■BASKETBALL
Ex-player gets 18 months
Ex-National Basketball Association player Jayson Williams pled guilty and agreed to serve at least 18 months in jail for accidentally shooting his limousine driver to death. He pleaded guilty on Monday to an aggravated assault count for the 2002 death of Costas Christofi. Williams was awaiting a retrial on a reckless manslaughter charge. Williams told the judge that he failed to properly check a shotgun he was showing off to friends before snapping it closed. “I didn’t look in the direction the muzzle of the gun was pointed,” said Williams, who was charged with drinking and driving after smashing his car into a tree in New York last week. The aggravated assault charge includes a minimum 18-month sentence while he could have faced a maximum 10-year prison sentence on the earlier reckless manslaughter charge. Williams will serve 18 months in jail for the aggravated assault and up to five years for a previous conviction of trying to cover up the shooting. The sentences are to run concurrent meaning he will be eligible for parole after 18 months.
■FOOTBALL
Carroll to coach ’Hawks
Pete Carroll, coming off a brilliant run in charge of the University of Southern California (USC), agreed on Monday to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll, who previously coached the New York Jets and New England Patriots, spent the last nine years with USC, where he won seven consecutive Pac-10 titles (2002-08), two national titles and had a 97-19 record. He takes over from Jim Mora who was fired last week after leading Seattle to a 5-11 season in his one year at the helm.
■GOLF
Fake labels target Tiger
Gatorade says bootleg labels with a picture of Tiger Woods, the word “unfaithful” and the Gatorade name have been found on bottles in Colorado stores. Gatorade spokeswoman Karen May said on Monday the labels were fakes. She declined to say whether the bottles contained real Gatorade. She says the US Food and Drug Administration was investigating, but she declined to say whether any problems have been linked to the bottles. She says consumer safety is the company’s top concern. Gatorade sponsors Woods, who has taken an indefinite leave from golf after admitting to infidelity.
■SOCCER
Mourinho faces hearing
Inter boss Jose Mourinho faces a disciplinary hearing over an altercation with a journalist after a Serie A match last month, the Italian Football Federation said on Monday. The Portuguese coach has been charged with insulting the journalist and “gripping his forearms” following a 1-1 draw with Atalanta. Mourinho, whose side are eight points clear at the top of the table, has admitted verbally abusing the journalist but denied that there was physical contact. The 46-year-old said he snapped because the journalist had been standing by the team bus for months despite his protests.
■DAKAR RALLY
Sainz retains lead
Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar won the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally, cutting into the overall lead of Spain’s Carlos Sainz. In the motorbike category, Marc Coma of Spain won the 338km stage from Copiapo to La Serena, Chile. Al-Attiyah won in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 28 seconds, 5:59 ahead of Volkswagen teammate Sainz. Al-Attiyah’s victory cut Sainz’s overall lead to only 8:36 with five stages remaining. The rally ends on Saturday in Buenos Aires, where it began.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set