■US SPORTS
Editors pick biggest story
The steroids scandal in baseball has been picked as the Story of the Year by sports editors in the US. Some of the biggest names in the game, including Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, were the latest to be linked to doping and the story received 800 points in votes from editors at US newspapers that are members of the Associated Press. Not even the Tiger Woods sex scandal was considered a bigger story. Because voting had started before the Nov. 27 car accident that touched off Woods’ travails, editors were given the unprecedented option of submitting a new ballot and about 10 did. The Woods scandal finished as the fifth-biggest story of the year (617 points), following Jimmie Johnson’s fourth straight NASCAR championship (690 points), Roger Federer’s 15th Grand Slam title (639) and quarterback Brett Favre ending his second retirement to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a division title (637).
■BASEBALL
Yankees sign Nick Johnson
Securing a new designated hitter to replace World Series Most Valuable Player Hideki Matsui, the New York Yankees signed Nick Johnson to a one-year Major League Baseball contract on Wednesday. The US$5.5 million deal, which includes hefty performance bonuses, brings Johnson back to the Bronx for a second stint after three seasons with the club starting in 2001. Japanese standout Matsui became a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month, with the Yankees filling the void with Johnson, who hit a combined .291 for Washington and Florida last season, with eight home runs and 62 runs batted in. Johnson was traded from the Yankees to Montreal in 2003 and stayed with them during their move to the US capital.
■ATHLETICS
Baala to receive medal
A special ceremony will be held next month to present French runner Medhi Baala with the 1,500m bronze medal from last year’s Beijing Olympics after Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi was stripped of the gold for doping. The French Olympic Committee said Baala is to receive the medal in Paris on Jan. 6. Baala finished fourth in the race, but has been upgraded after Ramzi was stripped last month for being among five athletes who tested positive in retroactive tests for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO.
■SOCCER
Ajax hit 14 in Dutch Cup
Dutch giants Ajax whipped amateur outfit WHC Wezep 14-1 in a mismatched Dutch Cup round of 16 tie on Wednesday. Markoi Pantelic started the rout for former Tottenham boss Martin Jol’s trigger-happy team in the 18th minute and Ajax had raced to a 6-1 lead by the break. Ajax’s seventh goal came when the second half was minutes old, with goals 12, 13 and 14 coming in the final five minutes. The night proved a triumph for Ajax’s Uruguay winger Luis Suarez, who scored no fewer than six of Ajax’s haul.
■SOCCER
FA charge Arsenal and Hull
Arsenal and Hull City were charged with failing to control their players by the Football Association on Wednesday following their Premier League match last Saturday. A fiery match at the Emirates Stadium was inflamed further shortly before halftime when Arsenal’s Samir Nasri appeared to tread on the ankle of Hull’s Richard Garcia. Stephen Hunt then clashed with Nasri and a mass confrontation ensued, with Gunners keeper Manuel Almunia running the length of the field to get involved.
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
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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