Print

Mail

wiki links

Sports Briefs

■ CRICKET

Black Caps drop Vincent

The stop-start career of New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent was halted by another red flag yesterday when he was dropped from the squad for the one-day series against Sri Lanka. Vincent struck a dismal run of form against South Africa and Australia recently and will make way for Peter Fulton, who is returning from knee surgery. Fulton has been scoring plenty of runs in New Zealand domestic cricket and New Zealand coach John Bracewell is hoping he can add some backbone to the faltering batting lineup.



■ BASEBALL

Dog eats World Series ball

The World Series ball is gone and Jonathan Papelbon has an excuse: My dog ate it. Papelbon blames the loss of the ball on his bulldog, Boss. "He plays with baseballs like they are his toys," Papelbon said. "He jumped up one day on the counter and snatched it. He likes rawhide. He tore that thing to pieces. Nobody knows that. I'll keep what's left of it." While the Red Sox have swept two of the past four World Series, they've had less luck when it comes to preserving the ball that was caught for the final out. It took a prolonged negotiation before first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz agreed to donate the 2004 ball to the Hall of Fame.



■ FORMULA ONE

Piquet Jr aiming to win

Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr has set high goals for his debut season in Formula One. "I'm here to try to win," the 22-year-old Brazilian said. "I think I'm capable of becoming the world champion." Piquet Jr -- son of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet -- was Renault's test driver this year and will drive alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who moved back to the French team after a controversial season with McLaren.



■ SWIMMING

Web pics outrage Laporte

French Sports Minister Bernard Laporte expressed outrage on Thursday over the posting of nude photos on the Internet of Olympic swimmer Laure Manaudou, saying he hopes those responsible will be punished. The images appeared on Internet sites over the weekend. "I find this destabilization campaign shameful," Laporte told Europe-1 radio. "I hope we find those who acted in this hateful way and that they will be punished because they deserve to be punished." Manaudou won the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics.



■ BASEBALL

Cuba to play in 2009 WBC

Cuba plans to participate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the nation's top sports official praised Major League Baseball (MLB) for engaging in "respectful dialogue" when it looked like the embargo might keep the country out of last year's tournament. Jose Ramon Fernandez, a Cuban vice president and head of the Olympic Committee, said on Wednesday in an interview that "for awhile we have been thinking about the Classic. It's been authorized. We have said we are going to participate." Cuba finished second in the first edition of the WBC, falling to Japan 10-6 in the final in San Diego. But the team was almost barred from participating when the US Treasury Department initially denied it a permit. An appeal by MLB and a promise by Cuba that any winnings would go to Hurricane Katrina relief -- thus ensuring no money went to Fidel Castro's government -- successfully reversed that decision.
This story has been viewed 822 times.