A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Ireland slip to second in Nations
EQUESTRIAN: Ireland slipped to second place in the FEI Nations' cup series when finishing seventh in yesterday's third round at St Gallen. The Dutch, who won the Swiss leg, now head the leaderboard, writes Margie McLoone.
Kildare’s Camilla Speirs, the sole Irish rider in the competition, leads the CCI*** class for riders under 25 at the international horse trials in Bramham, north Yorkshire.
Riding the 11-year-old Crosskeys Rebel gelding Portersize Just A Jiff, Speirs is on an overnight score of 46 penalties going into today’s cross-country phase with Britain’s Helen Dunning riding Keep Your Options Open just .2 of a penalty adrift in second.
There is international jumping over the three days of the Bank Holiday weekend in Mullingar where the TRM/Showjumping Ireland Premier Series is being incorporated into Mondays International Grand Prix. There are two international classes each day.
Stoner sets pace for Catalunya GP
MOTOR CYCLING: Casey Stoner was fastest in practice for the Catalunya Grand Prix yesterday while Texan Colin Edwards crashed and broke his right collarbone.
Australian Honda rider Stoner, second in the MotoGP standings behind Yamaha’s world champion Jorge Lorenzo after four races, clocked 1.42.940 in the second session at the rain-soaked circuit outside Barcelona ahead of tomorrow’s race.
Edwards, sixth-fastest in the morning session, landed heavily after crashing at turn five in the afternoon and tests confirmed the broken collarbone.
Italian Marco Simoncelli was second-fastest on his Honda with followed by Stoner’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, who snatched third from Lorenzo.
O'Neal formally calls it a day
BASKETBALL: Shaquille ONeal formally announced his retirement yesterday, ending a professional career in the National Basketball Association that spanned nearly two decades.
“I never thought this day would come,” the 39-year-old said. “Father Time has finally caught up with Shaquille ONeal.”
ONeal won four NBA titles, three with the LA Lakers and one with Miam Heat.
Bahrain gets the go ahead
MOTOR SPORT:The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, postponed in March due to violent civil unrest, will go ahead on October 30th with India moving to the end of the season, the sport's governing body said yesterday.
No date was set for the inaugural Indian race, which was originally scheduled for October 30th, but it is most likely to be December 11th – which would be the latest finish to a championship since 1963.
The season was due to end in Brazil on November 27th.
“After considering all the factors and taking into consideration all stakeholders concerns the World Motor Sport Council unanimously agreed to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix in the 2011 Formula One World Championship,” an International Automobile Federation statement said.
The decision was highly controversial, with human rights campaigners calling for the Bahrain race to be called off entirely and the teams unhappy about the season extending well into December.
Bulls keep playoff hopes alive with Waratahs win
RUGBY:The defending champion Bulls kept their Super rugby playoff hopes alive by edging out the New South Wales Waratahs 23-17 at Loftus Versfeld yesterday.
The home team outscored their opponents by two tries to one as they vaulted from seventh to fifth place in the table on 49 points with a fifth consecutive victory.
The Waratahs picked up a losing bonus point, keeping the Australian team in sixth spot and in the last playoff position.
“We are starting to get momentum now,” said Bulls skipper Victor Matfield. “It’s nice to be in the top six but we need to win our next two matches.”
The teams were locked at 6-6 just before half-time thanks to two penalties apiece from Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn and opposite number Kurtley Beale.
Then, with seconds remaining in the half, the hosts went ahead through a well-worked try from inside centre Wynand Olivier.
Four minutes after the restart they extended their lead thanks to a breathtaking try which started inside their own 22 metres, with wing Bjorn Basson finishing off the move for his ninth try of the season.
The Waratahs staged a fightback with Beale booting his third penalty and replacement wing Afa Pakalani diving over in the corner to reduce the deficit to six points.
Beale then kicked another penalty before Waratahs replacement forward Pat O’Conner was red-carded for head-butting and Steyn kicked the resulting penalty.
Monte Carlo Rally back on calendar
MOTOR SPORT: The Monte Carlo Rally will return to the world championship calendar next year for the first time since 2008, the governing International Automobile Federation said yesterday.
However, Abu Dhabis expected debut has been deferred for at least a year. “Abu Dhabi, previously published on the calendar subject to approval of the Event Business Plan, has been removed from the 2012 calendar,” the federation said.
Monte Carlo, the most prestigious and historic event in rallying, returns to the season-opening slot with a Jan 22nd date. The rally, first run in 1911, has been part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge series for the past three years.
2012 calendar: Jan 22 - Monte Carlo, Feb 12 - Sweden, March 11 - Mexico, April 1 - Portugal, April 29 - Argentina, May 27 - Greece* , June 24 - New Zealand, Aug 5 - Finland, Aug 26 - Germany, Sept 16 - Britain, Oct 7 - France Oct - Italy*, Nov 4 - Spain. * Date subject to confirmation.
