BASKETBALL
James responds to Trump
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James on Wednesday hit back at US President Donald Trump after he called National Basketball Association (NBA) stars who kneel during the national anthem “disgraceful.” The two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player smiled when asked about Trump’s comments that he did more for the black community than any US president except maybe Abraham Lincoln, who freed slaves in the 19th century. “Trying to make me laugh right now? I appreciate that,” James said. Trump told Fox News he turns away when he sees players kneel during the anthem, although players have said the move is to protest police brutality and social injustice, and is not an insult to the flag, military or nation. “I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership,” James said.
HOCKEY
Habs defeat Pens
Jeff Petry on Wednesday night scored 5:33 into the third period as the Montreal Canadiens rallied from two goals down and beat Pittsburgh 4-3 in Game 3, pushing the Penguins to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five Eastern Conference qualifying series. Shea Weber had a goal and two assists for Montreal, Paul Byron added a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Drouin also scored. Ben Chariot also had had assists. Carey Price stopped 30 shots for the Canadiens — the 12th seed in the conference as part of the National Hockey League’s 24-team restart to its pandemic-delayed season. Montreal can advance to the normal first round with 16 teams with a win in Game 4 today.
SOCCER
United, Inter advance to QF
Manchester United and Inter Milan on Wednesday booked their places in the Europa League quarterfinals. United won 2-1 against LASK Linz to complete a 7-1 aggregate win over the Austrian club, five months after the first leg was played. LASK held the lead on the night for two minutes after Philipp Wiesinger’s 55th-minute goal, but Jesse Lingard soon leveled for United. Anthony Martial scored another for United in the 88th. “They haven’t played for a while, some of these lads, and it showed,” Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in televised comments.
BASKETBALL
NBA to fund foundation
NBA team owners are to contribute US$300 million over the next 10 years to a charitable foundation aimed at accelerating economic growth in the black community, the league said on Wednesday. Each of the NBA’s 30 teams is to provide US$1 million annually during that time to fund the NBA Foundation, which is being launched by the league’s board of governors and the players’ union. The foundation aims to drive economic empowerment for black communities through employment and career advancement, increasing access and support for high school, college-aged and career-ready black men and women. It would also work toward deepening the NBA’s commitment to racial equality and social justice, movements that have gathered momentum after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody in May. Anti-racism protests have been at the forefront of the NBA’s restart at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.
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