A worldwide search has now been launched to find Jenkins' successor.
Source: BBC Sport
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Jenkins dismissed as Wales coach
Gareth Jenkins has been sacked as Wales head coach after his side crashed out of the World Cup. Jenkins was told of the Welsh Rugby Union's decision by chief executive Roger Lewis and chairman David Pickering at the team hotel on Sunday. Defeat to Fiji on Saturday ended Wales' World Cup campaign at the pool stage, but Jenkins had vowed not to resign. He had a contract until the end of 2008 Six Nations, but the WRU has decided his position had became untenable.
Hamilton senses F1 title is close
Fuji, 28-30 September, 2007
Lewis Hamilton admitted he was on the verge of emulating some of his Formula One heroes in winning the drivers' title at the wheel of a McLaren. Hamilton's victory in the Japanese Grand Prix puts him 12 points clear of team-mate Fernando Alonso with just 20 available in the two remaining races. "On the last lap, I was thinking about some of the races [Ayrton] Senna was in and [Alain] Prost," Hamilton said. "And I was thinking I was on my way to achieving something similar to them." But Hamilton said he would not be celebrating until the title was in the bag. "It is a big boost in terms of confidence in my drive to be world champion," he said.
"But we still have two races left, and anything can happen, so we need to knuckle down. I won't be going partying. "At the back of your mind, in the subconscious, you do think about it a little bit but I think the key for me is just focus on the next race and just make sure my preparations are right and take it as it comes. "I hope we have the pace to again have the opportunity to win. We'll see after the next race." Alonso crashed out of the race, which was run in torrential rain, and afterwards admitted his hopes of a third championship in a row were all but over. "I really need a miracle to win," the Spaniard said. "It's not over mathematically, but there's no doubt I need a very unlucky weekend for him [in China next week].
"I need a retirement from him. If it is a normal weekend, it's over." But he pointed out that last year he suffered a late setback in his title fight with Michael Schumacher when the German won the Chinese Grand Prix, only for events to turn in Alonso's favour in Japan a week later. "It was the same conditions, Michael (Schumacher) was the favourite to win with two races to go, he had an engine problem in Suzuka and I recovered the points," said Alonso. "Maybe it can happen. I need to keep pushing." Alonso's car was damaged in a collision with Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, but he said that was not the reason for the crash. "In the car I felt a little bit strange after the touch but I think the accident at the end was because of aquaplaning," he said. If Hamilton wins the championship, either in China or Brazil two weeks later, he will become the first man ever to win the title in his first season in the sport. McLaren boss Ron Dennis pledged equal treatment to both drivers as the championship comes to a climax. "Both Lewis and Fernando have a chance of claiming the title," he said. "We will make sure that they both have the opportunity to do so and look forward to an exciting end to the championship."
Source: BBC Sport
Australian Lyons out of World Cup
Australia number eight David Lyons has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after breaking his leg during the win over Canada on Saturday. Lyons limped off in the second half after a heavy tackle and X-rays showed he had fractured his left fibula. Saturday's match was his first in the tournament after he had been sidelined since July with blood clotting. Australia are expected to make an announcement about a possible replacement later on Sunday.
Lyons, 27, was a key member of the Australia team that lost the 2003 World Cup final to England but has been plagued by health problems for the past three seasons. He is the second Australian player to leave the tournament after utility back Mark Gerrard injured his knee in their first World Cup game against Japan. Fly-half Stephen Larkham has also undergone two knee operations during the tournament and has been ruled ouf of next weekend's quarter-final against England in Marseilles while captain Stirling Mortlock is recovering from a dislocated shoulder.
Source: BBC Sport
Hamilton moves to brink of title
Fuji, 28-30 September, 2007
Hamilton's performance, in his first wet Grand Prix, was as controlled and impressive as any he has produced in a scintillating season. And it means he will win the championship in China next weekend if he beats Alonso, or loses no more than a point to him. The 22-year-old survived a spin following a collision with Robert Kubica, for which the BMW Sauber driver was penalised, and eased to a brilliant win in an incident-packed race. The pouring rain at one point put the entire event in doubt, with conditions so poor that the race was started under the safety car. And there was immediate controversy when Ferrari started their cars on intermediate tyres rather than the extreme wets that had been demanded by race director Charlie Whiting. Ferrari said they did not know of Whiting's instructions, and soon pulled Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa into the pits to change to the correct tyres. The safety car stayed out for 19 laps before Whiting decided the track was safe enough to race on. Hamilton quickly built a three-second lead over Alonso, which the double world champion then stabilised until the two men made their first pit stops. Alonso, usually outstanding in the wet, came in first, on lap 27, and rejoined in traffic down in sixth place. Hamilton stopped a lap later and came out third. On new tyres and a heavier fuel load, the two silver cars began to struggle a little, and Hamilton dropped as low as sixth, with Alonso down in 10th, behind rivals who had yet to stop. Alonso's rear bodywork had been damaged when he was hit by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and tipped into a spin on his first lap out of the pits. That will have reduced his car's downforce, and the 26-year-old lost control coming out of the tricky and fast Turn Five and smashed into the wall on the entry to Turn Six. That brought out the safety car, with Hamilton in the lead ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber and German rookie Sebastian Vettel in the sister Toro Rosso. But Vettel smashed into the back of Webber while the field was still being controlled, leaving the Australian furious, and promoting the impressive Kovalainen into second, ahead of Massa, the second Red Bull of David Coulthard and Raikkonen. Raikkonen passed Coulthard around the outside of Turn Five with 11 laps to go, and that put him just a place behind Massa, who was mathematically out of the title race. Massa came in for a tyre stop on the next lap, promoting Raikkonen into third place, and ensuring he gained an extra point. The Finn tried hard to pass countryman Kovalainen in the closing laps. Raikkonen actually passed the Renault on the final lap, but Kovalainen re-passed him immediately and held on to the flag. That leaves the Finn 17 points adrift of Hamilton in the championship - still technically within reach, but effectively out of contention unless Hamilton has problems in both remaining races. Coulthard was fourth, ahead of the Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella, and Massa, who won a no-holds-barred battle with Kubica on the final lap. Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi was eighth, picking up his team's first points of the season.
Source: BBC Sport
Pavlik stuns Taylor to win title
Kelly Pavlik claimed the undisputed world middleweight crown with a seventh-round stoppage of fellow American Jermain Taylor on Saturday. Pavlik, 25, who recovered after being floored by Taylor in round two, unleashed a flurry of punches to leave the champion slumped in the corner. Taylor, 28, was making a fifth defence of the title he took from Bernard Hopkins in July 2005. But Pavlik was too strong in Atlantic City and carried off the WBC/WBO belts.
Big-punching Pavlik, from Youngstown, Ohio, was happy to trade punches in a thrilling toe-to-toe encounter in Boardwalk Hall. Taylor was far more offensive then in his previous defences against southpaws Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks, which sparked a thrilling spectacle from the first bell that often had the crowd on its feet. With Pavlik parading a perfect 31-0 record and Taylor also unbeaten at 27-0-1, something had to give.
It was the champion who landed the first major blow of the fight in the second round as he sent the challenger to the floor with a blaze of punches. Pavlik took the mandatory count from referee Steve Smoger but still looked out of it as Taylor went back in to finish his man off. But somehow, Pavlik managed to stay upright and hang on and in the third round he came powering back into the fight. He was finding plenty of success with his jab, picking off Taylor almost at will as he moved the champion around the ring. But it was a stunning power punch that sent Taylor reeling back into Pavlik's corner midway through the seventh. Pavlik again sent a left jab through the Taylor defences before delivering a crunching right that sent Taylor back-pedalling into the corner. Pavlik went straight after him continuing the assault with a stunning series of punches, a right upper-cut to Taylor's chin followed by a clubbing left hook and then another left that had his man sinking to the floor and out of the fight. "I just can't believe I lost," Taylor said. "I had him hurt and I thought I had him.
"I wasted a lot of energy by throwing unnecessary punches that I shouldn't have. I got caught." There is a rematch clause in the contract and both fighters said they would honour the agreement. "I would like to fight him in my very next fight," Taylor said. "I have to go back to the drawing board." Pavlik said: "He caught me flush early on to put me down but I showed heart. "Once I got up and shook off the cobwebs, I knew it would be a good night. I got up because I didn't get hit as hard. I hit him with a lot of flush shots. It caught up to him."
Source: BBC Sport
Pavlik KOs Taylor in seventh for middleweight title
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Kelly Pavlik knocked out Jermain Taylor in the seventh round Saturday night to win the world middleweight title.
Far behind on points after absorbing a brutal beating in the second round, Pavlik cornered Taylor and stunned him with a hard right to the jaw, then sent him down with a flurry of lefts and rights.
Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) remained undefeated, while Taylor (27-1-1) suffered his first loss.
Undefeated Andre Berto stopped David Estrada in the 11th round to win the NABF welterweight title on the undercard.
Middleweight Ronald Hearns also remained undefeated by stopping Robert Kamya in the first round.
Taylor entered the fight looking to buff up his image after what some perceived as a lackluster decision over Cory Spinks in May. He did that almost immediately, pounding Pavlik in the second round with a flurry that sent Pavlik to all fours.
"I was hurt and shook real bad, but I told myself I can't quit, I've got to stay out there,'' Pavlik said.
Pavlik survived the round and regained momentum in the third, backing Taylor into a corner and landing several lefts and rights to the head. But Taylor counterpunched effectively, leaving Pavlik bleeding from the nose and mouth by the end of the fifth round.
Taylor repeatedly worked out of the corners, often throwing some of his best combinations while working out of jams. But he used that tactic once too often, and in the seventh round it worked against him.
With the largely pro-Pavlik crowd chanting "Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!'' Pavlik slowly gained momentum, though he was still taking most of the punishment right up until the knockout.
He landed a straight right and left uppercut that put Taylor back against the ropes, then finished the job.
Taylor was winning on all three judges' scorecards, with none of the three putting Pavlik ahead in more than two rounds.
"I thought I had him in the second round,'' Taylor said. "I threw too many punches. He fought a great fight. In the middle rounds I thought I was losing and I wasted too much energy.''
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
Live: Japanese Grand Prix
Positions for 0530 BST start of 67-lap race: * Race being run behind safety car 1 L Hamilton (McLaren) 2 F Alonso (McLaren) 3 K Raikkonen (Ferrari) 4 F Massa (Ferrari) 5 N Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 6 J Button (Honda)
7 M Webber (Red Bull) LATEST ACTION AS IT HAPPENS (ALL TIMES BST)
0530: This is the first time a Grand Prix has started behind the safety car since Brazil in 2003 and the talk is that, with less downforce than their rivals, it will be the Ferraris that will struggle most in these conditions. 0525: Right, while technical issues are a go-go at BBC Television Centre, it's all about tyre choice and tactics at Fuji. The fog is heavy, the weather appalling, and Briton Jenson Button is positively licking his lips - he loves the wet. The cars are lined up on the grid behind the safety car and this could be another crazy race - though Hamilton won't mind things as they are you would have thought... 0515: Conditions are appalling at Fuji with the scheduled start of the Japanese Grand Prix just minutes away. The rain is bucketing down, the drivers are complaining of rivers running across the track and the race will start behind the safety car. The pressure is high on Lewis Hamilton, who starts from pole position is intent on stopping team-mate Fernando Alonso further eating into his championship lead, which is down to just two points.
Source: BBC Sport
Kyle Busch slips past Kenseth for Kansas victory
Kyle Busch Wins In Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A penalty for speeding on pit road sent Kyle Busch to the back of the pack. All he did after that -- with the help of a lot of yellow flags -- was pass everyone else on the track.
Busch slipped inside of Matt Kenseth with just over 17 laps to go, then held off Kenseth's challenges after a late restart to win Saturday's Busch Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Busch's car failed the postrace inspection because the intake manifold did not meet NASCAR specifications. Penalties will be announced next week.
Kenseth dove inside the white line just before the finish of the Yellow Transportation 300, but couldn't slip past Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet. Busch won by .085 of a second on the 1.5-mile tri-oval, his third victory in his last six races and the 10th of his career.
"I was able to get clear of him, and then I just had to block his air from there," said Busch, who was penalized shortly before the midpoint of the 200-lap, 300-mile race.
There were 10 cautions, tying the track record from a year ago. Eight of them came after Busch's penalty.
Jeff Roberson/AP Photo
Kyle Busch (5) beat Matt Kenseth (17) by just .085 of a second.
"If that thing would have went green for the rest of the race, we wouldn't have had a chance to get back up to the front," he said. "Everybody would have got strung out a little bit, and it would have been harder to race those guys."
Kenseth's narrow loss was his second straight in Busch competition at Kansas Speedway, both times after he started from the pole. He also found himself in an awkward situation with Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards, the series points leader.
Near the middle of the race, Kenseth moved in front of Edwards. The two made contact and Edwards cut a tire, causing him to drop a lap behind the leaders.
Edwards' day only got worse when he broke loose and smacked the wall, ending his day after 141 laps. He finished 38th, but his lead over David Reutimann -- who finished 17th -- is still 696 points.
Edwards clapped his hands at Kenseth and gave his teammate a thumbs-up after the wreck. But he also made it clear that he thought Kenseth had cut him off earlier in the race, even though Edwards conceded that it might not have been intentional.
"The reason I was mad, someone like a teammate would race me like that," Edwards said. "He may or may not have done it on purpose. He's my teammate and we've really got a good relationship, so I hope we can get by this."
Kenseth responded that he thought he gave Edwards enough space -- but if he didn't, well, that's racing.
"My job's not to get out of his way all the time," Kenseth said. "We're supposed to race each other like we always race each other.
"I thought I left him enough room. We just made a little bit of contact. It was just bad luck, I guess, with everything else that happened to him."
Kenseth also continued another dubious tradition: In seven Busch races at Kansas Speedway, no driver has both won and led the most laps. Kenseth led a race-high 65 of 200 laps on Saturday, after leading 145 laps here last year.
Casey Mears was third and Clint Bowyer fourth, followed in the top 10 by Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers and Greg Biffle.
Jason Keller tied the series record with his 417th start, matching the mark set by Tommy Houston from 1982-96.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
Ole Miss sprinter found shot to death in apartment
OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi sprinter Rodney Lydale Lockhart was found shot to death Saturday at his apartment near the Ole Miss campus.
Lockhart, a junior psychology major from Vaiden, was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. 1,600-meter relay team in the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing.
Oxford police were called to Lockhart's apartment about 10 a.m. Saturday after a 911 call from a man who said he found the runner lying on the floor. The 20-year-old Lockhart was pronounced dead at the scene by Lafayette County Coroner Lonnie Weaver, according to a news release by Oxford Police Chief Mike Martin.
"This is an unbelievable thing, and I'm having difficulty processing it," said Mississippi track coach Joe Walker.
Lockhart's death is being investigated as a homicide by the Oxford Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, Martin said.
At the 2006 SEC Outdoor Championships, Lockhart finished ninth in the 400 meters and was a member of the 1,600-meter relay team that finished eighth. At the 2006 SEC Indoor Championships, he finished eighth in the 400 meters and was part of a 1,600-meter relay team that finished fifth.
Dean of Students Thomas J. "Sparky" Reardon and University Counseling Center Director Mark Showalter met with the team Saturday evening.
"We are deeply saddened by Rodney's death," Walker said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Rodney's family and friends."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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