BASKETBALL
Noah gets fine for tirade
Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah was fined US$15,000 by the NBA on Tuesday after an obscene outburst directed at game officials in Sacramento. The French player lost his cool in the third quarter of Chicago’s 99-70 loss to the Kings on Monday night, unleashing a profanity-laced tirade after he received two technical fouls in the space of three minutes and was ejected from the game. “Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has been fined US$15,000 for verbally abusing the officials upon his ejection,” NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said in a statement. By the time Thorn had meted out the punishment, Noah had already apologized.
SOCCER
Carroll’s ban appeal fails
West Ham United striker Andy Carroll will serve a three-game ban after having an appeal against a red card rejected, the Football Association announced on Tuesday. Carroll, 25, was shown a straight red card during his side’s 2-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday after catching Chico Flores in the face with his arm early in the second half of the Premier League game at Upton Park. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce accused Flores of reacting theatrically and confirmed that the club would appeal against the red card, but the FA upheld referee Howard Webb’s decision to send Carroll off. West Ham’s record signing, Carroll has played in only four league games this season due to injury and now stands to miss his side’s forthcoming matches against Aston Villa, Norwich City and Southampton. The England striker appeared to express his anger at the decision on Twitter, writing simply: “DISGRACEFUL!!!”
SOCCER
Jordan qualify for finals
Jordan booked a place in next year’s AFC Asian Cup finals with a 3-1 win over 10-man Singapore in an ill-tempered Group A clash at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday. Needing a victory to qualify from the group alongside Oman, Thaer Bawab and Ahmad Hayel scored either side of halftime for the visitors. Khairul Amri then converted a penalty for Singapore, but substitute Yousef Ahmad netted in stoppage-time to help Jordan go through with a game to spare. Singapore defender Baihakki Khaizan was sent off at the end of the first half, while Jordan captain and goal-scorer Hayel was also shown the red card in the 70th minute. Twelve nations had already qualified for the 16-team finals — hosts Australia, holders Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Uzbekistan. The draw is to be made in Sydney on March 26.
CRICKET
Fan with pig punished
An Australian cricket fan who disguised a pig as a baby for the Ashes Test at the Gabba ground was yesterday ordered to attend mediation with the RSPCA. David Gunn, 33, was charged with animal cruelty after the pet pig, wrapped in a towel with its snout taped shut, was seen in the stadium in Brisbane during the opening day of the first Australia-England Test in November last year. In a statement to the court, the RSPCA said the pig, named Ash, was traumatized by the incident and dehydrated after being in direct sunlight on a hot day. Gunn was ordered to attend mediation with the animal welfare charity. RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said in his experience this involved sitting the person down and trying to make them understand how their actions affected the pig. Ash has since made a full recovery.
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