SOCCER
Brazil boss takes leave
Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira, who has been dogged by allegations of corruption, has temporarily stepped down, citing health reasons, a Brazilian soccer official said on Thursday. Teixeira has been president since 1989 and is also in charge of the organization of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He will be replaced by his vice president, 79-year-old Jose Maria Marin, a former governor of Sao Paulo State. Teixeira, 64, has faced accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars worth of bribes in the 1990s from the ISL Swiss company that later went bankrupt, and also that he diverted public funds from a friendly match played by Brazil in 2008.
CRICKET
Dravid retires to IPL
India batting great and former skipper Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday, saying it was the right time to “move on” and make way for the next generation of players. The 39-year-old second-highest run scorer in Test history announced his decision at a news conference in Bangalore. Dravid has scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, including 36 hundreds, and became the first of India’s senior batsmen to retire from the longer format after the team slumped to eight consecutive Test defeats away from home. Dravid will continue to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament, where he will lead the Rajasthan Royals, replacing the retired Shane Warne as captain of the franchise.
SOCCER
Johnson drunk at practice
Wolves captain Roger Johnson was barred from first-team training after turning up drunk for a practice session, it was reported on Thursday. The Daily Telegraph said the 28-year-old defender was ordered to train with the club’s development squad after Wolves manager Terry Connor was made aware that he was under the influence of alcohol. Johnson, who was fined two weeks’ wages following the incident, issued a short statement apologizing for his behavior. The incident occurred on Monday, with several of Johnson’s teammates remonstrating with him over his condition. Interim manager Connor said Thursday he had no plans to strip Johnson of the club captaincy.
GOLF
Lyle’s leukemia recurs
Jarrod Lyle has had a recurrence of leukemia at home in Australia, just as the 30-year-old is preparing to become a father for the first time. Robert Allenby supports a cancer program in Australia where Lyle once was a patient. Allenby said he received word on Thursday morning that Lyle had a recurrence and was to start chemotherapy as soon as possible. Allenby said Lyle’s wife was due to deliver their first child in a few weeks, but she was being induced immediately. This is Lyle’s fifth year on the PGA Tour. Three weeks ago, he tied for fifth at Riviera to match his best finish on the PGA Tour.
SOCCER
Conte banned for one game
Juventus coach Antonio Conte received a one-game ban on Thursday following his sending off during Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw at Bologna. Conte was sent to the stands for complaining during the second half of the game, when he felt his team should have been awarded a penalty after Paolo De Ceglie went down in the box. Center-back Leonardo Bonucci, who was dismissed late on for picking up two yellow cards, has also been hit with a one-game suspension.
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