MOTOR SPORT:Sébastien Loeb starts his campaign for an unprecedented fifth successive world rally championship when the season-opening Monte Carlo rally begins today. Last year the Frenchman became the third driver to win four titles, after the Finns Tommi Makinen and Juha Kankkunen.
Loeb, who won in Monte Carlo last year on the competition debut of his Citroën C4 WRC, loves the winter classic, which winds from Valence, in southeastern France, to the glitzy principality on a mixture of dry or wet asphalt, ice and snow.
"I'm obviously dreaming of a white Monte Carlo with real wintry conditions," Loeb said yesterday. "Last year the conditions were particularly dry but it should be fun if we get snow and ice this time around."
It has snowed lately on the areas of the French Alps covered by the rally, which will end on Sunday with a sprint around the harbour section of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.
Loeb will be the overwhelming favourite this year after his main rival, the Finn Marcus Gronholm, retired after finishing runner-up last season.
Finn Mikko Hirvonen, third in the drivers' standings last year, was promoted as their top driver by Ford, winners of the 2007 manufacturers' title.
"I can't wait to get started again," Hirvonen said.
"I will begin every rally thinking about winning but if I can't do that then second place is where I need to be. It will be difficult for me to take on Marcus Gronholm's role in the team but I feel ready for it," added Hirvonen.
Calzaghe set for Las Vegas
BOXING:Undefeated Joe Calzaghe will fight in the US for the first time when he meets Bernard Hopkins in a long-awaited bout in Las Vegas in April, promoter Frank Warren said yesterday.
The Philadelphia-born 43-year-old Hopkins told Calzaghe that he would "never let a white boy beat me", when the pair came face to face ahead of the Ricky Hatton-Floyd Mayweather weigh-in in December.
"I know what is going to happen and how stupid he is going to look. I'm not going to lose to a white guy, a black guy, a yellow guy, a green guy or any colour guy," 35-year-old Calzaghe said yesterday.
The fight will take place at the 18,000-seat Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on April 19th. None of Calzaghe's super-middleweight belts will be on the line in what Warren described as "maybe a one-off fight" in the light-heavyweight division.
The Calzaghe team have been seeking a match with Hopkins for many years.
Asked what had changed to make Hopkins agree to the fight, Warren said: "Bernard Hopkins needs Joe Calzaghe, whereas a few years ago it was the other way around."
Calzaghe said by beating Mikkel Kessler in 2007 he had achieved everything he could in his division and needed to set new challenges for himself.
"I'm taking a big risk going to America in the first place but it is all about challenges and I'm looking forward to it," he said. Let's hope he doesn't run; let's hope the ring is not as big as the actual arena and I'll catch him up and sort him out," Calzaghe said.
Long-running sponsorship enters its 46th year
ATHLETICS:Over 26,000 students from over 850 secondary schools nationwide will take part in this year's Nestlé Ireland-sponsored schools athletics programme.
In partnership with the Irish Schools Athletics Association (ISAA), this year marks the 46th consecutive year the company has sponsored the programme, making it the longest-running participative sports sponsorship in Ireland. Since the programme was first launched, some of Ireland's most famous sporting stars such as Sonia O'Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan have taken part in the programme.
More recently, it has seen new emerging talents like Derval O'Rourke and Eileen O'Keeffe come up through the ranks and go on to achieve success at European and global level.
Details of this year's sponsorship, which covers the Provincial and All Ireland Cross Country and Track and Field events, were announced in Dublin yesterday and Olympic hammer hopeful O'Keeffe was there to lend her support.
"Kit Kat Irish Schools Athletics has played a major role in developing and shaping my career as an athlete. The programme provided me with a solid foundation for competing on the world stage and with the discipline necessary to achieve success," said O'Keeffe.
