■ MARATHON
Keitany, Fujiwara to debut
Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the 25km world record-holder, and Japan’s Arata Fujiwara were among eight new entrants announced on Wednesday by organizers of the 41st New York Marathon. The Nov. 7 race will be the marathon debut for Keitany, the reigning world half-marathon champion who set a 25km world mark of 79 minutes, 53 seconds last May in Berlin. Keitany, 28, has not lost a half-marathon since October 2007. “It will be my debut at the marathon distance and I have no idea how my body will react in the last miles, but I’m confident for the new challenge in front of me,” Keitany said. Joining her in the women’s field were two-time New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith and former world champion Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia. British Olympian Mara Yamauchi and US Olympian Shalane Flanagan are also among the entrants. Fujiwara, 27, makes his New York debut after setting a course record of two hours, nine minutes, 33 seconds last May to win the Ottawa Marathon.
■ HORSE RACING
Horse names twist tongue
A pair of dueling horses left an announcer at a New Jersey racetrack sounding more like a confused husband. Larry Collmus had noticed “Mywifenosevrything” and “Thewifedoesntknow” on the card for Sunday’s seventh race at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, but he said he didn’t envision the outcome. However, when the horses were both in the hunt near the end, Collmus said he had a sense of what was coming. Collmus kept up the call as the two dueled down the stretch, deftly flicking between the tongue-twisting names. His only thought: “Don’t mess it up.” At the finish he exclaimed: “Mywifenosevrything more than Thewifedoesntknow. Whew!” Video of the call has gone viral on YouTube. Mywifenosevrything is trained by a woman, while a man trains Thewifedoesntknow.
■ FOOTBALL
NFL approves Kroenke bid
The NFL has unanimously approved a proposal for Stan Kroenke to take over as majority owner of the St Louis Rams as long as he turns over control of his NBA and NHL teams to his son. Kroenke owns 40 percent of the Rams and has exercised an option to buy the remaining 60 percent of the team from the Rosenbloom family for a reported US$750 million. However, first he had to deal with NFL rules against cross-ownership of major league franchises in other pro football cities. He already owns two Denver-based teams, the NBA’s Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. NFL owners approved Kroenke’s deal on Wednesday on condition that he turn over operational and financial control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his son, Josh, by the end of the year. He must give up his majority stake in the teams by December 2014.
■ FOOTBALL
Owners want longer season
National Football League (NFL) owners have shown overwhelming support for two extra regular season games, but have not held a formal vote to impose the expansion, league commissioner Roger Goodell said on Wednesday. Goodell said a specific proposal to extend the regular season to 18 games from 16 would go to the negotiating team working with the NFL Players Association on a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners have previously said an 18-game regular season and a reduction of pre-season games to two from four could be put into effect as soon as 2012. Goodell said that fans had also supported the idea.
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
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
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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