■RUGBY
S Africa ditch Springbok
South Africa rugby jerseys may sport a flower instead of a Springbok next year after the country’s Parliamentary Sports Portfolio Committee decided to ditch the iconic emblem. Committee Chairman Butana Komphela told a radio station that delegates supported the call to have a uniform national sporting emblem and for the Springbok to be replaced by South Africa’s national flower, the protea, from next year. “All the other national teams no longer use the Springbok and the last time the national rugby team runs out with the Bok on their chests will be on the end-of-year tour to the UK,” Komphela told Metro FM radio. “The decision has been made and there will be no negotiation and I know that SA Rugby will say that it will result in a huge loss in revenue, but our investigations have actually indicated that the opposite will happen,” he said. The CEO of SA Rugby, Johan Prinsloo, told the same radio station that they had not taken part in discussions because the subject had not been on the agenda.
■BASEBALL
Burgos kept behind bars
New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos will be jailed for three months while awaiting trial for a hit-and-run accident that killed two women. The 24-year-old reliever told reporters that a Dominican judge ordered him to remain behind bars on Wednesday night out of concerns for his safety. “I am going to come out of this fine because my conscience is clear, and I’m not worried this will affect my career because I haven’t done anything,” he said in the jailhouse interview. Burgos is accused of abandoning the victims of the Sept. 30 accident in Nagua, Dominican Republic, and fleeing, charges that can carry six months to two years in prison. He disappeared after the accident but turned himself in on Tuesday. Burgos said he was confident he would get out of jail in time for an Oct. 23 court date in New York where he faces assault and harassment charges for allegedly throwing his girlfriend to the ground.
■ICE HOCKEY
Goalie shoots self in face
Ex-National Hockey League goalie Clint Malarchuk was recovering in hospital from his second nightmarish accident in 19 years after accidentally shooting himself in the face with a hunting rifle on Tuesday. The 47-year-old Malarchuk was rushed to hospital in Reno, Nevada, after he shot himself with a .22-caliber rifle at his residence, the Record-Courier newspaper reported on Wednesday. In 1989, Malarchuk almost lost his life in an horrific on-ice accident where his jugular vein was severed by a errant skate while he was playing goal for the Buffalo Sabres. Malarchuk’s wife, Christy, told police her husband had been out hunting rabbits at the time of the shooting. She said the gun accidentally discharged while he placed it on the ground between his legs. Malarchuk is the goaltending coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
■TENNIS
Nalbandian advances
Top seed David Nalbandian marched into the Stockholm Open quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Swede Joachim Johansson on Thursday. Former world top-10 player Johansson, just back from retirement, struggled to cope with the steady baseline play of his Argentine opponent. Nalbandian next plays Spaniard Albert Montanes. Earlier, Kei Nishikori scraped past Slovak Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 to clinch a meeting with second seed Mario Ancic of Croatia who put out Belgian Steve Darcis 7-6, 6-4.
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