■BASEBALL
Puerto Rico beats Venezuela
Puerto Rico’s Indios de Mayaguez defeated Venezuela’s Leones del Caracas 7-1 in Margarita Island, Venezuela, on Saturday to send the title chase for the Caribbean Series into the final day. A victory by Venezuela would have clinched the title for the Dominican Republic’s Leones del Escogido, which defeated Mexico’s Naranjeros de Hermosillo 7-2 earlier in the day. The Dominicans are 4-1 and could clinch the title by beating the Venezuelans (1-4) yesterday. If the Dominicans were to lose, Puerto Rico (3-2) could force a playoff game today by beating the Mexican club. Brodie Downs pitched four strong opening innings for Indios with outstanding relief by Efrain Nieves and Juan Padilla. Nieves got the victory.
■FOOTBALL
New blood in Hall of Fame
Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, two record-setting offensive powerhouses, were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday in their first year of eligibility. Also elected on the eve of the Super Bowl were Russ Grimm, John Randle, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. Rice, 47, owns virtually every significant receiving record, including receptions (1,549) and yards (22,895), and has scored more touchdowns (208) than anyone. Smith, 40, rushed for a record 18,355 yards during his 15 NFL seasons, most of them spent with the Dallas Cowboys.
■SKIING
Austrian jumper victorious
Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer captured his eighth World Cup ski jumping victory of the season in Willengen, Germany, on Saturday, winning the final individual event before the Vancouver Olympics. Schlierenzauer had the longest jump of the day in the first session in Willingen of 142.5m before finishing off his 32nd World Cup win of his career with a jump of 137.5m for a score of 273.7 points. Norway’s Anders Jacobsen finished second with 269 points while German Michael Neumayer was third with 264.5 points. The top eight in the World Cup overall standings remained the same with absent Simon Ammann of Switzerland still top with 1,249 points.
■GOLF
Dubai lead shared by many
Briton Lee Westwood, Thai Thongchai Jaidee and Spaniards Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alvaro Quiros shared the lead after the Dubai Desert Classic third round on Saturday. Defending Dubai champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland birdied the last to end the day in fifth place, two shots adrift on nine under par on the Emirates Club course. Westwood moved into position for a first win of the season, just over two months since he captured the Dubai World Championship and a second European number one crown. Westwood, 36, carded a four-under-par 68 that included three birdies in a five-hole run from the 11th hole.
■GOLF
Stricker clears five shots
Steve Stricker moved five shots clear at the rain-hit Northern Trust Open in Pacific Palisades, California, on Saturday before third round play was suspended because of darkness at Riviera Country Club. Stricker was four-under par through 14 holes before play was suspended. On a combined 14-under, Stricker leads Luke Donald, JB Holmes and Andres Romero by five shots. Romero, playing in the same group as Stricker, was 1-under through 14. Donald and Holmes were able to finish their rounds, Donald carding a five-under 66 and Holmes a 67.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite