■POLL
Baseball still No. 1 sport
Despite World Cup fever all over the world, baseball is still Taiwan’s favorite sport, beating basketball into second place and soccer in third, according to the results of a survey released yesterday. Seventy-eight percent of Taiwanese office workers who responded to the survey — 57 percent of whom were women — said they pay attention to the World Cup. About 15 percent said their co-workers were enthusiastically discussing World Cup matches at the office. However, soccer was cited a favorite sport by only 19 percent, behind 37 percent who prefer baseball and 25 percent who follow basketball. Tennis ranked fourth, supported by 6 percent.
■SOCCER
City sign Yaya Toure
Manchester City have signed Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure from Barcelona, the English Premier League club said on Friday. The 28-year-old Toure, whose brother Kolo also plays for City, has agreed a five-year contract. The details of the transfer fee have not been disclosed. Yaya Toure is City’s second signing of the week, following Spain winger David Silva to Eastlands. “This is another fantastic signing,” City manager Roberto Mancini told the club’s Web site. “Everyone knows Yaya is a player that we have admired for a long time. He has played at the top level with Barcelona and I am sure his experience and ability will be very important for us.”
■SOCCER
Benayoun moves to Chelsea
Chelsea have signed Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun on a three-year deal, the Premier League champions said on Friday. The Israeli international, who made 134 appearances and scored 29 goals for Liverpool, is a replacement for England’s Joe Cole, who left the league and cup double winners last month after failing to agree a new contract. The fee was undisclosed, but media reports said Benayoun cost Chelsea about £6 million (US$9 million). “I am very excited to come to a club like Chelsea, it is a big club and I think it is a dream for every player. Hopefully we will be successful,” Benayoun told the team’s Web site.
■CRICKET
Proteas submit Benn charge
South Africa have asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take action against Sulieman Benn of the West Indies for incidents during the third and final Test in Bridgetown, Barbados. Tail-ender Dale Steyn was fined his entire match fee by the ICC for spitting in the direction of spin bowler Benn when he was dismissed on Monday. However, South Africa manager Mohammed Moosajee said on Friday his team had also laid a code of conduct charge against Benn. “Dale Steyn’s action was regrettable and he has apologized for it, but it came after lots of provocation and there was also retaliation after the incident,” Moosajee told a news conference as the squad arrived back in Johannesburg.
■SOFTBALL
US claim world title
The US defeated Japan 7-0 on Friday to claim their seventh straight world softball title and gain some revenge for their Olympic loss two years ago. The US team went undefeated in the tournament. Japan took the silver medal and Canada won bronze. The title will go some way toward making up for the team’s frustration at being denied the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. Japan denied the US a fourth Olympic gold from four appearances when they beat them 3-1 in Beijing. “It’s very sweet that it was Japan, and it was a knockout,” US manager Jay Miller said.
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