SOCCER
Hamburg exit drop zone
Hamburg SV moved out of the relegation zone in the Bundesliga on Sunday with a 2-1 victory against FSV Mainz 05, who have now gone six games without a win. Josef Zinnbauer’s side claimed a third straight home victory thanks to a first-half goal from Brazilian defender Cleber Reis and a second-half Rafael van der Vaart penalty to move a point clear of the bottom three. Midtable Mainz, who grabbed a late consolation through a Shinji Okazaki header, are just one point ahead of the northern giants. While his team struggle for form, 28-year-old Japanese star Okazaki is now level with Schalke 04’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting on eight league goals this season. Only Alexander Meier of Eintracht Frankfurt has more after scoring twice in his side’s 5-2 victory at home to struggling Werder Bremen on Sunday. The game saw home coach Thomas Schaaf come up against the team he spent four decades on as a player and coach. However, he and his current side showed no mercy, as Haris Seferovic, Stefan Aigner and Marc Stendera added to Meier’s goals to leave Bremen second last.
SOCCER
‘Bleus’ gave Nasri the blues
Retired France international Samir Nasri on Sunday described how playing for Les Bleus had made him unhappy and blasted the treatment received by former teammate Franck Ribery. Nasri, 27, confirmed his retirement from international soccer days before Ribery in August last year after being left out of the FIFA World Cup. The Manchester City midfielder said it was not “a question of age,” but “feeling” that brought about the decision. Nasri clashed with senior players at the 2008 Euro and unleashed an expletive-strewn tirade at a journalist after France’s elimination at Euro 2012. For his “clash with a journalist,” Nasri said he was “treated worse than someone who had participated in the [France] 2010 World Cup strike.” “All the woes of the France team were [the fault of] Samir — that’s fine for five minutes,” he told Canal+. “Ribery, I understand that; he was dragged through the mud for an extra sports story, he then carried the France team for two years, injured himself and it’s said that the France team is better without him — it’s a shame that he wasn’t given the recognition he deserved.” Nasri said nothing could persuade him to play for France again, especially under coach Didier Deschamps. “I suffered more than anything else in the France team. In the beginning I was excited and proud to wear the French team jersey, but after when I see the people, the hypocrites, who surround the France team, no it doesn’t give me the slightest desire,” he said.
OLYMPICS
IOC revamps host bidding
Radical changes to how cities will bid to host the Olympics were ushered in yesterday by International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. Sweeping changes to the bidding process were approved to make it easier and cheaper for cities to bid to be hosts. The vote kickstarted a Monaco meeting of more than 100 IOC members that vows to drive change and innovation among the kingpins of global sport. The changes to the bidding process include allowing hosts to stage some events in other cities and countries. Eager to avoid a repeat of the 2022 Winter Games campaign, where four of six candidates dropped out over financial concerns — denting the Games’ reputation as a lucrative project — the IOC voted unanimously to adopt the changes. These are aimed at allowing candidates to integrate the Olympics into their city plans rather than vice versa.
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