A round-up of other sports stories of the day in brief
Henson completes Saracens move
RUGBY:Wales star Gavin Henson was last night given the green light to relaunch his rugby career with English Premiership club Saracens.
The Ospreys have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Saracens regarding Henson’s release from the club.
Henson, who has not played for 18 months after going on unpaid leave following the latest in a series of injury setbacks, was under contract with the Ospreys until next May.
Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy said Henson’s request to be released from his contract had been “reluctantly agreed”.
Centre Henson, 28, is currently appearing on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, a commitment which could last until Christmas, but he took part in his first Saracens training session earlier this week.
Henson won the last of his 31 Wales caps against Ireland during the 2009 Six Nations, but has spoken of ambitions to play in next year’s World Cup.
Bolt resumes training following injury lay-off
THE world-record holder Usain Bolt has resumed training after his outdoor season was cut short by injury. “Training has started and the good news is that I am 100 per cent healthy, and am completely over my back and Achilles problems from the summer,” Bolt said in his International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) online diary.
“I am really enjoying training at the moment. For the first time in my career I was looking forward to getting back into training before my end-of-season break was over.
“I am looking forward to defending my 100m and 200m titles at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Korea and so I know the importance of putting in the work required. Coach Glen Mills is also aware of that . . . he is putting on the pressure early, but so far so good,” Bolt said.
The Jamaican cut short his season on August 10th, four days after losing to Tyson Gay over 100m in Stockholm, his first defeat for two years.
Celtics put the Heat on James
BASKETBALL:The Boston Celtics spoiled the opening act of LeBron James's latest quest for a NBA title by defeating the Miami Heat 88-80 on Tuesday night in a highly anticipated match-up of Eastern Conference powerhouses.
James, who signed with the Heat as a free agent in the off-season after seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, scored 31 points but had eight turnovers in the season-opener for both teams.
“We all know Rome wasn’t built in one day, so it’s going to take time, and we understand that,” said James, who hit 10 of 21 shots but had trouble finding his rhythm from the outside.
The Los Angeles Lakers were indebted to bench players Shannon Brown and Steve Blake as they launched their championship defence with a nail-biting 112-110 win over the Houston Rockets.
Brown knocked in four three-pointers and fellow guard Blake slotted three, the last of them with just 18.8 seconds left, as the Lakers came from 15 points behind.
Courier takes up Davis Cup post
FORMER world number one Jim Courier is the new captain of the United States Davis Cup team, the US Tennis Association (USTA) said yesterday.
Courier succeeded Patrick McEnroe, who resigned last month after 10 years at the helm.
“It’s something that I certainly aspired to,” Courier said. “I definitely thought that being the captain would be something that I’d enjoy, and now I get to see if I will.”
Four more Irish reach semi-finals
BOXING:Another four Irish fighters have reached the semi-finals of the second European Youth Junior Women's Championships with quarter-final wins in Calais, France last night, reports Bernard O'Neill.
Nicole Meli, Katie Rowland, Mikaela Walsh and Sarah Close joined Christiana Gargan and Clare Grace in the last four. All six are guaranteed at least bronze.
Meli, boxing at junior, beat Maria Hamel of Germany and Rowland, Walsh and Close followed that up with wins over Hungarian, French and English opponents.
Rowland beat Vivien Mizsei, who represented Hungary at the 2010 World Championships, and Close, boxing for the second time in 24 hours, hammered England’s Jeanne Wilson 15-3. Gargan and Grace will both be involved in semi-final bouts at the 17-nation tournament today.
