An Australian player’s claim that he was approached with an offer to fix a game of the Asia Series held in Taiwan last month was a “fabricated lie,” the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) said on Monday as it announced the result of its probe into the allegation.
The CPBL is demanding an apology from the Australian Baseball League (ABL).
Catcher Matt Blazynski’s claim that the Canberra Cavalry were asked to throw the Asia Series semi-final was “a fabrication without a thread of truth” and the Canberra Times report that broke the story on Nov. 23 was “not based on fact,” the CPBL said in a statement.
“The lie and the article caused extremely serious damage to the 2013 Asia Series, the CPBL, baseball fans and those who work in baseball in Taiwan,” it added.
The Taiwanese league demanded in a letter that its Australian counterpart write a note apologizing for the allegation and publish it in the Canberra Times to clarify the matter.
Copies of the letter sent to the ABL were sent to its counterparts in Japan, South Korea and Europe, which also participated in the six-team tournament held from Nov. 15 to Nov. 20.
The CPBL said that until its demands are met, it will suspend cooperation and exchange activities with the Australian division.
Blazynski, who did not play in the series, told the Canberra Times that he had been approached at a bar in Greater Taichung on Nov. 17, the eve of the semi-final between the Cavalry and the Samsung Lions of South Korea, and was offered US$30,000 to help lose the game by at least seven runs.
Blazynski referred the matter to Cavalry coaches, who passed it up the chain, resulting in the officials in charge of the Asia Series contacting police, the paper reported.
The Cavalry beat the Lions 9-5 and went on to win the championship by routing the Uni-President Lions 14-4.
During its investigation into the match-fixing claim, the CPBL reviewed a closed-circuit TV recording of Blazynski at the bar, called Simba, which it said showed that it was he who had struck up a conversation with two local men and a woman.
According to the footage, no money was produced during the encounter, the Taiwanese league said.
In its statement, the CPBL also criticized Blazynski for refusing to cooperate with its investigation during a video conference arranged with the ABL’s assistance on Dec. 6.
“He was evasive and unwilling to fully cooperate with the CPBL’s request for a legal investigation or even provide his cellphone number,” it said.
CPBL president Huang Cheng-tai declined to respond to requests for comment, referring reporters to his administration’s statement.
CPBL deputy secretary-general Wang Hui-min said that the result of the probe was based on information gathered through the league’s anti-gambling mechanism.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS