BASEBALL
Ohtani undergoes surgery
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder, following an injury he sustained during Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The Dodgers said the Japanese two-way player is expected to be ready for spring training in February. Ohtani injured his non-throwing shoulder while sliding into second base on a stolen base attempt, which resulted in a shoulder dislocation. He returned to play the next three games, helping the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games to win the championship.
CRICKET
Warner returns as captain
David Warner was named captain of Big Bash League team Sydney Thunder yesterday, a fortnight after having his lifetime ban on any leadership role in Australian cricket lifted. In 2018, the opening batsman, who this year retired from international cricket, conspired to tamper with the surface of the ball using sandpaper. He was suspended from playing for a year and banned from any leadership role for life, until a Cricket Australia panel last month ruled to lift the ban. “Captaining the Thunder again this season means a lot to me,” the 38-year-old Warner said. “I was part of the team from the start and now to be back with that ‘C’ next to my name feels fantastic.”
BASKETBALL
Embiid suspended
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving a member of the media, the NBA said on Tuesday. The locker room incident occurred after the 76ers’ game on Saturday, when oft-injured Embiid, who has not played this season due to what the team have called left knee management, confronted and shoved a Philadelphia newspaper columnist. Embiid took issue with a column the journalist wrote that questioned the seven-time NBA All-Star and former league Most Valuable Player’s effort to stay in shape and also mentioned the player’s son and late brother. “Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” league executive vice president Joe Dumars said in a news release. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”
ATHLETICS
Runner banned from marathon
A social media influencer from Texas was disqualified from last week’s New York City Marathon and banned from future competitions after he ran the race with a camera crew on e-bikes in tow. Race organizers New York Road Runners said in a statement on Tuesday that Matthew Choi contravened the group’s code of conduct and competition rules, not to mention those of World Athletics, by competing “with the assistance of two unauthorized people riding the course on electric bicycles, obstructing runners.” The former college football player posted online several videos of himself running the marathon that immediately drew scorn. “As a runner, seeing him was amazing. Gave me extra motivation to pass him and make sure I never had to see him and his dumb crew for the rest of the race,” one user on Reddit wrote.
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
Jannik Sinner has his eyes on a first Roland Garros title after winning the Italian Open on Sunday to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory. World No. 1 Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to complete the “Golden Masters” by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events, in the process becoming the first Italian men’s champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago. Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the past 10 days. Sinner heads to Roland Garros, which starts at the weekend,