BASEBALL
Nationals hire Dusty Baker
Dusty Baker got another managing job, this time with the Washington Nationals. The Nationals announced Baker’s hiring on Tuesday, nearly a month after firing Matt Williams when the club missed the playoffs. In the 66-year-old Baker, the Nationals get someone who has worked 20 seasons as a manager in the majors and whose 1,671-1,504 record — a .526 winning percentage — includes the second-most victories among active managers. He led the San Francisco Giants to the 2002 World Series and reached the post-season a half-dozen other times. “I am certain that the Nationals, like all of our clubs, hired the best person for the job. It is encouraging that in this case the best person turned out to be African-American,” commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred wrote in an e-mail to reporters. “This is a positive step and I am intent on making continued progress on diversity in the managerial ranks going forward.”
RUGBY UNION
Queensland sign Goromaru
The Queensland Reds have signed Japan fullback and World Cup star Ayumu Goromaru for next year’s Super Rugby season. Goromaru led Japan to a shock 34-32 pool-stage win over South Africa in what has been described as the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history. Goromaru scored 24 points in that match and twice received man-of-the-match honors at the tournament. Goromaru, who is also Japan’s all-time leading point-scorer, has played his entire career in his nation’s Top League. The Reds yesterday said that the 29-year-old Goromaru is to replace former New Zealand flanker Adam Thomson, who has moved to the Melbourne Rebels, as Queensland’s designated foreign player. Goromaru could play against the new Japan-based Super Rugby side on May 21 in Brisbane.
CRICKET
Former England captain dies
Former England captain and president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Tom Graveney has died at the age of 88, Britain’s Press Association announced on Tuesday. Graveney made 11 centuries in 79 Test matches for England from 1951 to 1969, scoring 4,882 runs at an average of 44.38. Appointed MCC president in 2005, he was an honorary life member of the Lord’s club. Graveney played county cricket for Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, and had a spell playing in Australia with Queensland. He remained involved in the sport as a commentator following his retirement in 1972. A message from the Lord’s Twitter account read: “Deeply saddened to hear of the death of former @englandcricket captain and MCC President Tom Graveney.” BBC radio cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew wrote: “Never saw Tom Graveney bat, but he is synonymous with a golden era of England batsmen. Loved a chat in the bar and lived for cricket. RIP.”
CRICKET
Malik retires from Tests
Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik is to retire from Test cricket at the end of their ongoing match against England in Sharjah to give the nation’s younger players a chance, he said on Tuesday. Malik, 33, made a shock return to Test cricket at the beginning of the three-match series in the United Arab Emirates, marking his comeback with a career-best 245 in Abu Dhabi. He has since scored 47 runs in five innings, including a golden duck in his last one on Tuesday, but he did record his best Test bowling figures of 4-33 on the day he announced his retirement.
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
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
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
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take