■OLYMPICS
IOC drops Kuwait threat
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would not suspend Kuwait on Saturday after the country committed itself to amend a local law that had threatened the autonomy of its sports organizations. The IOC had tried for two years to find a solution with authorities over the independent operation of Kuwait’s National Olympic Committee and the nation’s sports bodies but had previously said deadlines had not been respected. It had warned Kuwait it could be suspended if changes to the law were not completed by the end of the year. The IOC said late on Tuesday it received a letter from Kuwait’s social affairs and labor minister giving its commitment to review the national sports law to make it compatible with the Olympic Charter.
■BASEBALL
Red Sox retire Rice jersey
Jim Rice added another honor to his name on Tuesday when the new member of the Hall of Fame had his No. 14 uniform retired by the Boston Red Sox. Rice, inducted with Rickey Henderson at Sunday’s Cooperstown ceremonies, joins fellow Hall-of-Famers and Fenway Park left-fielders Ted Williams (9) and Carl Yastrzemski (8) among Red Sox to have their numbers retired.
■TENNIS
Nadal back in training
Rafael Nadal says treatment on his painful knees has been going well enough for him to have started training seriously, and he hoped to defend his Montreal title in two weeks. Speaking for the first time since he withdrew from Wimbledon and didn’t defend his title at the All England Club, Nadal said he had grown tired of always playing tennis with searing pain in his knees. “I had spent several months like this and when I came back from Miami [in April] it really hurt badly, especially my right knee, and the truth is that it was a different pain,” Nadal told Spanish TVE1 television on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 said he had become used to playing with pain, relying on anti-inflammatories, and decided after failing to win a fifth successive French Open that it was time to try and solve the problem. He said he had played Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid with the pain (and won the first three).
■SUMO
Bulgaria honors Kotooshu
Kotooshu, the Bulgarian wrestler known as “the David Beckham of sumo,” was awarded his country’s highest state order on Tuesday for earning star status in Japan. Kotooshu, the first European to reach the rank of **ozeki, the second-highest level in sumo, was awarded the first-rank Stara Planina order by President Georgy Parvanov at a ceremony in Sofia. Parvanov hailed the 26-year-old wrestler, whose real name is Kaloyan Mahlyanov, as one of the “brightest” symbols of Bulgaria in Japan — along with Damask roses and Bulgarian yoghurt. Kotooshu recently announced his engagement to 29-year-old Japanese Asako Ando, who accompanied him on Tuesday along with his parents.
■GOLF
Ballesteros aims for Trophy
Five-times major winner Seve Ballesteros, who underwent four operations to remove a brain tumor, is aiming to recover in time to captain Europe at next year’s Royal Trophy against holders Asia. “I sincerely hope to captain the European team ... this is a competition that means a lot to me,” the 52-year-old Spaniard said in a statement released on Wednesday. The next edition will take place from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10 at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, east of Bangkok.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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