BASEBALL
Ohtani undergoes surgery
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder, following an injury he sustained during Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The Dodgers said the Japanese two-way player is expected to be ready for spring training in February. Ohtani injured his non-throwing shoulder while sliding into second base on a stolen base attempt, which resulted in a shoulder dislocation. He returned to play the next three games, helping the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games to win the championship.
CRICKET
Warner returns as captain
David Warner was named captain of Big Bash League team Sydney Thunder yesterday, a fortnight after having his lifetime ban on any leadership role in Australian cricket lifted. In 2018, the opening batsman, who this year retired from international cricket, conspired to tamper with the surface of the ball using sandpaper. He was suspended from playing for a year and banned from any leadership role for life, until a Cricket Australia panel last month ruled to lift the ban. “Captaining the Thunder again this season means a lot to me,” the 38-year-old Warner said. “I was part of the team from the start and now to be back with that ‘C’ next to my name feels fantastic.”
BASKETBALL
Embiid suspended
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving a member of the media, the NBA said on Tuesday. The locker room incident occurred after the 76ers’ game on Saturday, when oft-injured Embiid, who has not played this season due to what the team have called left knee management, confronted and shoved a Philadelphia newspaper columnist. Embiid took issue with a column the journalist wrote that questioned the seven-time NBA All-Star and former league Most Valuable Player’s effort to stay in shape and also mentioned the player’s son and late brother. “Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” league executive vice president Joe Dumars said in a news release. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”
ATHLETICS
Runner banned from marathon
A social media influencer from Texas was disqualified from last week’s New York City Marathon and banned from future competitions after he ran the race with a camera crew on e-bikes in tow. Race organizers New York Road Runners said in a statement on Tuesday that Matthew Choi contravened the group’s code of conduct and competition rules, not to mention those of World Athletics, by competing “with the assistance of two unauthorized people riding the course on electric bicycles, obstructing runners.” The former college football player posted online several videos of himself running the marathon that immediately drew scorn. “As a runner, seeing him was amazing. Gave me extra motivation to pass him and make sure I never had to see him and his dumb crew for the rest of the race,” one user on Reddit wrote.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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