More sports news in brief.
Mosley takes court action in France
MOTOR SPORT:Max Mosley has filed legal action in Paris to prevent a video showing him in what has been described as a Nazi-style orgy with prostitutes from being accessed via the Internet in France.
According to legal filings seen by Reuters, Mosley, the subject of lurid allegations by the British newspaper News of the World, has also asked for copies of the newspaper publishing the images in France to be seized.
The request is scheduled to be examined by a judge this morning and a judgment is expected later today or early next week.
The News of the Worldpublished a story last month with photographs it said showed Mosley in a sado-masochistic orgy with prostitutes dressed as concentration camp prisoners.
Mosley, head of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), has denied any Nazi connotations and is claiming damages against the paper. He has resisted calls to resign.
Calzaghe won't take the B-Hop bait
BOXING:Joe Calzaghe has poured scorn on Bernard Hopkins' conviction that his 56-month stretch in a penitentiary will give him the edge in tomorrow night's Las Vegas bout.
Hopkins is never short of words when it comes to discussing the time he spent inside from the age of 17 and maintains the experience gave him the hunger to go on.
But Calzaghe, who experienced a relatively serene upbringing in the Welsh countryside, mocked his opponent's mentality following a low-key head-to-head press conference at the Planet Hollywood resort.
Calzaghe said: "Hopkins says he had to go to prison to make himself hard. That means he's weak. Me? I was born hard.
"Hopkins has been to prison. Big deal, give him a medal. I was knocking out sparring partners who had been to prison when I was a 14-year-old kid.
"I'm beginning to think they must teach people to talk so much rubbish out here when they are at school. They talk so much of it. I don't care about his reputation."
'Play-offs' plan for Tour of Spain
CYCLING:Vuelta director Victor Cordoso has proposed introducing "play-offs" to make the Tour of Spain more exciting in the early stages.
Under the new format, 25 teams of eight riders would enter one-day races during the first week, with the peloton down to 16 teams of eight riders for the two remaining weeks.
"We would have a first five- or six-day phase with flat races, mountain races and a time trial," Cordoso said at the International Forum for the future of Cycling in Paris yesterday.
"We would have team standings to select the 16 teams to continue the race. "The riders taking part in the play-offs would not necessarily be the ones participating in the rest of the race," he added.
Cordoso said the proposed move would make the first week of the race more entertaining.
Cordoso, who said the format could eventually be used for the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, added it could not be implemented before the 2010 Vuelta.
Double joy in Miami as Star class qualify for Beijing
SAILING:A final-race win by Royal Cork's Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne yesterday in Miami provided a double celebration as Dun Laoghaire's Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks finished 14th overall to secure one of four remaining nation places for Ireland in Beijing, reports David O'Brien.
The result in the 104-boat fleet ensures Ireland continue their 16-year participation in the Star keelboat class at the Olympics.
Irish selectors, chaired by Colm Barrnigton, now face the prospect under current selection rules of deciding which of three crews should go to China in four months.
Treacy and Shanks finished 26th in the final race to seize the nation place and will undoubtedly push for nomination on the basis they were the team to secure the Olympic berth.
O'Leary (25) and Milne (25) - the youngest team at the regatta - who are only four months into a campaign, lived up to their billing by Olympic coach James O'Callaghan as "the form horse" by winning yesterday's final race to finish 17th. Significantly, they were the only crew to post two top-five results this week.
Maurice O'Connell and Ben Cooke from Dun Laoghaire, in a disappointing outcome after a four-year campaign, took two disqualifications this week and finished 49th.
Ireland had already secured three nation places in 11 of the categories for the 2008 Olympic regatta: Finn, Laser Radial and 470.
Dott to play at the Crucible
SNOOKER:Scotland's Graeme Dott has confirmed he will play at the World Championship next week despite suffering from depression.
The 2006 champion has suffered several personal traumas, including the death of his father-in-law, who was also his manager.
Dott's wife also had a cancer scare before receiving the all-clear, and the emotional strain has taken its toll on the 30-year-old.
But he will be at the Crucible for his opening match against Joe Perry, and said: "I had already decided last week to pull out, but I have changed my mind because I thought it would just be too hard for me not to play."
Dott is being treated for his depression and believes his health is improving.
"I'm certainly a lot better than I was - there has been a massive change, although I am still a long way off from being okay."
Federer on song in the rain
TENNIS:Roger Federer cruised into the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open yesterday with a 6-3 6-2 win over Romania's Victor Hanescu in the rain.
Despite the conditions, the one-hour match was not halted.
The 26-year-old Swiss was on top form with impressive play from the baseline and a series of backhand winners.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner showed his class by wrapping up the match with an ace on his fourth match point.
