Murray Will Be Ready for Italian Job

Conor Murray is “lucky” to be fit for Ireland’s Six Nations match against Italy in Dublin, according to the assistant coach Richie Murphy.

Murray received eight stitches around his eye after being kicked in the face accidentally by full-back Mike Brown in Ireland’s 21-10 defeat to England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Murray sat out training on Tuesday but is expected to face Italy on Saturday week after escaping serious injury in the Twickenham loss. Brown avoided censure after being deemed to have legitimately attempted to kick the ball clear at the ruck when catching Murray in the face, with the scrum-half on the ground after a tackle.

“Conor’s got a split next to his eye, he’s had eight stitches but he’s grand,” said Murphy. “He didn’t train today, we’re just looking after him a little bit.

“He’s obviously a little bit bumped up, he got a bit of treatment in that game, so it’s a case of looking after him. He was lucky obviously it was just in the corner of the eye, but he’s fine and he’ll be ready for next week.”

Jared Payne should be fit for the visit of Italy, with the Ulster centre closing in on a return after hamstring trouble. The 30-year-old missed Ireland’s defeat at Twickenham after damaging his hamstring in the 10-9 loss to France, but is now on course to face the Italians.

“Jared Payne did a full session today, not with the team but with the fitness guys and the medics,” said Murphy, confirming Ireland have no further fresh injury concerns. “He came through that fine and it looks like he’ll be fully fit to start next week.”

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Yorkshire Chairman Boycott's Return

Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison has asked club members not to back Geoffrey Boycott's return to the board of directors.

Former England opener Boycott made 609 first-class appearances for Yorkshire and was president from 2012 to 2014.

The 75-year-old does not hold a board position, but acts informally as an overseas ambassador for the club.

"We want individuals with skills that can guarantee the survival of the club," Denison told BBC Radio Leeds.

Denison, who succeeded Colin Graves in March last year, added: "We are saying no on the back of stability.

"The success we have had in the last two seasons has been on the back of a very stable board and a very stable management team all pointing in the same direction.

"He's a boyhood hero of mine - I invaded the pitch aged 13 when he got his 100th hundred at Headingley - but the problem we face at the moment is the club has been in serious financial difficulty for a long time, propped up by Colin Graves.

"We've had to refinance both this year and try and lay foundations for the immediate future when we have to build a new stand.

"We need specialist skills on our board in relation to finance and construction - and that's the direction of the board over the next few years."

Boycott's return to the board would need to be approved by the club members at the annual general meeting on 26 March.

He received 91.09% of the vote when he was voted club president in 2012.

"Irrespective of the outcome of the member vote, there will be no acrimony involved," added Denison. "We will work with Geoffrey if he gets elected.

"Geoffrey does an excellent job supporting the club when he's on his travels around the world and we want him to do that again. There is nobody better."

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Aregawi Suspended After Test Failure

World indoor 1500m champion Abeba Aregawi has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. The Ethiopia-born Swede, 25, failed an out-of-competition test conducted by governing body the IAAF.

Aregawi, who won gold at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot, has requested a B sample be tested.

Britain's Hannah England finished fourth behind Aregawi in Moscow. However there is no suggestion Aregawi's performance in that race is under scrutiny.

Aregawi ran for Ethiopia at the 2012 London Olympics but began competing for Sweden later that year after being granted citizenship. She was due to defend her title at next month's World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon.

Her suspension also means her place in the Swedish team for the Rio Olympics in August is in doubt. The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) has already withdrawn its financial support for Aregawi.

"The situation regarding her place on the Olympic team is in quarantine as we wait for the result of the B test," added SOC chief executive Peter Reinebo.

Her Dutch manager, Jos Hermens, told the Expressen newspaper that the news had come as a surprise. 

"We can't understand it," he said. "We are trying to work out what has happened. It's very strange."

But Sweden's athletics chief has been pretty scathing.

"It is with dismay and extreme disappointment we have to make this statement," said Stefan Olsson.

"We are totally opposed to all forms of cheating, doping and illicit substances. We have zero tolerance and this is totally unacceptable."

American Jenny Simpson, who was second behind Aregawi at the 2013 World Championships, expressed her "grief" at the news.

In a statement to the New York Times, she wrote: "I'm grateful that the sport is taking steps to catch cheaters and meaningfully deter others from violating the rules in the future.

"Justice begins when someone that stole from the sport isn't going to just get away with it. But I grieve the decision that was made by a skilled athlete, capable of greatness, to take a shortcut."

She added: "I'm hopeful that things might really be changing for the better in our sport and I'm sad it didn't start changing sooner."

It has not been a very good few days for Aregawi. She has also been caught up in a tax row in Sweden after telling authorities she had never lived in the country and therefore was not liable for tax.

She was ordered to pay 11,112 Swedish crowns (£932, $1,299) in back taxes.

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Bart Starr Hazing Caused Lifelong Injury

Bart Starr’s wife Cherry has revealed that the Hall of Fame quarterback’s severe back problems stemmed from a hazing incident at college.

The injury plagued the quarterback during his career – and into his retirement – but had previously been attributed to an injury in practice during a punting exercise. But Cherry said her husband was beaten during an initiation Alabama’s varsity lettermen.

“He was hospitalized at one point in traction,” Cherry told AL.com. “That was in the days when they were initiated into the A-Club, and they had severe beatings and paddling. From all the members of the A-Club, they lined up with a big paddle with holes drilled in it, and it actually injured his back.”

One of Starr’s college team-mates, tight end Nick Germanos, agreed with Cherry’s version of events. Starr, who is now 82, has never spoken about the incident in public. “It was hell,” Germanos said. “Lord have mercy, it was a rough initiation.”

The injury was bad enough to affect Starr’s college career and the Crimson Tide went 0-10 the season after the beating. “His back was never right after that,” Cherry said. “It was horrible. It was not a football injury. It was an injury sustained from hazing. His whole back all the way up to his rib cage looked like a piece of raw meat. The bruising went all the way up his back. It was red and black and awful looking. It was so brutal.”

Starr was still considered enough of a talent to be drafted with the 200th overall pick in the 1956 draft and went on to lead the Green Bay Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls. However, Cherry said her husband still had to play in pain throughout his career. “He was in so much pain constantly,” she said. “They nearly tried anything.”

Starr is now in declining health, leaving Cherry to tell his story. She did say that he gained some relief from his injury in the 1980s after a doctor discovered a crack in his vertebrae and recommended surgery.

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WhatsApp Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo has apologised to his Real Madrid team-mates for claiming they are not at his level, according to reports in Spain.

Following Real’s 1-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid at the weekend, a result that leaves them third in La Liga, four points behind their city rivals and 12 points off leaders Barcelona, Ronaldo was quoted by the Press Association as saying: “If we were all at my level, maybe we would be leaders.

“I don’t want to disrespect anyone, but when the best players aren’t available it’s harder to win. I like to play with Karim [Benzema], with [Gareth] Bale, with Marcelo. I’m not saying the others like Lucas Vazquez, Jesé [Rodriguez] and Mateo Kovacic are not good players. They are very good players, but it’s not the same.”

Real centre-back Sergio Ramos defended his team-mate soon after the comments were made, saying: “I know Cristiano well and I don’t think he was trying to shift the blame onto any of his team-mates,” and the player himself has now also apparently moved to ease any offence his colleagues may have taken from his assessment of their abilities.

According to El Mundo, Ronaldo apologised to his team-mates via WhatsApp, and in an interview with Marca, the 31-year-old is reported as saying: “I was referring to the physical level, not level of play. I am not better than any of my team-mates.”

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