Rays’ Wander Franco arrested in DR over incident in which ‘guns were drawn’

  • Shortstop held by police over incident on Sunday
  • Player facing separate charges over sexual abuse claims

Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco after an altercation involving firearms.

ESPN reported that authorities held Franco and an unnamed woman for questioning on Monday after an incident in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Sunday “in which guns were drawn.”

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Japan gripped by two things: a general election and Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder

Speculation about the country’s political future is competing for space with the fortunes of the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar in the World Series

The Monday morning headlines in Japanese newspapers will be dominated by the result of the previous day’s general election. But speculation about the country’s political future after a tightly contested vote will be competing for space with another event taking place thousands of miles away. And all because of one man: Shohei Ohtani.

On Tuesday in Japan, millions of people are expected to devour every pitch and hit in the next instalment of the seven-game World Series between Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, with enthusiasm reaching levels usually reserved for the climax of domestic baseball, the Japan Series.

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Spanish-language hockey announcer reveals he fled death threats in Mexico

Jesus Lopez says radio post as play-by-play narrator for Las Vegas Golden Knights came after cartel threatened family

One of the few radio broadcasters to call professional hockey games in the US in Spanish embarked on his career after fleeing death threats from a notorious drug cartel in his native Mexico, he revealed in a new interview.

In a compelling conversation with the Nevada news station KSNV that was published Saturday, Jesus Lopez said the danger he endured before becoming the play-by-play narrator of Las Vegas Golden Knights games on the radio made calling the team’s Stanley Cup championship in 2023 one of the most memorable moments of his life.

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Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Hall of Famer and humanitarian, dies at 58

  • Former NBA star’s diagnosis was revealed two years ago
  • Center was known for charity work in US and Africa

Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, whose towering presence dominated basketball on and off the court, has died from brain cancer at the age of 58.

“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Monday. “On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”

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Bodycam shows police dragging NFL star Tyreek Hill from car before season opener

  • Miami receiver was detained before game on Sunday
  • Player says he followed orders given by officers

New video surfaced on Monday showing police officers forcefully removing Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill from his car and throwing him to the ground during a heated traffic stop before his team’s home opener on Sunday.

The Miami-Dade Police Department said it was releasing the available bodycam footage while continuing to investigate the incident. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump posted a clip from the footage on X.

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Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey from 1932 World Series sells for record $24.1m

Jersey, worn by baseball player in his final home run in the series, is most expensive sports collectible sold at auction

The jersey that legendary baseball player Babe Ruth wore when he “called the shot” – and batted a home run – during game 3 of the 1932 World Series has sold for a record-setting $24.1m (£18.1m) with Heritage Auctions.

The sale makes the jersey the most expensive sports collectible to ever be sold at auction. The jersey in question, belonging to the late New York Yankees star, was last auctioned in 2005 for $940,000. But at the time the item was only linked to the 1932 World Series, and not directly to the famed episode where Ruth pointed his bat to the outfield stands before he hit a home run into center field off Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root.

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USA edge past China with gold in final event of Paris 2024 to top medal table

Plus ça change: after more than two weeks of frenetic competition across 32 sports involving more than 10,000 athletes, the US finished the Paris Olympics top of the medal table once again, although they required victory in the final event of the Games to do so.

The US entered Sunday with 38 golds, one behind China’s tally of 39, although they were heavy favourites for victory in women’s basketball, an event the Americans have won at every Olympics since 1996. The US also had chances for gold in track cycling, wrestling and volleyball, while China could add to their tally in weightlifting.

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LA’s mayor says 2028 will be ‘no-car Games’ despite city’s notorious traffic

  • City will host Games for third time in its history
  • Businesses will be asked to allow home working

The Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, has said the 2028 Olympics will be a “no-car Games” as the city prepares to host the event in four years’ time.

Bass and Casey Wasserman, the chairman of the LA 2028 organizing committee, highlighted some of the planning that has already been completed. Bass was preemptive about the city’s notorious traffic, addressing the issue in her opening remarks at a press conference in Paris on Saturday.

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Competitor at CrossFit Games in Texas dies during swimming event

  • CrossFit CEO Don Faul ‘deeply saddened’ by death
  • Athlete who died named as Lazar Dukic from Serbia

A competitor in the CrossFit Games has died while competing in a swimming event on Thursday morning at a Texas lake.

CrossFit CEO Don Faul said during a news conference that the organization was “deeply saddened” by the death of one of their athletes, and they were working with authorities on the investigation into the death.

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Man who stole Jackie Robinson statue leaving only feet given 15 years in jail

Ricky Alderete sentenced for three offenses before Kansas unveiling of new statue of baseball and civil rights pioneer

A man who stole a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson that was cut off at the ankles and found days later on fire in a trash can in a Kansas park will spend about 15 years in prison, though most of that sentence is related to a burglary a few days after the January statue heist.

A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete on Friday in three different cases he said in court stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.

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Olympic ‘drag queen scene’ DJ files legal complaint after torrent of online abuse

A DJ and LGBTQ+ activist who performed during a controversial scene in the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony has said she is taking legal action after becoming the target of “an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation”.

Barbara Butch, who calls herself a “love activist”, had been “threatened with death, torture and rape, and has also been the target of numerous antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and body-shaming insults”, her lawyer said in a post on her Instagram page.

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IOC ‘deeply apologises’ after South Korean athletes introduced as North Korean

Olympic Games organisers said they “deeply apologise” for introducing South Korea’s athletes as North Korean during the opening ceremony in Paris.

As the South Korean athletes waved their nation’s flag on a boat floating down the Seine on Friday evening, they were announced in both French and English as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. South Korea is the Republic of Korea.

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Salt Lake City must lobby for end to FBI doping investigation in return for 2034 Winter Olympics

  • FBI is looking into allegations of Chinese doping
  • French Alps given 2030 Winter Olympics

What was expected to be a simple coronation of Salt Lake City as the 2034 Winter Olympic host turned into complicated Olympic politics on Wednesday, as the IOC pushed Utah officials to end an FBI investigation into a suspected doping coverup.

In a separate decision earlier in Paris, the 2030 Winter Games were awarded – with conditions – to France for a regional project split between ski resorts in the Alps and Nice. That project needs official signoff from the national government which is still being formed after elections in France earlier this month.

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United apologizes to ‘humiliated’ Hall of Famer Terrell Davis after removal from plane

  • Super Bowl champion tapped attendant during flight
  • Former Bronco was handcuffed by law enforcement

Two-time Super Bowl champion Terrell Davis said on Monday he was “humiliated” after being handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight over the weekend.

Davis, who played his entire career with the Denver Broncos, wrote in an Instagram post that he had tried to get the attention of a flight attendant because one of his sons wanted a cup of ice.

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Brett Favre pushes to revive lawsuit against fellow Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe

  • Case takes places amid backdrop of welfare scandal
  • Sharpe made comments during Fox Sports show

Lawyers for Brett Favre have asked a federal appeals court to revive a defamation lawsuit the former NFL quarterback filed against a fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Shannon Sharpe, amid the backdrop of a Mississippi welfare scandal.

A federal judge in Mississippi threw out the lawsuit in October, saying Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to the welfare misspending case.

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‘One of a kind’ NBA champion and broadcaster Bill Walton dies at 71

  • Center won championships with Portland and Boston
  • Walton became a popular broadcaster after playing career

Hall of fame basketball star and two-time NBA champion Bill Walton has died of cancer at the age of 71, the NBA announced on Monday.

“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.”

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Mike Tyson ‘doing great’ after health issue on flight to Los Angeles

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson suffered an apparent medical scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson suffered an apparent medical scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday. The incident came in the run-up to a scheduled July bout between the 57-year-old and YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul in Dallas.

According to In Touch Weekly, passengers heard an announcement asking for medical professionals roughly 30 minutes before the plane landed in LA. Passengers were reportedly delayed from disembarking for 25 minutes after the flight landed so paramedics could attend to Tyson.

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‘Quitting is the devil’s fruit!’: why anime is firing up sports stars

Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke, NFL stars and Olympic athletes are finding inspiration in the characters’ resilience

The Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke twice thought he had scored the opening goal against Brentford on 11 May. Each time he wheeled away to celebrate, he put on an orange mask with a spiral pattern and one eyehole before posing in front of the cameras.

The goal was ruled out by VAR but the celebration went viral, as journalists wrote about “masked mayhem” and others wondered what this “bizarre” celebration could mean.

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Man who made $5m in Masters thefts pleads guilty in federal court

  • Richard Globensky transported stolen Augusta goods
  • 39-year-old faces up to 10 years in jail over thefts

A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty Wednesday to transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen Masters tournament memorabilia and historic items, including one of Arnold Palmer’s green jackets.

Richard Globensky, of Georgia, entered the plea during his initial appearance in federal court in Chicago.

Federal prosecutors said the 39-year-old would take items from the warehouse and sell and transport them to another party in Florida for sale online. The scheme went on for nearly a decade and Globensky made roughly $5m from the sales. As part of a plea deal, Globensky must write a $1.5m cashier’s check to the government.

He was charged with one count of transporting goods knowing they had been stolen.

“I plead guilty,” Globensky, who was wearing a suit and tie, told the judge.

The items – stolen between 2009 and 2022 – included T-shirts, mugs and chairs, and historic memorabilia, including green jackets and tickets to Masters tournaments in the 1930s. The total loss to Augusta National was more than $3m, according to prosecutors. A representative for Augusta National did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Globensky declined to comment to reporters. His attorney, Thomas Church, said the case was being tried in Chicago because some of the stolen goods were recovered in the area.

Sentencing will be in late October. Globensky faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, but will likely get closer to two years in prison under the sentencing guidelines.

Augusta National hosts the annual Masters golf tournament. This year’s edition was won by Scottie Scheffler last month.

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Shohei Ohtani interpreter to plead guilty to stealing millions from MLB star

  • Ippei Mizuhara faces long jail sentence after admission
  • Plea deal will absolve Ohtani of any wrongdoing

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, will face up to 33 years in jail when he pleads guilty to stealing millions of dollars from his former friend.

Mizuhara has admitted to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. As well as a length jail term, he must also pay $16,975,010 in restitution to Victim A, assumed to be Ohtani. Mizuhara will enter his guilty plea in the coming weeks and is set to be arraigned on 14 May, prosecutors said.

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