■ARGENTINA
Maradona, a ladies’ man
Diego Maradona believes a passionate love of his team can help Argentina lift the World Cup — but he’ll always be a ladies’ man. After Argentina demolished South Korea 4-1 to move closer to the last 16 on Thursday, Maradona turned wide-eyed and left no doubt as to his thoughts on the matter. “I prefer women. I am dating Veronica, she is 31 years old, she is blonde, she is beautiful,” he said, causing an outburst of laughter at the post-match press conference. Maradona, who makes a point of kissing and hugging his players and coaches, is bidding to emulate Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer by winning the World Cup as both a player and a coach. The 49-year-old heaped praise on his side and said he makes sure all 23 of his “tough guys” are physically and mentally ready before each game, taking time to listen to their problems. “I am grateful to the players for the job they do, but that is it,” said the former midfield magician. “We have a great team here and we are all very frank and open. Whatever happens in the family, or if someone’s coming late to a training session, we talk about it openly. I believe talking about things is better than punishing someone or giving out a fine, players respond much better.”
■ENGLAND
Beckham takes tea with Tutu
David Beckham on Thursday told Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu he would have loved to play in the World Cup, but was in South Africa to support England and the tournament. “These things happen in life,” Beckham, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, said over a cup of tea while visiting the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, where Tutu signed three backpacks for the player’s children. “Although I would have loved to have played, I’m here to support my team and South Africa’s World Cup.” “I could hug you for doing that,” Tutu told him, in a statement released by his centre after the surprise visit. “You can’t put a monetary value on the goodwill you’ve shown here today. The world is a better place for people like you,” added the former archbishop of Cape Town.
■SWITZERLAND
Senderos out for two games
Defender Philippe Senderos has been ruled out of Switzerland’s next two World Cup matches after injuring his ankle during the game against Spain, the team’s spokesman Marco von Ah said on Thursday. Senderos limped out of the game in the 36th minute before the Swiss completed the biggest upset of the tournament with a 1-0 win over the European champions. “We know that Philippe will miss the next two games, but he will stay with the team,” von Ah said. “He had an X-ray in Johannesburg today [Thursday] and it showed that there are no broken bones, just a painful distortion of his ankle,” he added. Von Ah said the centerback had been downcast, fearing the worst. “He is feeling much better. He was really down last night, but the pictures from the X-ray proved to be encouraging,” von Ah said.
■IVORY COAST
Drogba set to face Brazil
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba is poised to face Brazil in tomorrow’s World Cup clash despite having broken his arm, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said on Thursday. “It wouldn’t be surprising if Drogba plays from the start against Brazil. He came on for 25 minutes against Portugal and it went well,” Eriksson said. Drogba underwent surgery on June 5 after fracturing his arm in a friendly against Japan.
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