Snooker: Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy were among the winners on day two of the International Championship in China, moving into the last 32 stage of the £625,000 world ranking event. World number two Robertson, seeking his second ranking title in China this season having won the Wuxi Classic, scored a 6-3 victory over Matthew Selt. Breaks of 83 and 51 put Robertson 2-0 up, before Selt fought back to 3-3. But Australia’s Robertson reeled off the last three frames with runs of 70, 70 and 75. Murphy, who won the Bulgarian Open earlier this month, saw off China’s Yu Delu 6-1 with top breaks of 98, 70, 71 and 61. Stephen Maguire made a surprise exit despite making a century and six more breaks of 50 or more after losing his match 6-5 against Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham.
Basket, NBA: New York Knicks forward Andrea Bargnani will miss at least the first three games of the regular season because of a hamstring injury. Bargnani is scheduled to miss the Knicks’ season opener tomorrow against Chicago Bulls, Thursday’s game in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, and the November 2 home game against Charlotte Hornets. He might miss additional games. Bargnani averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, which was his first season with the Knicks. He played in just 42 games last season because of a torn ligament in his right elbow. The 7-foot Bargnani, who was the no.1 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $11.5 million.
Baseball: St Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, considered one of baseball’s brightest prospects, was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, the team said in a statement. The 22-year-old made his debut this year and played 80 games for the Cardinals in 2014, carrying a .239 batting average and hitting three home runs. “We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family,” team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. Taveras’s girlfriend, 18-year-old Edilia Arvelo, was also killed in the crash, which occurred near the player’s home in Sosua in the northern part of the Dominican Republic.
Rugby Union: Hooker Stephen Moore looks almost certain to join the ranks of Australia’s test centurions after signing a contract extension until the end of the 2016 season yesterday. The 31-year-old, who will also play at least another two seasons in Super Rugby with the ACT Brumbies, was named captain of the Wallabies earlier this year before injury ended his season. Regardless of whether he returns to the captaincy under new coach Michael Cheika, the 92-test rake is bound to take his place in the squad’s leadership group heading into next year’s World Cup in England. Born in Saudi Arabia to Irish parents, Moore made his test debut against Samoa in 2005.