FOOTBALL
Sharper faces rape charges
A preliminary hearing has been set for Sept. 16 for former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper on charges that he drugged and raped two women he met at a West Hollywood nightclub. Arizona, which has charged Sharper in a similar case, wants to extradite him there for trial. He has also been investigated in Louisiana, Nevada and Florida. However, in May authorities in Florida found insufficient evidence to pursue charges there. He has pleaded not guilty in California, and he and his lawyers have denied the allegations in the other states. Prosecutors said outside court the preliminary hearing will take about two weeks. They are seeking to show there is sufficient evidence to order Sharper to stand trial. He is accused of giving women drugs and raping them while they were unconscious.
GOLF
Park leads Meijer Classic
Inbee Park took the second-round lead on Friday in the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Michigan, birdieing her first three holes en route to her second straight five-under 66. Park finished on the front nine, adding birdies on the par-five fifth and eighth holes in her bogey-free round at Blythefield Country Club. The third-ranked South Korean player won six times last year and took the Manulife Financial in June in Canada for her 10th LPGA Tour title. Suzann Pettersen was a stroke back. She matched the course record with a 64. South Korea’s Mirim Lee shot 64 to reach eight-under and Amy Yang was fourth at seven-under after a 67. Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot a 70 for a total two-over 144.
CYCLING
Majka leads Tour of Poland
Rafal Majka won on his home Tour of Poland for the second day running on Friday, triumphing on the sixth stage to seize the overall race lead from Czech rider Petr Vakoc. Just as he had on Thursday, Majka once again pipped Spanish duo Benat Intxausti and Ion Izaguirre to win the 174km ride around the Polish ski resort of Bukowina Tatrzanska. However, the climbing specialist Majka will face a tough task to hold onto his lead when the seven-stage race was to conclude yesterday with an individual time trial in Krakow.
RUGBY UNION
Woodcock out with injury
New Zealand prop Tony Woodcock requires shoulder surgery and will be out of rugby until next year. The 110-Test veteran suffered a shoulder injury near the end of the Super rugby season, but was thought likely to be available for the upcoming Rugby Championships. After a month of consultations, he has received medical advice that surgery is advisable. Woodcock is unlikely to return before next year’s Super rugby season and his place in the New Zealand squad for the Rugby Championships will be taken by young Crusaders prop Joe Moody. New Zealand was to play Australia in Sydney yesterday in the opening match of the Rugby Championships.
CRICKET
Kiwi’s bat drilled for drugs
New Zealand cricketer Jimmy Neesham had a shock traveling through the US when his bat was drilled full of holes by customs officials. The 23-year-old, who was in transit between matches for his Caribbean Premier League team, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, tweeted a picture of his bat after its going-over. “Imagine if your cricket gear went through America and they drilled holes in your bat to look for drugs,” he wrote on his Twitter account, @JimmyNeesh. The photograph showed three holes drilled into the side of Neesham’s bat.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite