Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Sky now the limit for Cavendish

CYCLING: MARK Cavendish has boosted his chances of becoming Britain's first gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympics by joining Team Sky, according to team principal Dave Brailsford.

The Manxman, who is favourite to win the men’s road race on the opening Saturday of the Games, ended long-running speculation yesterday by joining Bradley Wiggins in the British-based team.

And Brailsford believe that can only be good news for the the host nation’s Olympic cycling squad with conflicts of interest over professional and national commitments kept to a minimum.

Brailsford said: “We formed Team Sky in the belief that if we could get all the Great Britain riders together it would give us a competitive advantage in both their professional and national programmes.”

Team Sky have also announced the signing of Cavendish’s friend and former HTC-Highroad team-mate Bernie Eisel,

Cape Blanco will stand in Kentucky

HORSE RACING:The five-time Group 1 winner Cape Blanco will stand as a stallion at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky next year, writes Brian O'Connor.

A son of the hugely-successful Irish based stallion Galileo, Cape Blanco sustained a knee injury when winning a third Grade 1 success in America this year at Belmont Park earlier this month, just holding Dean’s Kitten by a nose in the Joe Hirsch Classic Invitational.

Earlier in the year he won both the Arlington Million and the Man O’War Stakes while in 2010 Cape Blanco won both Irish Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes.

Aidan O’Brien’s team have confirmed that Await The Dawn is unlikely to start in Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.

The colt, who has recovered from a bout of sickness, also holds an entry in the Listed Navigation Stakes at Cork this weekend.

Stosur comes close to early departure

TENNIS: US Open champion Samantha Stosur would normally have more trouble pronouncing Noppawan Lertcheewakarn's name than beating the Thai world number 168 on the tennis court.

But yesterday the Australian came perilously close to another first-round exit in Japan following her recent loss to Maria Kirilenko at the Pan Pacific Open, scraping through 6-3 3-6 7-5 in the Japan Open.

Stosur’s stumble against Kirilenko was her first match since winning her first career grand slam title in New York.

The top seed needed two hours, 13 minutes to see off her little-known Thai opponent in Osaka with a display that will not have helped her confidence before the year-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Haye may yet face Vitali Klitschko

BOXING: DAVID Haye's reported intention to retire from boxing became increasingly tenuous last night when it was revealed the Londoner is still in talks to face Vitali Klitschko as early as February next year.

Haye is expected to fulfil a long-held ambition of formally announcing his retirement on his 31st birthday tomorrow, after the British Boxing Board of Control confirmed he has not re-applied for his licence.

However, Haye’s announcement is set to be rendered meaningless as he continues to court the elder Klitschko in a bid to gain revenge for his poor loss to Wladimir in Hamburg in July.

The Klitschkos’ promoter Bernd Boente told Sky Sports News: “Adam (Booth, Haye’s manager) and myself actually just spoke with each other and we are in constant contact.

“We are still waiting for some numbers from British TV and then we’ll see if the business case is realistic.”

Uncertainty as West Ham's bid for Olympic stadium falls

SOCCER: THE long-term future of the Olympic Stadium remained unclear last night after it was confirmed the deal with West Ham United and Newham Council had collapsed.

British Sports minister Hugh Robertson said it was better to stop the current arrangement “dead in its tracks” rather than let it remain “bogged down in legal paralysis” as court challenges to the previous plans loomed.

Legal challenges by Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient, plus an anonymous complaint to the European Commission, had led to fears that court action could drag on for years while the stadium remained empty.

It will now remain in public ownership and be leased out to an anchor tenant following a new tender process by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC).

The collapse of the deal for West Ham to buy the stadium has left a funding gap of up to €68 million needed to transform it so it can be leased out.

The biggest problem concerned the complaint to the Commission that the €45 million from Newham was effectively “state aid” and therefore in breach of competition rules.

It is understood that no contract has been signed with West Ham, allowing the move to a fresh tender process, but the club will be encouraged to bid again.

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady confirmed the club would bid to become a tenant.

Cody and Gilroy are joint winners

KILKENNY hurling manager Brian Cody and Dublin football manager Pat Gilroy were yesterday named joint Philips Sports Managers of the Month for September.

On the first Sunday in September, Kilkenny won their eighth All-Ireland senior hurling title in 12 seasons. Two weeks later, Dublin claimed the Sam Maguire Cup.

“While I’m accepting the trophy, it was the team’s performance and the superb management structure behind the scenes that led to our victory,” said Gilroy.