OLYMPICS
Cyclist murdered near venue
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has expressed confidence in the security arrangements for next year’s Olympics, a day after a cyclist was stabbed to death near the main venue for rowing and canoeing at South America’s first Games. Paes on Wednesday said that crime is a social problem and “not an issue about the Olympics.” He added that it is an issue about the people of Rio “and the way we conduct our lives.” Paes was speaking at Rio’s Olympic headquarters, where top members of the International Olympic Committee began two days of meetings to examine the city’s readiness to host the Games. IOC officials began their meeting as a brief labor strike has prevented work at some Olympic venues and also infrastructure projects being built for the Olympics.
OLYMPICS
Rio drops water polo venue
The venue scheduled to host water polo at next year’s Olympics will be dropped from the Games, after months of construction delays and a funding shortfall, officials said on Wednesday. The Julio Delamare aquatic park, near the famed Maracana soccer stadium, had been scheduled to host first phase matches. However, the US$20 million needed to refurbish the venue has not been secured, and state government chief of staff Leonardo Espindola said the project would have to be scrapped as it is “just too costly.” Espindola said organizers tried to secure the funding from a third-party consortium that funded the multimillion Maracana stadium redo last year, but it refused to back the project. The state government also said it did not have the money, Espindola told reporters on the sidelines of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting to assess Brazil’s readiness to host next year’s Games. The water polo events could be relocated either to the Olympic park where diving and swimming events are taking place, or to the Deodoro venue in northern Rio de Janeiro, Espindola said.
BASEBALL
Ryu Hyun-jin to have surgery
Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of South Korea was to undergo surgery on his troublesome throwing shoulder yesterday. The team made the announcement on Wednesday before a game against the San Francisco Giants. The arthroscopic surgery will be performed by orthopedist Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Ryu, who had been the team’s projected No. 3 starter, has not pitched this season because of inflammation. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman on Tuesday said that surgery was an option, given that Ryu has not responded to prolonged rest. Ryu was 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA last year. He signed a US$36 million, six-year deal in December 2012.
FOOTBALL
Germany, Mexico mulled
A future regular-season NFL game in Mexico or Germany was discussed by NFL owners on Wednesday. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said both countries have reached out about hosting games, and there is “renewed interest” among the owners. The league is intent on expanding its international series, and it is to have three games in London this season for the second straight year. Arizona hosted San Francisco in Mexico City in 2005, drawing a record crowd of 103,467 for a regular-season game. There have been five pre-season matches played in Germany, none since 1994. Goodell also says Rio de Janeiro has shown interest in staging a Pro Bowl.
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