Other news in brief from around the world of sport

Wembley NFL tie sells out in a day

AMERICAN FOOTBALL:All 70,000 tickets put on sale for the NFL clash between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium in October were sold within 24 hours, said NFL UK yesterday.

American football has proved popular to London audiences and the third regular season NFL match to be staged at the stadium appears to have survived any gloom over the economy.

Around 20,000 tickets were snapped up within seven minutes of going on sale on Tuesday.

“We have been delighted with the way fans have got behind the game, especially considering the challenging economic climate,” NFL UK managing director Alastair Kirkwood said in a statement.

“For this game to have sold even more quickly than the previous two NFL regular season games in the UK is a testament to the support and loyalty of fans here in the UK,” he said. The remainder of the tickets will be offered to American-based fans of the two competing teams.

Meyer resigns from the Tigers

RUGBY:Leicester Tigers head coach Heyneke Meyer has resigned following a period of compassionate leave in his native South Africa, the club said. Meyer signed a three-year contract in June last year. The Tigers lie fifth in the Premiership and are through to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

“This has been a very difficult decision for me to make, in difficult circumstances, but I hope everyone can understand my reasons,” Meyer said.

Jayasuriya century in vain as India secure the victory

CRICKET:Sanath Jayasuriya's 28th one-day international century proved in vain as India secured a six-wicket win in the first match with Sri Lanka in Dambulla.

Jayasuriya (39) became only the second player to pass 13,000 runs in one-day internationals during his innings. Kumar Sangakkara added 44 as Sri Lanka made 246-7 in difficult conditions.

But Gautam Gambhir (62) and Suresh Raina put on 113 for the second wicket and Mahendra Dhoni hit an unbeaten 61 as India got home with 11 balls left.

The result was harsh on Jayasuriya who at 39 years and 212 days became the oldest centurion in one-day internationals, passing Geoff Boycott’s record of 39 years and 51 days set against Australia in Sydney in 1979. The second match of the five-game series is in Colom.

Meanwhile, though Andrew Flintoff will not be risked in England’s final warm-up match ahead of the Caribbean Test series, it is thought he will feature in the first Test in Jamaica.

Green Dragon battles on to Quindao

SAILING:Telefonica Blue, the perennial leader of leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race is expected to reach Quindao by 11am this morning, with the spectre of Puma and Ericsson 4 in the wing mirrors. Telefonica held a 29-mile lead over Puma in daylight but the gap was expected to stabilise overnight.

Completing the fleet on the water, in fourth place and in racing mode for the first time since leaving the Luzon Strait is the ailing Green Dragon. After three days of hellish conditions, the team has been cut some slack. According to skipper Ian Walker, the wind is down to below 20 knots and the waves kind enough for them to sail at close to their optimum. The 300-mile deficit to the leading pack has long since been academic. “We are now going faster towards Qingdao than at any time in the leg. We feel like we have escaped the worst, but we must not rest on our laurels,” he said.

Plans for Maze Stadium axed

STADIUM PLANS:Plans for a new €324.4 million international sports stadium for Northern Ireland were finally axed yesterday.

Northern Ireland sports minister Gregory Campbell ended lingering hopes that the site of the former Maze Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim, could be turned into a showpiece arena to be ready in time for the 2012 London Olympics.

The three main sporting organisations in Northern Ireland – the Irish Football Association (IFA), the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and rugby’s Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) – backed the controversial scheme. But with many unionists and soccer fans bitterly opposed to the development, Campbell decided to formally abandon the project, claiming it would not represent value for money and would cause community divisions.

The minister plans to explore other options involving major investment in upgrading existing facilities.