Wed, Aug 22, 2012 page18

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  CYCLING

  Farrar wins in Colorado

  Tyler Farrar of the US secured his first win of the season with a strong surge in the final 100m to claim the opening stage of the USA Pro Challenge in Telluride, Colorado, by several bike lengths on Monday. For 28-year-old Farrar, who last year captured his first Tour de France stage, his triumph in the 202km road race from Durango to Telluride in 4 hours, 42 minutes, 48 seconds marked his 43rd career win. “I knew today could possibly be a sprint, but I really wasn’t sure I had the legs to make it, so I’m pretty happy to pull it off,” said Farrar, who has lived in Belgium for most of his professional career and rarely competes in the US. Italians Alesssandro Bazzana and Damiano Caruso were second and third respectively, both several lengths behind Farrar, but credited with the same time as the American on the overcast and periodically rainy day. Defending champion Levi Leipheimer of the US finished safely in 19th place in the peloton.

  RUGBY UNION

  Prop Woodcock out of Test

  All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock has been ruled out of Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against Australia with a rib injury. Woodcock, a veteran of 87 Tests, sustained the injury during New Zealand’s 27-19 win over the Wallabies in the opening match of the four-nation championship at the weekend. He was unable to train yesterday and his place in the All Blacks starting lineup at Eden Park is likely to be taken by Wyatt Crockett. Australia have already suffered a major injury blow ahead of Saturday’s match, which is the second in a three-match Bledisloe Cup series against New Zealand. Wallabies captain David Pocock was ruled out of the match on Monday with a knee injury which will require surgery. New Zealand are unbeaten against Australia at Eden Park since 1986.

  FOOTBALL

  Jaguars to play in London

  A person familiar with the situation said the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to play multiple home games in London beginning next year. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Shad Khan wanted to make a formal announcement yesterday afternoon in Jacksonville. The person said the Jaguars would play a total of four home games in London, one each year between next year and 2016. Khan has made it clear he wants to play games overseas in hopes of increasing the team’s brand globally. He even mentioned it during his introductory press conference last year. The St Louis Rams had been scheduled to play a home game in London next year and in 2014, but they pulled out last week, citing a need to focus on lease negotiations and ease fan discontent.

  SOCCER

  Sammut banned for 10 years

  UEFA acknowledged on Monday that its showpiece international competition had been corrupted, as it confirmed a 10-year ban for Malta player Kevin Sammut for helping to fix a Euro 2008 qualifying match. Sammut was found guilty of “breaching UEFA’s principles of integrity and sportsmanship” relating to manipulating results, the governing body of European soccer said in a statement. UEFA did not specify exactly how Sammut was involved in fixing Malta’s 4-0 loss away to Norway in June 2007. Sammut, who has played 37 matches for Malta since making his debut in 2005, has denied any involvement in fixing matches. He is currently under contract with club side Valletta, who represented Malta in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League last month.

  Agencies

  MEXICO

  Mexico beat Taiwan

  Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, scored three runs in the third inning to take the lead and went on to a 4-3 victory over Taoyuan, Taiwan, in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Mexico loaded the bases after tying it at 2-2 on an error. In the next at-bat, Taiwan’s catcher tried to run back a runner who had strayed off first, but the ball slipped from his hand on a fake throw and dribbled into right field. Two runs scored gave Mexico a 4-2 lead. Chen Chun-hsiao hit an RBI single in the fourth, but Mexico center-fielder Fernando Benavides cut down the potential tying run at the plate. Taiwan’s Lee Cheng-feng struck out 10 in a complete-game loss.

  BASEBALL

  Crawford out for surgery

  Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford will miss the rest of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season because of Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery scheduled for later this week, the team said on Monday. The left-hander, who missed the first 89 games this season while recovering from surgery on his left wrist, will undergo the procedure today to repair a tear in his left ulnar collateral ligament. “He’s got a chronic UCL injury that we were trying to manage conservatively,” Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said. “Symptoms did increase the last few days ... and we’ve decided to get it taken care of. It became clear over the last few days that surgery was going to happen, it was just a question of when.” Tommy John surgery is named after a former MLB pitcher who was the first professional athlete to successfully undergo the operation in 1974.

  FOOTBALL

  Tannehill to start

  Ryan Tannehill is to become the first rookie quarterback ever to start for the Miami Dolphins in a regular season opener when he takes to the field against the Houston Texans on Sept. 9, the team said on Monday. The 24-year-old, taken eighth overall by Miami in April’s National Football League (NFL) draft, edged out veteran starter Matt Moore for the role, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said. “After a thorough evaluation of the quarterback position we have come to the decision that Ryan Tannehill is our starting quarterback,” Philbin said. Moore ended last season as Miami’s starter, leading the Dolphins to a 6-3 finish down the stretch. Tannehill, who played college football at Texas A&M, has completed 25 of 44 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown in his two pre-season games for Miami, including his first start on Friday last week against the Carolina Panthers. He became the first quarterback to be selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the NFL draft since Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino in 1983 and will be Miami’s 17th starting quarterback since Marino retired after the 1999 season.

  FOOTBALL

  Bills cut Merriman

  The Buffalo Bills cut former Pro Bowl defensive end Shawne Merriman on Monday after an injury-plagued stint with the National Football League (NFL) team. The move to release Merriman, a 28-year-old former first-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers who was nicknamed “Lights Out” because of his hard hits, was made in a one-line statement issued by the Bills. The Bills had originally acquired Merriman off waivers in 2010 in hopes that the player who led the NFL with 39.5 sacks from 2005-2007 could help bolster their pass rush. However, an Achilles injury suffered in his first practice with the Bills prevented Merriman from playing for Buffalo that season.
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