■SOCCER
Ronaldo wins libel case
Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo won “substantial” libel damages on Monday over a newspaper report saying he went on a drink-fueled “bender” in a Hollywood nightclub. The Daily Mirror reported in July last year that Ronaldo, who says he does not drink alcohol, had gone on a drinking binge despite the fact that he was on crutches, recovering from an ankle operation. Under the headline “Ron the Lash,” it said that the then-Manchester United player had spent £10,000 (US$16,600) on champagne and vodka for friends and models, having drunk four glasses of red wine himself earlier in the evening. Ronaldo’s lawyer said that, although Ronaldo was in the nightclub, he did not drink any alcohol while there.
■OLYMPICS
Torch enters Arctic
The Olympic flame began its first trek through the Canadian Arctic by crossing paths with a polar bear on the shores of Hudson Bay, media said on Monday. The Olympic torch run across Canada stopped briefly to let the bear pass on Sunday while en route from the airport to the polar bear capital of Churchill, Manitoba, broadcaster CTV said. The relay is the longest in Olympic Games history and day 10 — Sunday — was the nearest the torch ever got to the North Pole.
■BASEBALL
Igarashi aims for majors
Japanese pitcher Ryota Igarashi of the Yakult Swallows filed for free agency on Monday, saying he wants to play in the US major leagues. A total of 87 players in Japan’s professional leagues became eligible for free agency on Monday. Japanese players must wait nine seasons before becoming free agents to test the market abroad or eight seasons to change teams within Japan. Igarashi, a 30-year-old right-hander used primarily for relief, went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.19 ERA in 56 games this season. His best season was 2004 when he had 37 saves and 86 strikeouts.
■HOCKEY
Five inducted into Hall
National Hockey League legends Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. The new class featured players who stretched their careers into the era beyond the lockout that wiped out the 2005 Stanley Cup final receiving their honors at the former bank building in Toronto now turned into a sport shrine.
■BASKETBALL
Kareem battling leukemia
In addition to his signature sky hook and a legacy of winning at every level, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was known for his stamina and fitness. During a 20-year NBA career that included six championships and six Most Valuable Player awards, Abdul-Jabbar had only one serious injury, a broken wrist. So the news on Monday that the 62-year-old star athlete turned writer and coach was battling leukemia came as a stunning revelation. “Imagine how I felt,” he said in an interview in Manhattan. “It was frightening. You hear the word leukemia and it’s something that really affects you.” Abdul-Jabbar had a grandfather and an uncle who died from the disease. “And my father almost died,” he said, “so it’s something that really got me going.” Abdul-Jabbar learned in December that he has chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in which the body produces cancerous white blood cells. Myeloid refers to the type of white blood cell being overproduced.
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