BASEBALL
Reyes to miss season
St Louis Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes is facing a second straight lost year after needing surgery on Wednesday to reattach a tendon in his right lat. “We’ve been told by doctors they expect him to be fully recovered,” general manager Michael Girsch told reporters. Reyes, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, pitched in the majors for the first time in 20 months against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday last week. Girsch described the injury as “uncommon,” saying that the lat “wasn’t completely torn off, which means there was good blood flow, which means they’re very optimistic for recovery.”
BASEBALL
Phone lights pause game
Fans using their cellphone lights caused a brief delay when the Detroit Tigers were batting in the seventh inning at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday night. It started to grow with one out in the seventh of Boston’s 7-1 win and circled the stands, when Detroit’s Niko Goodrum took a third strike from pitcher Matt Barnes. Before Nicholas Castellanos stepped to the plate, he chatted with umpire Mike DiMuro. Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire also came out to talk with DiMuro, who walked over to Boston’s dugout. “You ever tried to hit with a light like that in your face? It’s not supposed to happen,” Gardenhire said. “The umpires should have, in my opinion, stopped it right away” Security asked fans in the center-field bleachers to stop using the phones as flash lights and play resumed. “It was kind of cool,” Boston center fielder Andrew Benintendi said.
SOCCER
Mamic handed prison time
Former Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamic on Wednesday was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion over deals that included the sale of Croatia World Cup stars Luka Modric and Dejan Lovren. Mamic, 58, was not in court when judges read the verdict and sentence. He left for Bosnia-Herzegovina a day ahead of the session and called the verdict “monstrous.” The court issued an arrest warrant for Mamic, who said he would not return before the end of the appeals process.
SOCCER
Film angers Ghanian fans
Hundreds of Ghanaians on Wednesday trooped to Accra to watch alleged acts of bribery involving officials, including the head of the nation’s soccer association, captured on video demanding kickbacks. Kwesi Nyantakyi was seen in a hotel room taking a US$65,000 bribe from a supposed businessman seeking to sponsor the league for up to US$15 million over three years. When Greed and Corruption Become the Norm is the work of undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The scenes shown in the 6,000-capacity auditorium drew intermittent uproar from the crowd, which included business leaders, clergy, diplomats and sport administrators. The video also showed Nyantakyi offering to facilitate the award of key government contracts to the businessman on conditions that he paid kickbacks totaling US$12 million through him to top officials, including Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo. In different segments, other officials such as referees were shown accepting bribes ranging from goats to cash sums of 300 to 4,000 cedis (US$64 to US$858).
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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