SOCCER
Lazio fined, boss banned
SS Lazio president Claudio Lotito has been banned for seven months and the club fined 150,000 euros (US$177,367) for breaking COVID-19 rules, the Italian Football Federation said on Friday. Club doctors Ivo Pulcini and Fabio Rodia were also suspended for 12 months each, but the Roman club escaped a Serie A points deduction. Lazio said in a statement that they would appeal the decision. Lazio were accused of failing to alert local health authorities when eight staff tested positive in late October last year, on the eve of a Champions League match in Bruges, and then in November last year, before another Champions League match in St Petersburg. The federation also criticized Lazio for “not having prevented” three players from taking part in a squad training session on Nov. 3 last year, despite a positive test the day before.
OLYMPICS
Ex-official under fire again
Former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori, who resigned last month as president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee over comments criticized as sexist, yesterday came under fire for another remark deemed disrespectful to women. Mori, speaking late on Friday at a party for a politician at a Tokyo hotel, referred to the politician’s aide as “way too old to be called a woman.” He called her “obachan,” which means “old mama” in Japanese, and told the audience she was “astonishing.” “He is incurable,” Isoko Mochizuki, reporter for the Tokyo Shimbun, wrote on Twitter. “He has made yet another remark discriminatory toward women.” Others online wrote that Mori had not repented and one said sarcastically that he deserved a gold medal for sexism.
BASEBALL
Rodriguez out for opener
Boston Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez has to wait a little longer before returning to a big league mound. The Red Sox on Friday scratched Rodriguez as their opening day starter because of a “dead arm.” Nathan Eovaldi is instead to face the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on Thursday next week. Manager Alex Cora said that Rodriguez missed a bullpen session on Wednesday, two days after lasting just two innings in a spring training start. He played catch on Thursday and felt fine, and Cora said that Rodriguez was to have a bullpen session yesterday. Rodriguez went 19-6 for Boston.
SOCCER
Woman officiates qualifier
A 32-year-old Philadelphia native on Thursday became the first woman to work as an on-field official for a World Cup qualifier in North and Central America and the Caribbean. Kathryn Nesbitt ran the sidelines as an assistant referee when Canada opened with a 5-1 rout of Bermuda at Orlando, Florida. Nesbitt disappeared into the background as much as one can while working in a yellow jersey and black shorts, an orange and yellow flag in her hands. “I’m hoping that people will bring her to the men’s World Cup in a couple of years instead of the Women’s World Cup — actually both,” said Rick Eddy, US Soccer’s director of referee development. “If FIFA really wants to make a stand towards saying they’re supporting women, here’s their opportunity.”
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
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