SOCCER
Kaka highest-paid in MLS
Brazilian attacker Kaka is earning a base salary of US$6.6 million from Orlando City, according to figures released on Monday by the Major League Soccer (MLS) Players Union. Including a prorated share of compensation not specified to a specific year, his total earnings rise to a league-record US$7,167,500. Orlando starts play next season, along with New York City FC (NYCFC), and Kaka is on loan to Sao Paulo in Brazil. The previous MLS high for total earnings was set by David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy at US$6.5 million annually during a five-year contract that ended in 2011. David Villa’s salary with NYCFC is listed as US$60,000, which would be unusually low. NYCFC teammate Frank Lampard, on loan to Manchester City, is not included on the list. Seattle forward Clint Dempsey dropped to second in total earnings at US$6,695,000, followed by Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley at US$6.5 million and Toronto forward Jermain Defoe at US$6.18 million. Among the US players who signed with MLS after the World Cup, midfielder Jermaine Jones has a US$3 million salary with New England.
BOXING
Promoter Dan Goossen dies
Boxing promoter Dan Goossen, who handled some of the biggest names in the sport, including Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Bernard Hopkins, died from liver cancer on Monday. He was 64. “Sadness is difficult to escape as we grieve his passing. However, we are filled with pride by the fact that Dan Goossen battled this aggressive illness with boundless strength and the last days of his life were fought and lived with unflinching bravery, pure love and grace beyond measure,” the Goossen family said in a statement. For the past several years, Goossen had been handling Chris Arreola, hoping to make him the first heavyweight champion of Mexican ancestry. Canada’s Bermane Stiverne easily defeated Arreola in May for the vacant WBC heavyweight title. Goossen also handled world super-middleweight champ Andre Ward.
FOOTBALLL
Rice case gets arbitrator
Ray Rice’s appeal of his indefinite suspension for domestic violence will be heard by a neutral arbitrator, not NFL commissioner Roger Goodell or someone he appoints, ESPN reported late on Monday. In a copy of an e-mail obtained by ESPN, NFL Players’ Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told the union’s executive board it was the first time a neutral arbitrator had been appointed in a personal conduct disciplinary case. According to the e-mail, the union will “confer with the league shortly regarding the final choice of the arbitrator,” after both sides submitted candidates. The NFL had already suggested Goodell, who usually sits in judgement of all cases, did not intend to hear the appeal. He originally suspended Rice for two games before increasing it to an indefinite suspension after video footage of Rice knocking out his now wife in an elevator surfaced.
BASEBALL
Twins fire Ron Gardenhire
The Minnesota Twins have fired manager Ron Gardenhire, ending a 13-season tenure that featured six division championships, but concluded with four straight years of 90-plus losses, the team said on Monday. The search for a new manager would begin immediately, with the coaching staff to be determined by Gardenhire’s successor and general manager Terry Ryan, the Twins said in a statement a day after the regular season concluded. Gardenhire, 56, had one season left on his contract.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two