Russian doping scandal: Six cross-country skiers have provisional bans upheld…

Six cross-country skiers have seen their provisional doping bans upheld after a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Cas said the suspensions – which are based on evidence from the McLaren report into state sponsored doping in Russia – should stand until October 31.

The six athletes, including medalists from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, were named as having had urine samples tampered with at the Games.

Bans upheld: Alexaner Legkov (centre) and Maxim Vylegzhanin were two of six Russian skiers banned by the FIS in January. Both won medals at the Sochi Olympics

The International Ski Federation (FIS) imposed the original ban in January.

In a statement Cas said: ‘In the absence of any anti-doping rule violation having been assessed against any of the athletes so far, the temporary suspension shall lapse and the athletes shall be allowed to compete again

‘A further provisional suspension may be imposed on the athletes by the International Ski Federation after that date, and would be subject to appeal.’

The decision to uphold the bans relates to athletes Alexey Petukov, Evgenia Shapovalova, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexander Legkov, Evgeniy Belov and Julia Ivanova.

Legkov won the gold medal in the men’s 50km freestyle in Sochi, with Vylegzhanin taking the silver medal. Both were in Russia’s men’s 4x10km relay team, which won a silver medal. Vylegzhanin also won a further silver medal in the men’s team sprint.

EFL Championship: Huddersfield promoted following shootout victory at Wembley…

Promoted: Huddersfield Town will play in the Premier League next season

Huddersfield Town have been promoted to England’s top flight for the first time since 1972.

The West Yorkshire club saw off opponents Reading in a tense penalty shootout at the iconic Wembley Stadium on Monday afternoon (May 29).

The win was a second consecutive shootout win for the Terriers after they defeated Sheffield Wednesday on spot kicks in the semis.

Christopher Schindler won the tie after Reading’s Liam Moore blazed high over the bar and Jordan Obita saw his kick saved by Town goalkeeper Danny Ward.

The game finished 0-0 after 120 minutes after a number of chances were missed by both sides. The most notable of which was Huddersfield’s Izzy Brown missed an open goal from close range early on in the game.

The win capped a memorable year and a remarkable reversal of fortunes for Huddersfield. The club finished 19th in the Championship last season and the club can now expect a windfall of at least £170million over the next three seasons by winning promotion.

The famous Wembley Stadium arch lit up in the colours of EFL Championship playoff winners Huddersfield Town

They will feel that they deserved the win on the balance of play after creating the two clearest chances, both of which came in the opening 10 minutes.

German defender Michael Hefele headed off target following an Aaron Mooy freekick, before Brown missed in the ninth minute.

This now leaves Reading, who finished four points and two places higher than the Terriers in the final league table, to reflect on a fourth play-off final defeat.

Managerial reaction…
Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner: ‘I’m one of the most happy men on the planet today. I’m so proud of this group of players, what they’ve done over the whole season.

‘There was no doubt about whether we were able to handle the atmosphere. After what they did in the semi-final, I thought the circumstances wouldn’t be a problem.

‘This competition is really hard. If you win it you like it, but my thoughts are as well with the other three teams which had unbelievable seasons, especially Reading.’

Reading manager Jaap Stam: ‘It’s always hard if you lose, even if it’s a league game or whatever. What we achieved this season is great. We’ve made progress, we finished in the top six and we played in the play-off final.

‘The boys have done what they’ve been doing all season, trying to give everything to get the maximum out of the game.

‘We got to the shootout, where it’s basically a lottery. What’s important for me is that the players took responsibility. They knew what they needed to do.

‘Of course everyone’s disappointed that we haven’t won and we haven’t gone to the Premier League. We need to give it another shot next season. It’s hard but that’s how it goes.’

Team lineups…
Huddersfield Town: Danny Ward, Tommy Smith (Martin Crainie 88′), Michael Hefele, Christopher Schindler, Chris Löwe, Jonathan Hogg, Elias Kachunga (Colin Quaner 66′), Izzy Brown (Kasey Palmer 98′), Rajiv Van La Parra, Nakhi Wells

Subs not used: Dean Whitehead, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, Joel Coleman

Reading FC: Ali Al-Habsi, Thiago Ilori, Liam Moore, Joey van den Berg (Jordan Obita 64′), Chris Gunter, George Evans, Danny Williams, Tyler Blackett, John Swift (Liam Kelly 100′), Jan Kermogant, Lewis Grabban (Gareth McCleary 74′)

Subs not used: Roy Beerens, Joseph Mendes, Adrian Popa, Anssi Jaakkola

Speedway GP: Polish 1-2-3 in Daugavpils as Piotr Pawlicki wins maiden Grand Prix…

Poland dominate the podium at Lokomotiv Stadium in Daugavpils, Latvia as SGP winner Piotr Pawlicki stands in between fellow countrymen Patryk Dudek and Maciej Janowski

Polish ace Piotr Pawlicki stormed to his first ever FIM Speedway Grand Prix win at the Rietumu Bank Latvian SGP in Daugavpils on Saturday (May 27).

The Leszno-born racer was joined on the podium by his fellow countrymen, runner-up Patryk Dudek, who now leads the World Championship, and Maciej Janowski, who defied a horrific crash to claim third place.

However, the night belonged to Pawlicki, who put in a masterful performance in his final five rides at the Lokomotiv Stadium as he piled up a huge 18 points in order to move up to sixth in the overall standings.

Pawlicki was positively stunned by his maiden win, but was pleased to see that hard graft by him and his team over the winter paid off.

He said: ‘It’s an amazing day for me. It’s the first time I have won a GP. I was third last year in Malilla, but I won today and I can’t believe what has happened.

‘I want to say thank you to my team. They are always working hard on my bikes. If you have a fast bike, you are more relaxed. If you have slow bikes, you must think ‘what’s happening? What must I do to be better?’ So this was a very nice day for me.

‘Before the meeting I felt really, really very good. I was always smiling and the team was saying ‘what’s happening?!’ Maybe I was a little more relaxed.

‘I worked hard all winter, training with my trainer Tomasz Skrzypek. He comes to every meeting with me and he’s helping me. I want to thank him too.’

Pawlicki was also elated to stand between fellow compatriots Janowski and Dudek.

Dudek now leads the World Championship with 38 points after three rounds.

The Zielona Gora and Dackarna racer is just one point ahead of Australian Jason Doyle, who sits in second place in the standings, after finishing fourth after being slowed by a blocked air filter in the final.

Janowski had mixed fortunes as he limped away from the Lokomotiv Stadium with a leg injury after crashing in Heat 17, with Slovenian Matej Zagar and fellow Pole Bartosz Zmarzlik being unable to avoid him.

Somehow all three riders walked away from the ugly incident and Janowski was pleased to be on the podium after a painful night.

He said: ‘That was a very special night for Poland – three young Polish riders on the podium. That’s really good.

‘I can’t feel much in my left leg, though! I’m glad I’m in one piece and so are the rest of the boys.

‘There was nothing I could do in that moment when I crashed. I had a really good start to the race and I was in front when this happened. There were a few ruts there and I wasn’t ready for them. That’s speedway.’

The World Championship now shifts to the Marketa Stadium in Prague for the Mitas FIM Speedway Grand Prix on June 10.

RIETUMU BANK LATVIAN SGP SCORES: Piotr Pawlicki 18, Patryk Dudek 16, Maciej Janowski 13, Jason Doyle 10, Emil Sayfutdinov 13, Matej Zagar 10, Tai Woffinden 9, Maksims Bogdanovs 8, Martin Vaculik 8, Niels-Kristian Iversen 7, Bartosz Zmarzlik 6, Greg Hancock 5, Fredrik Lindgren 5, Chris Holder 4, Antonio Lindback 4, Peter Kildemand 1, Kjastas Puodzuks DNR, Evgenijs Kostigovs DNR.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 3 rounds): 1 Patryk Dudek 38, 2 Jason Doyle 37, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 37, 4 Maciej Janowski 35, 5 Martin Vaculik 34, 6 Piotr Pawlicki 32, 7 Emil Sayfutdinov 31, 8 Tai Woffinden 30, 9 Niels-Kristian Iversen 25, 10 Bartosz Zmarzlik 24, 11 Matej Zagar 21, 12 Greg Hancock 20, 13 Chris Holder 16, 14 Antonio Lindback 12, 15 Nicki Pedersen 8, 16 Maksims Bogdanovs 8, 17 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3, 18 Peter Kildemand 1, 19 Nick Skorja 1.

KHL: Cash-strapped league cuts a team, reveals a six-month wage delay…

Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League has cut a team as it tries to fix its worsening financial problems, including debts owed to players of over US$17million.

On Wednesday, KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko said that the league will be removing Metallurg Novokuznetsk, which had a 14-46 record and small crowds, in its bid to become more commercially successful.

Metallurg Novokuznetsk will be cut from the KHL for next season

Croatia’s Medvescak Zagreb had said in March that it would pull out of the league in order to join the Austrian-based EBEL.

Chernyshenko has said that the KHL – considered the world’s strongest ice hockey league outside the NHL – has been hit by ‘unprecedented’ salary delays to its players totalling over 1billion rubles (US$17.7million).

Also, seven of the KHL’s 29 teams are ‘regularly late’ with wages and some players have been waiting over six months to be paid.

Chernyshenko also said that the league will cut three more for the 2018/2019 season, with a statistical rating system measuring the on-ice ability of the teams, their finances and crowd appeal being used to determine who quits the league.

Other plans include lowering the salary cap and closing some loopholes which help big spenders, which could make the league more competitive and reduce the dominance of wealthy teams such as CSKA Moscow and SKA St Petersburg, both of which are funded by state-owned oil and gas companies.

IIHF World Championships: Tournament structure for 2018 announced…

The tournament structure for the 2018 World Ice Hockey Championships has been announced by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

The governing body of world ice hockey have confirmed a number of venues for the numerous tournaments under its jurisdiction.

The Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning will play host to the flagship IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship, the top flight of international ice hockey, for the first time ever in 2018.

Buffalo, New York, will play host to the 2018 World Junior Ice hockey Championship, while the Under 18 tournament will be held in the Russian cities of Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk in the country’s Ural region.

In addition, the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia also announced that the Women’s Under 18 Championships are to take place in the city of Nizhni Novgorod.

Nizhni Novgorod is 400km east of the Russian capital Moscow and is one of the most famous centres for women’s hockey in the country as well as being the home of multiple women’s champions SKIF Nizhni Novgorod.

Along with the flagship events, many tournament have also been assigned for the lower divisions.

The best six nations outside the men’s top flight will contest Division 1, Group A of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, with the event taking place at the 9,000-seater Laszlo Papp Sportarena.

Budapest’s Laszlo Papp Sportarena will play host to Division 1, Group A of the IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship in 2018. Great Britain will compete alongside hosts Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Italy and Kazakhstan. (Photo credit: Laszlo Mudra)

The venue has previously played host to several other hockey events, including the Division 1 Championships in 2011 and 2013 as well as pre-qualification groups for both the 2014 Sochi and 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Proposed dates for the tournament are 22-28 April 2018.

Slovenia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Great Britain and host nation Hungary make up the teams in the tournament and the top two from the group will earn promotion to the 2019 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships held in the Slovakian cities of Bratislava and Kosice.

Warsaw was also announced as a candidate for the 2018 Championships, however the bid was withdrawn by Poland since the country has hosted head-to-head events both 2015 and 2016. It does, however, plan to move forward with its application for another year.

Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, will play host to Division 1, Group B which will see Ukraine, Japan, Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia and Lithuania battle for promotion to Division 1, Group A.

After two successful tournaments in Vilnius during the past eight years, the event will be staged at the Zalgiris Arena, the largest indoor arena of the Baltic countries, with a capacity of 13,762 fans for ice hockey.

The venue has played host to a number of international basketball games, but will be ready for the proposed tournament dates of 22-28 April 2018.

In total, 27 tournaments have been assigned, with a number of new applicant for host cities, including Odessa in Ukraine, which will play host to Division 1, Group B of the 2017 Under 18 World Ice Hockey Championship.

The full schedule and programme for the 2018 World Championships can be found at this link: 2018 IIHF World Championship Programme

World U21 Speedway: 15-point max for Maksym in Pardubice…

Maksym Drabik (Photo courtesy of Agencia-Gazeta)

Rising Polish star Maksym Drabik cruised through to the World Under-21 Championship final, with a 15-point maximum, after a fine display in Pardubice.

The Czestochowa-born 19-year-old, who missed much of last season with a broken leg, topped the podium in the semi-final at the Czech track in order to lay down a big statement of intent for the final series.

He joined in the final by last year’s QBE Insurance SGP wildcard Brady Kurtz, who finished a point behind on 14.

Unia Leszno rider Dominik Kubera triumphed in a three-man run-off for third place and one of two final qualifying places. German rider Lukas Fienhage took the final spot ahead of Denmark’s Jonas Jeppesen after the trio finished on 11 points each.

Last year’s finalist Patrick Hansen just missed out on qualification after managing 10 points, including mechanical problems and a retirement while second in Heat 11. He will join Jeppesen in sweating over a posibe wildcard pick from the FIM.

The remaining two semi finals will take place at Terenzano and Eskilstuna on Saturday.

PARDUBICE SCORES: Maksym Drabik 15, Brady Kurtz 14, Dominik Kubera 11+3, Lukas Fienhage 11+2, Jonas Jeppesen 11+1, Patrick Hansen 10, Dmytro Mostowik 8, Dominik Moeser 8, Patrik Mikel 8, Nick Skorja 7, Zdenek Holub 5, Kenny Wennerstam 4,  Jake Turner 3, 14 Josef Novak 3, Jan Mihalik 1, Filip Hajek 1, Cristian Zubillaga 0, Pavel Cermak DNR.

*all qualify for the World U21 finals

Ice Hockey: NIHL Division 1 South under review as teams withdraw…

The recently proposed structure of National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) Division 1 South is again under review.

This follows confirmation by the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) that the Solent Devils, Oxford City Stars and Chelmsford Chieftains had all withdrawn from the league within the past 24 hours.

Chelmsford, Oxford and Solent have all withdrawn from NIHL Div 1 South

As a result, the conference format agreed is now no longer viable and further clubs have requested their withdrawal from the league citing additional costs. This is due to the likely outcome being a regular league contested among the remaining sides.

Ultimately though, the result is that Solent, Oxford and Chelmsford will no longer compete in the division, leaving Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Fire, London Raiders, Milton Keynes Thunder, Peterborough Phantoms, Streatham IHC, Swindon Wildcats and the Invicta Dynamos as the only remaining teams in NIHL South’s top tier.

This will then lead to discussion over a new league and cup format for the new season, however this is yet to be confirmed.

A full statement from the Invicta Dynamos on the situation, along with a statement from the EIHA can be found here:

http://invictadynamos.co.uk/?p=4562

Speedway GP: Fast Freddie wins in Warsaw…

Fredrik Lindgren holds the winners trophy aloft after winning the LOTTO Warsaw FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland at PGE Narodowy

Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren saw his five year wait for an FIM Speedway Grand Prix win come to an end at the LOTTO Warsaw SGP of Poland on Saturday.

Freddie topped the podium ahead of home favourite Maciej Janowski, Australian star Jason Doyle and Slovenian SGP winner Martin Vaculik at the PGE Narodowy.

Freddie is the winner of tonight @SpeedwayGP in Warsaw!!! 🥇🏆 Well done Freddie💕

— Fast Freddie Fans (@FastFreddieFans) May 13, 2017

The win marks Lindgren’s first victory since he won the Swedish SGP at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg in 2012. As a result, he retains the FIM Speedway World Championship lead, which he has extended to five points over nearest rival Doyle.

The Orebro-born racer is currently in the form of his life and was elated to be back in the SGP winner’s circle after a great display in front a passionate Polish crowd.

“Right now I am just pumped with adrenaline. It’s so cool to ride in this stadium in front of all these people and perform like I did tonight.” he said.

“It’s something that we live to do. It’s what I like. I have been training so hard in the winter. I have so many good people behind me – all my sponsors and pit crew; everyone is helping me out. I’m so pleased to give back to them.

“I feel absolutely awesome. I have only won one GP before. This is so important for me.”

This victory is also a major milestone for Swiss engine tuner Marcel Gerhard as his GTR engine collected its first SGP triumph, and Lindgren relished racing at Poland’s national stadium as it delivered another SGP classic.

He is also determined to maintain his blistering form, which has seen him star for Wolverhampton in the UK, Dackarna in Sweden and Polish club Rybnik.

Runner-up Janowski was gutted not to become the first Pole to clinch an historic win in Warsaw, while third placed Doyle was content with moving into second place in the race for the World Championship.

The next round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix is the Rietumu Bank Latvian SGP in Daugavpils on Saturday May 27.

LOTTO WARSAW SGP OF POLAND SCORES: Fredrik Lindgren 16, Maciej Janowski 16, Jason Doyle 15, Martin Vaculik 10, Tai Woffinden 13, Bartosz Zmarzlik 12, Patryk Dudek 9, Niels-Kristian Iversen 9, Piotr Pawlicki 7, Chris Holder 6, Emil Sayfutdinov 6, Antonio Lindback 6, Nicki Pedersen 5, Greg Hancock 4, Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3, Matej Zagar 1, Krystian Pieszczek DNR, Pawel Przedpelski DNR.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 2 rounds): 1 Fredrik Lindgren 32, 2 Jason Doyle 27, 3 Martin Vaculik 26, 4 Maciej Janowski 22, 5 Patryk Dudek 22, 6 Tai Woffinden 21, 7 Bartosz Zmarzlik 18, 8 Niels-Kristian Iversen 18, 9 Emil Sayfutdinov 18, 10 Greg Hancock 15, 11 Piotr Pawlicki 14, 12 Chris Holder 12, 13 Matej Zagar 11, 14 Antonio Lindback 8, 15 Nicki Pedersen 8, 16 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3, 17 Nick Skorja 1.

Ice Hockey: NIHL South, Division 1 conference names announced…

The member clubs of National Ice Hockey (NIHL) South have voted to name the new Division 1 conferences after two stalwarts of the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA), Premier League and National League.

The conference containing Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, MK Thunder, Oxford City Stars and the Solent Devils will be known as the ‘Wilkinson Conference’, after Bob Wilkinson who died earlier this year.

Wilkinson was a hugely respected figure in both the EIHA and Ice Hockey UK (IHUK) and his work with junior and women players. He was also in charge of England and Great Britain teams and was also an NIHL league manager until 2015.

The conference featuring Chelmsford Chieftains, Invicta Dynamos, London Raiders, Peterborough Phantoms, Streatham IHC and Swindn Wildcats will be known as the Britton Conference, in memory of the late Bill Britton.

Britton was the secretary of the EIHA, secretary of the then ENL, chairman of the EPL and Chair of the Women’s Section before his sudden death in 2005. The EIHA women’s playoff championship trophy is also named in his honour.

 

Playoff Latest: EFL League One semi-final round up…

Scunthorpe United 2-3 Millwall (Millwall win 3-2 on aggregate)

Star of the show: Millwall’s Steve Morison (Photo credit: Rex Features)

Millwall have booked their place in the League One playoff final after coming from behind to beat Scunthorpe United in their playoff semi-final, second leg at Glanford Park.

Steve Morison played a starring role for the Lions, who had fallen behind thanks to Ivan Toney’s tap-in, heading them level on the stroke of half time.

He then set up team-mate Lee Gregory to allow his side to take a 2-1 lead.

Stephen Dawson’s strike set up a nervy finish, even though a deflected shot from Morison gave the away side some breathing space.

Neil Harris’ side will now face Bradford City on May 20 for the right to be promoted to next season’s Championship. The Bantams were the same side they beat at the semi-final stage last season.

Having been held to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at The Den, Millwall looked to be falling short when Newcastle loanee Toney, fired the Iron ahead at Glanford Park.

Having made it 1-1 moments before the break, 33-year-old Morison proved to be the difference between the two sides after the restart, first cutting inside to tee up his strike partner Gregory, before scoring his 18th goal of the season to send The Lions through to the final.

Fleetwood Town 0-0 Bradford City (Bradford City win 1-0 on aggregate)

Through to the playoff final: Bradford City (Photo Credit: PA)

Bradford City will face Millwall for the right to be promoted to the Championship after a 0-0 draw at Fleetwood saw them win through to the final 1-0 on aggregate.

Bantams forward Charlie Wyke nearly headed his side in front, however his effort from Mark Marshall’s cross found it’s way onto the post from two yards in the first half.

Fleetwood’s Ashley Hunter twice headed straight at Bradford goalkeeper Colin Doyle as the hosts struggled to create any clear-cut chances.

Bradford’s player of the season Marshall, almost scored with a fortuitous first half ricochet as he managed to chase down a long ball through the middle of the park.

However, he was beaten to the ball by Fleetwood’s goalkeeper Alex Cairns, although his clearance catapulted off Marshall and skimmed the bar.

The hosts showed more urgency after the break, however Bradford’s centre backs Rory McArdle and Nathaniel Knight-Percival dealt with everything thrown their way.

Billy Clarke screwed one shot high and another wide, while Marshall tested Cairns with a near-post effort as the Bantams comfortably held on.