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| Texas Tech fires football coach Leach LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Mike Leach's firing by Texas Tech stemmed from more than just a lone complaint by the father of a player who alleged the coach mistreated his son.... hosted.ap.org |
FIA considers case to restore Briatore ban • FIA may review entire Crashgate scandal• Briatore could sue Piquets, Kovalainen and Di GrassiWorld motorsport's governing body may launch a fresh disciplinary process against Flavio Briatore in an attempt to prevent the former Renault team principal from returning to Formula One.The FIA is considering the move, which would force it to review the entire Crashgate scandal from scratch, as an option in the wake of a French court's annulment of Briatore's lifetime ban for his part in ordering Nelson Piquet Jr to drive into a wall during the 2008 Singapore grand prix. It is also likely to appeal against the verdict in the French courts.In a further sign that the saga, which many in the sport believed had been brought to a conclusion last year by the decision to ban Briatore and the then Renault technical director Pat Symonds, may have a long way to run the triumphant Italian has said that he is also considering legal action against Piquet.Briatore said he would "very probably" sue Piquet, who launched an emotional attack on his former manager and team principal in the wake of the original World Motor Sport Council verdict last September, saying he drove him "to the lowest point I had ever reached in my life".Briatore also said he would consider suing Heikki Kovalainen and Lucas Di Grassi, the other drivers he managed who parted company with him in the wake of the FIA's decision. "Apart from Heikki Kovalainen and Lucas Di Grassi, my relationship with the other drivers has never changed," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Now we will look at the situation with lawyers to see if we can take legal action against those who have broken contracts with us."Asked if he would take action against Piquet and his father, he said: "That's very likely. The bad that has been done to me won't be forgotten in one day."Briatore had previously threatened the Piquets with legal action in the wake of their initial claims that he had played a key role in ordering the Brazilian driver to crash in order to benefit his team-mate Fernando Alonso. But after he was forced to quit Renault over the allegations, the threat was not repeated.The French court ruled that the FIA's decision was "irregular" because it had no jurisdiction over Briatore and Symonds, who had his own five-year ban overturned. The French court also said the long-standing enmity between Max Mosley – the then FIA president – and the Renault team principal meant the process was not guaranteed to be impartial.It also criticised the FIA for only letting Briatore know about the Monday hearing on the previous Friday, via an email that did not give him details of the proceedings or the precise charges against him.The FIA believes that because the court ruled against the process but did not consider the decision that resulted, it stands a good chance of being able to find a way of ensuring that Briatore and Symonds cannot return to the sport, whether through a fresh disciplinary process under a redrawn rulebook or a legal appeal.The FIA's rules will almost certainly be redrawn in any eventuality in an effort to make explicit its jurisdiction over anyone involved with the sport in any capacity.Jean Todt, the new FIA president who was Mosley's preferred choice to replace him, promised during his election campaign to review the organisation's governance arrangements and set up an independent disciplinary panel.The Football League has said it is waiting for "formal clarification of the court's decision" before considering the implications for Briatore's position as co‑owner of Queens Park Rangers.Its rules state that anyone banned by another sports governing body is forbidden from being a director or holding a majority stake in a club under its fit and proper person test. Yesterday's verdict appears to remove that threat, but the Football League is likely to wait to act until the appeals process has been exhausted before its board considers the matter again.Flavio BriatoreRenaultFormula OneMotor sportOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
AP source: Johnson, Marlins reach $39M, 4-yr deal MIAMI (AP) -- Josh Johnson became one of the few Marlins to gain a big-money multiyear contract.... hosted.ap.org |
Bill McLaren, the voice of rugby, dies aged 86 Bill McLaren, known universally as the voice of rugby, died has in hospital in his native Hawick. He was 86. McLaren, acknowledged as one of the greatest sports commentators of all time, passed away peacefully. He leaves a widow, Bette, a daughter Linda and five grandchildren, among them Rory Lawson the Scotland scrum half who plays for Gloucester. Janie, a second daughter, predeceased him. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Brailsford hits out at Sky funding 'myth' • One-two in ProTour event delights team principal• Brailsford keen to set record straight about budgetTeam Sky bookended their first week of racing with a second win in today's final stage of the Tour Down Under, Chris Sutton sprinting in ahead of Greg ÂHenderson to give the British squad another one-two. The difference was that this victory came in a ProTour event, as opposed to the previous week's curtain-raising circuit race, which added considerable lustre, even as Dave Brailsford, the team principal, conceded that the HTC-Columbia squad of overall winner AndrĂ© Greipel remain the "benchmark", with his fledgling team "the underdogs".Still, it was a triumphant finale to the opening race of the Team Sky campaign, with the bonus of third place overall for Henderson, and Brailsford was satisfied. "If you'd told me we'd come away with two wins when we got on the plane to come down here, I'd have taken it with both hands," he admitted. But he was also irritated by some of the chatter that has accompanied his team's debut, regarding Team Sky's rumoured budget.While other team directors have routinely noted that the British squad is the most lavishly funded in the sport, with even yesterday's race commentator claiming that the figure is "$54m" (ÂŁ30m), Brailsford said such stories were doing them no favours. "Everyone tries to big us up in terms of our budget," he said. As for the claim that it is ÂŁ30m, his response was unequivocal – "I wish!" – and he said that he would seek to set the record straight."We may circulate the UCI [International Cycling Union] list [detailing teams' budgets]," said Brailsford. "I think we're sixth in the league table. It's a total myth [that Sky is the best-funded] and I think we'll try to put that right by providing some facts. It doesn't do us any favours to have people think that."Brailsford pointed out that, in a race that featured several "A-teams", Team Sky was without its biggest stars. For one member of his team, Russell Downing, it was his first ever ProTour race. "Russell spent last year racing in the UK," said Brailsford. "For him to step up to this level – and it is another level – is a big ask, especially after spending the winter training at home in Sheffield. But he and the other guys here have done tremendously well. We've got some work to do, but we've learned a lot and we'll go home and look at it."Team Sky's victory on the final stage owed everything to the lead-out. Again they left it late, but when the six-man black-and-blue "train" massed at the front, stringing the race out in a long line, they married power with precision to set up Henderson. Yet it was Sutton, who would normally be expected to swing off before the line, who snatched the win, with Henderson claiming second. "All the boys played their part and I just went as long as I could," said Sutton. "If Hendy comes round me, he comes round me – but to get a one-two is amazing."Initially Henderson didn't seem sure whether to be happy or annoyed that Sutton had neglected to swing off to let him come through, a move that could potentially have cost him third overall. "I just wasn't too sure what Sutton was doing there at the finish," said Henderson."He sort of waited and waited and I got swamped to about fifth wheel and I thought, Christ, he hasn't gone. I was just lucky that I had the speed to get back round three or four guys and accelerate back up to get second. It wasn't the plan, and if I miss out on the podium by a couple of seconds, I'll be pissed.But I'm happy he won – absolutely stoked."Team SkyCyclingRichard Mooreguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |