■BASKETBALL
Barkley takes TV time out
Retired NBA star Charles Barkley is taking a leave of absence from his TV commentator job in the wake of a suspected drunken driving incident. Turner Sports announced the move on Friday, hours after test results released by police in Arizona showed Barkley had a blood-alcohol level of .149, nearly twice the legal limit of .08, when he was stopped by officers just outside Phoenix, Arizona, on Dec. 31. Barkley, 45, was stopped for running a stop sign at about 1:30am on Dec. 31. He was cited by police and released.
■BASKETBALL
Boozer to rest four weeks
Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and faces at least four weeks of rehabilitation, the National Basketball Association club said on Saturday. Boozer first suffered a strained left quadriceps tendon and a bone bruise on the knee in a victory in November over Milwaukee. The veteran had missed 24-straight games before having the surgery on Friday in Los Angeles. Loose cartilage around his knee joint was removed and the knee was cleaned up.
■HOCKEY
All-star coaches named
Todd McLellan of the San Jose Sharks and Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins were named as coaches for their respective conferences in the 57th National Hockey League all-star game in Montreal. Julien, who guided Montreal for three seasons from 2002-2006, has led the Bruins to their best start since 1929-1930 as the club posted 64 points in its first 41 games. Boston increased that total to 66 (31-7-4) with its 5-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Named San Jose’s coach on June 12 following a three-year stint as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings, McLellan is just the second first-year coach to lead an all-star team. The 41-year-old McLellan, who has guided the Sharks to a 30-5-5 record, is the first coach in franchise history to win his first four games and lead the club to a 4-0-0 record to start a campaign. The all-star game takes place on Jan. 25 at the Bell Center Arena in Calgary, Canada.
■FOOTBALL
Freeney fined for cursing
Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney has been slapped with a US$20,000 fine for a post-game tirade against the officials of his team’s Jan. 3 playoff game. The league’s disciplinary officials said they fined Freeney for “inappropriate comments on officiating” following the Colts’ 23-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers, US media reported on Saturday. Indianapolis was whistled for three defensive penalties during the Chargers’ winning drive. In a postgame interview with Yahoo! Sports, Freeney blasted the officials, saying: “Those were the worst [expletive] calls I’ve seen in a long time.”
■BASEBALL
Red Sox sign Takashi Saito
Takashi Saito agreed to a one-year deal with Boston on Saturday, giving the Red Sox another veteran arm in their bullpen. Saito, who had 18 saves and a 2.49 ERA last season despite being limited by an elbow injury, became a free agent when the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to offer him a contract by the Dec. 12 deadline. The Japanese right-hander would have been eligible for salary arbitration and a raise from US$2 million if he was tendered a contract. The 38-year-old Saito is 12-7 with 81 saves and a 1.95 ERA in three major league seasons, all with Los Angeles. “He’s done an amazing job since coming over from Japan three years ago,” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
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