ICE HOCKEY
Swedes land title
Sweden became the first home team to win the world championships in 27 years, beating Switzerland 5-1 in the final on Sunday with Henrik Sedin scoring twice. Simon Hjalmarrson, Erik Gustafsson and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Swedes. The Soviet Union were the last team to win the worlds at home, in 1986. Switzerland’s silver is their first medal at the world championships in 60 years. It was the Swiss’ sole loss in this year’s tournament after nine previous wins, with only one in overtime. Switzerland opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the first period, with defenseman Romas Josi skating around several players from the blue line and sending the puck past goaltender Jhonas Enroth. Sweden equalized four minutes later through Gustafsson, and the home team dominated from then on. In the match for bronze the US won a shootout to beat Finland 3-2.
CYCLING
Van Garderen wins race
Tejay van Garderen, fifth in last year’s Tour de France, captured the eighth Tour of California cycling race on Sunday, sealing his first career stage-race triumph in the final stage. Slovakia’s Peter Sagan won the eighth and final stage, his second stage win of the week after capturing the third leg, while Van Garderen won the overall title in a total time of 29 hours and 43 minutes. Australia’s Michael Rogers was second overall, 1:47 back, with Colombia’s Janier Acevedo third. BMC rider Van Garderen, a 24-year-old American, continued a superb start to the year that has seen him finish fourth in the Paris-Nice and second at the Tour de San Luis ahead of his breakthrough victory. “It’s a big relief. It’s a weight off my shoulders, a monkey off my back,” Van Garderen said. “Hopefully this gets the ball rolling and we get a few more.” The triumph came shortly he became a father with the birth of his baby daughter. “Maybe becoming a daddy was the difference,” van Garderen said. “I’m a bit more relaxed and a bit more mature. I just had to be patient.”
SOCCER
Porto champs in Portugal
FC Porto captured their 27th Portuguese league title on Sunday after beating Pacos de Ferreira 2-0. It was also a third championship in a row and ninth in 11 years. A Lucho Gonzalez penalty in the 23rd minute and a 51st-minute strike from Jackson Martinez secured the title. SL Benfica beat Moreirense 3-1 to finish second, one point behind their bitter rivals. Pacos were third, but 23 points behind Benfica. “It’s a victory for the best team. I am proud of the players’ character,” Porto coach Vitor Pereira said. “FC Porto are a quality team who believe in themselves. We are deserving winners.”
SOCCER
Lyon snatch valuable point
Ten-man Olympique Lyonnais edged closer to Champions League soccer next season as they came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw at OGC Nice on Sunday. Lyon now lead Saint-Etienne by two points in the race for third place with just one game left. LOSC Lille Metropole and OGC Nice are still in with a chance as they sit another point further back. Argentine Dario Cvitanich gave the hosts the lead from the spot, but Lyon equalized through Clement Grenier just three minutes after seeing Maxime Gonalons dismissed for a second booking. Lyon host mid-table Stade Rennais in their final game while Saint-Etienne travel to Lille. Due to a vastly inferior goal difference, Nice, who travel to AC Ajaccio, have next to no chance of snatching third place.
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