BASEBALL
Orioles retain Chen Wei-yin
The Baltimore Orioles announced on Thursday that they have exercised an option to retain Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin for another year for US$4.75 million. The 29-year-old left-hander achieved 16 wins and a 3.54 ERA in 31 starts for Baltimore last season. Even at US$4.75 million, Chen will still be undervalued given his performance, local commentators believe. Joining the Orioles in 2012, Chen was paid US$3.072 million and US$3.573 million respectively in his first two years, and is receiving US$4.072 million this year. If he can maintain his good performance next season, his value on the free-agent market is expected to climb even higher. Wang Chien-ming became the highest-paid Taiwanese MLB player in 2009 when he agreed to a US$5 million, one-year contract with the New York Yankees.
TENNIS
Chan, Chuang crash out
Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei and Chuang Chia-jung crashed out of the semi-finals of the doubles at the Yinzhou Bank International in Ningbo, China, yesterday, ending Taiwanese involvement in the WTA 125K tournament. Chinese duo Han Xinyun and Zhang Kai-lin saved one of the three break-point chances they faced and converted six of 10 to complete a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the third-seeded Taiwanese pairing in an hour. The Chinese duo are to face either top seeds Arina Rodionova of Australia and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine or fourth seeds Sharon Fichman of Canada and Zheng Saisai in the final.
RUGBY UNION
Beale handed another fine
Troubled Australia back Kurtley Beale has been fined A$3,000 (US$2,650) over a mid-flight row linked to the resignations of coach Ewen McKenzie and a staff member, officials said yesterday. The sanction comes a week after Beale was also slapped with a A$45,000 penalty for sending an offensive text message to business manager Di Patston, who later resigned. An Australian Rugby Union integrity unit investigation found that the player was guilty of inappropriate behavior by being rude and disrespectful to Wallaby management on a flight from South Africa to Argentina last month. The latest investigation was separate from the probe into Beale’s distribution of the text message, which went before a Code of Conduct tribunal hearing the previous Friday. The Beale affair has been damaging to Australian rugby, with McKenzie abruptly quitting as coach after speculation over internal dissent and his relationship with Patston. Patston also resigned, citing stress, and she later said the controversy had driven her to contemplate suicide.
CYCLING
Braendle breaks hour record
Austria’s Matthias Braendle set a new hour record of 51.85km on Thursday, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Twitter. The 24-year-old, riding at the World Cycling Center in the Swiss town of Aigle, beat Jens Voigt’s mark of 51.11km, which was set on Sept. 18 in nearby Grenchen. Braendle was ahead of Voigt’s mark by more than 50 seconds at the halfway point and managed to break the record, despite a few wobbles in the last 10 minutes. “Things went well for the first 30 minutes, then in the middle of the race it was really tough and I suffered,” Braendle told Austrian media. “Fortunately, there were lots of people there to support me. It got better near the end and I could enjoy it. Toward the end, the pain went away.”
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