SOCCER
Kaohsiung to host games
The Long Term Cup kicks off at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung today at 4:30pm when Hong Kong take on the Philippines, before hosts Taiwan face Macau in the second match at 7pm. Entrance is free to those taking along five till receipts, which will be donated to the Eden Foundation. The CTFA will also be giving away 500 national team shirts starting at 6pm. The four-team tournament continues on Sunday, when Macau play Hong Kong at 4:30pm and Taiwan face the Philippines at 7pm, and on Tuesday, when the Philippines face Macau at 4:30pm and the hosts wrap up the tournament against Hong Kong at 7pm.
SOCCER
Anzhi fires coach Gadzhi
Russian premier league team Anzhi Makhachkala have fired their coach Gadzhi Gadzhiyev after a string of disappointing results. A brief statement from the team yesterday did not state the reason for the dismissal of Gadzhiyev, who took the helm last year. Anzhi attracted worldwide attention last month when they signed Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o from Inter for a reported sum of nearly US$29 million per season, which would make him the world’s best-paid player. However, Anzhi’s performance since Eto’o joined the team has been poor, with just one win from their last six matches.
CRICKET
Samuels cleared to bowl
The West Indies were given a boost yesterday ahead of their Bangladesh tour when all-rounder Marlon Samuels was cleared to bowl by the sport’s world governing body. The off-spinner, a key member of the West Indies Test, one-day and Twenty20 squads for the tour, had been suspended from bowling after being reported for a suspect action in 2008. The International Cricket Council (ICC) said an independent test had found Samuels’ action to be legal following significant remedial work and that he could resume bowling. The independent analysis was performed by Bruce Elliott, a member of the ICC’s panel of human movement specialists, at the University of Western Australia, Perth, this month. However, the spinner’s action will continue to be scrutinized by match officials to ensure it remains legal, the ICC statement added. Samuels, currently in Dubai with the West Indies team for a one-week camp ahead of the Bangladesh tour, said he was pleased to know he could resume bowling in international cricket.
SOCCER
S Korean club apologizes
A South Korean K-League club has apologized to the people of Japan after its fans displayed a banner that made light of the country’s earthquake and tsunami disaster. “We extend our sincere apology to Japanese people and football fans,” Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors said in a statement on its Web site. A paper banner reading “Let’s celebrate Japan’s big earthquake” in Japanese was hung from the stands occupied by Jeonbuk supporters during Tuesday’s Asian Champions League quarter-final second leg against Japan’s Cerezo Osaka. The banner was removed about 20 minutes into the game in the southwestern city of Jeonju after Cerezo lodged a complaint with the organizers. The Japanese club sent a letter of complaint to the Asian Football Confederation. Jeonbuk beat Cerezo 6-1 to reach the semi-finals. “We believe it was done by an indiscreet spectator, not by our supporters,” Jeonbuk spokesman Son Ji-hoon said, adding that his club plans to refer the case to prosecutors.
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