■ ENGLAND
Ashley denies Binladin link
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley admits he is desperate for new investors to pump cash into his Premier League club, but even he draws the line at suggestions of a deal with the family of terrorist Osama bin Laden. Ashley wants to bring in a partner who can help share the burden of supplying the substantial funds needed to turn Newcastle into Premier League title contenders. But the billionaire businessman was shocked to hear reports that the Saudi Binladin Group had been approached to invest in Newcastle. Although the group, run by Osama’s half-brother Bakr bin Laden, distanced themselves from the al-Qaeda founder some years ago, Ashley was sufficiently outraged to issue a firm denial. “I would say that I am keen to have partners in Newcastle. That’s a very expensive seat I sit in,” he told the Evening Standard. “But I think I’ll start with people from Newcastle, not in some cave in Afghanistan.” Ashley spoke out as his Sports Direct empire, which was floated in March last year, reported that profits for the year to April had halved after a drop in sales, fueling talk he may cash in on Newcastle. But he is confident of getting the ship back on course in the coming months. “I think last year, we were on the Titanic and still dancing with the band. This year will be different,” he said.
■ GERMANY
Clubs told to release players
FIFA closed the door on Thursday on two German clubs’ hopes of stopping their Brazilian players going to the Olympics. After the Brazil squad for Beijing was announced on Tuesday, Werder Bremen said they would not release 23-year-old midfielder Diego, and Schalke 04 resisted giving up 22-year-old defender Rafinha. World soccer’s governing body responded by restating its rule obliging clubs to release players aged 23 or under. “The release of players younger than 23 has always been mandatory for all clubs,” FIFA said in a statement.
■ HONG KONG
Many arrests for gambling
Police in Hong Kong said yesterday that 87 people had been arrested as part of an Asian-wide crackdown on illegal soccer gambling on the Euro 2008 tournament led by Interpol. Betting slips worth nearly US$13 million were seized in a series of raids across the city of 6.9 million in May and last month during the Euro 2008 tournament, as well as during final games of major international leagues. The arrests were part of an Interpol-led operation that saw a total of 1,300 people arrested and 1,088 gambling dens busted in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Vietnam and China, police said.
■ BOSNIA
Blazevic appointed coach
Miroslav Blazevic, who took Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup, was on Thursday named as Bosnia’s new national coach. “Miroslav ‘Ciro’ Blazevic was elected new coach” for the next two-year period, Bosnia soccer association spokeswoman Slavica Pecikoza told journalists. The 73-year-old Blazevic is replacing Meho Kodro who was sacked in May after he had refused to lead the national team for a friendly with Iran.
■ ITALY
Mancini heading to Inter
Roma’s Brazilian midfielder Mancini is expected to switch to Italian champions Inter in a deal reported to be worth around 13 million euros (US$20.5 million). “The two parties are satisfied,” Inter official Gabriele Oriali told Sky television. Italian media claimed that the 27-year-old would be paid around 3.5 million euros a season.
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
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