Tue, Aug 03, 2010 page19

• Sport Briefs

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  ■RUGBY LEAGUE

  Aussie player wields knife

  A rugby league player tried to threaten an opponent with a knife after a brawl during a playoff match in a lower-tier competition in Victoria state, Australia. Police say teammates had to restrain the 26-year-old player during the Sunraysia Rugby League semi-final, and his coach quickly disarmed him. The Chaffey Titans player is facing a possible life ban from the sport when the league board meets later this week. The incident started early in the first half on Saturday when players fought after a hard hit. A player involved then left the field to get a knife from his car. After the incident, the Mildura Tigers were awarded the match.

  ■NEW ZEALAND

  Unique sportsman dies

  Eric Tindill, who achieved unique status in world sport by playing both rugby and cricket for New Zealand, then refereeing test rugby and umpiring test cricket, died on Sunday in Wellington Hospital. At 99 years, 226 days he was the world’s longest living test cricketer and New Zealand’s oldest rugby international. Tindill played 16 matches for New Zealand’s All Blacks between 1935 and 1938, but only one rugby test, against England in 1936. He played five cricket tests for New Zealand between 1937 and 1947 in a career punctuated by World War II. Although George Dickinson, Curly Page, Charlie Oliver, Jeff Wilson and Brian McKechnie also represented New Zealand in both rugby and cricket, Tindill was the only player to play tests in both codes. He was referee in two rugby tests between the All Blacks and British and Irish Lions in 1950 and New Zealand’s second test against Australia in 1955. He then umpired New Zealand’s cricket test against England at Christchurch in the summer of 1958 to 1959.

  ■ATHLETICS

  Riseley to miss New Delhi

  Australian middle-­distance runner Jeff Riseley said yesterday he would miss October’s New Delhi Commonwealth Games after requiring foot surgery. Riseley, 23, said he had been troubled by a plantar fascia injury for the last 18 months, having partially torn it at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. He said after recently returning to the track that it became clear he still couldn’t run properly and he will have surgery tomorrow. “It’s a massive blow in what has been a horrible year for me, but it’s better to have it done this year because in the big picture, the Commonwealth Games don’t mean anything with World Champs and Olympics around the corner,” Riseley wrote on his blog.

  ■BOXING

  Klitsccko wants ‘little dog’

  Vladimir Klitschko said it was time David Haye committed to a fight with the Ukrainian, telling the Briton he “owes it to the fans.” However, Klitshcko admitted the fight with Haye, who he described as a “little dog,” was unlikely to happen soon. “I am ready to fight against David Haye anywhere in this world,” Klitschko said in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday. “He [Haye] just needs to make the next step. Sign the contract, get in the ring and get the fight. “I have no respect for this man because he is nothing but a little dog who just runs away when the big dog turns around. It’s not about the money and the business, it’s about pride [for him], but I think he owes it to the fans.” Vladimir, the younger of heavyweight boxing’s dominant Klitschko siblings, holds the WBO, IBF and IBO belts. Vitali, his brother, is the WBC champion and Haye holds the WBA title. The Klitschkos will not fight each other, meaning that most boxing followers, and broadcasters, hope for a Vladimir Klitschko-Haye showdown.

  ■BOXING

  Twins in Commonwealth

  Australia’s first boxing twins are in a 10-strong team for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association said yesterday. Andrew Moloney will compete in the light-flyweight 46kg-49kg category, while his 19-year-old twin brother, Jason, will fight in the 49kg-52kg flyweight class. The Moloney siblings will be the third set of twins to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games. Legendary cricketers Mark and Steve Waugh competed at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998, while road cyclists Remo and Sal Sansonetti competed at the 1978 Edmonton Games and were flag bearers at the opening ceremony. One of Australia’s hottest young boxing prospects Damien Hooper, 18, will compete in the middleweight 69kg-75kg class. Hooper won a silver medal at this year’s World Youth Championships and will represent Australia at next month’s inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore. The super heavyweight and veteran of the team at 29 is Russian-born Alexey Mukhin.

  ■BASEBALL

  Latinos unprivileged: Guillen

  Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says Asian players are given privileges in the US that Latinos are not afforded. In his latest rant, the outspoken Guillen also says he’s the “only one” in baseball teaching young players from Latin America not to use performance-­enhancing drugs and that Major League Baseball doesn’t care about that. He says the MLB only cares about how often he argues with umpires and what he says to the media. Guillen says it’s unfair that Japanese players are assigned translators when they come to the US to play pro ball, but Latinos are not. He says players from Latin America are considered too old to sign if they’re past 16 or 17, yet college prospects from the US are often signed at age 22 or 23.

  ■BASKETBALL

  Obama attends WNBA game

  US President Barack Obama took his daughter Sasha to watch the Washington Mystics defeat the Tulsa Shock 87-62 in a WNBA game on Sunday with disgraced ex-track star Marion Jones on the losing side. Obama played basketball against a US Army team in the US capital before joining his daughter and one of her friends in courtside seats at the Verizon Center. Obama’s arrival was greeted with great applause when shown to the crowd on a large scoreboard videoscreen above the court. Obama has attended basketball games before, including college games involving Georgetown and George Washington universities.

  ■FOOTBALL

  Revis seeks new contract

  New York Jets All-Pro defensive back Darrelle Revis is holding out of training camp in search of a new contract, the team said on Sunday. Revis skipped the Jets’ conditioning session on Sunday and has indicated he will sit out of the team’s activities until his financial issues with New York are resolved. Revis is currently in the midst of a rookie contract that makes him one of the lowest-paid defensive backs on his team. Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said he had made multiple offers to Revis and his agents and that the lines of communication would remain open. Since being drafted in 2007, Revis has been a major catalyst for the Jets defense. He appeared in back-to-back Pro Bowls and was voted the team MVP last season after helping lead the franchise to the AFC Championship Game. The Jets have Super Bowl ambitions but will likely need their defensive anchor on the field.
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