegation violated the code by the manner in which the watch was offered, and because it hadn’t been cleared in advance by AIBA.
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