POLL: 81% SAY OLYMPICS SHOULD NOT BE HELD
More than 80 percent of people in Japan who were surveyed in two polls in the last few days say the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled or postponed, or say they believe the Olympics will not take place.
The polls were conducted by the Japanese news agency Kyodo and TBS — the Tokyo Broadcasting System.
The results are bad news for Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee as they continue to say the postponed Olympics will open on July 23.
Tokyo is battling a surge of COVID-19 cases that prompted the national government last week to call a state of emergency. In declaring the emergency, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he was confident the Olympics would be held.
Japan has controlled the virus relatively well but the surge has heightened skepticism about the need for the Olympics and the danger of potentially bringing 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes into the country.
Japan has attributed about 3,800 deaths to COVID-19 in a country of 126 million.
The TBS poll asked if the Olympics can be held. In the telephone survey with 1,261 responding, 81 percent replied “no” with only 13 percent answering “yes.” The “no” responses increased 18 percentage points from a similar survey in December.
Golf
More top-ranked players are heading for Torrey Pines. World No. 7 and four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy, No. 9 Patrick Cantlay and 2018 Open Championship winner Francesco Molinari committed to compete in the Farmers Insurance Open, set for Jan. 28-31 at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Donald Trump’s ownership of Turnberry will prevent the Scottish course from staging the British Open for “the foreseeable future,” the chief executive of the R&A said. Turnberry hasn’t hosted the tournament since it was bought by Trump in 2014.
Jaden Hunter and Taylor Riley won the boys and girls divisions of the Sean O’Hair Heritage tournament at the Singing Hills Golf Resort’s Willow Glen on Sunday. The event is part of series by the San Diego County Junior Golf Association.
Hunter, 17, attends Canyon Crest Academy, posted a 6under-par 65 for a two-shot win over Phillip Kench. Riley, 16, a Point Loma High junior and daughter of PGA Tour veteran and current USD Golf coach Chris Riley, posted a 1-underpar score of 70 for a one-shot win.
Soccer
LAFC acquired Escondido’s Corey Baird from Real Salt Lake. LAFC announced the deal, sending $500,000 in general allocation money, a 2021 international roster spot and future considerations to Salt Lake.
Cindy Parlow Cone is unopposed for an additional oneyear term as U.S. Soccer Federation president running until February 2022.
West Ham staved off potential embarrassment in the FA Cup by scoring an 83rdminute goal to see off nonleague Stockport 1-0 in the third round.
• Tottenham’s Premier League game against Aston Villa on Wednesday has been postponed due to COVID-19 positives.
Tennis
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and secondseeded Elina Svitolina were eliminated from the seasonopening Abu Dhabi Open. Kenin lost to ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Svitolina lost to unseeded Russian Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
• American Christian Harrison won playing in his first career quarterfinal, beating Gianluca Mager of Italy 7-6 (2), 6-4 at the Delray Beach Open in Florida. Harrison’s opponent today will be No. 4-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who swept qualifier Roberto Quiroz of Ecuador 6-4, 6-4.
Also
Las Vegas Raiders player Josh Jacobs won’t face a driving under the inf luence charge in his single-vehicle crash last week near McCarran International Airport, authorities said. Blood test results showed Jacobs’ blood-alcohol level did not reach the 0.08 percent level required to pursue a drunken driving charge, prosecutor Eric Bauman said.
• Switzerland’s signature ski race was canceled after a rise in COVID-19 infections was blamed partly on tourists from Britain. Wengen was to host three races on the iconic Lauberhorn mountain from Friday to Sunday.