■SOCCER
Beckhams’ staff arrested
Two housekeepers working at a mansion owned by former England captain David Beckham and his pop star wife, Victoria, have been arrested on suspicion of theft, reports said yesterday. Newspaper reports said items belonging to the Beckhams turned up for sale on eBay. Police said they are looking into allegations of theft from a private address in the eastern English county of Hertfordshire, where the Beckhams have a home. They confirmed a 56-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man, both from Essex, had been arrested and released on bail.
■SOCCER
FA mulls match-fixing report
The English Football Association will examine match-fixing allegations involving a Championship match after they were given evidence by the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. Bookmakers reportedly detected a “massive movement” in bets in Asia in an unspecified Championship match at around half-time. As well as the FA, the Sunday Telegraph has sent a document to the Gambling Commission over the betting patterns. “We will consider any evidence brought to our attention,” the FA said.
■RUGBY LEAGUE
Wiki announces retirement
Ruben Wiki, the world’s most capped Test Rugby League player, yesterday announced he was retiring from the game. Wiki said he was hanging up his boots at the end of his 16th season in the National Rugby League competition, having started with the Canberra Raiders in 1993 and ended with four seasons at the New Zealand Warriors. Wiki retired from Tests in 2006 after 12 years and a world record 55 Tests for New Zealand, including 18 as captain. The 35-year-old played his last game for the invitation All Golds New Zealand team against New Zealand Maori last weekend after helping the Warriors reach the finals series of the NRL. There had been speculation that Wiki would end his career playing in Britain’s Super League, but the veteran said he was happy to retire after 312 NRL games. Wiki will continue his involvement with the game, acting as mentor to the Kiwis during the World Cup, which begins in Australia next Saturday.
■CYCLING
Austria’s Kohl tests positive
Austria’s Bernhard Kohl, the best climber at this year’s Tour de France and third overall, has tested positive for third-generation drug EPO Cera, France’s national anti-doping agency AFLD said on Monday. Kohl is the fourth rider to have been found positive for this drug by the AFLD since it pioneered a new blood test for EPO Cera and is currently retroactively testing blood samples of riders taken during this year’s race. Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli, plus Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, were the previous riders to have tested postive for Cera (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).
■CYCLING
Armstrong to race in Giro
Lance Armstrong agreed on Monday to ride in next year’s Giro d’Italia and suggested the Italian race — not the Tour de France — would be the main target in his comeback season. The American has never competed in the three-week Giro, considered the sport’s most prestigious stage race after the Tour. Armstrong also seemed to take a swipe at Tour de France organizers, with whom he has feuded over drug-testing issues. “I look forward to starting a race that respects not only the riders, but also maintains the highest integrity in sport,” he said.
“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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