A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Chicago Bears clip Eagles' wings
AMERICAN FOOTBALL: Chicago slammed the brakes on Philadelphia's recent revival with a 30-24 road win on Monday that sent the Eagles to 3-5 on the season and kept the Bears in touch in the NFC North.
After starting the season 1-4, Michael Vick’s Eagles came into the game having won two in a row and looked like making it three after building a 24-17 lead in the third quarter. However, the Bears rallied with 13 unanswered points, shutting down Philadelphia’s high-octane offense when it mattered.
Quarterback Jay Cutler, who finished with 208 passing yards and two touchdowns, drove Chicago for a field goal at the end of the third quarter and set up Earl Bennett for a touchdown to put them ahead.
Chicago avoided falling further behind the undefeated Green Bay Packers (8-0) and second-place Detroit Lions (6-2) in their division.
Thorpe swimming against the tide
SWIMMING: Ian Thorpe continued to struggle in his comeback yesterday with the Australian failing to qualify for the final of the 100 metres freestyle at the FINA World Cup meet in Beijing.
Thorpe, who failed to reach the final of the 100m butterfly in Singapore last week, was again off the pace.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist clocked a time of 50.21 seconds to finish sixth in his heat and 15th overall in his first freestyle race since 2004.
He finished nearly three seconds slower than his last 100m freestyle race back in 2003.
Thorpe had only decided on swimming the freestyle last night in a bid to avoid any hype surrounding his return to his favoured event.
The 29-year-old will need to improve significantly if he is to qualify for the London Olympics at the trials in March.
Warne returns to professional game
CRICKET: Shane Warne, the second-highest wicket-taker in Test match history, will end his retirement from professional cricket to play in Australia's inaugural Twenty20 Big Bash League. Warne, who retired in May after four seasons playing in the IPL, will join the Melbourne Stars for the eight-team competition starting on December 16ththe team said.
“This is something that I’m passionate about,” Warne, 42, said in Melbourne. “My body’s functioning very well. I’m fit and I feel fresh.”
Australian leg-spinner Warne, named one of the five “Cricketers of the 20th Century” by Wisden, the sport’s almanac, quit international cricket in 2007 with a then-record 708 Test wickets. The mark was broken later that year by Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired 16 months ago after extending his record tally to 800 Test wickets. After quitting first-class cricket in 2008, Warne spent four seasons in India playing Twenty20.
Taylor honoured by monthly award
BOXING:Peter Taylor, father and coach of boxer Katie Taylor, has been named as the Philips Manager of the Month for October. On October 22nd Katie claimed her fifth European lightweight title in a row, defeating the Russian Sofya Ochigava in Rotterdam.
“The next stage is preparation for our only opportunity for Olympic qualification which will be in China next May,” said Taylor.
Tendulkar reaches another milestone
CRICKET: India's Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to pass 15,000 test runs and was eyeing another milestone as the hosts moved to within 124 runs of victory against West Indies in the first Test yesterday.
Tendulkar took off his helmet, raised his bat and looked to the heavens after reaching the milestone. He was unbeaten on 33 at stumps on day three of the bowler-dominated test at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Rahul Dravid was also unbeaten on 30 as India reached 152 for two in chasing 276 for victory.
Tendulkar will return to the crease today hoping to reach a much-awaited 100th century in international cricket.
The home side owe their upper hand in the match to debutant off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (6-47), who helped dismantle West Indies for 180 in their second innings. ,Ashwin finished with a nine-wicket match haul.
Ulster's Afoa set to miss out on trip to face Tigers
RUGBY: John Afoa, Ulster's recently arrived and costly All Black tighthead prop, will be unavailable for round two of the Heineken Cup against the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road next week, writes Gavin Cummiskey.
Afoa had initially signed a two-and-a-half-year contract that was to begin in January but agreed to arrive earlier and featured in the victory over Connacht last weekend. He returns home to New Zealand after Saturday’s game against Clermont Auvergne at Ravenhill to be the best man at All Black star Jerome Kaino’s wedding.
The Ulster Branch confirmed yesterday the 28-year-old World Cup winner will return before their round three fixture against Aironi on December 9th. Captain Johann Muller (forearm), Stephen Ferris (ankle) and Tom Court (knee) are all expected to recover in time for Saturday’s game against Clermont.
Meanwhile, Connacht’s main concern for their trip to Harlequins is secondrow Michael Swift who has damaged knee ligaments.
