Sport

Sports Digest

Cycling/Deignan shows up well in Italy: Philip Deignan finished 29th in the 1

Tue Oct 16 2007 - 01:00

Cycling/Deignan shows up well in Italy:Philip Deignan finished 29th in the 1.HC-ranked Giro dell'Emilia in Italy on Saturday, coming home in a group 2 minutes and 47 seconds behind the winner Fränk Schleck (Team CSC), writes Shane Stokes.

Schleck was clear in the final kilometre of the semi-Classic with Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin and outsprinted the Italian to the line.

Deignan was part of a group sprinting for 22nd place, with former Giro d'Italia champion Gilberto Simoni also finishing in the same time as the young Irishman.

The Donegal rider then took part in the GP Beghelli Milan-Vignola on Sunday, finishing 81st. He was 41 seconds behind the winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital).

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Boxing/New opponent for DuddyThe undefeated Derry middleweight John Duddy has had a late change of opponent for Saturday's promotion at the National Stadium.

Duddy had been set to meet Noe Tulio Gonzalez Alcoba but the Uruguayan withdrew after yesterday's pre-fight medical revealed he was suffering from a detached retina. Sadly the injury looks to have ended the 28-year-old's career. Stepping in to fill the void is England's Prince Arron. The regally named Manchester boxer has 10 wins from his 12 professional outings.

Disgraced Japanese boxer Daiki Kameda was banned for a year after his violent outburst during a world title fight last week. The 18-year-old Daiki was docked three points after an astonishing meltdown in the final round against champion Daisuke Naito.

Sport on television/Rugby watchers in the majority:According to TV3 viewership figures, last Saturday more people in Ireland watched England v France in the Rugby World Cup semi-final than Ireland v Germany in the Euro 2008 soccer qualifier. An average of 490,000 tuned into the live rugby match, while only 392,000 watched the 0-0 draw from Croke Park . TV3's peak quarter hour figure for the England v France Rugby World Cup semi-final was 376,000, recorded between 21.15 and 21.29.

On Sunday, an average of 342,000 individuals tuned into TV3's coverage of the second Rugby World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Argentina. The peak 15-minute segment was again between 21.15 and 21.29 when an average of 465,000 people tuning into TV3's coverage.