SOCCER
Mechelen held by Leuven
Taiwan international Xavier Chen’s KV Mechelen were held 2-2 at home by OH Leuven on Boxing Day. Jordan Remacle opened the scoring for the visitors 12 minutes after a mix-up between Chen and fellow defender Boris Pandza, but David Destorme pulled one back for the hosts after 29 minutes and the sides went in at halftime level. Leuven went ahead again a minute after the break when Derick Ogbu converted, but Destorme added a second for Mechelen in the 71st minute to grab a share of the points. Mechelen remain in 10th place in the Belgian Jupiler League, while Leuven are 11th. Chen played the full 90 minutes.
BASEBALL
Cubs sign right-handers
The Chicago Cubs bolstered their bullpen by signing right-handers Manny Corpas and Andy Sonnanstine to one-year contracts, the Major League Baseball team said on Monday. Sonnanstine, who spent all or parts of the last five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, has a career record of 28-31 with one save and a 5.26 earned-run average. His best season was in 2008, when he was 13-9 in 32 starts, helping Tampa win the American League Championship. Corpas, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, has spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies posting a record of 12-16 with 34 saves and 51 holds in all or part of five Major League seasons.
FOOTBALL
Peterson out for season
The Minnesota Vikings hope to have running back Adrian Peterson, who tore two ligaments in his left knee in a game on Saturday, back early in next year’s NFL season, coach Leslie Frazier said on Monday. “I’m pretty optimistic that’s a realistic goal,” Frazier said in a press conference at the team’s headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The team’s head athletic trainer, Eric Sugarman, said Peterson had already begun rehabilitation aimed at reducing swelling to prepare for surgery within a fortnight. Typically, he said, recovery time is eight to nine months and, like Frazier, he said he expected Peterson’s work ethic to see him through the difficult rehabilitation. “I think if anyone can get better quickly and safely in that time period, it would be Adrian Peterson,” Sugarman said. In September, Peterson signed a US$100 million seven-year contract extension. He was hurt when he was hit during the Vikings 33-26 victory over Washington.
RUGBY UNION
Sharks make play-offs
Nick Macleod kicked the Sale Sharks back into the Premiership play-off places as his impressive efforts inspired a 27-19 win over the bottom-of-the-table Newcastle Falcons on Monday. Sale had taken a 16-0 lead after 24 minutes through three Macleod penalties and a converted Tom Brady try, but Newcastle mounted a comeback. After Macleod and Jimmy Gopperth had traded further three-pointers, substitute Jeremy Manning went over to reduce the gap to 19-10 at halftime. Gopperth continued to boot the Falcons back into the game and narrowed the gap to three points before England wing Mark Cueto touched down to effectively seal the win. In the other Boxing Day game, Jonny May and Olly Morgan both scored two tries as Gloucester demolished Wasps 39-10 at Kingsholm. Gloucester thrilled a packed stadium with a dynamic display and Wasps had no answers to the power of the Gloucester pack and the potency of their backs. As well as Morgan and May’s four tries, Luke Narraway and Henry Trinder crossed for Gloucester.
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