Sailing: Frenchman Francois Gabart set a new 24-hour record across Indian Ocean waters yesterday, as he moved within 4.2 nautical miles (4.8 miles) of Vendee Globe leader Armel Le Cleac’h. Gabart bettered the previous mark of 502.5 miles set on December 1 by rival and com-patriot Jean-Pierre Dick as he raced across the ocean at a rate of 22 knots to cover 532.7 miles and put the pressure on Le Cleac’h. His new mark needs to be ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. “I can’t really explain why I’m going a little faster than the others in the same weather conditions,” Gabert told the Vendee Globe website yesterday.
Paralympic Sport: Turkish police fired teargas at a wheelchair basketball game after fights broke out between rival fans who also injured several athletes and trashed their wheelchairs. Supporters of two of Istanbul’s top teams, Galatasaray and Besiktas, started brawling at the game late Sunday. The violence escalated after small groups chanting offensive slogans carried the row to the sidelines of the basketball court, where they wrecked players’ wheelchairs and ripped equipment to pieces. Police used teargas and the game was cancelled. Several players and other supporters were also hurt.
American Football: Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent was released on $500,000 bail after being charged with intoxication manslaughter in a fatal car crash near Dallas that killed team-mate Jerry Brown Jr. Brent, 24, appeared at a hearing where he was ordered to post the $500,000 bail bond or remain in jail. Brent is accused of being drunk when the car he was driving at a high speed flipped on a state highway early on Saturday morning and then caught fire, police said. Brown, 25, who had been in the passenger seat, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital a short time later.
Basket, NBA: Paul Millsap scored 24 points with nine rebounds to lead Utah Jazz to a 117-110 NBA victory on Sunday over struggling Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz withstood 34 points from Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and have now won three straight while Los Angeles lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Mo Williams scored 22 points and Al Jefferson chipped in 14 with 11 rebounds for Utah. The Lakers never led in the second half and trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter.
Sports Venture: Yahoo! Inc and NBC Sports Group said they will integrate and promote each other’s sports content on the Internet as well as on television in a move that would help the two companies draw on their respective strengths across both mediums. The collaboration will increase NBC’s digital presence as well as bolster its college and fantasy game coverage, while Yahoo will gain access NBC’s video content, live sports coverage and big name television personalities. The two companies said they will maintain separate websites and independent newsrooms, but will collaborate on big sports news stories.