A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Death of Robbie McCabe

TENNIS: The death has taken place of Robbie McCabe, a Dominican priest, who took part in the 1948 All England Championships at Wimbledon.

McCabe, who was in his mid-80s, was a UCD graduate, who became a doctor before joining the priesthood. He was defeated in the first round of the 1948 championships by Italian Gianni Cucelli 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

Although he was a well known player of the time and a contemporary of the legendary Joe Hackett and Harry Barniville, he spend most of his life in Africa although often came back to Ireland to speak in the Royal College of Surgeons.

He was a very good baseliner,” recalled Barniville “and part of a good UCD team at the time. I remember the match he played against the Italian on Court One.”

From south Dublin, McCabe played his tennis out of Sandycove TC. – JW

Taylor expects tough test in European semi-final

BOXING: Katie Taylor believes that English lightweight Chantelle Cameron will provide tough opposition in tomorrow’s European Union Championships semi-final in Katowice, Poland.

Taylor booked her ticket into the last-four following a 16-5 verdict over Italy’s Marzia Davide at the Spodek Sports Center yesterday.

The Bray woman, who is aiming for her fourth EU title on the trot, was 4-1 up after round one, 8-2 ahead after round two and took a 12-3 lead from the third into the fourth frame en route to victory.

Northampton boxer Cameron beat Spain’s Jennifer Miranda 19-9.

“I’m expecting a tough fight on Friday. She’s beaten some good opponents out here and her confidence will be high,” said Taylor.

Ireland’s Lynne McEnery, Dervla Duffy and Kelly Harrington will all be involved in last eight duels today.

Murtagh keen on Ireland career

CRICKET: Middlesex opening bowler Tim Murtagh is exploring the possibility of declaring for Ireland through the grandparent rule, writes Emmet Riordan.

The 29-year-old has been a mainstay of the attack at Lord’s in recent years and is presently third in the list of first-class wicket-takers this summer, with 32 victims at an average of 21.37.

Born in Lambeth, three of Murtagh’s grandparents were born in Ireland and he admitted that he would love the chance to play international cricket.

“It would definitely be an avenue that I would look at exploring,” said Murtagh. “The chance to play an international tournament would be massive for me and something I would find very hard to turn down.”

In 104 first-class matches, Murtagh has taken 312 wickets at an average of 30, while he is also a useful lower-order batsman, with nine half-centuries and a highest score of 74 not out.

James gives Heat advantage

BASKETBALL: LeBron James took the first step toward winning a first championship by scoring 24 points in leading the Miami Heat to a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Game One of the NBA Finals in Miami on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Shaquille ONeal, 39, a dominant centre on four NBA championship teams, announced yesterday he was planning to retire after a professional career spanning nearly two decades.

Sidecar racers die in Isle of Man

MOTOR SPORT: Two sidecar racers have died during a practice session for the Isle of Man TT races.

Bill Currie (67) from Ellesmere Port, and his passenger, Kevin Morgan (59) from Shrewsbury, were killed in the accident on Tuesday night.

Organisers brought the sidecar qualifying session to an end following the crash at Ballacrye.

In a statement, the sport’s British governing body, the Auto-Cycle Union, said: “Bill was an experienced racer who first competed at the TT Races in 1969 when he recorded a third place finish. He finished eighth in last year’s TT sidecar race in his fastest-ever race time. Kevin made his TT debut in 1984.”

This was the first year that the pair had competed together.