BASKETBALL
Butler out with knee injury
Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler underwent right knee surgery on Tuesday to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon and is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season, the team announced. Losing the 30-year-old playmaker will be a major blow for the Mavericks, who are 25-8 and second in the Western Conference to Southwest division rival and overall NBA leader San Antonio. Butler, who suffered the injury in a loss on Saturday in Milwaukee, has averaged 15 points to rank third in team scoring and also contributed 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in almost 30 minutes a game for Dallas this season. In messages posted on his Twitter account from the hospital, Butler was optimistic about the Mavericks’ chances for success even without him. “Championship! Remember that fans that’s what its about and we have what it take in that lockeroom to get it done,” Butler posted on Twitter.
BASEBALL
Price wins Spahn award
Tampa Bay’s David Price was on Tuesday named the winner of the Warren Spahn Award as the top left-handed pitcher in the major leagues last season. The award is based on a pitcher’s wins, strikeouts and earned run average. Price had 19 victories, 188 strikeouts and a 2.72 ERA last year. “I am honored,” Price (19-6) told major league baseball’s official Web site (www.mlb.com). “To be included in a group with the past winners — CC Sabathia, Randy Johnson and others — is very exciting.” Hall of Famer Spahn, who died in 2003, holds the major league record for victories by a left-hander with 363.
BASEBALL
Scout charged with fraud
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have accused a scout of fraud and of falsifying documents to obtain professional contracts for talented players. Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the arrest of Victor Baez is part of a new push to investigate scouts they say are selling false hopes to young players. Baez has for many years run a well-known development program for local standouts that have gone on to play in the US.
RUGBY UNION
Dafydd Jones retires
Wales flanker Dafydd Jones has retired from rugby union after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, the Scarlets, the back-row’s club, announced on Tuesday. Jones was injured during Wales’ international against New Zealand in November 2009 and subsequently underwent two operations. However, the 31-year-old, capped 42 times by his country, has now decided to retire from rugby after consulting specialists following 13 seasons with the Llanelli-based Scarlets. “This has been a really tough time for me and my family,” Jones said in a statement issued by his club. “It’s a very hard decision to retire from rugby, which has been the sport and career I’ve known and loved since I was a teenager. All my efforts have gone into playing rugby for the Scarlets and for Wales, and I am very proud of and enjoyed everything I have done. It has taken a while to sink in that I’m not actually going to be playing any more, but the decision was really made for me as the medics said there was no way back from the damage caused by the injury.” Scarlets coach Nigel Davies added: “Dafydd has been a trusted, committed and respected senior member of this Scarlets squad and a loyal servant to our team for over a decade.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two