SOCCER
Juventus snatch 2-2 draw
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties as Juventus snatched a 2-2 draw against Atalanta BC on Saturday to take another step toward a ninth straight Serie A title. SS Lazio’s 2-1 loss to US Sassuolo earlier in the day gave Atalanta a chance to move second and cut the gap to Juve to six points, but despite trailing twice and being outplayed for long periods, Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus moved eight points clear at the top with six matches remaining. Elsewhere, AS Roma strengthened their grip on a Europa League slot with a comfortable 3-0 win against relegation-threatened Brescia, with goals from Federico Fazio, Nikola Kalinic and Nicolo Zaniolo.
SOCCER
Barcelona edge Valladolid
Arturo Vidal scored for Barcelona as they sneaked past Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to keep the pressure on leaders Real Madrid as La Liga approaches its climax. Barcelona closed to within one point of Madrid, who have a game in hand. Vidal scored in the 15th minute after being set up by Lionel Messi, who, like most of his teammates, had a discreet outing at Valladolid’s empty Jose Zorilla Stadium. “We will give it our all, and then wait and see,” Vidal said of their chances of overtaking Real Madrid. “It doesn’t depend on us. If it is not meant to be, then on to the Champions League” next month. In other matches, CA Osasuna defeated RC Celta de Vigo 2-1 and Atletico Madrid downed Real Betis Balompie 1-0.
SOCCER
Burundi completes season
Burundi completed its club season that played through the COVID-19 pandemic by staging the FA Cup final on Saturday, with Musongati winning 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Rukinzo. Spectators were admitted to matches in the east African nation throughout the pandemic and the crowd at the final did not practice social distancing in the packed stands. Other countries who defied the global pandemic and continued playing top-flight soccer include Taiwan, Belarus, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.
BASKETBALL
ESPN suspends reporter
ESPN on Saturday suspended Adrian Wojnarowski without pay one day after the NBA reporter sent a profane e-mail to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. ESPN reprimanded Wojnarowski on Friday for his conduct and called it “completely unacceptable behavior” after Wojnarowski apologized in a statement for his reply to Hawley, saying in part: “I was disrespectful and I made a regrettable mistake.” Hawley earlier on Friday sent a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver criticizing the league’s decision to allow players to wear messages such as “black lives matter” while barring messages critical of China or supporting the US military or law enforcement. Two minutes later, Wojnarowski responded on his ESPN account from his phone with a two-word personal insult, one of which was an F-bomb. Hawley tweeted out Wojnarowski’s response and later tweeted that he was not interested in an apology. “Don’t make @wojespn apologize. He’s just saying what he really thinks. Call out the @NBA. You know, your job,” he wrote.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB