BOXING
Reveco defends title
Argentina’s Juan Carlos Reveco achieved a unanimous points decision over Japan’s Masayuki Kuroda to defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title on Wednesday. Two judges scored it 117-111, while the other judge counted it 116-112 in favor of the defending champion. It was Reveco’s third defense of the title since he defeated Jean Piero Perez of Venezuela by a knockout to become the interim champion in June 2011. The 29-year-old Reveco, who became the full champion after his second defense, improved his record to 30 wins, including 16 KOs, against one defeat. It was the first attempt at a world title for Kuroda, ranked ninth in the WBA, who saw his record reduced to 21 wins, including 13 KOs, against four defeats and two draws.
BASEBALL
Singer strikes out
A singer struck out in a big way at Major League Baseball spring training, botching both the Canadian and US national anthems before an exhibition game. Jeff Fuller messed up the lyrics in O Canada and The Star-Spangled Banner before the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Fuller’s first attempt at the Canadian anthem went awry when he lost track of the words. With some fans booing and others cheering, the tenor started over again in the middle of the diamond, but forgot the words and stopped. Several Toronto players laughed, including third baseman Brett Lawrie, who is a Canadian citizen. Fuller then began The Star-Spangled Banner and mixed up the words. He kept going and finished.
ICE HOCKEY
Juniors’ coach goes to jail
A Vancouver junior hockey coach has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for tripping a player during a postgame handshake. Martin Tremblay swept out the leg of an opposing player while the teams were going through the typical hockey ritual of lining up to shake hands after the game. Two players, a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old, fell to the ice. The move was caught on video and worked its way around the Internet. The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of assault in November last year. Richmond provincial court Judge Patrick Chen sentenced Tremblay to jail, saying he was not satisfied that time served in the community was enough to denounce or deter the man for his actions.
BASKETBALL
Hibbert, Lee suspended
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and Golden State Warriors forward David Lee were suspended one game by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Wednesday for an altercation that spilled into the stands. The NBA announced the bans in a statement one day after the pair got into a shoving match late in the fourth quarter, triggering a fight that involved several members of both teams. The NBA also said Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, have each been fined US$35,000 for escalating the altercation in Indiana.
SOCCER
Nagatomo hurts ligaments
Inter defender Yuto Nagatomo’s season could be over after the Serie A club confirmed the Japanese had damaged ligaments in his knee. Nagatomo limped off during their 1-1 draw with AC Milan on Sunday and underwent tests in midweek. Inter did not say for how long Nagatomo would be sidelined, although it is believed recovery from the injury would take between several weeks and several months.
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