CRICKET
Free beer for Ashes win
An Australian brewer yesterday offered a free beer to every adult in the country if Australia beat England in the upcoming Ashes cricket Tests. “This summer, when the final wicket falls and the Aussies lift the urn triumphantly, Australia’s best cold beer pledges to ‘shout the nation’” the company said. “That’s one ice-cold VB for every eligible person of drinking age and one huge celebration of the rightful return of the Ashes.” Australia have slipped below England in the Test rankings and are battling a raft of injuries and poor form ahead of the series. However, England have not won a series in Australia in 24 years. The five-Test series starts on Nov. 25.
FORMULA ONE
Tycoon gets new job
Richard Branson will serve as a “stewardess” on an Air Asia flight after losing a bet to Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes over which of their Formula One teams did better this season. Although neither team scored a point in their debut season, Lotus slightly outperformed Virgin. The two had made a bet before the season that the loser must serve as a “stewardess” on the winner’s airline. Fernandes owns Air Asia and Branson runs Virgin. Fernandes says “it’s time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work and the likely pain of a pair of high heels.”
ASIA GAMES
Paul (RIP) usurped by panda
First there was Paul the octopus, now there’s Bo Si, the “psychic” panda. Bo Si picked a Chinese athlete to be the first gold medal winner of the Asian Games — and Yuan Xiaochao promptly won the wushu, boosting the popularity of the 12 giant pandas at Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou. But given that China is the favorite to top the medals table and have the biggest squad at the games, critics said it hardly proved Bo Si’s telepathic powers. It also emerged Bo Si had been given the option of a bamboo shoot, which represented a Chinese winner, or an apple for a foreigner. Pandas exist on a bamboo diet.
BASEBALL
Rookies of year named
The San Francisco Giants World Series winning catcher Buster Posey won the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday while Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz took the American League’s prize. Posey comfortably defeated Atlanta right-fielder Jason Heyward in the vote by 32 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He spent almost two months at minor league Fresno before he was recruited as the Giants first base where he made an immediate impact. Feliz beat Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson in the AL vote. After taking over as the Rangers’ closer in mid-April, he saved 40 games, setting a Major League record for most saves by a rookie.
BASKETBALL
Nomination stuns LeBron
If the Miami Heat changing room was polled, LeBron James would not have unanimous support in the race for Time’s Person of the Year. James wouldn’t even vote for himself. Calling it “crazy” just to be on the list of finalists for the award, the NBA’s reigning two-time MVP seemed almost a bit embarrassed on Monday when he learned that he was one of the final 25 names under consideration. The winner is expected to be revealed next month. “I am who I am and I think I’m in a position of my life where I’m going to get better every day,” James said after Miami wrapped up its practice on Monday. “But it’s too much.”
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