BASEBALL
Diaz’s mother kidnapped
Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly said the team is working with authorities to secure the safe return of catcher Elias Diaz’s mother. Team officials did not specify the circumstances, but Venezuelan media on Thursday reported that the 24-year-old player’s mother was kidnapped in San Francisco, a city about 700km west of Caracas. Coonelly said in a statement that the team is “shocked and deeply concerned for Elias’ mother, as well as for Elias and his entire family.” Diaz played 64 games for Pittsburgh last year, hitting .223 with 19 RBIs and 18 runs. Coonelly said the team and Major League Baseball were helping support Diaz and his family. He declined to provide additional details, asking that the family’s privacy be respected.
GOLF
Westwood catches Rumford
Former world No. 1 Lee Westwood and defending champion Brett Rumford yesterday continued to lead the way at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth. The pair are to play together for a third day in a row today after sharing the lead at the end of the second round at eight-under. They were one stroke ahead of four players on seven-under: Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, Australia’s Lucas Herbert, Scotland’s Grant Forrest and Thailand’s Prom Meesawat. Meesawat was joint leader until the 18th, which he bogeyed. Westwood shot a two-under 70 in challenging conditions to join Rumford, who could not replicate his first-round 64 and shot 72, in the lead.
GOLF
Streelman and Hossler lead
Kevin Streelman and PGA Tour rookie Beau Hossler on Thursday each carded a seven-under 65 on different golf courses in the same splendid weather and shared the lead after one round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Dustin Johnson shot a 67 at Spyglass Hill without any stress, not that he ever shows any. Rory McIlroy made his tournament debut with a scrappy finish to salvage a 68. McIlroy played alongside Phil Mickelson, who shot 31 on the back nine at Spyglass for a 69. Warm, sun and virtually no wind made the Monterey Peninsula feel even more idyllic than it already is, and the scoring conditions were perfect. Among those who could not take advantage was defending champion Jordan Spieth, who carded one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars at Spyglass.
SOCCER
Coupe to feature ‘Classique’
Paris Saint-Germain, seeking a fourth straight Coupe de France title, were on Thursday drawn against their bitter rivals and closest challengers in Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille, in this year’s quarter-finals. This edition of Le Classique is also a repeat of the 2016 final, which PSG won 4-2. It also means that the two clubs are to meet twice in a few days. Marseille visit Paris in Ligue 1 on Feb. 25 and now must return for the cup game two or three days later. In the only other quarter-final matching two Ligue 1 clubs, Olympique Lyonnais were drawn away to Stade Malherbe Caen. Les Herbiers, from the third division, are to play at home to second-division Lens. The other quarter-final would pit another third-division club, Chambly, against Strasbourg, who on Thursday defeated Grenoble 3-0.
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