BASKETBALL
Gasol to miss rest of season
Grizzlies center Marc Gasol will miss the rest of this season after having surgery to repair his broken right foot. The Grizzlies on Tuesday said that Gasol had surgery on Saturday last week. General manager Chris Wallace said in a statement that a full recovery is expected. Gasol signed a five-year contract in July last year after earning a starting spot in the All-Star game last season. He also was the first Grizzlies player voted to the All-NBA first team. The center averaged 16.6 points and 7 rebounds in 52 games this season. He scored 11 points in the first quarter on Feb. 8 against Portland before leaving with the injury. “It is frustrating to not be on the court with my teammates at this time,” Gasol said in a statement released by the Grizzlies. “But I understand that the focus of this process is on long-term health and stability. I look forward to the road ahead and a full and successful recovery.”
SOCCER
Bayern blackmail bid foiled
A former bank robber has been charged with blackmail for allegedly trying to extort millions in cash and diamonds from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich with bomb threats, police said on Tuesday. The German league leaders received two letters, on Feb. 9 and Monday last week, containing vague threats, involving bombs and drones, and reported demands for 1 million euros (US$1.1 million) in cash and 2 million euros worth of diamonds. Munich police on Monday arrested a 63-year-old German man, saying he is a notorious former bank robber who was sentenced to more than 13 years in jail in 1999 on 17 counts of bank robbery and freed on parole in 2009. Known in the Munich region as the “broomstick robber” during the 1990s, the man was known to hold hostages and lock bank doors with a broomstick before escaping with the money, netting millions in his string of robberies. The suspect appeared before a judge on Tuesday, police said.
TENNIS
Monteiro beats Almagro
Only six days after beating No. 9 ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Monteiro has added another prominent player to his list of upset victories. In the ATP 250 Brasil Open at Sao Paulo, Monteiro beat seventh-seeded, two-time Brazil Open champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Brazilian, who is still recovering from a series of injuries, is ranked No. 278 — 228 places below Almagro. In the next round, Monteiro will face another Spanish player, unseeded Daniel Munoz de la Nava. Top-seeded Benoit Paire of France, second-seeded Thomaz Beluccci of Brazil and third-seeded Pablo Cuevas or Uruguay had first-round byes.
OLYMPICS
Sailor calls for boycott
Germany’s sailor of the year Heiko Kroeger is horrified by the “disgusting” water quality he experienced in Rio de Janeiro and says his countrymen should boycott the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events. Kroeger, who only has one arm, won Paralympic gold at Sydney in 2000 in the 2.4m one-person keelboat class and is a medal hopeful in Rio. The German, who was voted his country’s top sailor last year, is appalled by the water quality after competing in a test event in Rio’s Guanabara Bay, where he says rubbish and waste poses a threat to both human health and could damage the boats. “Domestic waste, sewage, dead rats and fish, used condoms — it’s really disgusting,” he told broadcaster NDR after listing what he saw in the water.
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