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Monday, 28 March 2016

Antoine Demoitie 1990 - 2016

Belgian cyclist Antoine Demoitié has died in hospital after being hit by a motorbike after a fall during the Gent-Wevelgem cycling classic on Sunday. Several riders had fallen in the crash as the race moved through Sainte-Marie-Cappel in northern France.

“The rider died. An inquiry is under way to determine the circumstances,” Frederic Evrard, spokesman for the Nord-Pas-de-Calais regional gendarmerie in France, told Agence France Presse.

The 25-year-old Wanty-Gobert rider was taken to the University Hospital of Lille after the accident during a section of the race in Northern France but died some time later.

Team Wanty-Gobert had said on Twitter late on Sunday that their rider was in a very serious condition and that his wife and family were at his side, but had no further updates.

The 243-kilometre event was won by the world champion Peter Sagan, the Tinkoff rider beating his breakaway companions after taking the wheel of the Russian Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, who launched the final sprint but finished third.

Lotto Soudal rider Jens Debusschere was also taken to hospital after crashing during the notoriously gruelling race, with his team confirming he suffered a “bruised muscle, a bruised junction between collar bone and shoulder blade, a concussion and abrasions”.

#RIP

Wednesday, 17 February 2016

Nike Terminate Pacquiao Relaltionship

Nike has terminated its relationship with Manny Pacquiao after the six-weight world champion described homosexuals as "worse than animals".

The 37-year-old, who is running for a senate seat in his native Phillipines, later apologised for his comments.

"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," said a Nike statement.

"Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."

The sportswear company added: "We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao."

Pacquiao's original remark was made in a television interview and he initially appeared unrepentant, writing on Instagram that he was "just telling the truth of what the Bible says".

However, he later wrote on Facebook he was "not condemning LGBT", while still voicing his opposition for gay marriage.

Pacquiao, whose last fight was a defeat by Floyd Mayweather in May, is due to fight American Timothy Bradley Jr in Las Vegas in April.

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Bruno Ring Return Dashed by Board

Frank Bruno’s hopes of returning to the boxing ring have been dashed after he was told his application for a licence would be declined.

The 54-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion posted on Twitter that the British Boxing Board of Control had informed his agent that “should I apply for a licence this would not be granted”.

His agent, Dave Davies, confirmed on Monday the board had been in touch, saying: “Frank, like many other former sports stars, misses the good times when he was in the boxing ring and watching his son train has reignited his wish to return to the ring.

“However we have had confirmation today … that should an application for a boxing licence be received from Frank it would be declined. As agents for Frank we must respect and accept their decision.”

Bruno, who has bipolar disorder, acknowledged he had “certainly set Twitter talking” after he announced on ITV’s This Morning that he was “coming back into boxing” to help him cope with the effects of his medication.

Asked how drugs had affected him, he said: “They made me suicidal – mess up your head, mess up your clock – you can’t sleep. I’m walking around break-dancing I’ve got so much energy.

“I feel like superman, I’m going to the gym all the time, working hard – that’s why I’ve got to come into boxing … to get this out of my system, because I don’t want to end up in Broadmoor hospital.” The former WBC heavyweight then repeated: “I’m coming back into boxing.”

Asked by the co-presenter Phillip Schofield if the move was a good idea, he replied: “I haven’t got no choice. I train every day. I can’t really sit down and let these so-called promoters say that their guy beat me in two rounds – and I’m alive and I’ve got to take that.

“It’s my job, it’s my profession … you’re good at your job, I’m good at my job.”

Bruno was recently pictured training with Ricky Hatton, another former world champion.

Friday, 29 January 2016

Seb Coe Faces More Questions

IAAF president Lord Coe has denied a report he alerted UK Athletics (UKA) to allegations of bribes before the vote for the 2017 World Championships.

UKA boss Ed Warner said he was warned by a "very senior IAAF person" about envelopes of cash being handed out before the vote, which London won.

The Daily Mail claims two witnesses recall Coe warning the bid team.

Coe has repeatedly denied he knew about major corruption within athletics during his time as IAAF vice-president.

Now, following the latest accusations, the IAAF has been forced to issue a statement insisting Coe, who became president in August last year, had "no knowledge of bribes being offered or received".

The IAAF, which governs world athletics, and a number of its key officials have come under fire for their governance of the sport.

An independent World Anti Doping-Agency report recently claimed that "corruption was embedded" within the organisation.

The report's authors also suggested the bidding process for the World Championships should be investigated.

Coe led London's final presentation bid before it beat Doha in a 2011 vote for the right to host the 2017 championships.

The Qatari capital was subsequently awarded the 2019 event.

The Qatar Athletics Federation has always denied any wrongdoing during the voting process, but Warner told British MPS this week that the IAAF's ethics commission is looking into both Doha bids.

French prosecutors are already investigating the decision to award the 2021 World Championships to Eugene, Oregon.

The town, which has strong associations with sportswear giant Nike, for whom Coe was a paid ambassador until last month, appears to have been awarded the rights to stage the event without a full bidding process.

Saturday, 2 January 2016

Rocket Wants Snooker Rock Stars

Ronnie O’Sullivan wants to bring the raucous party atmosphere of a darts crowd to a snooker event.

The five-times world champion has landed his major titles by playing in enforced near silence at snooker’s major venues, including the Crucible.

The atmosphere can still be electric, but O’Sullivan is a regular visitor to the darts PDC world championship at Alexandra Palace, where the crowds, often fuelled by large amounts of alcohol, and razzmatazz provide an entirely different sense of occasion.

O’Sullivan wrote on Twitter: “The new rock stars are the dart players.” He asked his followers: “By the way who would go and watch a snooker match played in a darts atmosphere?”

Despite a mixed response, O’Sullivan added: “Ok we will do one and see how it goes, I will play (Judd) trump first and see if it’s what the public wants. I’d love to play in that atmosphere, and anyone who can’t, go home.”

O’Sullivan, 40, was awarded an OBE in the New Year honours and will make his first tournament appearance since the world championship last April when he plays at the Masters this month.

The Masters – also at Alexandra Palace – runs from 10-17 January and O’Sullivan starts his bid to win the event for a sixth time when he plays Mark Williams on 12 January.

Monday, 2 September 2013

Alonso Buys Basque Cycling Team

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has bought the Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team after agreeing to buy the squad for €6m.

The team had been due to cease operations at the end of the season after almost 20 years in top-tier cycling following the withdrawal of financial backing from public institutions in the Basque country, where it is based.

However, long-time cycling fan Alonso is set to rescue the squad by taking over ownership of its WorldTour licence from current management company Basque Cycling Pro Team.

A statement on the 32-year-old's website said: "We are pleased to announce that the Spanish sportsman has reached an initial agreement to buy [Euskaltel-Euskadi] and so avoid its demise.

"The double F1 world champion's great enthusiasm for cycling is well known. Apart from including this sport in his daily training routine, he has always felt a special passion for this particular world on two wheels."

Alonso first expressed an interest in venturing into cycling several years ago and triggered intense speculation in F1 circles yesterday by tweeting: "I have important news coming these days. Stay tuned here on Twitter and on the web."

Takeover negotiations have been ongoing over the past few weeks and the deal is expected to be finalised imminently.

It is understood the team will be relocated to the Asturias region of north-western Spain and rebuilt around 2008 Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez, with a key focus on employing local riders.

Alonso's statement also said he would aim to help cycling distance itself from its doping past by adopting a zero-tolerance policy to drugs.

"Alonso is thrilled to be forming an active part in cycling and to be able to improve the image of this sport. Transparency and 'zero tolerance' will therefore be the fundamental pillars on which the foundations will be laid for this exciting sports project."

Euskaltel-Euskadi first came into existence in 1994 and quickly became a treasured part of the professional peloton, with its distinctive orange jersey and policy of only employing home-grown riders earning it fans around the world.

However, Basque Cycling Pro Team announced less than a fortnight ago that the team would fold at the end of the season due to a shortfall in funding.

Lead sponsor Euskaltel, the telecommunications company, had committed to continuing its backing of the team for the next four years, but austerity measures in the Basque country meant that public institutions were unable to provide the promised €3.5m contribution to the €9m annual running costs of the team.

The new team will honour all of the contracts of the riders who were signed to Euskaltel-Euskadi for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Monday, 5 August 2013

Australian Jockey Dies at Darwin Cup

Simone Montgomerie has died following a fall at the Darwin Cup meeting in Australia.

The rider, 26, was among the frontrunners on Riahgrand when she was thrown from her mount about 100m from the finishing line.

The National Jockeys' Trust in Australia confirmed the Northern Territory rider was fatally injured.

Her father, Peter Montgomerie, trained 2005 Melbourne Cup runner-up On A Jeune.

After her fall in the Wolf Blass Lightning Plate race, the remainder of the Darwin Cup meeting, which had a crowd of about 20,000, was abandoned with three races remaining.

Montgomerie was treated by two doctors and paramedics at the course before being transported to Royal Darwin Hospital, but died shortly after arrival.

"Terrible day for all," said the National Jockeys' Trust on Twitter, which also called for people to pray for her family.

Brett Dixon, chairman of Darwin Turf Club, said there would be an investigation into the death.

"The Darwin Turf Club along with the entire industry offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of Ms Montgomerie", he said.

#RIP