Tuqiri injured
SYDNEY - Lote Tuqiri's wretched run with injuries has continued with the Wests Tigers winger set to miss the first four months of the NRL season due to an arm injury. Tuqiri underwent surgery on Tuesday after scans showed the broken arm he suffered in July last year had failed to heal. A devastated Tuqiri said he was determined to return to the field despite the setback. "I was really looking forward to helping the club have the success that everyone is after this year," Tuqiri said in a statement released by the club on Thursday.
Chavez fails test
LAS VEGAS - Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was suspended for nine months and fined $US900,000 ($F1,064,000) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Thursday for a failed drug test last year. The 26-year-old Chavez tested positive for marijuana in September after his first professional loss. The fine for Chavez (46-1-1) amounts to 30 percent of his $US3 million ($F5.347 million) purse for the fight against Sergio Martinez. The commission could have banned him for one year and penalised him up to 100 per cent of his purse.
Kiwi skipper
AUCKLAND - Warriors skipper Simon Mannering will lead New Zealand in their rugby league World Cup defence this year after being named captain. The 26-year-old second-rower, whose appointment was announced in Auckland on Friday, replaces star playmaker Benji Marshall. The Kiwis' next Test is the Anzac clash with Australia in Canberra on April 19. Mannering has played 30 Tests, his first in 2006, the year after he made his debut for the Warriors.
Player jailed
LONDON - A Manchester City youth player broke down in tears on Thursday as he was jailed for 16 months for killing a brother and sister while speeding in his Mercedes in central Manchester. A Manchester court heard that 18-year-old Courtney Meppen-Walter was driving at nearly double the speed limit of 48 kilometres per hour when he hit a car carrying Kulwant Singh, 32, and his 37-year-old sister, Ravel Kaur. Both siblings, who hailed from the Manchester area, were killed, while Ms Kaur's two sons, aged 16 and 17, were injured.
Rangers fined
GLASGOW - The former Rangers football club have been fined $US380,000 ($F677,000) for making undisclosed payments to players, but will not be stripped of any titles, it was announced on Thursday. An independent commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League (SPL) found the old company or "Oldco" Rangers guilty of failing to make proper disclosure of "side-letter arrangements" between 2000 and 2011.
Knicks win
NEW YORK - The New York Knicks withstood a dazzling 54-point display from Golden State's Stephen Curry on Thursday to post a 109-105 NBA victory over the Warriors at Madison Square Garden. Curry's points total was the highest in the league this season, surpassing the 52 of Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant against Dallas last month. But his individual effort was not enough against a Knicks team that received 35 points from Carmelo Anthony and 26 off the bench from JR Smith.