SOCCER
No alternative to Brazil: FIFA
Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has not contemplated an alternative stage for next year’s World Cup in Brazil, FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke said on Monday. “The World Cup will be played in Brazil in 12 cities,” Valcke told reporters. “There is no plan B.” His comments came as this month’s Confederations Cup, a dry run for the World Cup, has been played against the backdrop of nationwide protests, with tear gas and rubber bullets being used by police against demonstrators. Some of the protests have been held near stadiums being used for Confederations Cup matches. The money spent on the stadiums is among the protesters’ many grievances. Valcke also rejected a suggestion from Brazilian Minister of Sports Aldo Rebelo, sitting next to him at a news conference, that other countries had expressed an interest in staging the World Cup if Brazil pulled out. Rebelo said he had read in the media that the US, England, Germany and Japan had all put themselves forward. “I have never received any official offer from any other countries around the world to stage the World Cup in 2014,” Valcke said. Colombia was the last country to pull out of staging the World Cup when it withdrew in 1984, two years before the tournament, which took place in Mexico instead.
SOCCER
Mertens completes transfer
Belgium international winger Dries Mertens has completed a transfer to SSC Napoli, the Italian Serie A side said on Monday. A statement on the club’s Web site (www.sscnapoli.it) said it had secured the 26-year-old former PSV Eindhoven player on a five-year deal. Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis welcomed Mertens to the club on his official Twitter account saying: “I am happy to tell you that a few minutes ago I closed the deal with PSV for Dries Mertens. In the last few days, Dries has been in Naples. He told me that he fell in love with our city, with its greatness. Welcome Dries.” Mertens has 19 senior international caps for Belgium, scoring twice, and spent the past two seasons at PSV, where he made 62 appearances.
RUGBY UNION
Bulls’ Spies out for season
Bulls captain Pierre Spies was to have surgery on a torn bicep muscle yesterday and miss the remainder of the season, the Super Rugby side said in a statement. The loose-forward picked up the injury playing for South Africa in their 56-23 victory over Samoa in Pretoria on Saturday and after being assessed by two specialists it has been decided he will need to go under the knife. Bulls team doctor Org Strauss confirmed in a statement that the recovery period would rule the 28-year-old out for the rest of the season. Spies’ absence means the Springboks must find another option at No. 8 for the Rugby Championship later this year, while it is also a blow to the Bulls’ chances in Super Rugby, where they are currently placed third.
BASKETBALL
Shaw to coach Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have hired Brian Shaw as their new coach, the Denver Post reported on Monday, giving the long-time assistant his first top job in the NBA. The 47-year-old spent the last two seasons on the Indiana Pacers coaching staff after serving the six previous years with the Los Angeles Lakers under Phil Jackson. He will take over from Coach of the Year George Karl, who was let go at the end of a season that saw the Nuggets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
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