A round-up of today's sports news in brief
Funeral of Samaranch
JUAN Antonio Samaranch was given a send-off resembling a state funeral in his native Barcelona yesterday, a day after the former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president died at the age of 89.King Juan Carlos and his family, IOC president Jacques Rogge and high-profile figures from Spanish sport and politics were among the mourners.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal helped carry the coffin to the city cathedral.
Harlequins seek win for title
WOMEN’S HOCKEY: One of the most competitive Munster Division One seasons comes to a conclusion tomorrow when champions Cork Harlequins, who trail leaders UCC by two points, seek the win against Catholic Institute that would give them their 15th successive title, writes Mary Hannigan.
A defeat or a scoreless draw would see UCC crowned champions, ending Harlequins’ extraordinary run of success, while a score draw would leave the teams level on points, putting them in to a title play-off, like last season.
The students ended third-placed Institute’s title hopes last weekend when they won their final game 2-1.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Tomorrow– Munster League, Division One: Cork Harlequins v Catholic Institute, Farmer's Cross, 2.30. Promotion/relegation play-off: Univ of Limerick v Belvedere, Rosbrien, noon.
Duddy set to fight unbeaten Chavez
BOXING: John Duddy is to get his long awaited fight against the undefeated Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr at a pay-per-view event at the Alamadrome in Texas on June 26th.
Middleweight Duddy had been scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman world title bout at Yankee Stadium on June 5th but now faces Chavez, who has a 40-0 record in Texas instead.
Chavez is currently serving a seven-month ban imposed last November as the result of a positive drug test following his win over Troy Rowland. He should be clear to fight Duddy by late June. The Duddy-Chavez contest will share the San Antonio bill with an interim bantamweight title figth between Eric Morel and Jorge Arca.
There will still be an Irish presence on the Cotto-Foreman card as Arklow’s James Moore has been matched against Polish junior middle Pawel Wolak.
Wasps owner denies revenue threat
RUGBY: Wasps owner Steve Hayes insists the English Premiership club are not facing a winding-up order over a €1.2 million tax bill. Hayes expressed his “surprise” at reports which claimed British revenue and customs had made the threat earlier this month.
“There is no winding up petition and I am surprised by these reports given we already have an agreement in place with HMRC (British revenue and customs).”
Elsewhere, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) has played down reports that the futures of some members of Peter de Villiers’s coaching staff are under threat.
The Mercury newspaper yesterday carried an interview with the Springbok boss in which he questioned some of the support given to him since he began his tenure in 2008.
Ireland beaten by Morocco
TENNIS: Ireland went down in the second of their Federation Cup matches against Morocco yesterday in the Smash Tennis Academy in Cairo, reports Johnny Watterson.
Once again 16-year-old Amy Bowtell and 21-year-old Julia Moriarty stepped on to court following their opening win over Malta on Wednesday.
Bowtell lost to Nadia Lalami in straight sets, 6-2 6-0, while Moriarty also fell in two, 6-3 6-3, against Fatima El Allami before the pair also lost in the doubles rubber for a 3-0 result. Ireland are second in Group B ahead of Algeria and Malta and a point behind Morocco.
At the end of the pool stages, the top nation in each pool plays off against the runner-up in the other pool, with the two winning nations promoted from Group 3 to Group 2 of the Europe-Africa Zone.
Ireland faces Algeria in the final pool match with hopes of claiming a play-off spot.
Last year Ireland won against the Algerians 3-0 in the pool stages of the competition.
Allen makes historic 146 break at the Crucible
SNOOKER: Mark Allen became the first player to ever make a 146 break at the Crucible yesterday as he led Mark Davis 5-3 overnight in their second-round match.
Allen, a semi-finalist at the World Championship last year, had an outstanding chance of a 147 maximum in the sixth frame. After six reds he lost position by a fraction and had to take pink rather than black, but as if to prove a point to himself he went after the 146 and brilliantly reached his target.
Whereas a maximum would have brought the 24-year-old Northern Irishman prize money of €181,447, Allen had to settle for being the front-runner for the highest break prize, which pays €11,555.
Shaun Murphy insists the underdog can have his day when he tackles “favourite” Ding Junhui in round two. Murphy edged past Northern Ireland’s Gerard Greene 10-7 yesterday and is confident. Murphy said: “I’m very excited. Ding is the best player in the world at the moment, but I’ve beaten favourites before.”
Record losses by NZ rugby union
RUGBY: The New Zealand Rugby Union made record losses of €8.5 million in 2009, a result of increased player injuries, the global economic downturn and the cost of hosting next year’s World Cup.
The financial results, a dramatic reverse from a profit of €195,000 in 2008, were announced at the union’s agm yesterday. “Of the loss, $9.5 million (€5m) is on our operating budget, mainly from the shortfall in income on All Black Test matches at home and abroad, reduced interest income and increased expenditure on medical support and players due to a higher than normal number of injuries incurred,” chief executive Steve Tew said.
The union also accounted for a third of the operating losses of the company set up to run the 2011 World Cup and Tew said the union would cover the losses. “While we are fortunate that our financial position is very strong, the game cannot continue to spend more than it earns,” he added.
