After eight rounds of play, the Taipei Victory 6 soccer tournament is taking shape with unbeaten Taipei City six points clear of the chasing pack.
Victory in City’s next match coupled with anything other than a win for the second-placed Red Lions would seal the inaugural title for City.
At the other end of the table, Feral Badgers, a team formed by placing a plea for players on a notice board at league sponsor On Tap Bar & Restaurant, are almost certain favorites for the wooden spoon without a single point to their name, but captain Matthew Wharton is taking the positives from improving performances, including holding the Red Lions to 2-2 at halftime on Wednesday night.
However, fitness training could hold the key to future success after they eventually caved in 8-3.
Also on Wednesday, Badgers Asses were trounced 8-1 by Taipei City, while Carnegies edged Shane 5-3.
The golden boot is a much closer affair with Shane’s Zack Paruch currently the league’s leading scorer with 15 goals. City’s Alex Ramirez is in close pursuit with 12, while both Dan Calvert of Carnegies and the Lions’ Thomas Costa are still in with a shout on 11 apiece.
Victory 6’s is Taiwan’s first six-a-side soccer league for men, organized by Master Football Academy together with sponsors Carlsberg and On Tap. Games are played every Wednesday night at Yingfeng Sports Park in Taipei, next to Dazhi Bridge, where all levels of players are welcome to come and enjoy a game.
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