FIA hearing in Monaco
Renault says suspended engineer Phil Mackereth is a straightforward, trusting individual who acted stupidly when he brought material belonging to McLaren with him to the French manufacturer in 2006.
That is part of the testimony revealed by transcripts of the Renault/McLaren hearing earlier this month recently released by FIA.
Canada
MONTERREY, Mexico – Canada’s women’s volleyball team kept their Olympic dreams alive with a five-set victory over Puerto Rico on Tuesday at the NORCECA Olympic qualifying tournament.
Canada won the match 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25 and 16-14 to improve to 1-1 at the tournament, which features six North American teams competing for one berth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Test event in Beijing
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Baseball Federation has hired a new anti-doping manager as part of its campaign to win reinstatement as an Olympic sport.
Nicki Vance is an Australian who has nearly 20 years of experience in the field, including a year’s stint at the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Part Two of the Cavalcade of Whimsy, the Holiday Wish List for all 119 teams.
Fiu’s Cavalcade of Whimsy
a.k.a. Frank Costanza’s Festivus Airing of the Grievances
By Pete Fiutak
What’s your beef? … E-mail with your thoughts
Past Whimsies 2006 Season | Preseason Part One, Part Two | Week 1
Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11, Part 1 | Week 11, Part 2 | Week 12
Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15
December 18 Cavalcade Part One
CHANNEL Nine chief executive David Gyngell demanded and received two more prime time semi-finals in a shrewd trade-off for a 5pm (EDT) grand final.
Fans and officials who have campaigned for the scrapping of night-time deciders were celebrating the decision to bring forward the 2008 finale by two hours, but while one tradition was partially restored, another – Sunday afternoon semis in weeks two and three of the play-offs – was taken away.
At Gyngell’s instigation, those matches will revert to Friday, where they will more than compensate Channel Nine for an anticipated loss of 300,000 viewers with the earlier grand final kick-off.
Oh my God, I still haven’t recovered from the scandal regarding supposed marriage plans of Nicole Vaidisova and Radek Stepanek, and now I hear that Anna Chakvetadze was robbed! It’s difficult to process so much shocking news in such a short period. Anyway, to get to the point — masked robbers broke into Anna Chakvetadze’s house in southwest Moscow early on Tuesday and stole money and valuables worth about five million rubles, or roughly $202,000. Luckily, Anna escaped unharmed.
Six robbers climbed over the fence, broke into the house, and tied up a maid in another building. They forced the maid to hand over a remote control which enabled them to enter the house through the garage. Then, Anna was tied up with her parents and robbed.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan was back on the court Tuesday, swishing jump shots and talking tough.
No, he’s not making another comeback.
In an effort to get more involved with his slumping team, the Charlotte Bobcats’ part-owner jumped into a drill during the team’s practice. He then gave tips to some young players and showed he still has that famous shooting touch.
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Remember Tad Iguchi? Remember the guy acquired in the end of July trade with the Chicago White Sox who hit .304 with three homers and 12 RBI in 45 games with the Phillies, including holding down the 2nd base fort during the month that All Star regular 2nd baseman Chase Utley was down.  Â
Well, now we can remember that the guy who stepped in so capably to spell Utley and who thus enabled the Phillies’ late season run to overtake the Mets for the NL East title was acquired Tuesday by the San Diego Padres in a 1 year, $4 million deal. We had him and now we lost him due to a contract snafu in the front office which MLB’s Jim Molony reported in mid-November;
Diaby mobbed by teammates
LONDON – Arsenal and Tottenham both survived red cards to reach the semifinals of the English League Cup on Tuesday, the Gunners winning 3-2 at Blackburn and Spurs prevailing 2-0 at Manchester City.
Arsene Wenger’s second-choice Gunners had to play 30 minutes of extra time with 10 men after Brazilian midfielder Denilson was sent off in the 90th minute at Ewood Park.
Romario
SAO PAULO, Brazil – Veteran striker Romario was suspended 120 days Tuesday for failing a doping test in a Brazilian league match two months ago.
Members of Brazil’s top sports tribunal voted 3-2 to suspend Romario after he tested positive for the banned substance finasteride following Vasco’s 2-2 draw against Palmeiras on Oct. 28.