■ Boxing
Police arrest Joe Frazier
Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier was arrested Friday and charged with assaulting a woman. The victim was described in police documents as the mother of Frazier's son, department spokesman Jim Pauley said. The 44-year-old woman was not seriously injured and refused medical treatment, police said. The 60-year-old boxing great was awaiting arraignment on charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment, police said. The 60-year-old Frazier was the world champion from 1970 to 1973, and fought Muhammad Ali in three classic heavyweight bouts, winning once and losing twice. He was also the heavyweight gold medalist at the 1964 Olympics.
■ Auto racing
Busch beat the best
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and IRL star Helio Castroneves of Brazil finished sixth and IRL champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand was eighth in the season-opening 12-car International Race of Champions Series on Friday. Ryan Newman squeezed past fellow NASCAR driver and defending IROC champion Kurt Busch 100m from the finish line to win the 40-lap, 160-kilometer event on the banked 4km oval at Daytona International Speedway. Castroneves managed to finish in the top half despite being penalized to the back of the field for passing under the yellow line eight laps from the end. Newman will go into Texas Motor Speedway on April 2 -- the second of four IROC races this season -- holding a one-point (21-20) lead over Busch. The winner in the series sponsored for the first time this season by Crown Royal will get US$1 million, while the rest of the drivers each receive US$80,000.
■ Luge
Germany wins doubles
Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch posted the two fastest times Saturday as Germany won the men's doubles event at the luge World Championships in Nagano, Japan. Leitner clocked a time of 49.279 at Nagano Spiral while Resch had a run of 49.651 for a combined time of 1:38.930. Andre Florschuetz and Torsten Wustlich, also of Germany, were second with a time of 1:39.274 while Americans Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin were third in 1:39.280. Silke Kraushaar gave Germany its second victory of the day when she won the women's singles title with a time of 1:39.611. Germany also won the team event on Friday. Barbara Niedernhuber was second in 1:39.653 while Sylke Otto was third with a time of 1:39.860 as Germany made a clean sweep of the podium. American Ashley Hayden finished sixth with a time of 1:40.450.
■ Basketball
Manute Bol charged
Former NBA center Manute Bol was charged with hitting his daughter, cutting her lip and interfering with a police officer. Bol also was injured and needed medical treatment, West Hartford Police Captain Lori Coppinger said. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. The hospital, citing federal privacy laws, declined to say on Friday if Bol was a patient. Bol, 43, was arrested early Wednesday, police said. He was in court Thursday and is to return on Feb. 26. He also was charged with assault.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
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