■ICE HOCKEY
Raptors to face Wolves
The match-up for the fifth Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey League (CIHL) Championship has been set as the Hsinchu Raptors dispatched the Taichung Lions and the Taipei Wolves beat the Taipei Rhinos in the weekend’s semi-final series. Both victorious teams were able to vanquish their opposition in two straight games. The puck drops on game 1 of the fifth CIHL Championship finals on Friday at 9:15pm. Game two of the best-of-three series will be played on Saturday at 9:15pm and, if necessary, game three will take place on Sunday at 7:45pm. All games will be played at Taipei Arena and admission is free.
■BOXING
Former champ Page dies
Former heavyweight boxing champion Greg Page died at his Kentucky home on Monday, his wife Patricia Page said. He was 50. Page suffered a severe brain injury eight years ago at a fight in Louisville and his wife said he died of complications from that fight. Page was in a coma for a week following the March 2001 World Boxing Association title fight. He suffered a stroke during post-fight surgery and was paralyzed on his left side and received intensive physical therapy. Page was 42 and had a 58-16-1 career record going into the fight against 24-year-old Dale Crowe. Page hit the canvas after 10 rounds and didn’t get up. Page won a US$1.2 million suit two years ago over the lack of medical help at the match.
■GOLF
PGA Tour elevates HSBC
The International Federation of PGA Tours says the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai will be elevated to the level of an elite World Golf Championship event. PGA TOURS announced yesterday that prize money for the tournament will be increased by US$2 million to US$7 million and there will be a revised qualifying criteria. Defending champion Sergio Garcai will also be back at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club. Tiger Woods has already announced he will play the HSBC Champions in early November.
■RUGBY UNION
Karl Mullen dead at 82
Ireland’s 1948 Grand Slam-winning captain Karl Mullen has died at the age of 82, just over a month after seeing Ireland end a 61-year wait to win the Six Nations clean sweep again. Mullen made his Ireland debut against France in 1947 and went on to win 25 caps, leading his country to the 1948 Five Nations Grand Slam and the Triple Crown a year later. In 1950 he was named captain for the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia and New Zealand.
■BASKETBALL
Former Net hospitalized
Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation on Monday following a early morning run-in with police that led to Williams being stunned with a Taser. The incident took place at a Manhattan hotel after police were called when the former NBA standout appeared suicidal, police said. Police said they found empty bottles of prescription medications thrown around the hotel suite. Williams, who played with New Jersey and Philadelphia before retiring in 2000, had divorce papers filed earlier this year claiming he was abusive, had cheated on her and had a drug problem. Williams was convicted in 2004 of trying to cover up the shooting death of Costas Christofi, his hired driver, at his New Jersey home in 2002. He was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter charges but the jury could not reach a verdict on a reckless manslaughter count. A retrial on that charge is pending.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
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
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