RUGBY UNION
Wellington defeat Stormers
Ngani Laumape scored two late tries, one that began deep inside the Wellington Hurricanes’ territory, as the home side secured a scrappy 41-22 victory over the South Africa-based Stormers at Wellington Regional Stadium yesterday. Laumape’s second try was the result of an audacious chip-pass from All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett about 15m from his own line and with flanker Brad Shields in the sin bin. Fullback Jordie Barrett also crossed twice, while Julian Savea, Cory Jane and Beauden Barrett grabbed tries for the home side. Stormers’ replacement hooker Ramone Samuels scored the visitors only try, with S.P. Marais and Robert du Preez kicking the rest of their points.
CRICKET
BCCI faces pressure
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is coming under increasing pressure to name a squad for the Champions Trophy, with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid joining calls for the board to quit stalling. The BCCI missed a deadline last month for announcing a team and is to hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss a potential withdrawal from the 50-over international tournament. It is facing mounting criticism over its tactics, which stem from a dispute with the International Cricket Council over changes to revenue sharing.
CRICKET
Billings touts England form
England wicketkeeper Sam Billings has returned home from the Indian Premier League (IPL) carrying with him the message that rivals are “petrified” of his team ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy on home soil. Billings said his interaction with players during IPL Twenty20 matches convinced him of a newfound respect for his nation’s limited-overs prowess. “The best thing about the IPL is you share a dressing room with these guys and previously in this country we haven’t made one-day cricket a priority as such, but people are petrified of our side now,” Billings told British media.
CYCLING
Bardiani-CSF riders banned
Two riders from the Italian team Bardiani-CSF have been kicked out of the Giro d’Italia on the eve of the nation’s biggest race after testing positive in an out-of-competition doping test. The UCI, the sport’s governing body, on Thursday said that Nicola Ruffoni and Stefano Pirazzi returned positive tests for growth hormone-releasing peptides in samples collected last week. The riders have the right to have their B samples tested, but have been provisionally suspended from competition. That means neither were to be at the Giro’s start line yesterday on the island of Sardinia.
RALLYING
Timo Makinen dies, aged 79
Finnish legend Timo Makinen, known for his hat-tricks of international victories, has died aged 79, local media said yesterday. Makinen, who was was nicknamed “The Flying Finn” of motor rallying among several other prominent Finnish athletes, won the RAC Rally — now named Wales Rally GB — three times in a row from 1973 to 1975 in a Ford Escort. Born in Helsinki on March 18, 1938, Makinen’s death was announced by his son on Facebook late on Thursday, Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported, without specifying the exact cause.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
RSS