SOCCER
Mutu, Pantilimon left out
Striker Adrian Mutu and goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon have been dropped for Romania’s 2014 World Cup playoff against Greece, the Romanian soccer federation said on Friday. Coach Victor Piturca has called up 15 overseas players, but decided to leave out AC Ajaccio’s Mutu, Romania’s all-time joint-leading scorer, as he has yet to find the net in the French league this season. Piturca also dropped Manchester City goalkeeper Pantilimon. AS Roma ’keeper Bogdan Lobont, who turns 36 in January, was selected although he has yet to play for the Italian club this season. Strikers Razvan Cocis and Marius Niculae, both playing for Ukrainian side Hoverla Uzhgorod, returned to the squad after a long absence. Piturca will add home-based players to his squad next week for the matches in Athens on Nov. 15 and at home four days later.
SOCCER
Benko back for playoff
Croatia coach Niko Kovac has recalled Rijeka striker Leon Benko and included uncapped teammate Mate Males in his 25-man squad for the country’s World Cup playoff against Iceland later this month. Kovac, who took over from Igor Stimac last month after Croatia took one point from their last four qualifying games, said the atmosphere in the squad had improved and was confident they would qualify for next year’s tournament. “The players looked like a disjointed group of individuals and not much of a team when I took over, but the lads are n Photo: AFP ow very positive about our chances and we are convinced we will do what it takes to get the job done,” Kovac said on Friday. Croatia visit Iceland on Nov. 15 and play them in Zagreb four days later.
SOCCER
PSG see off Lorient, go top
Paris Saint-Germain were singing in the rain at Parc des Princes on Friday, the French champions making light of the damp weather to ease past Lorient 4-0 and extend their unbeaten Ligue 1 run to 23 games. Goals from Lucas, Jeremy Menez and an Edison Cavani double lifted Laurent Blanc’s men three points clear of Monaco at the top of the table. The performance was a perfect riposte to Blanc’s eve-of-match warning about the danger of complacency seeping into his team after a labored 2-2 draw with Saint-Etienne last time out.
ICE HOCKEY
Capitals thrash Flyers
Joel Ward scored three goals as Braden Holtby coasted to a shutout in the Washington Capitals’ 7-0 fight-filled NHL rout of the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Jason Chimera added a goal and three assists, and Nicklas Backstrom and Mikhail Grabovski each had three points. Ward’s third-period goal that made it 7-0 sparked a brawl. Seconds later, Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds fought Washington’s Tom Wilson. Flyers goalie Ray Emery then took on Holtby. Meanwhile, Carolina’s Victor Hedman scored in the second period and Steven Stamkos added an insurance goal to back Ben Bishop’s shutout in the Tampa Bay Ray’s 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brian Elliott stopped 31 shots for his first win of the season, and Alexander Steen scored for the sixth straight game as the St Louis Blues beat the Florida Panthers 4-0. Alex Pietrangelo, Chris Stewart and Derek Roy added goals, and Steen posted his NHL-leading 12th this season. Chris Kunitz scored for the third straight game for Pittsburgh as the Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2. In other games, the Islanders beat the Senators 5-4 in a shootout, the Wild edged the Canadiens 4-3, the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in overtime and the Red Wings were 4-3 winners over the Flames.
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