BASEBALL
Mariners accused of racism
MLB is investigating claims against the Seattle Mariners by the team’s recently fired training and conditioning director Lorena Martin, who said team management had disparaged Latino players. The Mariners in a statement on Monday denied the allegations following the social media postings from Martin in which she said that general manager Jerry Dipoto, manager Scott Servais and director of player development Andy McKay had called Latino players “lazy, dumb and stupid, especially the Dominicans.” The Mariners said Martin was relieved of her duties on Oct. 10. “While it is our policy to not comment on personnel issues, we do feel it is important to respond to the outrageous, false claims made by her today on social media. And to note that Martin did not make any of these false allegations until after she was relieved of her duties,” the statement said.
SOCCER
Solari to coach until 2021
Santiago Solari on Tuesday was confirmed as Real Madrid coach until 2021 following his successful spell in charge as caretaker boss. Solari’s anointment as sacked Julen Lopetegui’s permanent successor comes after wins in his first four matches. With 15 goals scored and only two conceded, the 42-year-old Argentinian has established the best-ever start for a Real manager. The upturn has left Madrid only four points adrift of league leaders Barcelona and on the brink of qualification for the last 16 in Europe. This is Solari’s maiden job in charge of a first team.
FOOTBALL
Bell forgoes season
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell did not report to the team before Tuesday’s 4pm deadline, meaning he is ineligible to play the rest of the season. Bell, who has held out the entire year since being franchise-tagged for the second straight time, is to forfeit the entirety of his US$14.5 million tender and not play this year. He had already sacrificed more than US$8.5 million by missing the first 10 weeks of the season. Steelers head coach Bell is set to hit free agency in March. He is the first player to sit out an entire season on the franchise tag since Washington Redskins defensive lineman Sean Gilbert in 1997. Gilbert cashed in with a seven-year, US$46.5 million contract the following off-season with the Carolina Panthers.
SOCCER
New coach thanks rivals
Celta Vigo coach Miguel Cardoso on Tuesday got off to an embarrassing start at the struggling Liga club after mistakenly declaring he was taking over at their fierce local rivals, Deportivo La Coruna. The Portuguese worked as an assistant at Celta’s Galician neighbors Depor from 2012 to 2013 and got muddled up in his first news conference after being named as successor to Antonio Mohamed, who was sacked on Monday. “I want to thank the president and the sporting director for showing faith in me and my coaching staff to start a new era at Deportivo. I mean Celta,” Cardoso said, causing sporting director Felipe Minambres to grimace. Cardoso, who was coach at French side Nantes until Oct. 1, takes over a Celta side who are 14th in the Liga standings, having lost 4-2 at home to Real Madrid on Sunday.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
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
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
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