Sports Digest/BASEBALL: Jermaine Dye's late, run-scoring single was enough to give the Chicago White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday and a first World Series title in 88 years with a four-game sweep.
The outfielder's eighth-inning hit, a ground ball through the middle off Houston reliever Brad Lidge, drove in Willie Harris from third to break a scoreless tie.
Dye earned Most Valuable Player honours for the series.
The starting pitchers, considered the fourth-best options from two talented starting rotations, turned in the finest mound duel of the series.
Houston's Brandon Backe and Chicago's Freddy Garcia, who earned the win, each struck out seven batters and yielded no runs in seven innings.
The Astros finished the 44-year-old franchise's first World Series by going scoreless in their final 15 innings as they became the 19th team to suffer a championship sweep.
The White Sox had not appeared in a Fall Classic since 1959 and last won the title in 1917.
OLYMPIC GAMES: A bid to introduce women's boxing at the 2008 Beijing Games has been rejected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
But the IOC continued its drive to increase the number of women competitors by raising participation in other sports.
Women's teams were increased from 10 to 12 in soccer, hockey and handball, while a women's 3,000 metres steeplechase will also be added to the programme.
An open-water 10km swim for men and women was also added to the Beijing line-up.
The IOC threw out a request from the International Tennis Federation to introduce mixed doubles at the Beijing Games.
WOMEN'S GOLF: The ILGU yesterday launched six new matchplay competitions for Ireland's women golfers. The championships, sponsored by AA Insurance, will target club golfers of all handicap ranges and ages.
It is expected that one in four women club golfers will participate in the new championship across the five districts: northern, eastern, southern, western and midland.
The new AA Insurance Ladies Championship will replace the current district interclub matchplay competitions with new competitions for all handicap ranges leading to a national finals tournament. It will run from March to October, 2006.
The championships will consist of six separate tournaments: Junior Cup (8-15 handicaps), Intermediate Cup (16-22), Minor League Cup (23-29), Challenge Cup (30-36), Senior Foursomes (plus-16 with a maximum combined of 28) and Junior Foursomes (17-30, maximum combined 56).
In order to achieve four teams at national semi-final stage, a rota has been agreed for the national play-off starting with the eastern and northern districts, which will be played in Greenore Golf Club next September 19th.
The winners in each of the six competitions will progress to the national semi-finals.
The AA Insurance National Championships begins in March. Events will culminate with the district finals in July/August, the national play-off in September and the national finals in early October, annually.
PGA TOUR: Tom Lehman and Dean Wilson shared the early clubhouse lead at four-under-par 67 during the opening round of the Chrysler Championship at Palm Harbor, Florida.
Wilson made five consecutive birdies on his back nine in his 67, while Lehamn eagled the first (his 10th) to get to four under.
SNOOKER: Joe Swail defeated Ken Doherty 9-7 to land the Irish Professional Championship 12 years after he first won the title. Swail, the world number 40, trailed 4-3 after the opening session.
