BASKETBALL
Players donate to charity
National Basketball Association (NBA) club owners and players combined to donate US$1 million to the American Red Cross and other organizations assisting in the recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The league will also air messages at games and during NBA telecasts to encourage contributions to humanitarian agencies aiding those coping with the aftermath of the killer superstorm that devastated New York and New Jersey. “Many homes and lives were devastated by Hurricane Sandy and our thoughts, abiding concerns and hopes are with all those affected,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Our teams and players are partnering with the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to support the relief efforts to help families and communities recover.”
BASEBALL
Marlins name new manager
Mike Redmond was named the new manager of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins on Thursday, returning to a team that he helped to a World Series title as a catcher back in 2003. Redmond was signed to a three-year deal to replace Ozzie Guillen, who was fired on Oct. 23 after one year in the post. The Marlins went 69-93 last season in a disappointing first campaign in a new downtown ballpark. “congrats mike redmond for u new job good luck buddy u have great guys going to play for you,” Guillen posted on his Twitter account. “hope the best for you u are a good baseball man and you will have fun with the players.” Redmond, 41, was signed by the Marlins 20 years ago as a free agent and spent his first seven major league seasons from 1998 through 2004 with the Marlins. In 13 career major league seasons, Redmond batted .287 with 13 home runs and batted in 243 runs for the Marlins, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians.
FOOTBALL
Patriots acquire Talib
Aqib Talib, an NFL cornerback serving a four-game doping suspension, was sent from Tampa Bay to the New England Patriots on Thursday just ahead of the league’s trade deadline. The Buccaneers received a fourth-round choice in this year’s NFL Draft in exchange for Talib, a 26-year-old who admitted using the performance-enhancing substance Adderall in violation of the NFL’s drug policy. Talib has made 18 interceptions, four of them returned for touchdowns, in 58 NFL games since being taken 20th overall in the 2008 NFL draft. He was also indicted by a grand jury last year in Texas for felony assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly firing a gun at his sister’s boyfriend, charges that were later dropped for lack of evidence. Talib, who was arrested by Florida police in 2009 after a dispute with a taxicab driver, had made 21 tackles and intercepted one pass before his ban.
BOXING
Holyfield seeks injunction
Evander Holyfield is asking a federal judge to stop an upcoming auction of some of his boxing memorabilia, including an Olympic bronze medal and gloves he wore to fight Mike Tyson. Holyfield’s lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles seeks an order blocking the sale of 20 out of almost 450 items that Julien’s Auctions plans to sell this month. Julien’s Auctions CEO Darren Julien says his company has worked for months to organize a world-class auction of Holyfield’s memorabilia and other items. He says the company had approval from Holyfield to list the items for sale and has already advanced him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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