Golf: PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has denied the organisation has made an offer to buy the European Tour. Reports in various newspapers yesterday claimed the sport’s US tour had made a bid for its European counterpart as frustration from players on this side of the Atlantic grows with the state of the game. Finchem said: “Certain reports have indicated that the PGA Tour has made an offer to acquire the European Tour. Those reports are inaccurate. However, as I have stated publicly on several occasions, the integration of professional golf can create additional value for our players, sponsors and fans.”
Tennis: Ryan Harrison, who represented the United States at last year’s London Olympics and in Davis Cup action, was among eight players given wild cards into the main draw of the US Open, tournament organisers said. The 21-year-old Harrison, who has yet to back up his early promise and languishes 102nd in the rankings, is 10-17 this year and still seeking his first career ATP title. American Brian Baker, who reached the fourth round of last year’s Wimbledon after returning from a nearly six-year lay-off due to injuries, was also given a wild card into the year’s final grand slam.
Tennis: The Maria Sharapova-Jimmy Connors partnership got off to a rocky start on Tuesday as Sloane Stephens shocked the third ranked Russian 2-6 7-6 6-3 at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. While it is too early to tell if Sharapova and Connors can produce the same kind of success Andy Murray has enjoyed since recruiting Ivan Lendl as his coach, the first step was far from a positive one. Sharapova said: “Obviously, it’s tough to lose at this stage but just got to keep working hard and keep moving forward.”
Cricket: Christchurch’s chances of hosting World Cup matches moved a step closer when a proposal to upgrade a section of a public park into an international-standard venue were given the all clear by a New Zealand court yesterday. New Zealand’s second largest city had been provisionally awarded three pool games for the 2015 tournament, including the opener, last month by organisers pending the outcome of the Environment Court decision. The city’s previous multi-sports venue Lancaster Park was wrecked by the Feb. 22, 2011 earthquake that devastated the city and killed just under 200 people and local cricket authorities submitted plans for the development of a venue on Hagley Park, which borders the central city.
Badminton: Indian organisers hope the absence of China’s superstars will not take the shine off a new $1 million badminton league, which players and officials believe will grow the game and help foster future Olympic medallists. The franchise-based Indian Badminton League (IBL) kicks off in New Delhi today and organisers hope it will generate the same kind of commercial success enjoyed by the country’s money-spinning Twenty20 cricket competition, the Indian Premier League. The six-team badminton league held a player auction last month where world number one Lee Chong Wei, of Malaysia, was bought by the Mumbai franchise for $135,000, while Pune bought women’s world number two Juliane Schenk, of Germany, for $90,000.
American Football: The Miami Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season of 17 victories, no losses and a Super Bowl triumph has never been repeated by another NFL team, and – to some – has never been properly recognised. Next Tuesday, President Barack Obama will welcome some of the men who played on that team to Washington for the first White House ceremony honouring a season that many NFL teams have tried to replicate to no avail. The 1972 Dolphins, under coach Don Shula and led by quarterbacks Bob Griese and Earl Morrall, won 14 regular season games and all three play-off encounters, including a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl.