BASEBALL
Ex-players cited in drug ring
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel and cited ex-infielder Luis Castillo for their alleged links to a drug-trafficking and money-laundering ring, officials said on Tuesday. Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez said that police are also pursuing the alleged leader of the ring, Cesar Emilio Peralta, also known as “Cesar the Abuser.” Castillo has not yet been arrested. Peralta created a complicated system of companies to hide the origins of his assets, using members of his family and social circles, “including two sports figures in the Dominican Republic,” Rodriguez said. Castillo on Instagram denied any ties to drugs. “The truth is my country no longer works, my God, do you think that after making millions of dollars in Baseball I am going to dirty my hands with drugs?” he wrote.
SOCCER
St Louis chosen for team
The MLS on Tuesday confirmed that St Louis has been awarded an expansion franchise that would boost North America’s top soccer league to 28 teams. Commissioner Don Garber made the announcement alongside the club’s ownership group, including Carolyn Kindle Betz, the Taylor family and Jim Kavanaugh. With Betz and six other female members of the Taylor family part of the group, St Louis is to be the first female majority-owned club in MLS history and one of few in professional sports. The club would begin MLS play in 2022 in a new stadium.
RUGBY UNION
‘Women’s’ dropped from Cup
World Rugby yesterday announced that it is adopting a policy of gender neutrality for their tournaments. In what it said is “a first for a major sporting federation” the 2021 edition of the World Cup in New Zealand would be known simply as Rugby World Cup 2021, with “Women’s” dropped from the title. This would also be applied to their Sevens World Cup competitions. The men’s tournaments have never specified gender. “World Rugby has announced that its flagship 15s and sevens Rugby World Cup properties will no longer include gender in their titles, furthering its commitment to equality and brand consistency across its portfolio,” it said in a statement.
SWIMMING
Sun appeal to be public
A case in which China’s multiple world and Olympic champion Sun Yang is accused of anti-doping violations is to be held in public in a break from usual procedure, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement on Tuesday. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against a decision by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) to clear Sun of wrongdoing during a random drug test in September last year. The court said that it would be only the second case in its history to be held in public — the previous in 1999 also involved FINA.
ICE HOCKEY
Players begin boycott
Female players in Sweden are to go ahead with their boycott of an international tournament in Finland in protest against poor pay and working conditions. Sweden were to play their first game of the Five Nations Tournament yesterday against Japan, but the squad of 43 players were to be absent.
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
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