SOCCER
Thai police warn of scam
Thai police have warned Liverpool fans not to fall for online scammers impersonating Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who is tipped to replace Juergen Klopp at Anfield in the summer. The Thai Central Investigation Bureau told people to watch out for a viral message purporting to show the Spaniard’s Instagram account asking for donations of 300 baht (US$8.50) to help pay his airfare. “I am Xabi Alonso, I will be in charge of Liverpool next season, but I am short of money for my flights to Liverpool,” said the message, written in Thai. “Liverpool fans, calm down. Xabi is not yet the manager, but there is already a scammer,” police said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday. The message — doctored to look like it came from Alonso’s official Instagram account — was “a scammer pretending to be Xabi,” police said.
SOCCER
Ryan dismisses criticism
Australia captain Mat Ryan has dismissed criticism of the Socceroos’ Asian Cup campaign as “outside noise.” Australia’s 4-0 win over 146th-ranked Indonesia drew only faint praise in home media, while fans lamented the team’s lack of fluidity in attack. Ryan said results were all that mattered. “There can be a lot of outside noise and all that about, you know, the team should be doing this and doing that, but you know football isn’t easy... Everyone claims that it is from the outside,” he said.
ICE SKATING
US to receive gold
Members of the US Olympic figure skating team on Monday were told that they are to receive gold medals after Russian skater Kamila Valieva was disqualified for doping at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee received word that the International Olympic Committee would award the gold to the US for the team competition after Valieva’s positive test from six weeks before the competition was announced. It was uncertain is how Valieva’s disqualification would affect the silver and bronze medals. Japan finished third and are likely to move to second. Depending on how a scoring rule is interpreted, Russia could still finish third — ahead of Canada — even after deducting Valieva’s points.
RUGBY UNION
Rebels to get support
Rugby Australia yesterday said that it would help the Melbourne Rebels to take their place in this year’s Super Rugby competition after the debt-laden club went into voluntary administration. The governing body said it would work with the appointed administrator to ensure that the men’s and women’s teams would be able to field sides in 2024. The Rebels are reportedly in more than A$10 million (US$6.6 million) of debt.
BASEBALL
Paxton, Dodgers sign deal
James Paxton and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday finalized a US$11 million, one-year contract. The left-hander can earn up to US$13 million if he is healthy during the early part of the season and starts at least 20 games. He joins a Dodgers rotation projected to include fellow newcomers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, along with Walker Buehler, and Bobby Miller or Emmet Sheehan.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS