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 : 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 a potential medal contender, had withdrawn herself from the course soft and at the mercy of the field, which aver- “But I think both of us performed really well so I think in the end I was the team.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 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 : Schalk Burger (right) of the tackles Johnny McNicholl of the Panthers won for just the second time in during the Super 15 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 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 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 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 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 . 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. assists and David Legwand a goal and two Dallas 30 23 10 181 176 70 New Jersey 27 24 13 156 163 67 which gave the Crusaders their first lead Taylor cut the lead to seven points assists. Winnipeg 30 27 7 177 184 67 in the 73rd minute, was also subject to with a 61st minute penalty before the Brendan Smith, Kyle Quincey and Drew Carolina 27 27 9 156 179 63 dispute. Lock Michael Rhodes was penal- Crusaders constructed a try for Fonotia Miller also scored for Detroit. Jonas Nashville 26 27 10 152 190 62 NY Islanders 24 33 9 181 224 57 ized for intercepting the ball in an offside which marked the first lapse by the Gustavsson made 21 saves. Adam Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column position but he seemed to have come Stormers’ defense. After missing a con- Henrique had two goals and Patrik Elias from on-side and his infringement was version which would have tied the and Jaromir Jagr also scored for New not greater than those committed by the scores, Taylor kicked the decisive penalty Jersey. Cory Schneider, who gave up seven Crusaders regularly throughout the in the 74th minute. goals for the first time in his career, match. The Crusaders were unworthy of their stopped 25 shots. Paris-Nice reels from Though the Christchurch-based win. Their attack was stilted and unimag- Crusaders had an overwhelming surplus inative and their set pieces, handling and of possession and territory throughout kicking were all flawed. But they were FLAMES 4, ISLANDERS 3 Porte’s withdrawal the first half they were unable to break able to infringe without penalty while Joe Colborne scored twice during a furi- down a resolute and well-organized the Stormers suffered heavily from a ous third period comeback for the Flames, who got three goals in less than five min- PARIS: The Paris-Nice week-long stage race ONE-DAY SPECIALISTS Stormers defense. They led with a penal- slanted penalty count. — AP begins today in turmoil following the last-gasp Despite Italian Nibali and American former utes. withdrawal of reigning champion Richie Porte. Tour white jersey winner Tejay van Garderen Colborne got the comeback started at The Tasmanian was shifted at the last being in the field, the course appears more suit- 11:29 when Mark Giordano’s point shot moment to the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in ed to the one-day specialists. Force pounce on Rebels missed the net, but the puck caromed out Italy next week after his Sky teammate, Tour de Chief amongst those is Portuguese Costa, sharply to Colborne. He fired it in the open France champion Chris Froome was forced out of who has switched from Movistar to Lampre this : The produced the against the Rebels, who made five side on rookie goaltender Anders Nilsson. that with a back injury. That moved sparked season. The 27-year-old has good stage-race best 30 minutes of their Super Rugby his- changes to their starting 15. Rookie Sean Monahan tied it at 14:22. anger from Paris-Nice organisers Amaury Sports pedigree having won the Tour of Switzerland tory to stun the in The underdogs regained possession Organisation (ASO), who were relying on a the last two years. And he is confident he can Taking a slick pass from behind the net their clash in Perth yesterday. from the initial kickoff and their first thrilling battle between Porte, Giro D’Italia cham- put in a good performance, despite usually rid- The Force scored the first 32 points of attacking move saw Alby Mathewson from T.J. Galiardi, Monahan went forehand pion Vincenzo Nibali and world champion Rui ing the Tirreno-Adriatico at this time of year. the match to blow the Rebels away and dart through a big hole in the Rebels’ to backhand to tuck his team-leading 19th Costa. “We find it cavalier to have the reigning “I don’t have a bucket-load of experience in went on to open their account for 2014 defence to score the game’s opening try goal past Nilsson. (Paris-Nice) champion pull out just before the the Paris-Nice. In the past I normally opted to with an upset 32-7 win. in the second minute. Colborne completed the comeback, start,” said ASO official and Tour de France direc- ride the Tirreno-Adriatico but, in 2013, we The home team went within seconds They then got the first of several for- deflecting in Giordano’s slap shot at 15:41. tor Christian Prudhomme. decided to change programme given we felt of holding their opponents scoreless for tuitous first-half bounces in the 10th It was the seventh goal of the season for “We were told that to win points for the world the French course better suited my abilities,” he rankings, the Tirreno was more favorable (to said. the first time ever, only for the Rebels to minute, allowing Luke Morahan to re- the 2008 first-round pick acquired from Porte) due to its technical characteristics and the Costa crashed out in the second stage, score their lone try as the final hooter gather a chip kick after a line-out and Toronto at the start of the season. sounded. Force captain Matt Hodgson cross out wide as the lead went out to presence of an (individual) time-trial.” bringing a premature close to his challenge. But said the Force were determined to show 14-0 on the back of Sias Ebersohn’s sec- The course of the ‘Race to the Sun’ had he agrees that this year’s course will suit him. “It PENGUINS 3, DUCKS 2 already caused some waves in the peloton due is a curious profile, particularly without any they were better than their two losses ond conversion. Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal to its profile, deemed not to the advantage of individual time-trial stages or tough uphill fin- this season suggested. Ebersohn added penalties in the 17th riders such as Porte, who usually gain ground in ishes. “The way we came out showed peo- and 22nd minutes, with his team totally during a power play in the third period and Brandon Sutter got the deciding goal time-trials or on summit finishes. “So it means that you have to pay attention ple how we do play football,” he said. dominating possession. In the 24th Paris-Nice had been one of Porte’s major on all the stages and every kilometre of every in a six-round shootout. “The way we controlled the game, our minute, another favourable bounce from objectives in the early part of this season before stage. “I think this kind of profile will be ideal for defence was back to where it was last a chip kick enabled Hodgson to soccer Defenseman Deryk Engelland scored in he makes the transition from chief support to me, in the sense of improving my form and fit- year and that is what won us the game.” the ball past the defence, and then gath- the first period for the Penguins. Marc- major Tour leader. ness ahead of the (Spring) Classics. Not surprisingly, Rebels skipper Scott er and cross for his team’s third try in his Andre Fleury made 29 saves for his league- Having been Froome’s chief lieutenant during “It looks more like a series of one-day races Higginbotham said the game was lost 100th Super Rugby match. Up 27-0 after leading 33rd victory, after the Penguins last year’s Tour de France and a domestique for rather than a regular one-week stage race. It early. the Ebersohn conversion, the Force again rallied twice from one-goal deficits in a Bradley Wiggins in his Grand Boucle victory the will certainly be a new and exciting experience.” “They caught us napping in the first capitalised on an unpredictable bounce showdown between the leaders of the year before, Porte will make his debut as a major Other punchers who may be looking to half,” he said. “We did well in the second in the 27th minute, with Nick Cummins Eastern and Western Conferences. stage race team leader at May’s Giro d’Italia. impress are AG2R’s Frenchman Romain Bardet half, but it was not good enough.” The able to regain possession after another But with Froome now sitting out the Tirreno- and Australian Tour Down Under winner Simon Corey Perry scored twice for the Ducks Rebels were coming off an emphatic 35- kick and set up Angus Cottrell for the Adriatico, that race offers a more suitable course Gerrans. 14 win over the Cheetahs last weekend, bonus point try. and Ryan Getzlaf had two assists, but the for Porte’s abilities with two summit finishes and Home hopes of at least stage successes will while the Force were easily beaten 27-14 Nothing was going right for the Ducks’ captain missed a chance to extend both an individual and a team time-trial. come in the shape of the ever-present Sylvain by the ACT . Rebels, who appeared to have scored the shootout with a shot over the net - It means one of the main draws will be miss- Chavanel (IAM) and Thomas Voekler (Europcar) The Force didn’t score until the dying their opening try just seconds before making him 0 for 6 this season in the ing when the Paris-Nice gets underway on while Belgian one-day specialist Tom Boonen minutes against the Brumbies, but ran in half-time, but were denied by the video tiebreaker. Jonas Hiller had 15 saves, one Sunday with a 162.5km ride around the Paris (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) could also shake the last two tries of the match, and lived referee and trudged off 32-0 down at the of them on a breakaway by Sidney Crosby suburbs. things up. — AFP up to their promise with a stunning start break. — AFP in the first minute of overtime. — AP