Motor Racing: A race in Rio de Janeiro has been removed from the inaugural calendar of the new Formula E electric series due to start in China next September. The FIA published a final calendar with the previously scheduled Brazilian round in November cancelled and an unidentified location put in for Feb. 14 instead. Beijing will open the series on September 13 with the final round in London on June 27, 2015. Ten teams have entered, including two from the US.
Swimming: Roberto Pavoni declared himself satisfied with a good day’s work after retaining his 400m medley title at the UK Swimming Championships in Glasgow. The Loughborough University swimmer thrilled the crowd by recording a personal best of 4:12.24 which was also inside the 2014 GB Commonwealth Games qualifying time of 4:13.67. “I am very happy,” the 23-year-old said afterwards. “I have been working hard for the last couple of years to get down to those sorts of times so it was nice to get a PB.”
Motorcycling: It was a good day for world champion Marc Marquez in Texas as he finished fastest in both of Friday’s free practice sessions ahead of tonight’s Grand Prix of the Americas. Marquez, who won the season-opening race in Qatar last month, set a leading time of two minutes 3.490 seconds to lay down a marker ahead of the qualifying session, with the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso second quickest and Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa third. Andrea Iannone was fourth, with Valentino Rossi making up the top five.
Basketball: Turkish champions Galatasaray reached the Euroleague knockout stages after a 64-55 home win over 1992 winners Partizan Belgrade squeezed them into the last eight of the continent’s premier club competition. The result left Galatasaray fourth in their Top 16 section with seven wins and as many defeats, ahead of Lokomotiv Krasnodar on a superior points difference after the Russians beat Bayern Munich 84-75. Galatasaray took the last remaining quarter-final berth to join CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv who earlier qualified from Group F, after Barcelona, Milan, holders Olympiakos and Panathinaikos also advanced from Group E.
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Golf: Triple champion Phil Mickelson (picture) led a host of big names to miss the cut at the Masters as the American failed to advance to the third round at Augusta National for the first time in 17 years. Former winners Charl Schwartzel (2011), Zach Johnson (2007), Angel Cabrera (2009) and Trevor Immelman (2008) also failed to qualify for the final two rounds. US PGA champion Jason Dufner, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Webb Simpson, Graeme McDowell and Keegan Bradley were other victims of the cut. Bubba Watson made five birdies in a row to snatch the halfway lead and hold a three-shot advantage over Australia’s John Senden.
Sports profits: US college athletes will get a chance to prove in court that sports team members should be paid, after a federal judge rejected the National College Athletic Association’s attempt to head off a trial in the widely watched case. The NCAA argued that the current system is justified because amateur status makes college athletics more popular and furthers competition. More than 20 current and former athletes sued, saying that players should share in the profits of college athletics, a highly lucrative business in which universities reap billions of dollars from men’s football and basketball. The athletes say they should be compensated for the money they help earn from sources such as video game licensing and television revenue.