Umpire Hair back in placeTHE International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday restored the controversial Australian Darrell Hair as a test and one-day umpire.
Hair (55) was sacked from the elite panel in November 2006 for his role at the Oval when Pakistan, after being penalised for alleged ball-tampering, became the first team to forfeit a test. Asian Tour accuses Australian PGA
THE ASIAN Tour has accused the Australian PGA of trying to muscle in on its turf and has asked for urgent talks with golf's international tour body to settle the issue.
Kyi Hla Han, the tour's executive chairman, said the Australian PGA's moves to create a regional super-circuit were "ignorant" attempts to undermine the Asian Tour.
"The PGA of Australia has stepped out of its boundaries, which the Asian Tour disapproves (of)," Han said in a strongly-worded statement.
China, South Korea and Japan last week pledged their support for the new tour - often referred to as the "One Asia Tour" - but the Asian Tour opted out, saying there was no room for two circuits in Asia.
Australian PGA commissioner Ben Sellenger said the new tour did not need the Asian Tour's approval.
Toro Rosso for sale
ITALIAN-BASED Formula One team Toro Rosso have been put up for sale, joint owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed.
Mateschitz and fellow shareholder Gerhard Berger are thought to want to find a new buyer by the end of next season.
Mateschitz, the man behind the Red Bull F1 team, has claimed he cannot continue operating the junior team from when the use of customer engines will be outlawed from the start of 2010 under the new Concord Agreement.
FAI must decide on solo bid
THE FAI will decide next week whether to pursue a solo bid to stage the European Under-21 championships following the withdrawal of the IFA, which, it had been intended, would co-operate on a joint bid for the competition, reports Emmet Malone.
The IFA said last week that it was not in a position to pursue the plan.
The FAI will not wait to see whether its bid to host the Uefa Cup final in 2011 is successful before deciding on whether to pursue the underage event. A decision on whether to allow the club match to be staged at Lansdowne Road will be made at the Uefa Executive Committee meeting in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, next Wednesday.
"If we got the final then we'd probably just look to concentrate on that because we're not likely to get both in the one year," said a spokesman for the FAI yesterday.
Rival bids being considered for the Uefa Cup game come from Bucharest, London, Barcelona, Gelsenkirchen and Hamburg.
Champion Hantuchova battles into last eight
TWICE CHAMPION and holder Daniela Hantuchova reached the last eight at the Pacific Life Open, at Indian Wells, California, by beating India's Sania Mirza 6-1, 7-6 yesterday.
The fifth-seeded Slovakian held off a strong fightback by her opponent to wrap up victory in 115 minutes and set up a possible quarter-final with the 2006 winner, Russia's Maria Sharapova.
Fourth-seeded Sharapova, unbeaten in 16 matches, was due to play the Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko later yesterday.
Hantuchova broke Mirza in the second and fourth games to storm through the opening set in 39 minutes. The elegant 24-year-old led 6-5 in the second set before losingher own serve but clinched the tie-break 7-4.
Later yesterday, top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic was scheduled to play Italy's Francesca Schiavone, and the sixth-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli was due to face Lindsay Davenport of the US.
Taylor dispatches her old rival
KATIE TAYLOR is just three bouts away from adding another gold medal to her collection following her preliminary-round win over Gulsum Tatar at an international tournament in Stipuno, just outside Moscow, Russia, yesterday.
The 20-year-old Bray woman beat the Turk 16-5 over three rounds.
Tatar got a controversial 16-12 decision over Taylor in the Ahmet Cup final in Istanbul in May 2007 but Taylor avenged that defeat with an 11-5 win in the Witch Cup semi-final in Hungary a few months later.
Peter Taylor, who is in his daughter's corner in Stipuno, said they were delighted with yesterday.
"Katie's margins of victory over Tatar have increased over the last two fights and she is very pleased."
Taylor will defend her world lightweight title in Ningbo, China, in early November this year.
