Motor Sport: Rubens Barrichello insisted yesterday he had no gripe with team orders at Ferrari - his problem is Michael Schumacher is just too good!
The Brazilian has had clear-the-air talks with his Italian team after controversially being ordered to move over to allow Schumacher to finish second in Austria last Sunday.
But after talks with his Ferrari bosses he said the relationship with sporting director Jean Todt, the man who gave the order, and technical director Ross Brawn, was as good as ever.
"It's just the simple fact that Michael is a good driver. He has been with the team for six years and is probably one of the best drivers there has ever been in Formula One."
Olympic Games: Athens' preparations for the 2004 Olympics were given the green light yesterday by International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president Jacques Rogge.
Rogge's upbeat message for the trouble-plagued organising committee came after committee president Gianna Angelopoulos gave the IOC executive board assurances that everything would be ready in time.
"Things have improved dramatically. There is a renewed sense of urgency," said Rogge.
Meanwhile, moves to force Osaka and Istanbul out of the race to host the 2008 Olympic Games were rejected by the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board yesterday.
The two cities' victory hopes were severely dashed when the evaluation report into the five bidding cities released on Tuesday clearly made them last and seemingly out of contention.
Beijing, Paris and Toronto were all declared excellent candidates capable of staging a great Olympics.
But IOC director general Francois Carrard said yesterday all five cities would remain in the race.
Rugby: Ireland's challengers for the Lions' Test side, Brian O'Driscoll and Malcom O'Kelly see little problem in stepping up to Lions standard despite Ireland's curtailed domestic season. Speaking at yesterday's Lansdowne Road launch of Caffrey's sponsorship of the tour, the two believed they would attain the required standard.
"It's hard to know what kind of form I'm in now because I haven't played at the top level for a while," said O'Kelly. "But I've always been adaptable - any team I've played with, I've fitted in very easily and my role as a second row is set any way so I don't really see it as a problem."
Rugby: Harlequins coach Mark Evans will ask European Shield final referee Nigel Whitehouse "to strictly enforce the one minute rule" on Narbonne's ace goal-kicker Gonzalo Quesada at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Evans is concerned that the Argentinian marksman's renowned routine could take the edge off his side's pacy approach.
Tennis: Moroccan clay-court specialist Hicham Arazi proved to be the cat with nine lives as he reached the third round of the Hamburg Masters Series yesterday, saving nine match points before beating German Tommy Haas in three sets.
Arazi, 27, had the home fans biting their nails as he saved five match points to force a second set tiebreak and then four more in the breaker itself before winning 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 7-5.
