Wulf joins Toulon
PARIS - Former All Black utility back Rudi Wulf will return to French Top 14 joint leaders Toulon for a second spell after signing a three-year contract. The 28-year-old, who won all of his four Test caps in 2008, played 28 games for Toulon in the 2010-11 season before returning to New Zealand for personal reasons. Wulf will join Toulon once his present side North Harbour are eliminated from the National Provincial Championship. Toulon are level with Biarritz at the Top 14 summit.
Serena storms on
NEW YORK - Three-time champion Serena Williams stormed to a double bagel 6-0 6-0 rout of Czech Andrea Hlavackova to reach her 10th US Open quarter-final yesterday in a ruthless display of her title credentials. The 30-year-old American allowed the world No.82 just eight points on her serve and finished the last-16 clash with 31 winners against just seven unforced errors, backing up her 57-minute win with eight aces. Williams, a 14-time grand slam title winner, has dropped just 12 games in four matches at the Open this year.
Awards snub
LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistan lodged a protest with cricket's governing body yesterday over the exclusion of offspinner Saeed Ajmal from the shortlist of an annual award, saying they hope his name will be included after a review. The 34-year-old's name did not feature among the four nominees for the coveted Test Cricketer of the Year award despite being Test cricket's leading wicket-taker in the period under consideration. South Africa's Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Australia's Michael Clarke all made the list.
Big bouts
SYDNEY - Dual world middleweight boxing champion Daniel Geale wants to defend both his belts, but won't rule out sacrificing one if another big bout offer comes along. Geale arrived back in Sydney on Monday night, around 38 hours after taking the WBA Super title off Felix Sturm in Germany. He also holds the IBF belt, which he has defended successfully on three occasions. "There's definitely options out there for us, some pretty decent name fighters out there," Geale said.
$100 million man
BOSTON, Massachusetts - Tiger Woods has become the first $US100 million ($F180 million) man on the PGA Tour. Woods finished third yesterday in the Deutsche Bank Championship and made $US544,000 ($F981,418), pushing his career total to $US100,350,700 ($F181.68 million). Next on the list is Phil Mickelson, who finished fourth at the TPC Boston. "The purse increase helps," Woods said after a final-round 66 left him two strokes behind winner Rory McIlroy in the second week of the four-tournament US Tour playoff.
Defence the key
MELBOURNE - The pre-match hype will be all about the romance of the South Sydney revival and the clash between superstar fullbacks Greg Inglis and Billy Slater. Not to mention the likes of Inglis, Matt King, Michael Crocker and South Sydney coach Michael Maguire squaring off against their former club. But Storm second-rower Ryan Hoffman still expects Saturday night's much-anticipated NRL qualifying final to be decided by rather more prosaic matters.