SOCCER
Brazil to keep protests at bay
Brazilian authorities say they have learned from demonstrations during the Confederations Cup not to let protesters get too close to stadiums at the upcoming World Cup. Andrei Augusto Rodrigues, security head for major events at the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, acknowledged that police misjudged the threat to public safety at Rio de Janeiro in June at the final of the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warm-up. Police under attack from violent protesters fired clouds of tear gas as the game began. Some wafted toward the Maracana Stadium, causing vendors at refreshment and souvenir stands to cough and tear up. Protesters got within 200m of the stadium, packed with 70,000 spectators for the Brazil-Spain final. Rodrigues said Brazil will work with foreign police forces as South Africa did in 2010.
SKIING
Vonn resumes training
Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn, who has not competed since suffering a knee injury in February, completed her first World Cup training run at Lake Louise, Canada, on Wednesday, but was undecided about entering today’s race. Vonn tore knee ligaments at the world championships in Schladming. Vonn, who has 14 World Cup race wins at Lake Louise, clocked the 19th-fastest time in Wednesday’s first practice session, 2.13 behind Spain’s Carolina Ruiz-Castillo. A training crash in the middle of last month interrupted Vonn’s comeback and she was forced out of last weekend’s racing on home snow in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Vonn insisted several times this season that she would be ready to defend her downhill Olympic title in Sochi in February next year.
FOOTBALL
Tomlin fined US$100,000
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been fined US$100,000 for interfering with a play against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving. The NFL also said Wednesday that it would consider docking Pittsburgh a draft pick “because the conduct affected a play on the field.” In the third quarter of the Ravens’ 22-20 win last Thursday, Tomlin was standing on the restricted white border between the sideline and field during Jacoby Jones’ kickoff return. Jones had to swerve to avoid colliding with the coach and was tackled after a 73-yard return that might have gone for a touchdown if not for the obstruction. Tomlin briefly stepped onto the field before he jumped back. Tomlin said on Tuesday he was “mesmerized” by watching the return on the video board and would accept any punishment.
SOCCER
No place for women: Gattuso
Former AC Milan and Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso cannot see a place for women in soccer, he said on Wednesday. The hard-tackling midfielder was commenting on the recent turmoil at AC Milan, where Adriano Galliani has agreed to share his chief executive role with Barbara Berlusconi, the daughter of club president Silvio Berlusconi. “I think that for someone like Galliani, there should be more respect,” he told the Radio Radio station in an interview. “I can’t really see women in football, I don’t like to say it, but that’s how it is.” Galliani, who has been at the club for 27 years, threatened to resign last week, apparently unhappy at comments by Barbara Berlusconi that the club needed a new philosophy. World Cup winner Gattuso ended his playing days last season with FC Sion in Switzerland. He had a spell as player-coach, but was relieved of his coaching duties after only 11 league games. He was appointed coach of Serie B side Palermo this season, but was fired after only six matches.
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