BASEBALL
Taiwan games scrapped
The San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks will not play a pair of games in Taiwan to open next year’s Major League Baseball regular season as planned, the league said on its official Web site. “We were informed that a deal couldn’t be pulled together at this time,” MLB.com quoted Diamondbacks spokesperson Shaun Rachau as saying. The original deal would have seen the two teams play two exhibition and two regular-season games in Taiwan in late March. The regular-season games were to be counted as Diamondbacks home games. Bros Sports, organizers of the games in Taiwan, had not been informed of the decision and the firm was contacting the league for further information, said Hu Lung-chih, the sports company’s general manager.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Kiwis take Four Nations title
Scrumhalf Nathan Fien scored a try less than a minute from time to give New Zealand a 16-12 win over Australia in the final of the Four Nations in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday. Fien touched down near the posts in the 80th minute to set up an easy kick for Benji Marshall and give New Zealand the lead for the first time in a rugged match. The Kiwis carried the ball almost 80m as the final minute of the match ticked away to score the winning try and add a Four Nations victory over Australia to last season’s World Cup final win against the Kangaroos.
FENCING
Romania strike epee gold
Romania won the gold medal in women’s epee at the World Championships with a 35-26 defeat of Germany in the final at the Grand Palais in Paris on Friday. The win was the eastern European nation’s first ever gold medal in the competition and came on the back of a superlative showing from Ana Branza, who saw off Imke Duplitzer 18-10 to set the foundations for a famous triumph. Germany were at least able to console themselves with silver after five straight third-place finishes and their runner-up showing was in stark contrast to some disappointing individual performances as neither their 2008 Olympic champion and 2007 world champion Britta Heidemann, nor reigning European champion Imke Duplitzer were able to make any impression. South Korea landed the bronze medal.
SPEEDSKATING
Davis wins 1,000m at opener
Olympic champion Shani Davis won the men’s 1,000m in the speedskating World Cup season opener in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, on Friday. Davis finished in 1 minute, 8.40 seconds to beat Dutch pair Stefan Groothuis and Simon Kuipers. Groothuis was 0.11 seconds back in second place, while Kuipers was 0.28 seconds behind in third. Joji Kato of Japan won the 500m, ahead of South Korean duo Lee Kang-seok and Lee Kyou-hyuk. Olympic gold medalist Christine Nesbitt of Canada ensured the opening day ended without a Dutch gold after clinching the women’s 1,000m in 1 minute, 15.84 seconds ahead of local favorites Margot Boer and Ireen Wust. Germany’s Jenny Wolf continued her domination of the women’s 500m, winning in 38.02 seconds.
RALLYING
Loeb takes narrow lead
Sebastien Loeb took a narrow lead after the first day of the season-ending Wales Rally. Loeb has already been crowned world champion for a seventh time and looks to finish the season on a high after taking a 1.8 second lead over Petter Solberg of Norway. The Frenchman navigated the wet conditions to win four of Friday’s seven stages. Sebastian Ogier of France was 3.6 seconds back.
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