To say that Shohei Ohtani has had an eventful first year with the Dodgers would be the greatest of understatements.
Having moved across town after six years with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani signed a 10-year contract worth a record-breaking $700m (£558m), agreeing to defer the majority of his salary to allow the Dodgers to strengthen elsewhere.
Before he had even made his debut, Ohtani caused a social media stir in his native Japan by announcing he had married, sparking weeks of speculation before he revealed his wife’s identity.
His long-time interpreter was fired by the Dodgers and arrested in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud relating to illegal gambling, to which the interpreter has now pleaded guilty.
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Back on the field, Ohtani’s dog Decoy “threw out” the ceremonial first pitch in a game against the Baltimore Orioles in August, but the hound on the mound was eclipsed in September when his master became the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. The ’50-50 baseball’, whose ownership is disputed, was sold at auction for $4.4m (£3.39m) earlier this week.
While part of Ohtani’s allure comes from his rare status as a ‘two-way’ player, able to play at the highest level as both a hitter and a pitcher, elbow surgery has meant he has not pitched in 2024, but his batting stats continue to impress.
And in his first appearance in the post-season, the sky is the limit for this undoubted global star.
Sir Chris was told by doctors that he has two to four years to live.
Speaking for the first time about his health following his terminal cancer announcement, the cyclist said in the video: “Hi everyone, I just wanted to share an update about my health, after telling you that I was receiving treatment for cancer.
“I’m so grateful to everyone for their incredible kindness and support. You have heard by now that I’m ready to share that my cancer is stage 4: I will be living with it for the rest of my life.
“Now it’s not the news anyone imagines hearing, and it obviously came as a huge shock.
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“We’ve taken time to process it as a family and I now have a deep resolve to turn this incredibly difficult diagnosis into something more positive that can help not just me, but anyone anywhere living with stage 4.”
Sir Chris added that he is “utterly blown by the love and support”.
Olympic Legend Sir Chris Hoy Battles Terminal Cancer
And has found the huge increase in men seeking advice about prostate cancer in the last few days “a huge comfort that hopefully many lives could be saved by early testing”.
He added: “I’m talking to you know because amidst it all I’ve made the decision to write it all in a book.
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“It’s been cathartic and it’s a very important part of how I’ve been able to process this news with my family and for myself over the past few months.”
His book called All That Matters is all about how the family have coped with the devastating diagnosis.
Hoy said: “I’m really proud of it and I hope it can help anyone facing any sort of challenge in their life, not just cancer.
“It’s also been a chance to spread the word about my charity event taking place next year called ‘Tour de 4’, I can’t wait to tell you more about this in due course.
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“The book is coming out in November. To pre-order All That Matters, or for further information see the link in the bio. Thanks everyone.”
It was also previously revealed his wife Sarra was diagnosed with incurable and degenerative MS (multiple sclerosis) just weeks before Sir Chris got his cancer news.
But the couple have decided to keep her illness from their two kids.
Jon Jones can officially use the move that cost him the only loss of his career when he returns to action against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in New York on Nov. 16.
On Thursday, the New York State Athletic Commission confirmed to MMA Fighting that rules changes for MMA approved by the Association of Boxing Commission (ABC) have been adopted and go into effect starting on Nov. 1. The measure was actually approved in September with the commission deciding to adopt the new rules set forth by the ABC.
“The New York State Athletic Commission will adhere to the Unified Rules for MMA at UFC 309 on November 16, as explained in the attached bulletin issued by the Commission on Sept. 5, 2024,” commission officials said in a statement.
While Unified MMA Rules are defined by the ABC, each athletic commission still has to approve the changes before it officially goes into effect.
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The two specific rules changed involve eliminating the 12-to-6 elbow as a foul in MMA and a new definition for a grounded fighter.
The 12-to-6 elbow defined as a straight up and straight down strike that was previously deemed illegal is the move that Jones used during a lopsided fight against Matt Hamill back in 2009. Jones was seemingly on his way to a victory when he unleased the downward elbows that were called a foul but when Hamill couldn’t continue, the fight was stopped and the future UFC heavyweight champion was disqualified for the illegal strikes.
That disqualification stands as the only blemish on Jones’ otherwise perfect record.
As for the second rule change, that involves the definition of a grounded fighter and when strikes can be thrown to the head. Here’s the new rule that goes into effect on Nov. 1:
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“A fighter shall be considered grounded and may not be legally kneed or kicked to the head when any part of their body other than their hands or feet is in contact with the canvas (ground).”
In other words for a fighter to be considered “grounded,” he or she must have another body part like an elbow or knee down on the ground in addition to hands and feet or they are susceptible to knees or kicks from an opponent.
The definition of a grounded opponent has evolved over the years but some athletic commissions have not adopted updated rules changes so it resulted in a lot of confusion among athletes depending on where the fights took place.
When it comes to UFC 309 in New York, fighters will operate under the new rules when it comes to a grounded opponent as well as the use of 12-to-6 elbows.
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UFC 309 pits Jones against Miocic in the main event while Michael Chandler makes his long awaited return to action against Charles Oliveira in the co-main event.
Luton Town have condemned “abhorrent and unacceptable” racist abuse sent to forward Elijah Adebayo.
The Championship club said the 26-year-old was sent a racially abusive message on Instagram during their 2-1 defeat by Sunderland on Wednesday.
That message has been reported to the police and Instagram owner Meta for further investigation, Luton added.
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It is not the first time Luton have called out racist remarks sent to Adebayo on social media, with the striker saying last October he was “tired” of the abuse aimed at him.
“We’re angry, upset and frustrated to report that racist abuse has been directed towards Elijah Adebayo,” the club said on their website,, external in a statement titled ‘Is It Ever Going to Stop?’.
“Just like we said a year ago, and just like we will do WHENEVER a player or staff member is subjected to abuse, we will stand by and support Elijah unequivocally.
West Brom have collected just three points out of a possible 15, a run that is the worst since Carlos Corberan succeeded Steve Bruce as Baggies boss almost two years ago.
But they remain fourth in the Championship and in their last outing became the first side this season to come away with even a point at Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park home.
“I don’t think they’ve [West Brom] won in five… but they’re a good side; they’re disciplined out of possession and they’ve got attacking threats in possession and it’ll be a tough game – but it’s not one we’re frightened of,” Riza said.
“Their form hasn’t been great but they’re a good side, their form hasn’t been great but they’ve lost two and drawn three, we’re not approaching the game lightly, that’s for sure.
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“We haven’t lost a game in three and we want to continue that. We’re going to go away from home, to a tough opposition – for us it’s a really good test to see where we’ve come from to where we are at the moment, to where we’re trying to get to.
“It’s a great gauge, we’ve got some tough games and this is the first of them coming up and we’re fully motivated to try and get a result.”
Key midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls remain on the injury list, with Ramsey at least three weeks away and Ralls a possibility to return against Blackburn Rovers on 9 November.
But Riza is happy with the strength in depth of his squad, with other players having stepped up in recent weeks.
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“We’re a strong squad, we’ve got 25, 26 players, everyone wants to play and providing they’re working hard and respectful of each other, and they support each other, everyone has an opportunity to play and I’ve made that clear from the get-go,” Riza added.
“Young lads get the opportunity, they do well they play. The only time they come out is there’s something tactical that needs to be changed.
“You earn the shirt but you don’t just earn the shirt by performing in training and games, you earn the shirt with all your other actions as well, what you do outside of the pitch.”
Petrosyan (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on Magomedov (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 main card opener at Etihad Arena (pay-per-view, ESPN+).
Petrosyan will look to capitalize on the hype that undefeated Magomedov brings and the coveted spot they’re on to open up the pay-per-view.
“Shara is very popular. He’s got a lot of hype behind him, and I think really for both of us, this is a great thing that there’s going to be so many people watching this specific fight,” Petrosyan told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day.
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Petrosyan recalls competing in the same kickboxing tournament as Magomedov. They even shared the mats before, and the 33-year-old has nothing but respect for his opponent.
“We know each other. At one point we even trained together way back when,” Petrosyan said. “The tournament you’re talking about, we fought together on the same tournament. It’s not like we fought each other. Yeah, we know each other.
“I wouldn’t say we’re best of friends, but we’re really good acquaintances. We know all of his weak parts, we know all of his good sides, so you’ll see it. For every opponent, we make sure to study him really well, so I think you’ll see everything in the fight. … It’s going to be very fiery, very exciting.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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