SOCCER
Adam Johnson faces jail
Former England soccer international Adam Johnson faces jail after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child. Johnson was sacked by Sunderland as the trial started last month when he pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl and another of “grooming” — building an emotional connection with a child to gain trust for sexual motives. Two further counts of sexual activity with a child were denied by Johnson. A jury on Wednesday cleared him of one count, but convicted him of another by a majority of 10-2. The judge said a custodial sentence was an “almost inevitable outcome” with a range of four to 10 years likely for the sentence. Johnson was granted bail until the sentencing hearing.
OLYMPICS
Refugee athletes identified
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has identified 43 potential candidates for a special team of refugee athletes who are to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. IOC president Thomas Bach says he expects between five and 10 athletes to be selected for the team who are to compete under the Olympic flag as “Refugee Olympic Athletes.” The final list of athletes is to be named by the IOC in June. Bach said “we want to send a message of hope for all refugees of the world.” Plans for the team were announced by the IOC last year amid the flow of refugees and migrants from Syria and other troubled regions into Europe. The refugee team is to march in the opening ceremony in Rio on Aug. 5 just before the athletes from hosts Brazil.
ROWING
Australian medalist dies
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) yesterday said that Sarah Tait, who won a silver medal in rowing at the London Olympics, has died of cancer at the age of 33. Tait, a mother of two, won her silver medal with Kate Hornsey in the women’s pairs at London in 2012. She was a three-time Olympian, competing in the women’s eights at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. She was coached by her husband, Bill, and at the London Games she was the first mother to row for Australia at the Olympics following the birth of their first child, Leila, in 2009. The AOC said that Tait was diagnosed with cancer following the birth of her second child, Luca, in March 2013. “Sarah was an extremely talented Olympic rower taken far too soon from us. She battled to the end,” AOC president John Coates said.
BASKETBALL
Thunder mourn McClendon
The NBA and Oklahoma City Thunder are mourning the death of former energy executive and part owner of the Thunder Aubrey McClendon, who died in a car crash. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said he addressed the team after learning of McClendon’s death on Wednesday. Donovan said McClendon was a “very generous guy” who always treated him well. McClendon is survived by his wife, Katie, and three children. An NBA spokesman offered condolences to McClendon’s family in statement. The wreck happened a day after a US federal grand jury indicted McClendon for allegedly conspiring to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma. Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama said it was too early to tell whether the crash was intentional. Police say former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon was not wearing a seat belt when his SUV slammed into a concrete embankment and burst into flames in Oklahoma City, killing him.
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