SOCCER
West Ham win leg two
West Ham United marked new manager Slaven Bilic’s first match in the dugout with a 1-0 victory over Andorran side Lusitanos in the second leg of their Europa League first qualifying round tie on Thursday. The Croatian was not on the bench when the Londoners cantered to a 3-0 victory in the first leg last week, a move that irked Lusitanos coach Xavi Roura. The only goal in the return match came from Elliot Lee in the 21st minute. West Ham, who finished 12th in the Premier League last season, had to play with 10 men for more than 75 minutes after forward Diafra Sakho was dismissed following a clash with a Lusitanos defender.
RUGBY UNION
Chiefs coach returns to NZ
Waikato Chiefs assistant coach Andrew Strawbridge has been airlifted back to New Zealand for treatment after an eye infection left him in a critical condition in Samoa. Strawbridge, a technical adviser to the Samoa national rugby team, was admitted to an Apia hospital on Tuesday with an infection in his right eye after taking ill on a flight from New Zealand. His condition “deteriorated rapidly” and he was still in a critical condition yesterday, the Super Rugby team and the Samoa Rugby Union said in a joint statement. Local media said his condition had improved enough for him to be flown back to New Zealand and he arrived back at the Chiefs’ home city of Hamilton later yesterday.
FOOTBALL
McDonald of 49ers charged
Former San Francisco 49ers tackle Ray McDonald was charged with felony false imprisonment and three misdemeanor offenses following a violent incident involving his former fiancee and her two-month-old baby. California prosecutors also charged 30-year-old McDonald with domestic violence, child endangerment and breaching a court order that he stay away from the woman, the US media said on Thursday. McDonald was arrested on May 25 after allegedly smashing through a bedroom door to get to his ex-fiancee and their daughter. Police said a woman called 911 and said a male in her San Francisco area home was trying to take the baby and leave. McDonald was later arrested at the San Jose home of retired 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith, a former teammate.
FOOTBALL
Ken Stabler dies at 69
Super Bowl-winning Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken “The Snake” Stabler has died at the age of 69, his family announced on Thursday. Media reports say the cause of death was complications from colon cancer. Stabler guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory in January 1977, a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He was nicknamed “The Snake” for his elusiveness on the field. He played 184 NFL games for the Raiders, Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Stabler was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1974, and led the NFL in touchdown passes in 1974 and 1976. “If I had one drive to win a game to this day and I had a quarterback to pick, I would pick Kenny,” former Oakland head coach John Madden said in a statement. “Snake was a lot cooler than I was. He was a perfect quarterback and a perfect Raider.” Stabler was survived by three daughters. “He was a kind, generous and unselfish man, never turning down an autograph request or an opportunity to help someone in need,” his family said in a statement. “A great quarterback, he was an even greater father to his three girls and grandfather to his three ‘grand snakes.’”
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