■BOXING
Hopkins, Jones to fight
Seventeen years after losing their first fight, Bernard Hopkins is to finally get his chance for revenge on fellow American Roy Jones Jr in April. The non-title fight, at an as yet unspecified weight, will take place in Las Vegas on April 3, promoters said on Monday. Hopkins and Jones have not met since a May 22, 1993 IBF middleweight title bout, where Jones claimed a unanimous decision. “A rematch with Roy has been in the back of my mind for a long time and it’s finally going to happen,” long-time middleweight champion Hopkins, 45, who successfully moved up to light-heavyweight in his 40s, said in a statement. Jones, 41, who has held world titles in four divisions from middleweight to heavyweight, was confident of repeating his victory over Hopkins. “Now I can finally terminate the Executioner [Hopkins’ nickname] once and for all,” Jones said.
■FOOTBALL
Players to donate brains
Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Haynes and current Chicago Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer are among more than a dozen NFL players who have pledged to donate their brain and spinal cord tissue for concussion research. Retired players Zach Thomas, Kyle Turley and Conrad Dobler also have said they’ll help the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine. The wife of Hall of Famer John Mackey pledged to donate his brain after his death. Mackey has dementia. In December, the NFL and its players association said they would support the center’s research and encourage players to participate. Current NFL players Sean Morey of the Cardinals, Matt Birk of the Ravens and Lofa Tatupu of the Seahawks earlier had agreed to donate their brain for research.
■BASEBALL
Larkin, Logan in Taiwan
Former US professional players Barry Larkin and Joseph Logan arrived in Taipei on Monday for a week-long visit as sports envoys. Both Larkin and Logan said upon arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that they looked forward to meeting local players and interacting with young people. The pair are scheduled to conduct six baseball clinics and visit schools, orphanages and social service organizations in Taipei and Kaohsiung. They will also attend an exhibition baseball game between two Taipei high schools. Larkin and Logan are visiting Taiwan as part of the Sports Envoy Program co-sponsored by the US Department of State and the American Institute in Taiwan. Larkin starred at shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was a key member of the Reds’ 1990 World Series championship team. Logan pitched in the Montreal Expos organization between 1989 and 1991.
■TENNIS
Paes goes to Bollywood
Leander Paes, India’s multiple grand slam winning doubles specialist, is to make his Bollywood debut and has already completed a month’s shooting for his first film. Paes won the Australian Open mixed doubles with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black on Sunday to take his career grand slam titles tally to 11. The 36-year-old has taken a role in a psychological thriller after undergoing intensive coaching at a leading Mumbai acting school, the DNA broadsheet reported yesterday. “The first leg of the shooting is over,” Hiranmoy Chatterjee, president of the Bengal Tennis Association and a friend of Paes, told the paper. “He shot in various locations in West Bengal as the story is based in Bengal and is directed by a Bengali director.”
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38