Yachting: Switzerland’s Bernard Stamm has taken the lead for the first time in the solo, round-the-world Vendee Globe race ahead of France’s Francois Gabart, Jean-Pierre Dick and Armel Le Cleac’h. Stamm took pole position in the southern Indian Ocean after Le Cleac’h, who had held the lead for much of the last 18 days, paid the price for trying to cut off an anticyclone near the Crozet “ice gate”. The Swiss skipper was the first to pass the virtual marker post on Thursday morning and the first to meet gentle winds – those slower than 10 knots.
Basketball: A prominent US player has been arrested in Greece over unpaid taxes there ahead of a Euroleague fixture between Panathinaikos Athens and Turkish club Fenerbahce Ulker yesterday, a police source said. Mike Batiste, a 35-year-old Fenerbahce power forward who formerly played at Panathinaikos, spent the night in detention at Athens International Airport. One of the most successful US players ever to have competed in Greece, Batiste won eight Greek championships and three Euroleague titles with Panathinaikos and is a team fan favourite.
Athletics: Olympic and world 800m champion David Rudisha (picture) and two-time London marathon winner Mary Keitany were named Kenya’s athletes of the year this week. It was the second time in two years that Rudisha was named Kenya’s best male athlete following his stellar performance at the London Olympics, where he broke his own world record by winning the two-lap race with a time of 1:40.91. The Olympic and world champion was also bestowed with the Athletics Kenya’s best overall athlete award last Friday and the IAAF male performance of the year in Barcelona last month.
Rugby union: Controversial Wallaby Quade Cooper yesterday settled his differences with the Australian Rugby Union, signing a new two-year deal, officials said. Cooper had earlier rejected an incentive-based contract, which was offered after a turbulent few months during which he criticised the “toxic” environment within the Wallabies and said his rugby career was “on hold”. But the ARU said Cooper, capped 38 times and who plays for the Queensland Reds Super Rugby team, had re-signed through to the end of 2014.
Ice-Hockey: Talks between owners and players to end the NHL lockout stalled again on Thursday, quashing optimism that had built during the week that a shortened season could yet be saved. After marathon meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday had offered a glimmer of hope to NHL fans, the league rejected a proposal by players and talks between the battling sides were suspended indefinitely. Both sides have been deadlocked on how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue since their collective bargaining agreement expired on September 15. The work stoppage has already forced the cancellation of regular-season games through December 14. That’s 422 regular-season games, 34.3 per cent of a season that was to have started on October 11.
Horse racing: The world’s top racehorse Cirrus Des Aigles has withdrawn injured from tomorrow’s Hong Kong International Races in a major blow to the competition, one of the richest meetings on the global calendar. The French gelding was set to headline a stellar line-up for the 2,000-metre Hong Kong Cup and was seeking to make it fourth time lucky at the meet, where he has failed to scoop a prize in his last three appearances. But it seems that he was unable to shake off his Hong Kong curse after sustaining what Jockey Club vets described as a “soft tissue injury” in his left front tendon. He has now been scratched from tomorrow’s race card so that his injury can be treated.