World champion Mark Cavendish of Britain won stage five of the Giro d'Italia from Modena to Fano in a bunch sprint on Thursday.Second behind the Sky rider, who claimed the ninth Giro d'Italia stage of his career, was Australian Matt Goss with Italian Daniele Bennati in third.Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas continued to lead the race overall for a second day.The Giro d'Italia finishes on May 27 in Milan.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
UAE hold off Kazakhstan in A5N Top 5 battle Hosts bounce back after two consecutive losses
After trailing 29-nil at half time, Kazakhstan posted 31 points in the second half to close the gap to 10 points in the final 10 minutes before UAE dashed their hopes of an inspirational comeback.
It was a great comeback by the hosts after the battering they received at the hands of Hong Kong and Japan.
The win by UAE is key to their hopes of staying in the HSBC A5N Top 5 in 2013. Kazakhstan will be ruing a chance to take vital away match points and will now face their second must-win match in two weeks when they host Korea next Saturday in Almaty, before closing out their campaign in Hong Kong on May 26.
UAE performance manager Duncan Hall said: “It’s a relief for the guys definitely. We talked that this was definitely a winnable match and we are very luck we kept our noses in front. Kazakhstan is a proud country. They never let down and they showed that today.”
UAE captain Alistair Thompson said: “Today was a winner take all match in terms of staying up in the Top 5, so there was a lot of pressure on us. The last couple of weeks we have played teams (Hong Kong and Japan) that play expansive and want to play wide, but today it was a completely different game style where guys wanted to take us on up front. We went to sleep for the first 15 minutes of the second half and we ended up needing to score tries and luckily we did that.
“I’m proud of the lads. I think we have done enough to stay up in the Top 5 and if so, we have moulded UAE Rugby for the year ahead. The profile of staying up is vital for continuing to develop the game in the UAE and in the region.”
UAE jumped out to a fiery start in the desert sun as Sevens captain Tim Fletcher crossed over for the first try at the five-minute marker. The tries followed thick and fast as the UAE dominated territory throughout the opening 40.
Flanker Brett Williams, fullback Imad Reyal and scrum-half Pat Hegarty all added tries in the opening half. Flyhalf Murray Strang accounted for nine points in the same half with three conversions and a penalty to send the home side into the changing sheds 29-points to the good.
UAE was poised to be in a controlling position for the final 40, but it was Kazakhstan who struck first in just the second minute through a try to flanker Nikita Trofimov, who finally put the Nomads on the board at 29-5.
Moments later, UAE lock Greg Thompson helped his team regain last ground with a try to extend the lead to 34-5.
Undaunted, Kazakhstan exhibited its famed never-say-die rugby attitude with a second try through Dmitriy Tronin. The conversion by captain and centre Ildar Abdrazhakov narrowed the margin to 12-34.
Less than two minutes later, the Kazakh forward pack had worked the ball back deep into UAE territory, when flanker Nikita Trofimov scored his second try of the match. Abdrazhakov’s conversion brought the score to 34-19, with the Nomads having scored 19 points to UAE’s five in a rampaging second half. With 20 minutes remaining the game seemed to hang in the balance.
Kazakhstan seemed to tilt the match further in their favour as lock Anton Makarenko went over again from close range to bring the visitors within 10 points of an incredible comeback win at 34-24. Makarenko’s try saw Kazakhstan gain its first point of the 2012 HSBC A5N Top 5 as they earned a matching bonus point to that of the UAE for scoring four or more tries in a match.
With 10 minutes remaining, the atmosphere was tense as the UAE faithful pondered the thought of letting a 29-point lead slip through their fingers.
Earlier in the week Hall had lauded his charges saying they “had a lot of heart” and they repaid his faith by scoring a brilliant 50 metre handling try with some great interplay between backs and forwards.
The try was perfectly finished by slippery fullback Imad Reyal who collected a brace for his efforts.
Murray Strang’s boot was again on the mark with the conversion as UAE pulled comfortably back in front at 41-24 with eight minutes remaining on the clock.
Kazakh heads naturally dropped and the UAE again capitalised, this time through captain and No 8 Alistair Thompson giving the UAE a 46-24 lead with five minutes remaining.
As testament to the spirit in the Kazakhstan team, the visitors struck for the final time on the night as reserve scrum-half Evgeniy Romanov scooted over before the final whistle. Abdrazhakov’s conversion brought a thrilling 48-point second half to a close as Kazakhstan bowed out with heads held high at 46-31.
The crucial home win for UAE may have done enough to retain their spot in the HSBC A5N Top 5 in 2013. UAE captured five points for the win on the series table and a sixth (bonus) point for scoring four tries or more. Kazakhstan also earned a bonus point for its scoring spree in the second half. They trail the competition with one point from three matches and now face another must-win match as they host South Korea next weekend in Almaty.
South Korea are the promoted team in this year’s HSBC A5N Top 5 and have shown every indication of sticking in the top flight after a come from behind win against Hong Kong last weekend. Korea currently lie third in the standings on six points and face top-ranked Japan on Saturday in Seoul’s Seongnam Stadium (kick-off at 13.00 local time).
That game will be televised across Asia on ESPN Star Sports as well as into North Africa, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and North America on other international broadcasters. All HSBC A5N Top 5 games are also available for live streaming or video on demand at http://www.ustream.tv/A5NRugby.
F1: Hamilton stripped of Spanish pole Williams' Venezuelan driver Maldonado promoted
As a result, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Williams will start from pole position for the first time after being promoted from second on the grid while Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, will start from the back.
The 27-year-old Briton was excluded from the qualifying results because he did not return to the pits with his McLaren car after setting his fastest lap.
Instead, he followed urgent orders transmitted by the team and stopped out on the track. He required assistance to return to the pits where a one litre fuel sample was to be taken.
A stewards meeting later decided that this was in breach of the regulations and excluded Hamilton, dismissing his team's argument that this had happened under circumstances of 'force majeure'.
"This is such a disappointment. Today's qualifying session was one of the best I've ever driven - the whole car was just rolling so smoothly, it felt fantastic," said Hamilton.
"On my slowing-down lap, my engineers told me to stop on the track, and I didn't know why. Later, to hear that I'd been excluded from qualifying, was of course extremely disappointing.
"It's clear that it's going to be an incredibly tough race. But as I always say, and as I always do, whatever grid position I start a Grand Prix from, I'll always race my heart out."
The race stewards rejected McLaren's argument that the incident was a case of force majeure.
"The stewards heard from the team representative Sam Michael who stated that the car stopped on the circuit for reasons of force majeure," said a statement.
"A team member had put an insufficient quantity of fuel into the car thereby resulting in the car having to be stopped on the circuit in order to be able to provide the required amount for sampling purposes.
"As the amount of fuel put into the car is under the complete control of the competitor the stewards cannot accept this as a case of force majeure."
McLaren accepted the stewards' decision.
"We accept that the stewards did not agree with our interpretation of force majeure. Our aim is now to maximise the points we can score," said a spokesman.
McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh declined to explain precisely why Hamilton had been asked to stop.
"There was enough fuel to take a fuel sample, but we stopped the car. There was 1.3 litres of fuel taken out of the car," insisted Whitmarsh.
Hamilton and McLaren were given a reprimand and a $10,000 fine at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix in similar circumstances.
Whitmarsh said Saturday's drama was due to a problem in the McLaren garage.
"It is a technical problem that happened in the garage that didn't impede the performance of the car in any way and we stopped when it had 1.3 litres of fuel in the car," he added.
He was adamant that Hamilton had enough fuel to complete his lap back to the pit lane and also to supply a one litre sample.
Hamilton had a best lap of 1min 21.707sec to finish half a second clear of Maldonado.
Fernando Alonso was next fastest in a Ferrari ahead of Romain Grosjean and his Lotus team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
They were followed by Sergio Perez of Sauber, Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and defending champion Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull.
Maldonado's promotion was a great present for team founder Sir Frank Williams, who was celebrating his 70th birthday in the team garage.
"We have worked so hard to understand these tyres and develop our car around them and this is a great step forward for the team. We have such a good spirit and the car feels fantastic," said Maldonado.
Williams have their first pole since Nico Hulkenberg secured his maiden and sole pole position at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix.
It is also the first ever for a Venezuelan driver.
NBA: Miami's James named MVP winner again Beat Durant, Paul and Bryant in voting
Miami Heat forward LeBron James was named on Saturday as the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player for the 2011-12 season, cementing his place among the game's greatest players.
It was the third time in four years that 'King' James has won the game's most prestigious individual award, elevating him alongside the sport's biggest names.
Only seven other players - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone - have won the trophy at least three times.
Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for six MVP wins, one ahead of Jordan and Russell but James, still just 27 years old, has plenty of time on his side.
"I never dreamt about being an NBA Most Valuable Player," an emotional James said in a presentation in Miami broadcast live on national television.
"I never dreamt about doing the things that I do now at a high level.
"Now that it's in me now, and it's happening, it's overwhelming."
James, who twice won the award with the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving to Miami last season, averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists during the 2011-12 regular season, which was shortened to 66 games because of a labor dispute.
He totaled 1,074 points, including 85 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 voters that decided the award.
"We do not take LeBron James for granted, not here in this organization," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
"He's as committed as ever... and we all respond to his energy on the court."
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the leading scorer for the third season in a row, finished second in the vote, followed by Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chicago's Derrick Rose, who won the MVP award last year, finished 11th in the voting after missing more than a third of the season because of injury.
James, despite his individual success, has yet to win an NBA title, but has perhaps his best chance this season with Miami.
"This is very overwhelming to me as an individual award," James said.
"But this is not the award I want, ultimately. I want that championship. That's all that matters to me."
The Heat, who finished runners-up to Dallas last year after James left Cleveland to link up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, cruised through the opening round of the playoffs.
They now face the Indiana Pacers in a best-of-seven series, starting in Florida on Sunday, for a place in the Eastern Conference final.
James is sure to feature in the star-studded United States team at this year's London Olympics after being a member of the team that won the gold medal in Beijing four years ago.
RugbyU: New Zealand clinch world sevens crown
New Zealand clinched their 10th IRB world sevens series crown in 13 years on Sunday after downing South Africa 36-0 to advance to the semi-finals of the final leg of the championship at Twickenham.The New Zealanders needed only one more win to be assured of clinching the crown after victories over Russia, Kenya and Argentina on Saturday.
The men in black had looked vulnerable during their win over Argentina, trailing 10-0 before recovering to win 15-10.
But the New Zealanders came roaring back on Sunday morning against South Africa, romping home in style to reach the last four after the opening quarter-final in the cup competition.
"It's an awesome feeling," New Zealand's long-serving coach Gordon Tietjens said.
"I was worried last night because we played very sketchily against Argentina. I woke up at four o'clock this morning and didn't get back to sleep but we played very well today. We're very happy."
Donald surrenders No. 1 spot to McIlroy
England's Luke Donald will surrender golf's World No. 1 ranking to Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on Monday after a poor showing at the US PGA Heritage tournament.
Donald fired a level-par 71 on Sunday to finish on two-over par 286 for 72 holes, sharing 37th place, 16 strokes behind winner Carl Pettersson of Sweden.
Donald needed to share eighth place or better this week to keep his razor-thin margin ahead of McIlroy in the rankings. He finished six strokes adrift of that mark after matching his highest score in seven Heritage starts.
Once eight players reached the clubhouse ahead of him, Donald was ensured of giving the top spot back to McIlroy, whom he passed last month for the honour.
"Is it a concern? No," Donald said. "I would have liked to have played a bit more consistently this year. I built it up nicely last year through tournaments and winning a bunch.
"As a result there's a little bit of fluctuation in the world rankings now."
Donald, still seeking his first Major title, first claimed the top ranking after winning last year's BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour.
"It's a lot more the focus the first time around," Donald said. "Now my focus is on winning tournaments."
Reigning US Open champion McIlroy, who turns 23 on May 4, claimed the top spot for the first time in his young career last month when he won the US PGA Honda Classic, ending a 40-week run by Donald.
But Donald moved past McIlroy two weeks later, reclaiming the top spot by winning the US PGA Transitions Championship.
McIlroy, who was off this week, is not expected to play again until the US PGA Wells Fargo Championship in May at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Donald will return to PGA play in two weeks at New Orleans starting April 26.
Mena Golf Tour provides platform for emerging talent Second edition will have regional flavour
Shaikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Arab Golf Federation and the Emirates Golf Federation, Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the Mena Golf Tour, and Khalfan Al Kaabi, a board member of the Emirates Golf Federation, with the Mena Golf Tour trophy. (FILE)
The Mena Golf Tour fits perfectly into the larger scheme of things if the region’s players, including the UAE, are to realise their ambitions of competing on the bigger stage, especially the Asian Games or even the 2016 Olympics where the sport is making a comeback after a 112-year absence.
The tour, now in its second edition, has assumed a special significance with the UAE National Olympic Committee officially endorsing golf in its portfolio of sports, thus clearing the way for the country’s leading players to start dreaming about the biggest moments of their careers.
"There are hundreds of young golfers in the region who would be proud to represent their country and it would be an honour for anyone who plays this game to be part of the Asian Games and Olympic Games,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour.
“Hard work and exposure to high-intensity competitions are vital ingredients to preparing the players for top flight golf, and the Mena Golf Tour has the strength in depth to provide competition that would challenge the players and fine tune their skills required to compete at this level.
“Our intention is to develop amateurs who represent their country through this Tour because we feel they are the ones who will encourage more people to take up golf – and not Woods and Westwoods,” he said. “The added incentives, of course, are the spots that we offer to top golfers on the Order of Merit - three professionals and one leading amateur - to compete in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
“We have created a springboard for the players to benefit from it and, hopefully, they will set new standards,” said Buamaim, who thanked the UAE NOC for its initiative to recognise golf, which is fast becoming popular among the Emiratis.
The Tour, he explained, is not UAE specific. “It is meant to create playing opportunities for all those keen on playing at the top level or planning on making a career out of golf. It’s a stepping stone to the exciting world of international golf.”
The second edition of the Mena Tour, which is scheduled to kick off in September this year, will have a true regional flavour with stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and possibly, Morocco. With more tournaments, more prize money on offer, the tour is expected to attract a strong field with players who have featured on the Challenge Tour and Asian Tour events adding to its strength.
If a Mena Golf Tour player goes on to establish his credentials on the international circuit, it will just be a sign of the times in an ever-changing world. “This calls us to join hands, group our efforts and set off to make this dream come true,” he said.
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