TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Birdair puts roof on Red Bull Arena Birdair Inc. has completed the installation of the tensioned-membrane roof that covers a new stadium in Harrison, N.J. bizjournals.com |
Pacquiao 'closes the door' on Mayweather • Pacquiao due to announce fresh opponent today• Mayweather keeps door open for resolutionBrinkmanship rushed past stalemate towards suicidal promotional meltdown tonight when Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, declared he would announce the little Filipino's next opponent tomorrow – "and it won't be Floyd Mayweather Jr".The new opponent is, according to Arum, going to be the light-hitting New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi, who was stopped by Ricky Hatton in November 2008 and has a loss and two wins since. This is the boxing equivalent of Manchester United cancelling a Champions League fixture against Barcelona and opting instead for a Wednesday night friendly against Huddersfield. Arum, however, has, seemingly, lost patience with Mayweather, whose negotiators want Pacquiao to prove he is drugs-free by taking random "Olympic standard" blood tests before their scheduled 13 March fight in Las Vegas.Pacquiao, defending his WBO welterweight title, agreed instead to random urine tests and three blood tests, two of them 30 days before the fight – a requirement that goes beyond the strict regulations of the Nevada State Athletics Commission under whose jurisdiction the fight will come. Pacquiao has denied taking drugs.That compromise, apparently, was not acceptable to Mayweather's people. Arum set a Monday deadline for Mayweather's promotional partners, Golden Boy Promotions, to respond and that passed without acceptance.Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, said: "Random is random. We are not backing off and the ball is in their court." Arum's response to that was: "If that is the case, then tomorrow morning we will announce who Manny will fight on 13 March and it won't be Floyd Mayweather. It's terrible. Mayweather and his people have never cared about the good of boxing and it is Manny that has brought boxing back. Is this a loss for boxing? Is this a missed opportunity? Of course it is."Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions said: "Let the record be clear: Manny Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, are threatening to walk away from the largest fight in history. It is disappointing for us to see that the benefits of blood testing, and the fact that many different substances and procedures can only be detected by blood testing, are still not fully understood by all."But they left the door open for a resolution: "[We are] still open to the earlier discussions of having both parties work out a mutually agreeable understanding of the testing, which would be conducted by a mutually agreed upon agency."The head of the Nevada boxing commission has ordered Pacquiao and Mayweather to submit to urine tests within 48 hours as a way of trying to break the impasse. The boxers face possible fines or suspension by the Nevada Athletic commission if they refuse to do so. "That at least starts the ball rolling," said Keith Kizer, the commission's executive director.In the convoluted question-and-answer rhetoric of the modern-day sports industry manipulator, Arum went to the core of the dispute: control. At stake is a potential pot of $200m (£125m) and it has become clear over the past week that the integrity of the contest between the acknowledged two best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing has come to play a poor second fiddle to the egos and financial aspirations of not just the fighters but the suits who rule their destiny.Arum has protested that Pacquiao does not object to blood tests up to 30 days before the fight, nor to random urine tests at any time, but he does not want the intrus.Number three, there is the possibility it is a way to disconcert Pacquiao who they know … doesn't like to give blood immediately in the weeks prior to a fight when he is in training because he believes, rightly or wrongly, that it saps his strength."This is chutzpah on a grand scale: No way does Mayweather want to kill a fight that could earn him $50m, and the notion that Pacquiao, who is covered with tattoos, doesn't like to give blood is stretching credulity.Arum, meanwhile, insisted: "The reason they know this is that Pacquiao's last defeat was to Erik Morales and he had been directed to give a blood test that the state commission requires, that he needed for a licence, for HIV and hepatitis. He did it, they took his blood test 10 days before the fight. He claims it sapped his strength and [contributed to] his loss to Morales."Manny PacquiaoFloyd MayweatherBoxingDrugs in sportKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Holland, Jacobellis win WCup snowboardcross BAD GASTEIN, Austria (AP) -- Americans Nate Holland and Lindsey Jacobellis won World Cup snowboardcross races Sunday to improve their chances of making the U.S. Olympic team.... hosted.ap.org |
Julien Dupuy's 24-week ban for gouging reduced by one week Julien Dupuy, the Stade Francais scrum-half, has had his appeal against a 24-week suspension for gouging reduced by just seven days, effectively ending his season. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Nadal next after Murray eases past Isner • Andy Murray beats John Isner 7-6, 6-3, 6-2• Fifth seed will play Rafael Nadal in last eightAndy Murray's near-flawless progress in the Australian Open continued when he reduced the 6ft 9in American John Isner to a drained and dispirited wreck in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals in the best shape of all the remaining contenders. Murray will now play Rafael Nadal in the last eight after the Spaniard's win over Ivo Karlovic.Nadal, who won in four sets, admitted afterwards that he expects a stern challenge to his title defence against the No5 seed."Being in the quarter-final is very good for me, it's given me a lot of confidence but I know I have got a really difficult match against Andy. I just wanted to enjoy it today," he said. "Andy is one of the most talented players on the tour. He can play aggressively, defensively."Murray is the only favoured seed to have not dropped a set, and beat Isner in style, 7-6, 6-3, 7-2 in 131 minutes of superb tennis.Murray's serve – curiously questioned by some earlier in the week – was in a perfect groove, tactically he put Isner through the wringer, he hit several absolutely exquisite winners – and made only eight unforced errors.He could hardly have done more. They had never met before and Isner, at least, will not look forward to an early rematch."I think he's got the best serve in the game," Murray said. "I had my coach serving at me from the service line but, once you get out there, it's still so tricky. I think he was a little bit tired. He'd won the tournament in Auckland last week and he's in the doubles."It's been good. I've moved really well since the start of the tournament and I hit some great shots on the run today."He certainly did.This was a match made in tennis heaven, given the perfectly meshed and contrasting styles of the combatants. Isner charged in on stilt-like legs behind his booming serve, Murray, one of the best returners in the game, looked to pass or lob the American.Isner, who went out in the first round here twice before, had promised he'd come to the net – and that is where he went so regularly that Murray had no trouble finding open space.He got the better of their fascinating duel in the first set. Isner was break point down at 2-2 and aced his way out of trouble, but Murray already looked to have his measure tactically. Isner blew the only break point he had in the set, and Murray won the tie-break.In the second set Murray broke a flagging Isner, who sought refuge in the shade time and again as he found lugging his 17st 7lb frame through the noon-day sun debilitating.The third set was not exactly a stroll for Murray, but he won in a canter at the end as Isner, dispirited and doomed, could do nothing against some of Murray's quite extraordinary ground strokes. One that will live in the memory came when the Scot was forced wide and deep behind the baseline, jumped like a dog through a hoop and double-fisted a backhand to the American's weary feet, which is where the ball stayed. Remarkable. He finished the break with an equally shattering backhand down the line, that left Isner bewildered.Murray has his eyes firmly on the prize now.Andy MurrayAustralian OpenTennisKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |