A round up of today's other sports news in brief...
O'Dwyer to stay with Wicklow
GAELIC GAMES:Mick O'Dwyer is staying on as the manager of Wicklow's senior football team for at least another year.
Ending speculation about his future plans, the Kerryman told the players at training this week that he would again be in charge in 2009.
Arthur French, who is in charge of the county team for the Tommy Murphy Cup, will also continue as assistant team manager.
Greeks call up Thanou
ATHLETICS:Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou, who was banned for two years after a doping scandal on the eve of the Athens 2004 Olympics, has made the team for next month's Games and could travel to Beijing, officials said yesterday.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) included Thanou in the Greece squad after she finished fifth in a 100 metres race in Crete late on Monday with a time of 11.39 seconds.
Teams to quit ProTour series
CYCLING:All teams are to leave the International Cycling Union's elite ProTour series, the 17 teams on the Tour de France said yesterday.
"It has been decided unanimously not to renew the ProTour licences for the 2009 season," the teams said in a joint statement. The ProTour, which started in 2005 under the UCI's jurisdiction, guaranteed top teams a place in the leading races.
The Astana team, who were not invited on the Tour de France, are set to join the move. "If everybody decides so, I can't imagine Astana will not follow," Astana chief press officer Philippe Maertens said.
Pat McQuaid, president of the UCI, the sport's governing body, said the dissidents were facing exclusion from the international federation.
Schleck knows he must attack soon
CYCLING:Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, who is breathing down the neck of Tour de France leader Cadel Evans, has said he hopes to drop the Australian during the three stages in the Alps.
The CSC rider took third place in Monday's stage in the Pyrenees, missing out on the overall leader's yellow jersey by one second.
He knows the importance of the Alpine stages, starting next Sunday - and the 53-km time-trial on the penultimate day when he is expected to lose between two to three minutes to Evans.
"It means I will have to attack (in the Alps) at least twice," he said yesterday as the 169-strong peloton enjoyed a rest day.
Ireland qualify for Dubai Sevens
RUGBY:Ireland qualified for next year's IRB Sevens World Cup in Dubai by finishing fourth overall at the FIRA-AER European Sevens Championship in Hannover, Germany at the weekend. They lost 26-7 to Georgia in the third place play-off writes John O'Sullivan.
Jon Skurr's Ireland side had earlier beaten Poland in their final pool match to secure second place in Pool B, thus gaining qualification for the World Cup. Their chances of lifting silverware ended when they lost 14-12 to Sevens circuit regulars Portugal in the semi-finals. Connacht recruit Ian Keatley scored both Irish tries.
In their final outing in Hannover - the third place play-off - Ireland took on a highly-regarded Georgia side and, despite leading 7-5 at the interval through a Cian Aherne try, lost 26-7.
From tennis star to rock star
TENNIS:An asteroid has been named after Rafael Nadal. The request to name the rock after the new Wimbledon champion came from an astronomical observatory on Nadal's home island of Majorca and was approved by the International Astronomical Union. Star gazers can find the asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.
