A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Mayweather Jr pleads guilty
BOXING: The unbeaten welterweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Las Vegas to reduced charges of domestic violence and harassment.
His sentence: 90 days in jail, with credit for three days served, 100 hours of community service, a $2,500 fine and mandatory year-long domestic violence counselling. Mayweather (34) must also avoid trouble for one year.
He is scheduled to report to jail on January 6th, but a spokeswoman for the Clark County district attorney’s office said it remained unclear if a possible Mayweather appeal would push back the report date. By agreeing to a plea deal Mayweather managed to avoid a felony trial.
While a potential fight in May against Manny Pacquiao appears more unlikely now, the plea deal would not preclude Mayweather from fighting later this year, against Pacquiao or another opponent.
Niland aggravates old hip injury
TENNIS:Conor Niland feels he will need to have a cortisone injection after aggravating an old hip injury during last night's match against Alexander Ward in Ireland's friendly international against Great Britain in Dublin.
Niland experienced a sudden discomfort in his left hip nearing the end of the first set, and with his court coverage considerably impaired from there on, this year’s Wimbledon and US Open main draw participant suffered a 6-3 6-4 defeat at the hands of his 21-year-old opponent.
“I had to have a cortisone injection in my left hip last January before I played in the Australian Open,” explained Niland. “And it looks as if I’ll need to have a repeat injection this time and once again just a matter of weeks before the Australian Open.”
After winning all three matches on Wednesday, Ward’s win gave the visiting side a 4-0 lead.
Connacht's Muldoon a big doubt to face Munster
RUGBY: John Muldoon has emerged as a major doubt for Connacht's trip to Munster on St Stephen's Day after he suffered a nasty gash to his knee playing against Gloucester.
Muldoon failed to train in midweek and coach Eric Elwood is keeping his fingers crossed that his in-form backrow might be able to make it back in time to face Munster.
“We are not in too bad of a shape at the moment, but John has missed some training,” said Elwood.
“He picked up a nasty cut to his knee over in Gloucester and he is still stitched up. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he might be back in time to face Munster, but it really is a wait and see how he heals over the next few days.”
The loss of Muldoon, who recently signed a two-year extension with the province, would be a huge blow to Connacht as they already have to plan without veteran flanker Ray Ofisa, who picked up a knee injury that will see him out of action for another few weeks.
“Ray is doing okay at the moment,” said Elwood. “I would say he is probably a week ahead of schedule, but even at that he will do well to be back to face Aironi. It is unlikely he will be ready to play against Leinster on New Year’s Day either.”
Groupama lead in to 'hidden zone'
SAILING:French team Groupama vanished off the public radar yesterday as they led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet into an anti-piracy stealth zone. The fleet will be hidden in the zone, which is one of several security measures introduced to protect competitors from pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.
The main pack, including US-based Puma in second place, Spain’s Telefonica in third and New Zealand/Spanish entry Camper in fourth, were due to reach the zone by last night.
The exact location of the boats will continue to be masked, but their positions relative to each other will be updated until they reach a secret Indian Ocean “safe haven” port in around a week’s time. An armed ship will be used to transport the yachts through the area where pirates are active and on to Sharjah, where teams will resume racing and finish at Abu Dhabi in the new year.
Pakistan earn second win over China
HOCKEY: Pakistan beat China 5-3 yesterday in the second game of a four-match series hailed as the first step in reviving international hockey in the country. The win gave Pakistan a 2-0 lead in the first international series played in Pakistan for seven years.
Pakistan, who won the first match 3-0 on Wednesday, came from behind to clinch yesterday’s game. Pakistan forwards Waqas Sharif and Haseem Khan hit two goals each and Ali Shan scored once after China had gone 2-0 up by the 11th minute.
Foreign sports teams, citing security fears, have avoided visiting Pakistan since the September 11th attacks in the US in 2001 and the 2009 ambush of the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore.
