SURFING
A near-deer experience
Surfing team tryouts in California were interrupted by a four-legged friend who apparently wanted to get in on the fun. Surfers at Southern California’s Dana Point were shocked when a deer rushed into the ocean on Thursday morning. One surfer had to kick his board out and bail out of a wave when the animal suddenly appeared in front of him. “They were just getting midway through their surf heat and out of nowhere this deer comes trotting down the shoreline,” said Mike Foudy, whose son Cole was the surfer with the near-deer experience. Foudy posted video of the dogpaddling deer, which he said appeared spooked, on his Facebook page. Tryout judge Sheri Crummer told the Orange County Register that no one knew where the deer came from. It hopped over rocks and then went off to sea. Surf team coach Tim Samson said he paddled out about 400m and herded the deer back to shore.
SOCCER
Fake passports investigated
Asian soccer’s governing body says it is investigating players using fake passports to comply with eligibility rules in national team and club competitions. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has suspended Brazilian forward Wanderley for 60 days “pending a full investigation into his nationality status.” Its disciplinary committee is judging the case. In an Asian Champions League quarter-final first-leg match last week, Wanderley scored twice to help Al Nasr of the United Arab Emirates beat El Jaish of Qatar 3-0. The AFC says it acted after authorities in Indonesia said Wanderley’s Indonesian passport “was a forged or falsified document.” Al Nasr face sanctions before the return match in Dubai on Sept. 14. The AFC news release suggested a trade in fake documents for non-Asian players to comply with a required quota of Asian players in club lineups.
GOLF
Reed stays hot in Boston
FedEx Cup points leader Patrick Reed maintained his run of sizzling form as he moved into contention for the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts on Friday, despite suffering putting woes on his back nine. Reed, who was fresh from victory at The Barclays on Sunday last week when he also locked up a spot on the US Ryder Cup team, opened with a three-under-par 68 at the TPC Boston in Norton to finish three shots behind co-leaders Ryan Moore and James Hahn. Moore, who clinched his fifth PGA Tour victory at the John Deere Classic three weeks ago, birdied two of his last four holes to finish level with fellow American Hahn, who hit 14 of 14 fairways for the first time on the US circuit.
CRICKET
Tour concerns linger
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan expects to confirm whether he will tour Bangladesh soon after next week’s finish of the home series against Pakistan. The future of the tour was in the balance after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in July saw 20 hostages killed, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last month said that the tour would go ahead as planned. However, no England player has yet publicly confirmed their willingness to tour Bangladesh. Following a security briefing given to players, several British press reports suggested Morgan had been reluctant to commit himself to the tour. However, Morgan has said his attention for the time being is focused on the series with Pakistan. England’s win in Leeds on Thursday left them 4-0 up in the series ahead of today’s finale in Cardiff.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite