Sports Digest

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

England pair fined for misconduct

RUGBY:Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown have been found guilty of misconduct during England's ill-fated tour to New Zealand.

But the Rugby Football Union's investigation into events in Auckland on June 14th cleared David Strettle and Danny Care of any wrongdoing.

Ojo was fined €600 after he was found to have stayed out all night. Brown was fined €1,200 for staying out all night and arriving late for a physiotherapist appointment.

Brown, Care and a fourth, unnamed, player were at the centre of sex allegations following England's 37-20 defeat by the All Blacks, but no official complaint was made against the players, who denied any wrongdoing.

French club Brive have signed England outhalf Andy Goode (28), from Leicester. He has been capped nine times by England.

Stage win leaves Bennett in second

CYCLING:Philip Lavery and Sam Bennett (Stena Ireland) remained in the top positions overall in the Martin Donnelly Junior Tour yesterday, with Bennett taking the third stage, reports Shane Stokes.

He outsprinted Simon Lambert Lemay (Hot Tubes) and Lavery at the end of the 110.8-kilometre stage, which took the riders from Castlebar to Achill Island and back. The latter remains three seconds clear of Bennett overall.

Mark Christian (Isle of Man) was fourth, two seconds back, and is third on general classification heading into today's fourth stage.

JUNIOR TOUR OF IRELAND - Stage three (Castlebar-Achill Island-Castlebar): 1, S Bennett (Stena Ireland) 110.8 km in 3hrs 16mins 15secs; 2, S Lambert Lemay (Hot Tubes); 3, P Lavery (Stena Ireland) both same time; 4, M Christian (Isle of Man) at 2 secs; 5, D Schils (Dave Rayner Team) at 4 secs; 6, J Segers (Tempo BMV Veldhoven) at 29 secs; 7, D. Jelfs (BC West Midlands); 8, C. Whorrall (Isle of Man); 9, T. Skubala (Dave Rayner Team); 10, G. Mannion (Hot Tubes) all same time. Overall: 1, Lavery (Stena Ireland), 6 hours 11 mins 9 secs; 2, Bennett, at 3 secs; 3, Christian, at 5 secs; 4, Lemay, at 24 secs; 5, Jelfs, at 40 secs.

Popescu dropped over doping fear 

ATHLETICS:Liliana Popescu, the fastest women's 1,500 metres runner this year, has been dropped from Romania's Olympic team under suspicion of doping, the local athletics federation, FRA, have said.

"At the moment, Liliana Popescu does not belong to the athletics team for Beijing on suspicion of doping," FRA head Sorin Matei told reporters.

Matei, who gave no details about the suspected substance, said the decision would remain in force until the FRA received the final result of the first and second samples.

Local media have reported over the past two weeks that Popescu failed a doping test at a meeting in Algiers in May.

"We will not include any athlete in the Romanian delegation who might test positive for banned substances, in order not to risk breaking the strict anti-doping legislation," said Matei.

Powell a happy underdog

ATHLETICS:Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell has said he was pleased he was no longer the favourite for the 100 metres at the Beijing Olympics.

Powell, who runs in tonight's Golden Gala in Rome as part of his preparations for the Games, first watched compatriot Usain Bolt steal his world record in May when he ran 9.72 seconds.

World champion Tyson Gay then managed 9.68 at the American Olympic trials last month, the fastest 100m of all time, but was deprived of the record because of excessive wind assistance.

"I think it is always better not to have all that pressure on your back," Powell said yesterday. "This year for the first time all eyes will be on Bolt and Gay. Definitely after the disappointments of recent years when I was favourite, I prefer this sort of situation.

"I am not thinking about Bolt or Gay. If I run like I know I can, I shouldn't fear anyone."

Tonight's Rome meet will also feature double amputee Oscar Pistorius. The South African 400m runner, cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May, has little time left to reach the Beijing qualifying mark of 45.55.

Tait back in Australia squad

CRICKET:Fast bowler Shaun Tait (25), who has been battling depression and walked away from the game in January, has been included in Australia's 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said the inclusion of Tait, who trained with the Australian Test squad in May to work on his fitness, was an indicator of his progress since his shock decision in January.

IABA have strong bid for 2011 worlds

BOXING:Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) president Dominic O'Rourke is quietly confident they will celebrate their centenary year by staging the 2011 World Senior Championships in Dublin.

The bidding process for the championships, which will act as a qualifier for the 2012 Olympics in London, opened this week. According to O'Rourke, the IABA are putting a substantial bid together with the help of the Government and the Irish Sports Council.

"It is our dream to hold the World Championships in Dublin in our centenary year and with the continuing support of the government and the Irish Sports Council I would be confident that that dream will come true," O'Rourke said.

"We are pitching very high here, but we have a lot of things going for us, not least being that we are one of the oldest boxing associations in the world."