A round-up of today's other sports news in brief
Hirvonen surprise leader in Greece
RALLYING:Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen was the surprise leader of the Acropolis Rally of Greece following a last-stage mistake from team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala yesterday.
Hirvonen began SS6 in Thiva in third and appeared to be heading for an intended second-place overnight finish behind Latvala’s Focus RS WRC until the Finn went off at a hairpin at the 11.6km mark and got stuck for three-and-a-half minutes.
This meant Hirvonen claimed the lead, ending an opening day characterised by temperatures reaching 40 degrees three seconds ahead of Citroen driver Dani Sordo.
World championship leader Sebastien Loeb was well positioned in third, 21.1 seconds behind Hirvonen.
Deignan misses out on tour debut
CYCLING:Following a tough Giro d'Italia in which he crashed several times, Irish pro Philip Deignan will now not make his Tour de France debut next month, writes Shane Stokes.
The Letterkenny rider moved to the Cervélo Test Team this season and was part of the 16-man shortlist for a Tour place. However, a narrowed-down list of 12 riders was announced yesterday and other riders have got the nod over him.
The final, nine-man selection will be made closer to the Tour start on July 4th.
The Cervélo Test Team will be led by defending Tour champion Carlos Sastre. Deignan said earlier this year that it was uncertain that he would do both the Giro and the Tour; he’s only ever ridden one Grand Tour in a season and this, plus his crashes in the Giro, will have been factors in the decision.
Alejandro Valverde retained his overall lead in the Dauphine Libere despite a late attack by compatriot Alberto Contador in yesterday’s stage six.
Djokovic says huge deals should not be made public
TENNIS:Huge transfer bids such as Real Madrid's world-record €94 million offer for Cristiano Ronaldo should be kept secret to avoid adverse public reaction, leading player Novak Djokovic said yesterday.
“You can look at it from an athlete’s perspective or someone who earns €2,000 a month,” the 22-year-old Djokovic said during the Halle tournament.
“In this crisis this is not the best way to show off how much money (the club) is willing to offer.
“It reflects on social life very quickly, psychologically. These are incredible amounts.
“There is another way of doing this,” Djokovic added. “I am not saying he does or does not deserve it, but the amount should not reach the media.”
Djokovic, the world number four, has so far earned more than €9 million in prize money alone since turning pro in 2003. Yesterday he eased past Austrian Juergen Melzer 6-1 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals at the Halle tournament.
Injury sends O’Brien home
RUGBY:Leinster backrow Seán O'Brien has been forced to return home due to a knee injury picked up during the Churchill Cup match against Canada on Wednesday last.
The injury rules O’Brien out of the rest of the tournament, so he will return home to recover.
Connacht’s Andrew Browne has been called in and has linked up with the squad in Denver ahead of tomorrow’s game against Georgia (10.30pm Irish time, Sky Sports).
Tralee witnesses top-class fare
SAILING:Spectacular sailing conditions graced the 75-strong fleet competing for the Irish Cruiser Racing Association National Championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club yesterday, where three races were competed, writes David Branigan.
Cork’s Marinerscove.ie, skippered by Dave Dwyer, leads Class Zero with a string of first places, though principal rival Eamonn Rohan’s Blondie was a mere second apart in yesterday’s third race which is subject to protest.
An Olympic veteran is to the fore with David Burrows calling tactics on Sligo entry Ruthless and placed second is Class 2.
Four national titles under both IRC and Echo handicaps will be decided today after two concluding races.
North County face tough trip
CRICKET:Leinster sides dominate the third round draw for the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup, with all eight of the ties involving teams from the province, writes Emmet Riordan.
Defending champions North County face a tough tie away to Waringstown, and will be without the services of Andre Botha and John Mooney due to their participation in the World Twenty20.
The home side will be missing Kyle McCallan for the same reason but will be confident they can cause an upset.
Merrion are also in the NCU region where they take on a strong North Down side, while Phoenix travel to Belmont to take on a CIYMS outfit that includes Thinus Fourie, who moved north from Railway Union during the winter.
Claremont Road will play host to a little family feud as YMCA’s Reinhardt Strydom welcomes his younger brother Gerry and his Lisburn side, who have a 100 per cent record this season.
