BASEBALL
Statistician Siwoff dies
Seymour Siwoff, the statistics maven who turned the Elias Sports Bureau into the place to go for exact information on teams and athletes for more than 50 years, died on Friday. He was 99. In keeping with Siwoff’s penchant for detail, he died at his home in Manhattan at 12:57pm EST, according to grandson Joe Gilston, who took control of the company in March when 100 percent of Elias’ stock was bought by The Joseph Gilston Trust. Siwoff still went to the office regularly until a few months ago, Gilston said. Elias was started in 1913 by brothers Al Munro Elias and Walter Bruce Elias and became official statistician of baseball’s National League in 1919. Siwoff, born on Nov. 1, 1920, started as an accountant in 1938 and purchased the company in 1952 from the brothers’ widows. The company eventually consolidated its baseball work around 1980 when it replaced the Sports Information Center as the American League’s official statistician and from 1981 until the 2006 it compiled statistics that were used to determine baseball’s free-agent compensation levels. Even before the start of the computer age, Siwoff pioneered details split statistics, such as batting right and left-handed, and with runners in scoring position. Siwoff is survived by his son, Ronald Siwoff, and daughter, Nancy Gilston.
FOOTBALL
Betting player suspended
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Josh Shaw has been suspended through at least the end of next season for betting on NFL games on multiple occasions this season, the first time in more than 35 years a player has been banned for gambling. The little-known Shaw has not played for the Cardinals this season after being placed on injured reserve following an injury during the pre-season. His suspension comes as the NFL and other US sports leagues enter an era when legal sports gambling is spreading across the country and gaining mainstream acceptance. For pro sports to coexist with gambling, they must avoid the scandal that would arise from betting by players and others who can directly affect the outcome of games. “The continued success of the NFL depends directly on each of us doing everything necessary to safeguard the integrity of the game and the reputations of all who participate in the league,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “At the core of this responsibility is the longstanding principle that betting on NFL games, or on any element of a game, puts at risk the integrity of the game, damages public confidence in the NFL, and is forbidden under all circumstances.”
TENNIS
Court to be honored
Tennis Australia has confirmed it plans to honor Margaret Court’s 50th anniversary of her 1970 Grand Slam during next month’s Australian Open, but added that her views on homosexuality “do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion.” Court won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, including the French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open in 1970. “This is an incredible milestone for me and I can’t quite believe how quickly the time has gone,” Court was quoted as saying in a Tennis Australia statement yesterday. Now a Christian pastor in Western Australia state, the 77-year-old Court wrote a public letter urging Australians to vote against same-sex marriage “for the sake of Australia, our children, and our children’s children.”
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was