Pistorius fails in final effort to qualify for Beijing 400m
ATHLETICS:Double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius failed in his final attempt to qualify for the 400-metre race at next month's Beijing Olympics.
Needing a time of 45.55 seconds to qualify for Beijing, Pistorius (21) finished third at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne with a personal best time of 46.25 seconds.
The South African athlete, who could still be selected for his country's 4x100-metre relay squad, was banned from competing in January by athletics' governing body the IAAF.
The IAAF had argued that the carbon-fibre blades he runs on gave Pistorius an advantage over able-bodied athletes.
Pistorius succeeded in having the ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which criticised the tests carried out by the IAAF to measure the runner's performance.
Young brings epic game to an end
BASEBALL: Michael Young's sacrifice fly in the 15th inning finally ended the longest Major League All-Star Game in history as the American League beat the National League 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. After a near-five-hour struggle that finished at 1.37am local time, Justin Morneau raced across the home plate after Young faced Brad Lidge with the bases loaded. Scott Kazmir, who was not scheduled to throw, collected the win after being forced into action as the teams started to run out of players.
Connacht to face Portugal
RUGBY:Connacht will take on Portugal at the Sportsground on Wednesday, November 5th (kick-off at 7.30pm).
This extra fixture in Connacht's already busy schedule brings their home matches at the Sportsground to 17 for the season. Portugal will be the first international side Connacht have faced since hosting South Africa in August 2007 ahead of their successful World Cup campaign and will be the 11th international side to face Connacht at the Sportsground.
Connacht players Ian Keatley and Kieran Campbell got a preview of just how good the Portuguese are last weekend in Hannover, when Ireland Sevens lost out by 14-12 in a tight semi-final. Campbell said: "They're a very physical side, their skill level was high and they were certainly well conditioned. Their backs were evasive with good ability to achieve line breaks which is a great bonus in both Sevens and 15s."
Argentina insist on Messi's presence
OLYMPIC GAMES:Argentina are confident Lionel Messi will take part at the Beijing Olympic Games despite reported opposition from his club Barcelona. Olympic team coach Sergio Batista said Fifa rules were on his side and he expected Messi to join the squad in one week's time.
"From what Fifa has said, they have to let him go," Batista said in a television interview. "The AFA (Argentina Football Association) have told me he will be there so I'm not worried about this. And, of course, he wants to play for Argentina and wear this shirt."
Fifa reiterated last week clubs are obliged to release under-23 players for the August 7th-23rd tournament. But reports in Spain and Argentina say Barcelona still want to keep him for that period, which includes two rounds of Champions League qualifiers.
Germany's Werder Bremen have already said Brazil's Diego and Serbia's Dusko Tosic are not going to the Games.
