MOTOGP
Jorge Martin takes pole
Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing yesterday set a lap record and stormed to his second pole position of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, with championship leader Francesco Bagnaia and last year’s winner Jack Miller joining the Spaniard on the front row. Martin secured his spot atop the timesheets by improving on Brad Binder’s Friday mark with a time of 1 minute, 43.198 seconds. “I feel strong and making the record in Motegi is always special. I really enjoy this track, so I’m really happy,” Martin said.
SOCCER
Own-goal hands Barca win
Sergio Ramos’ own-goal on Friday handed Barcelona a narrow 1-0 win over Sevilla in La Liga, taking the Catalans to the top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games. Veteran centerback Ramos deflected Lamine Yamal’s header into his own net in the 76th minute to break the deadlock in a tight clash. The 37-year-old said this week he had planned a special goal celebration if he scored against Barca after his summer return to Spain from Paris Saint-Germain, but putting through his own net was not part of the plan. “Ramos is a spectacular defender, today he had the misfortune of scoring an own-goal, but he had a good game,” Barcelona coach Xavi told reporters. “It was unlucky for him, but for us it was good.”
SOCCER
Dortmund win with 10 men
Borussia Dortmund on Friday held on with 10 men to beat TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 3-1 in the Bundesliga. The win put Dortmund top of the table ahead of the remainder of the weekend’s games. Ramy Bensebaini was sent off for a second booking after kicking the ball away at a routine throw-in in the 71st minute with the score 2-1. Marco Reus had scored Dortmund’s second goal, but was later booked for throwing a water bottle onto the field from the bench. Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring in the 18th minute Andrej Kramaric converted a spot-kick for Hoffenheim.
SOCCER
Gnomes placed at stadium
Mysterious gnome statues appeared this week in the surroundings of the Estadio Pedro Bidegain in the run-up to yesterday’s derby between San Lorenzo and Huracan in the Argentine Primera Division. Local media reported that this “witchcraft,” aimed to get a positive result in the derby, was not claimed by any club fan and the statues were removed late because no one dared to touch them. “In this type of match there are no favorites. The dummies appeared, I read about it and I thought it was funny. I don’t think those things influence a match,” San Lorenzo coach Ruben Insua told reporters on Friday. After the incident, coffin-shaped posters with red drawings of ghosts with the faces of fans Ulises Fernandez and Rodrigo Silvera, who lost their lives in violent clashes between supporters, appeared in the vicinity of Huracan’s headquarters. “Regrettable. Nothing to do with what represents the folklore of one of the most beautiful matches in Argentina,” local media firm Ole reported, criticizing the response of some San Lorenzo fans to what happened at the stadium. Tickets were sold out for the game — which was to be played after press time last night. The rivalry has more than 100 years of history in the so-called “neighborhood derby.”
“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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