SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014 SPORTS Driscoll ties course record Happy ending in sight Russians EPO test confirmed PUERTO RICO: PGA Tour journeyman James Driscoll tied his own course record to earn at All England event MOSCOW: Top Russian biathletes Irina Starykh and Ekaterina Iourieva have tested posi- a one-stroke lead after the second round of the $3.5 million Puerto Rico Open on Friday. tive for the banned substance EPO, the International Biathlon Union and Russian offi- Driscoll had an eagle and seven birdies in a nine-under-par 63 on the Trump BIRMINGHAM: China’s holder Chen Long and his girlfriend Wang Shixian cials confirmed yesterday. Starykh and Iourieva gave their samples on December 23 at the World Cup event in International course next to the Atlantic Ocean in Rio Grande, east of San Juan. are on track for a happy ending to their love affair with the All England “I had the putter going pretty hot today and I hit a bunch of shots pretty close too,” Pokljuka, Slovenia and both ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples tested positive for the blood booster Open Badminton Championships after reaching the singles semi-finals on the 36-year-old from Boston told reporters after signing for a 12-under 132 halfway Erythropoietin (EPO), the IBU said. total. PGA Tour rookie Chesson Hadley (65) moved into second place Friday. Earlier this year, Starykh was provisionally suspended and excluded from the coun- on 11-under, while fellow American Eric Axley (66) was alone on 10- Chen kept his title defence alive by overcoming an early scare to beat try’s Olympic squad at her request after the IBU had announced under. Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, who showed his pedigree to win the that three biathletes representing Russia and Lithuania had New Zealander Danny Lee (68) was among a group of four first game 21-18. However, Chen composed himself at the break and then failed dope tests. players at nine-under, while first round leader Brian Stuard showed his qualities to take the next two games 21-11 21-14. That news cast a shadow over Russia’s preparations for (71) slipped five strokes behind. “I was worried especially during the first game because my opponent the February Winter Olympics in Sochi even though Starykh, A morning downpour that briefly stopped play left is a great player so I did feel quite a lot of pressure at one point,” said Chen. a potential medal contender, had withdrawn herself from the course soft and at the mercy of the field, which aver- “But I think both of us performed really well so I think in the end I was the team. aged 70.23 strokes, more than a stroke better than on Thursday, really lucky to progress. This is a very unique place and many players want Iourieva, 30, who has already served a two-year ban for despite brisk winds. to win. doping, announced her intention to reture on February 27. Driscoll, who also shot 63 in 2011 to hold a share of “And it’s a fine line between winning and losing so I just want to try my But Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko announced that the course record, is enjoying a solid season, sitting best.” Chen next faces compatriot Zhengming Wang who beat South the ministry was set to issue an appeal over the Starykh 67th on the FedEx Cup standings. “I wasn’t hitting it Korean Dong Keun Lee 21-13 16-21 21-17 in his quarter-final. Women’s No. case in a civil court, saying the objective character of the great off the tee but the irons were really solid, so 4 seed Wang eased past India’s Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal 21- assessment of her samples was in question. that gave me a chance coming into these pins,” he 17 21-10 to set up an all-Chinese clash against London Games silver medal- “We have some witnesses in the favor of Starykh,” said. “The wind was blowing pretty hard out there list Wang Yihan who beat South Korean Bae Yeon Ju 21-8 21-13.—Reuters Mutko said. “Our lawyers are preparing to strug- this afternoon. —Reuters gle for the rights of our biathletes.”—AFP Panthers maul Sabres SUNRISE: Roberto Luongo made 25 saves in his return to Florida, while Dmitry Kulikov and Jesse Winchester each scored power-play goals to lead the Panthers over the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Friday night. Luongo, acquired in a trade with Vancouver on Tuesday, was in net for the first time for Florida since April 18, 2006. Luongo previously played for Florida from 2000-2006. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Luongo. His last was on Dec. 13, 2013, a 4-0 win for Vancouver over Edmonton in which he made 19 saves. It was the first regular-season shutout for the Panthers since a 2-0 win over Carolina on March 11, 2012 in which Jose Theodore had 34 saves. Michal Neuvirth stopped 42 shots in his first start for Buffalo since being acquired from Washington last Wednesday. The CHRISTCHURCH: Schalk Burger (right) of the Stormers tackles Johnny McNicholl of the Panthers won for just the second time in Crusaders during the Super 15 Rugby Union match between the Crusaders vs RSA seven games. The Sabres lost their second Stormers. — AFP in six games. RANGERS 4, HURRICANES 2 SUNRISE: Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) blocks a Buffalo Sabres shot on goal during the Crusaders edge Stormers third period of an NHL hockey game. — AP Derek Stepan scored on a 5-on-3 power CHRISTCHURCH: All Blacks flyhalf Tom ty to Taylor after three minutes, balanced play with 2:45 left in the game. Rick Nash Taylor kicked his third penalty with six by a goal to Stormers’ flyhalf Demetri and Ryan McDonagh scored earlier for the minutes remaining to give the Crusaders Catrakilis in the 34th minute. Rangers, who beat Carolina for the 10th NHL results/standings a deeply contentious 14-13 win over the Catrakilis’ penalty was a small consola- straight time, and Carl Hagelin added an Stormers in Super Rugby yesterday. tion for an attack by the Stormers in empty-netter with 41 seconds to go. NY Rangers 4, Carolina 2; Detroit 7, New Jersey 4; Florida 2, Buffalo 0; Calgary 4, NY Islanders 3; Pittsburgh The seven-time champion Crusaders which captain Jean de Villiers clearly Carolina took a pair of delay-of-game 3, Anaheim 2 (SO). retained an unbeaten record in home scored by forcing the ball against the penalties in the final five minutes to give Western Conference Eastern Conference matches against overseas team stretch- goalpost. The television match official New York the two-man advantage. Stepan ing back to 2004 when Taylor’s penalty denied the try, without explanation, and Pacific Division Atlantic Division was set up for a short shot by Martin St. snatched victory against a heroic the Stormers were forced to settle for a W L OTL GF GA PTS Boston 40 17 5 195 138 85 Louis, who played his second game with Stormers side. penalty that tied the scores. Anaheim 43 14 7 207 157 93 Montreal 35 23 7 166 162 77 the Rangers since being acquired from The Cape Town based Stormers held They took the lead with Catrakilis’s Toronto 33 23 8 189 195 74 Tampa Bay on Wednesday. San Jose 40 17 7 195 157 87 the Crusaders to 3-3 after a first half in second penalty in the 45th minute and Tampa Bay 34 24 5 180 163 73 Jeff Skinner scored on a penalty shot in Los Angeles 36 22 6 155 135 78 which the home team had 80 percent of surged to a 10-point lead when Allende Detroit 29 21 13 171 176 71 possession and 70 percent of territory. scored in the 50th minute. the third period to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Phoenix 29 23 11 175 182 69 Ottawa 27 25 11 177 206 65 They then surged to a 13-3 lead with a Flanker Schalk Burger, who was the Jordan Staal scored his 12th goal of the Vancouver 28 27 10 151 173 66 Florida 24 32 7 154 201 55 brilliant second half try from center outstanding player of the match, season for Carolina’s 1-0 lead in the open- Calgary 25 31 7 149 189 57 Buffalo 19 36 8 127 186 46 Damian de Allende. retrieved a kick from Crusaders’ fullback ing period, but McDonagh tied it with New Edmonton 22 34 8 160 208 52 Metropolitan Division But the Crusaders hit back with a try Colin Slade while sweeping behind his York short-handed. Central Division through debutant Kieron Fonotia and backline. He broke the defense, then Pittsburgh 42 17 4 201 157 88 St. Louis 42 14 6 206 142 90 Taylor’s late penalty gave them their first passed to de Villiers who sprinted into RED WINGS 7, DEVILS 4 Philadelphia 33 24 6 180 184 72 win in three matches this season. open space. De Villiers paused in flight Chicago 37 13 14 221 171 88 Johan Franzen had two goals and two NY Rangers 34 26 4 168 162 72 The win was extremely fortuitous. The and put in a perfectly-weighted kick for Colorado 41 17 5 195 168 87 assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three Columbus 32 26 5 185 178 69 Stormers had a clear try disallowed dur- de Allende who collected the bounce to Minnesota 34 21 7 153 150 75 Washington 29 25 10 188 195 68 ing the first half and Taylor’s penalty, score.