BASEBALL
Ohtani among awardees
Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox were selected Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Comeback Players of the Year at the All-MLB Awards show in Las Vegas on Thursday. Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second American League Reliever of the Year Award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the National League honor. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, the likely National League Most Valuable Player, joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
TENNIS
Medvedev knocked out
Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner eased past Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 in their final group match on Thursday, and would meet Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals of the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin after the American defeated Alex de Minaur 5-7 6-4 6-3. Sinner gave Russia’s Medvedev, who had to beat him in straight sets to eliminate US Open runner-up Fritz, no chance of reaching the last four after taking an untroubled first set. Medvedev said he needs to “build a better version” of himself after the loss, which ensured the Russian would end the season without a title for the first time since 2017.
TENNIS
Kyrgios to return
Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios would return to action at the Brisbane International — a warm-up event for the Australian Open — which runs from Dec. 29 to Jan. 5, organizers said yesterday. The Australian Open runs from Jan. 12 to 26. Australian Kyrgios is also scheduled to play in the Dec. 19 to 22 World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. Kyrgios has played just one singles tour match in the last two years due to knee, foot and wrist injuries.
BOXING
Netflix seeks big hit
A showdown between former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul today is the latest one-two punch from Netflix, as the media giant hopes to cash in on sports’ sprint to streaming. The intergenerational showdown has all the makings of a crossover hit, with 58-year-old Tyson bringing in the old guard and 27-year-old Paul, who achieved early fame on YouTube, appealing to the younger, screen-toting social media junkies. “The trend in all sports right now is moving some of their properties to streaming,” said Bob Dorfman, a veteran San Francisco-based sports marketing analyst. The mega-event is the sign of a lasting love affair between sport and streaming, said Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports, though he predicts streaming and traditional broadcast will exist side-by-side for the foreseeable future. Amazon Prime picked up Thursday Night Football in 2021 and Major League Soccer signed a 10-year mega-deal with Apple TV in 2022 worth a reported $2.5 billion. Major League Baseball signed a deal with Apple for Friday Night Baseball, a weekly doubleheader, in 2022, as well. Leagues have been gravitating to streaming because it reaches a global audience, including younger viewers, who are not watching traditional television.
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
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