■BASEBALL
No guns in the clubhouse
Major League Baseball has a new message for players and employees this spring training: Keep guns, long knives and explosives out of the clubhouse. Signs have been placed in spring training locker rooms stating “individuals are prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB.” The rules apply to employees of the commissioner’s office, other central MLB businesses and to teams, including players. New MLB Players’ Association head Michael Weiner said the rules were put in place last season but the signs were not posted until now. Titled “Major League Baseball’s Weapon-Free Workplace Policy,” they say the MLB “shall prohibit the possession or use of deadly weapons in any facility or venue owned, operated, or controlled by it.” Included are “firearms, explosives, daggers, metal knuckles, switchblade knives, and knives having blades exceeding 5 inches.”
■SOCCER
F-Marinos eye Nakamura
Japan’s Yokohama F-Marinos have made a renewed approach to unsettled Espanyol midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese media reported yesterday. The 31-year-old snubbed his boyhood team in favor of Espanyol last June but has failed to establish himself in the Spanish top flight. Yokohama want to try again to lure Nakamura away from La Liga before the start of the J-League season on March 6. “It’s a delicate process,” Yokohama President Akira Kaetsu told the Sankei Sports newspaper. “We don’t have much time.” F-Marinos manager Kazushi Kimura said Nakamura could struggle to make an impact for Japan at this year’s World Cup if he did not get regular first-team soccer. “The situation needs to be sorted out quickly — for the player’s sake,” Kimura told the Nikkan Sports. “While he is not playing, he’s losing his match sharpness.”
■SOCCER
Hoffenheim rally for draw
Carlos Eduardo’s late penalty completed Hoffenheim’s comeback from two goals down in a 2-2 draw at home with Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Friday. The draw left both teams in the middle of the standings. Hoffenheim captain Per Nilsson gave away a penalty in the 30th minute when he handled the ball at the edge of the area and Filip Daems scored from the spot. Moenchengladbach’s second came after 51 minutes when Raul Bobadilla connected with a cross at the far post and headed toward the net. The ball was going inside but Roberto Colautti pushed it across the line, just in case. Hoffenheim did not give up and stepped up the pressure. Eduardo shook off Michael Bradley and played the ball square to Ibisevic, who slotted home to cut the deficit in the 69th. Moenchengladbach got a lucky break shortly afterward when the referee failed to spot Dante’s handling of the ball. In the 76th, Bradley had a point-blank attempt blocked by Hoffenheim goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. Hoffenheim got its penalty when Daems blocked Ibisevic’s cross with his arm and Eduardo drove the ball home in the 88th.
■SOCCER
Injury sidelines Drenthe
Real Madrid’s left-sided Dutch midfielder Royston Drenthe will be out for between two and three weeks with an injury to his left leg, the club announced on Friday. Drenthe, who can also play as a left-back, underwent scans following training on Friday. The scans revealed a muscle tear in his left leg that will require “two to three weeks” to fully heal, according to a Real medical bulletin.
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