MOTOR SPORT: Double world champion Sebastien Loeb took a 53-second lead in the Rally of Catalunya and kept Citroen on course for the manufacturers' title after winning five of the first six stages yesterady.
Citroen, who have a 30-point lead over Peugeot overall, tightened their grip on what would be their third consecutive title as Loeb's Belgian team mate Francois Duval came in second.
BADMINTON: Scott Evans, the number seven seed at the Hungarian International Championships in Budapest, won his opening tie yesterday beating Slovenia's Luka Petric 15-11 15-12.
But Claire Flood failed to find the form that took her to the quarter-finals of the recent Brazilian International. Hungarian qualifier Sarolta Varga dominated their first round tie to win 11-5 11-1.
SQUASH: Liam Kenny won through to the last eight at the Saskatoon Squash Open in Canada.
The number three seed beat Rob Sutherland from Wales 11-7 11-8 11-7. His path to the final may have been eased by England's Daryl Selby, who knocked out South African top seed Rodney Durback 3-1.
SPORTS DEBATE: Sports fans, who relish an evening of heated debate, lightened only by some comedy from the Après Match trio, should head to Crawdaddy, Harcourt Street, Dublin, Thursday next at 9pm.
November's Leviathan Political Cabaret at Crawdaddy asks "Is sport war minus the shooting". A panel discussion hosted by David McWilliams will feature sportsmen, academics and journalists, including author of 'Sports and Nationalism' professor Mike Cronin. The political cabaret is being presented in partnership with the British Council, to coincide with the launch of its new on-line magazine, www.britainandireland.org
The first issue of the magazine is Sporting Lives, which includes an interview with former Ireland footballer, Niall Quinn and The Irish Times writer Keith Duggan on the Irish-born, English-playing cricketer, Ed Joyce.
Tickets for the Leviathan Political Cabaret are available from www.ticketmaster.ie and are €20, plus booking fee.
DARTS: Defending champion Colin Lloyd edged a thrilling contest with Steve Beaton in Citywest last night to book a semi-final place at the World Grand Prix.
The 32-year-old was nowhere near his best against the 1996 World Champion - but held his nerve when it mattered most to secure a 4-3 success.
Lloyd, who clinched the Stan James World Matchplay title with a 170 checkout in July, looked in total control after reeling off the first three legs to win the opening set.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)