Sports

LONDON,  (Reuters) – London Olympic chiefs unveiled the first furnished apartments at the athletes’ village yesterday, including extendable beds for taller sportsmen and boldly coloured sports-themed duvets.

(Reuters) – Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is returning home from the West Indies for personal reasons with New South Wales wicketkeeper Peter Nevill being called in as a replacement, Cricket Australia said on Friday.

(Reuters) – The Chicago Bulls overcame the absence of league MVP Derrick Rose to earn a 106-102 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday with third-string point guard John Lucas III scoring 24 points to emerge as an unlikely game winner.

(Reuters) – English Premier League chairman Dave Richards tried to explain yesterday his comments about soccer’s world governing body FIFA “stealing” the game from the British, saying he had not meant to cause offence.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Experts believe up to 100 undetectable performance-enhancing drugs similar to the banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) have been designed, German doping specialist Mario Thevis said yesterday.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent,  CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy believes Arnos Vale can prove a “happy hunting ground” for his side, as they prepare to square off with Australia there in the first three One-Day Internationals of the five-match series starting tomorrow.

From 1977/78 to 2009/10, the West Indies and Australia have been engaged in 20 one-day series in the respective teams’ backyards, that have either been bilateral, triangular or in some cases quadrangular.

By Emmerson Campbell The amateur segment of the 21st edition of the Guyana Fight Night Pro Am card which will be staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on March 30 by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) will be a kind of family affair.

By Iva Wharton At 14, Euleen DaSilva has dreams of following in the footsteps of her aunt, former world champion Gwendolyn O’Neil.

After being postponed since early last December due to the inclement weather and unavailability of grounds in the city, the Noble House Seafood-sponsored Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) second division, two-day club competition restarted last weekend.

By Cosmo Hamilton It is the year 2012. It is a leap year.

Guyana’s Beacons Masters Football Club will clash with an over-40 Surinamese team this Saturday at the Tucville Community Centre ground from 19:00hrs.

By Iva Wharton The right structure would assist in the development of women’s basketball in Guyana,  according to Bernard Daniels, former junior and senior coach for women’s basketball.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent,  CMC – All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been appointed West Indies vice-captain for the first three One-Day Internationals against Australia.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Selectors have rung the changes for Barbados’ sixth round clash against Leeward Islands in the Regional Four-Day Champ-ionship this weekend, following the side’s embarrassing innings and 66-run defeat to Guyana on Monday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Trinidad and Tobago have been boosted by the return of West Indies opener Adrian Barath, the only change to their 13-man squad to face Guyana in their sixth round Regional Four-Day match here this weekend.

ADELAIDE, Australia,  CMC – Australia’s selectors have dumped out-of-form Shaun Marsh but picked his Western Australia teammate Michael Beer in a 16-man squad for the Test tour of the Caribbean starting next month.

Goed Fortuin Young Achievers (GFYA) and Berbice Training School will clash in the final of the Guyoil Trade Wind Tanker and Guyoil True Champion Volleyball tournament this Saturday at the National Gymnasium from 15:00hrs.

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – Several outstanding former West Indies players will tee off in the Sir Vivian Richards Celebrity Golf Tournament, scheduled for the Cap Estate Golf and Country Club here later this month.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the Asia Cup one-day tournament duo to a calf injury, skipper Mahela Jayawardene told a news conference yesterday.