■ Baseball
Hsieh comments on IOC
Premier Frank Hsieh said Friday that although baseball and softball have been eliminated from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Taiwan should not be discouraged. The premier made the remarks after the IOC made the decision during a special vote in Singapore on all 28 sports that make up the Olympic program. The decision will affect the 2012 Games just awarded to London. Hsieh said that it is a bit disappointing to learn that baseball and softball, in which Taiwan excels, will no longer be part of the Olympics, but he said that there are more than 10 sports that Taiwan has unlimited room for development. Chen Chuan-shou, chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, also said that the development of baseball will not be affected by the IOC's decision.
■ Basketball
Stotts to coach the Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks hired former assistant Terry Stotts as their new head coach on Friday. Stotts, an assistant with the Golden State Warriors last season, coached the Atlanta Hawks for 1 seasons. He went 52-85 in Atlanta after replacing Lon Kruger in 2002-2003. He also served under George Karl as an assistant for four seasons in Milwaukee. Stotts replaces Terry Porter, who was unexpectedly fired on June 22, days before the Bucks selected Australian Andrew Bogut with the top pick in the NBA draft. General manager Larry Harris said at the time that he wanted an experienced coach, and attention immediately focused on Flip Saunders and Doug Collins. Collins withdrew his name from consideration to stay in his television analyst job, and Saunders, who is due US$5.5 million from the Minnesota Timberwolves next season, apparently is waiting to see what happens with Larry Brown in Detroit
■ Auto Racing
Sperafico replaces Bremer
Ronnie Bremer was replaced by Brazilian driver Alex Sperafico in the HVM team on Friday despite finishing in the top 10 in three of his five Champ Car World Series races. Bremer couldn't produce any sponsorship money. Sperafico has competed in 10 Champ Car events, and earned his first top-10 finish at last year's Grand Prix of Toronto. His cousin, Ricardo, drives for the Dale Coyne team. "This is a fantastic opportunity for me," Sperafico said. "HVM is known for their professionalism, they consistently prepare fast and reliable race cars, and I am honored and excited to represent them in the Champ Car World Series. This is the best opportunity I have had in my professional racing career and I intend to maximize this chance."
■ Olympics
IOC elects new officials
Members from Greece and Japan won elections in Singapore on Saturday to become vice presidents of the International Olympic Committee, while Singapore's delegate made it onto the executive board. In a surprise, Greece's Lambis Nikolaou defeated senior Australian member Kevan Gosper in the final round 49-45 to win one of the four VP spots on the final day of the IOC's session in Singapore. Nikolaou's victory was seen as a gesture of gratitude for Greece's highly successful staging of the 2004 Olympics. "I'm overwhelmed," Nikolaou said, choking back tears. "This an honor for my country, Greece, which held exceptional games. We managed to produce dream games."
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
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