BASEBALL
Taiwan wins to forfeit
Asia-Pacific Zone champions Taiwan on Friday grabbed their first victory at the Bronco World Series, after the Dominican Republic, champions of the Caribbean Zone, forfeited by failing to show up for the game. With the victory, the team from Kaohsiung took the first step in defending their 2016 Bronco title. Although the Dominican Republic did not show up, the Taiwanese players, all 11 and 12 years old, still took fielding drills and posed with fans for photographs before leaving the field. Taiwan head coach Yen Meng-chan said that although his players might not be as tall or strong as US players, he always tells them they can beat anyone. Yen, who was also head coach in 2016, added that the team has some good pitchers this year, who have been training since they were in fourth grade. Taiwan yesterday was to play North Zone champion Chicago at the Los Alamitos Youth Baseball complex.
SOFTBALL
US thrashes Taiwan 7-0
Alison Aguilar and Delaney Spaulding yesterday drove in three runs each as the US beat Taiwan 7-0 to improve to 2-0 in Group A at the Women’s Softball World Championship, a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Aguilar hit a bases-loaded double in a five-run second inning, when Spaulding doubled in a pair of runs. Spaulding completed the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth and the game was called after five innings on the tournament’s mercy rule. The winner of the tournament is to be awarded an Olympic berth. Also in Group A, Puerto Rico beat South Africa 9-0. In Group B games, Australia edged Italy 3-2 and China shut out Britain 1-0. Japan, who beat the US to win the gold medal in Beijing, thrashed Botswana 20-0 in three innings on Friday to improve to 2-0 in Group B.
E-SPORTS
FIFA incumbent loses
England’s reigning FIFA eWorld Cup champion Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing on Friday failed to make the final four after losing to Malta’s Kurt “Kurt0411” Fenech. Yesterday’s Xbox One semi-final was to see Fenech take on Saudi Arabia’s Group B winner Mosaad “Msdossary” Aldossary. Manchester City’s Danish gamer Marcus “Marcuzo” Joergensen was to play Belgian Stefano “StefanoPinna” Pinna in the PlayStation 4 semi. The winner of the cross-console grand final at London’s 02 Arena is to take home US$250,000, an invitation to the Best FIFA Football awards next month and a gleaming trophy. “I’m expecting everything when I get back; red carpet, I can even run for president,” Fenech joked. None of the nations represented in the eWorld Cup semi-finals have ever won the real World Cup, although Belgium finished third in Russia last month.
BASKETBALL
Trump lashes back at James
US President Donald Trump sniped back at LeBron James on Friday, days after the player and philanthropist accused him of fueling racial divides. “Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, [CNN presenter] Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do,” Trump said on Twitter. In an interview with CNN that aired on Friday, James said: “He’s kind of used sport to ... divide us and that’s something I can’t relate to, because I know that sport was the first time I ever was around someone white. You know?” James also told CNN that he would “never sit across” from Trump, whom he accuses of emboldening racists. “I think [racism’s] always been there, but I think the president in charge now has given people — they don’t care now, they throw it to your face,” he said.
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