BASEBALL
Mexico eliminates Taiwan
Catcher Raul Leon drove in five runs with a homer and a single as Mexico eliminated Taipei, Taiwan with an 11-1 victory in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday at the Little League World Series. Mexico will face Japan or Venezuela, who are both unbeaten and were to play yesterday. Leon drove in only one run during Mexico’s first three games. He homered in the first inning for a 3-0 lead, spreading his arms in celebration as he rounded the bases. In the second inning, he came up with the bases loaded and singled sharply to center field for two more runs during a four-run rally. Mexico second baseman Andres Villa made the highlight reels when he scooped a grounder with his glove to the shortstop to start a double play in the second inning. Villa hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Ernesto Rios followed with a solo shot to end it.
OLYMPICS
Japan offers no guarantee
Japan are unable to guarantee they will meet an International Olympic Committee (IOC) deadline to complete work on the new National Stadium in time for the 2020 Games. IOC vice president John Coates, on a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, asked Japan to deliver the stadium by January 2020 ahead of the Games, which are scheduled to take place from July 24 to Aug. 9. Japanese Minister of Olympics Toshiaki Endo said the deadline, set so the venue can host necessary test events prior to the Games, would be tough to meet.
OLYMPICS
LA projects US$161m surplus
After anxiety over taxpayer costs helped cripple Boston’s 2024 Olympic bid, organizers in potential stand-in Los Angeles disclosed a budget on Tuesday that shows the city holding a US$161 million surplus after staging events from Santa Monica beaches to the Hollywood Hills. Los Angeles, which hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, is viewed as the likely replacement for Boston’s failed bid because the city’s many existing venues could help keep costs low. The Los Angeles plan projects spending US$4.1 billion; Boston’s budget was about US$4.6 billion, but billions more could have been needed for construction, security and other costs.
FOOTBALL
Steelers sign Michael Vick
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed quarterback Michael Vick to a one-year deal, the team announced on Tuesday. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the veteran is expected to act as back-up to Pro Bowl signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger. The 35-year-old Vick spent last season with the New York Jets, but was used sparingly behind the impressive Geno Smith. A No. 1 overall draft pick for the Atlanta Falcons in 2001, Vick lit up the NFL as a dynamic runner and passer before missing two seasons because of a prison sentence for federal gambling and dog fighting charges. Vick, who returned from his hiatus to spend five seasons at the Philadelphia Eagles, has since redefined his career as a veteran locker room presence.
RUGBY UNION
NZ Rugby re-sign Smith
Scrumhalf Aaron Smith has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby for the next four years, joining a group of younger players who will carry the All Blacks forward when senior players retire after this year’s World Cup. The 26-year-old Smith, who has played 41 Tests and is New Zealand’s first-choice scrumhalf, joins winger Julian Savea, lock Brodie Retallick and hooker Dane Coles in signing deals that continue through the 2019 World Cup.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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