■GERMANY
Hoffenheim held at Cologne
Third-placed TSG 1899 Hoffenheim missed a chance to close in on the Bundesliga leaders after having to settle for a 1-1 draw at Cologne on Friday. Cologne captain Lukas Podolski fired the hosts into the lead with a left-footed drive as Hoffenheim failed to create any meaningful chances in the first half. Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick then switched to a risky second-half formation, leaving just two defenders at the back, and the move paid off almost instantly. Demba Ba stunned Cologne goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon with a shot from the edge of the area to equalize in the 54th minute. However, apart from a Vedad Ibisevic chance a few minutes later, the visitors’ attacks quickly fizzled out and Cologne, who had hit the post in the first half, looked more likely winners. Cologne’s Martin Lanig wasted their best chance to clinch all three points 12 minutes from time, firing at well-placed goalkeeper Tom Starke from close range.
■TOGO
Two officials detained
Two members of Togo’s interim soccer federation have been detained on suspicion of being involved with the fake national team that played an unsanctioned match against Bahrain this month, a security official said on Friday. Meanwhile, former Togo coach Tchanile Bana — who was banned for his role as the organizer behind the scandal — is now “on the run,” said Colonel Damehane Yark, commander of the Togolese National Paramilitary Gendarmerie. Yark said federation officials Antoine Folly and Doucoure Mamadou had been held for questioning on Friday following a dawn raid. Folly was a member of the disciplinary commission investigating the Sept. 7 game and Mamadou is a special assistant to the federation’s president. The pair are suspected of being behind fake documents sent to the Bahrain Football Association to set up the match, Yark said.
■ENGLAND
Spurs set to sign Khumalo
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp said on Friday that the English Premier League side were hopeful of concluding a £1.5 million (US$2.4 million) deal for South Africa’s World Cup defender Bongani Khumalo. The 23-year-old had a trial at White Hart Lane and is expected to move from South African league side Supersports when the transfer window opens in January. “We’re in the process of doing a deal for him. He’s not expensive. We had him over on trial and we like him. He’s got potential and we’ve got a tie up with the club Supersports, so we’ve taken him on,” Redknapp said. Khumalo, who was born in Swaziland, scored during this summer’s World Cup win over France. His arrival will be a significant boost to Redknapp, who has seen Michael Dawson join fellow centerback Jonathan Woodgate on the long-term injury list.
■ENGLAND
Best’s awards up for auction
George Best’s 1968 European Cup winners’ medal will go under the auctioneer’s hammer along with a collection of the Manchester United and Northern Ireland midfielder’s other awards next month. Bonhams, who will auction the collection on Oct. 20 under instruction from the executors of Best’s estate, said the guide price for the medal would be between £90,000 and £120,000. Best, who died aged 59 in 2005 after a long battle with drink and its associated health problems, was part of the United team that became the first English side to win the European Cup with a 4-1 win over Benfica. The total amount expected to be raised is estimated at about £270,000.
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