EQUESTRIAN
Jaguars get Trent Edwards
The Jacksonville Jaguars were awarded quarterback Trent Edwards off waivers on Tuesday after he was released by the winless Buffalo Bills. Edwards will compete with David Garrard for the starting quarterback role for the Jags, who face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in an AFC West divisional matchup. The 26-year-old Edwards was selected by the Bills in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, but struggled with injuries and consistency. He completed 29 of 52 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions in two games this season. Garrard has also struggled, completing 44-of-74 passes for 448 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions this year.
EQUESTRIAN
Netherlands win gold
The Netherlands won the gold medal in team Grand Prix dressage at the World Equestrian Games on Tuesday, despite having a horse disqualified. The Netherlands scored 229.754 points, Britain had 224.767 and third-placed Germany finished with 220.595. It was the first time Britain had taken a medal in team dressage at the World Equestrian Games. Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen and horse Jerich Parzival were disqualified when the ground jury observed blood in the horse’s saliva, an automatic elimination.
FOOTBALL
Batch starting for Steelers
Quarterback Charlie Batch will start again this week as the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers await the return of suspended signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger, the team said on Tuesday. “He is doing a nice job,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told the team’s Web site (steelers.com). “The guys have a great deal of confidence in him.” The Steelers (3-0) play the Baltimore Ravens (2-1) at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Sunday in the final game before starter Roethlisberger returns from a four-game NFL suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct pol. Batch completed 12 of 17 passes and threw for three touchdowns in leading the Steelers past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-13 on Sunday. He gained a chance to start after Dennis Dixon, who played in the Steelers’ opening game, underwent knee surgery.
FORMULA ONE
Gascoyne’s contract extended
Lotus Racing has extended the contract of its chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne until 2015, amid legal challenges over the future of the Formula One team. The reborn Lotus, led by Malaysian airline tycoon Tony Fernandes, entered F1 this season. The team is yet to score a championship point, but had been developing for the longer term. In a statement yesterday, Gascoyne said it was “my intention to finish my career here.” Lotus Racing is currently involved in a legal struggle over the rights to the historic brand.
RUGBY
Brett Stewart acquitted
High-profile Australian rugby league player Brett Stewart was yesterday acquitted of a sexual assault charge against a 17-year-old girl in Sydney. Stewart was charged last year with assaulting the girl outside his house following a party for the club’s season launch in Sydney. A jury returned not guilty verdicts at a Sydney court for one sexual assault charge and two charges of indecent assault, Australian Associated Press said. The 25-year-old wept after the verdict was delivered. Stewart, one of the NRL’s poster boys last year, was stripped from the league’s advertising campaign following the charges against him and suspended for the first four rounds of the season for being drunk at the club’s launch.
CYCLING
Lost bike costs training
New Zealand’s Greg Henderson was still counting the cost of a lost luggage fiasco as the world championships got under way in Australia yesterday, with his training bike yet to be recovered after his flight from Europe. Henderson, who pulled out of the Delhi Commonwealth Games citing safety concerns last week, had been forced to rest for four days instead of training ahead of Sunday’s 262.7km road race in Melbourne and Geelong, local media said yesterday. His race bike had shown up this week but was damaged and unfit for competition. “The forks were smashed to pieces, British Airways have looked after my gear yet again,” New Zealand Press Association quoted him as saying. Henderson, who will ride with Julian Dean and Hayden Roulston on New Zealand’s team, sourced a replacement through his Team Sky team, but still lacked a backup after declining to order one following repeated assurances from the airline. “They says it’s coming, it’ll be tonight, so you don’t make plans. Then you get on the phone again ... I should have known better really,” he said.
CRICKET
England moved by Dachau
England’s cricketers concluded a pre-Ashes get-together in Germany with a visit to the memorial site of the Dachau World War II concentration camp on Tuesday, an England and Wales Cricket Board statement said. England’s five-day trip, which also included team-building exercises, was held in the southern German state of Bavaria. Dachau was the first of the concentration camps established by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler in 1933 and was the forerunner for similar camps which, like Dachau itself, were used throughout World War II. Official records indicate 40,000 people died in Dachau during the 12 years it was under Nazi control. Last year England, ahead of their 2-1 Ashes series win on home soil, visited the World War I battlefield site at Flanders in Belgium.
CRICKET
Modi’s demise imminent
Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi was to be stripped of his posts by the country’s powerful cricket board yesterday, an official said in Mumbai, capping his incredible demise. Modi was suspended as the IPL chairman in April by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), owners of the hugely popular Twenty20 IPL tournament, following allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering. He was also suspended as one of the five vice-presidents of the BCCI and removed as chairman of the T20 Champions League, a separate club tournament organized jointly by India, Australia and South Africa.
CYCLING
Emma Pooley makes history
Emma Pooley blitzed a strong field in Australia to become Britain’s first women’s time trial world champion on Wednesday. Pooley powered through the 22.9km course in the port city of Geelong in 32 minutes, 48.44 seconds to finish 15.7 seconds faster than German silver medalist Judith Arndt. Linda Villumsen of New Zealand took bronze. Pooley, who took silver in the time trial at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had to overcome a last-minute hitch when race officials found a discrepancy with her bike just before the starting line and ordered her to change it. French cycling great Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli defied her 51 years with an extraordinary ride to finish fifth, ahead of a field of riders half her age.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely