CONCORD, N.C. – If you’re looking for a tight championship battle, there is none tighter than the one taking place in the Super DIRTcar Series.

Entering Friday’s action during the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, defending Super DIRTcar Series big-block modified champion Matt Sheppard and Mat Williamson were tied at 2,075 points a piece.

Williamson has had a career year driving the Buzz Chew No. 88, scoring a $100,000 triumph in the Orange County Fair Speedway anniversary race in Middletown, N.Y., as well as a $50,000 victory in the Super DIRT Week finale at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway.

He’d love to close out the season by hoisting the championship trophy on Saturday night, but even if he doesn’t he said it has been a season to remember.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate to just be here and in this spot. We’re going to make the most of it and enjoy it while it lasts,” said Williamson, who has three Super DIRTcar Series victories this year. “We’re more than satisfied with what we’ve done this year. It’s been a dream so far. To cap it off here with a championship would be pretty amazing.”

Sheppard is a seven-time series champion in search of his eighth championship since 2010 this weekend. He’s been in this position before, most recently last year when he entered the Can-Am World Finals with Erick Rudolph breathing down his neck in the standings.

The New York native ended up beating Rudolph by a comfortable 130 points by the time the 2018 World Finals were over, but this is a new year and a new rival. Despite that, Sheppard not’s the least bit concerned about Williamson.

“I guess I’ve been in this situation a lot of times,” Sheppard acknowledged. “This is his first time in this situation. It is what it is. We’re going to go out, race hard and if he comes out on top, more power to him.”

Looking at recent results, you could argue both men have momentum entering the World Finals. Williamson has the aforementioned big wins at Orange County Fair Speedway and Oswego Speedway, though Sheppard won the most recent feature held at Canada’s Brockville Ontario Speedway in October.

“We came right back after Oswego and we won Brockville and we drove by him,” Sheppard said. “We’re just going to go out and run hard. I’m sure he’s going to do the same thing. We’ve got a pretty fast hotrod ourselves.”

No matter what happens this weekend, Williamson says he’s thankful for everything the Buzz Chew crew have done for him this year and he’s excited to see what next season has to offer.

“We just got together in the trailer and kind of just said to each other no matter what happens, we’ve done more than what we thought we would,” Williamson said. “We’ve got some good notes to build on for next year. We’re really looking forward to it.”

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Dan Zacharias, for 20 years the lead trackside media relations representative for Ford at NASCAR races, was announced as winner of the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations on Friday.

The Jim Chapman Award is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy car racing’s most influential man of the 1980s. Chapman died in 1996 at age 80.

The announcement and presentation were made at the ISM Raceway media center by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends.

The award is determined by a vote of national media members, many of who knew Chapman, and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration.

“I know Jim is smiling because of the mutual connection he and Dan share with Ford,” said Knight. “That makes this most-appropriate recognition of Dan even more meaningful.

“Jim set the ultimate standard of professionalism, class and dignity. He knew that solid professional relationships with journalists was important in good times and absolutely essential in bad times.

“That’s too often missing today in a communications age where an e-mail or text message or over-reliance on social media is incorrectly considered relationship-building. Jim was a true people person and knew nothing could replace a handshake, a face-to-face conversation, a shared meal, or the sound of another person’s voice.

“For two decades Dan has been a trusted and reliable resource for journalists reporting on NASCAR, helpful with requests small and large. In that way, Dan has truly worked to the standard, and in the spirit, of Mr. Chapman.”

Zacharias has been with the Campbell Marketing and Communications agency, representing Ford, for more than two decades. He began his duties in NASCAR in 1998 with responsibility to work with all forms of media and provide pertinent race weekend information. It’s estimated Zacharias has worked with the media at some 600 race weekends.

He also has been a key team member in launching Ford’s NASCAR race cars, including Taurus, Fusion and most recently, Mustang.

Established in 1991 by media and publicists within the CART series, the Jim Chapman Award originally focused on achievement in CART. After a hiatus of several years, the award was resumed in 2004, with eligibility expanded to anyone working in racing public relations.

No PGA Tour event, no problem. In this bye-week edition, Tiger Woods makes headlines as both a captain and a player, while his International counterpart Ernie Els goes with youth with his picks for this year’s Presidents Cup and beyond.

Made Cut

Leadership. It would have been very easy for Captain Tiger to sidestep Patrick Reed and select another player, but then no one ever said leadership is easy.

Reed alienated himself from his U.S. bench mates following last year’s Ryder Cup loss in Paris, specifically calling out then-captain Jim Furyk and Jordan Spieth for breaking up what had been a wildly successful partnership.

Reed wasn’t the first player to break the team room silence but he did become an example of how not to handle a personality conflict, and when he failed to qualify for this year’s Presidents Cup team some considered a captain’s snub an appropriate response.

Not only did Woods do what was best for this year’s team by selecting Reed with one of his four picks, but he also did what was best for future U.S. teams, either at the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. Reed will be a part of future teams and Royal Melbourne is as good a spot as any to clear the air and move forward.

Tweet of the week I:

It’s a baller line and it also proves that Woods has a flair for the dramatic by picking himself last. Everybody knew he’d make himself a pick but the showman went the distance.

Made Cut-Did Not Finish (MDF)

Easy or Els. A day before Woods announced his captain’s picks, Els rounded out his team with what could be considered a few bold choices.

The 50-year-old selected Joaquin Niemann and Sungjae Im, who are a combined 41 years old. The 20- and 21-year-olds, respectively, were Els’s first two picks which was likely by design for the South African who is looking to reshape the International team following two decades of defeat.

“I didn’t go looking for Joaquin who is 20, or Sungjae who is 21, but they made themselves a lock on this team,” Els said. “I definitely wasn’t that good at 20, 21, but these guys are world-class players and they’ve proven themselves. I’m excited by the new blood that’s coming in.”

However this year’s matches turn out, Els has already proven himself the kind of adept leader the International side has been needing, and, with a little more cooperation from the PGA Tour, the Big Easy might even be able to turn the one-sided event into a compelling competition.

Missed Cut

Left out. Next month’s Presidents Cup will be the end of an era for Phil Mickelson, who’ll miss a team event for the first time since 1994 after being bypassed by Woods for a pick.

It’s no big surprise Woods didn’t select Lefty with one of his four wildcard choices. Mickelson’s best finish since his victory in February at Pebble Beach was a tie for 18^th at the Masters, and he fell out of the top 50 in the world ranking last week for the first time in almost 26 years.

What does qualify as a mild surprise is that Mickelson won’t be joining Woods and the U.S. team as a vice captain, which has become how would-be captains get the experience needed to someday lead.

Woods still has an open golf cart if he wanted to name Mickelson, or anyone else, his final vice captain but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards based on his response to Lefty’s absence from this year’s team.

“What he’s accomplished, it’s amazing,” Woods said. “It’s unfortunate it’s come this year. It was going to come to an end at some point and time, all things do. Unfortunately, it happened to be this year.”

So much for warm and fuzzy sendoffs.

Indifference. Or maybe incompetence is a better way to size up another rules snafu that occurred at last week’s Q-Series on the LPGA. Even the new, scaled-down version of the Rules of Golf can be overwhelming, but this violation could and should have been avoided.

Last Thursday, Christina Kim noticed Kendall Dye motion to the caddie of the third member of their group, Dewi Weber, asking if Weber had hit 8-iron. Weber’s caddie, Jacqueline Schram, confirmed.

Kim decided to inform the players and rules official of the incident after the round (10 holes later) and both Dye and Weber were penalized two strokes for violating Rule 10-2.

Dye told Golfweek that she wasn’t “trying to cheat” and felt “gutted” that Weber was also penalized for the infraction despite having nothing to do with the situation. Where this gets weird is Dye’s post on Twitter explaining “I didn’t know this was an infraction” and calling out Kim for her “unprofessional and public action taking this to Twitter.”

In her own social media mea culpa, Dye also explained that she’s played professional golf for 10 years and that she should have known the rule. Yes, she should have, just as she should have known the unwritten rule that requires other players, like Kim, to protect the entire field.

Tweet of the week II. @TheChristinaKim “If it causes more people to read the rules better, it was worth it. It’s not about any single person. It’s about all of us. This was important to me so I could try and help others. If I lose fifty friends but they know the rules better I’d say it’s worth it.”

Kim’s actions don’t need defending. She was looking out for the field and that should be the goal of every player. If speaking out prompted a few play-for-pay types to crack the rulebook, then it was all worth it.

Former United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann has been appointed to the supervisory board at Hertha Berlin, the club announced on Friday.

Klinsmann, 55, had been out of an official role in football ever since the United States Soccer Federation sacked the former Germany international striker in November 2016.

Linked with the Ecuador job last month, the former Germany head coach returns to Bundesliga football at capital club Hertha Berlin.

"I am delighted to be part of the most exciting football project in Europe," Klinsmann said in quotes on the club's official website. "Moreover, it's a club I am emotionally invested in."

Announcing himself as a footballer at southern club VfB Stuttgart in the 1980s, Klinsmann is an honorary member of Hertha Berlin, the club his late father Sigfried, who was raised in Eberswalde, near Berlin, rooted for. And Klinsmann's son Jonathan made his first steps in Europe as a Hertha goalkeeper between 2017 through to 2019 before leaving for Swiss side FC St. Gallen.

But Klinsmann's decision to return to the Bundesliga 10 years after getting sacked as Bayern Munich manager is not solely an emotional comeback, but rather one which is down to his relationship with investor Lars Windhorst.

Entrepeneur Windhorst, 42, in recent months with his Tennor Holding bought 49.9% of Hertha's shares for €225 million, with the club confirming his latest €99m injection on Friday.

A controversial investor, Windhorst rose to fame in the 1990s when Le Figaro dubbed him the "German Bill Gates," but he ran into financial difficulties the following decade. With offices in Berlin and London, Windhorst is now hoping to turn Hertha into a "big city club."

"I am delighted to have won over Jurgen Klinsmann as an advisor for Tennor. His appointment to the Hertha supervisory board underlines our sustainability and seriousness of our commitment for the club," Windhorst said in the official press release.

Klinsmann and Windhorst are expected at the Olympiastadion when Hertha Berlin host RB Leipzig on Saturday -- the day which marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

MOSCOW -- Khabib Nurmagomedov said Friday that Conor McGregor would need to win 10 straight fights to earn a rematch for his UFC title.

McGregor hasn't fought since Nurmagomedov beat him by submission for the UFC lightweight title in October last year.

The Irish fighter last month outlined his plan for two fights leading up to a rematch with the Russian.

That's not enough for Nurmagomedov.

"As for a rematch, to fight for a belt in the UFC, I remember I had something like nine or 10 fights. If he wins 10 fights in a row, then that's completely possible,'' Nurmagomedov said.

Nurmagomedov adds he's in negotiations to fight Tony Ferguson next, but wants it in New York rather than the UFC's preferred venue of Las Vegas.

That's because he disagrees with the Nevada State Athletic Commission's decision to fine and suspend him for a postfight brawl after his bout with McGregor.

"They offered me to fight in Vegas in March, but I told them that if Vegas officially apologizes for wrongly fining me for that incident on October 6, 2018, then I'll fight there,'' he said.

"If not, then they can assign me to another date. As far as I know, they're planning in April to hold [a fight card] somewhere in New York, so I'm saying I'm ready for April, or March if Las Vegas apologizes.''

PITTSBURGH -- For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers ground attack will be without James Conner. After taking steps back in his recovery from a shoulder injury, Conner is listed as out for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Because he didn't practice Thursday or Friday after a limited showing Wednesday, his absence against the Rams was anticipated.

Perhaps even more troubling is the new addition to the injury report.

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is listed as questionable for Sunday's game with a foot injury. The injury first appeared on Friday's practice report, and he was a limited participant in the final practice of the week.

Though Smith-Schuster's numbers have been down this season, the double-teams he has drawn have freed up other receivers.

"He's attracting a lot of flies," quarterback Mason Rudolph said after a victory over the Indianapolis Colts. "When he's not catching the ball, he understands the type of attention he attracts. He really does a good job for me, being a selfless player in this situation. He knows he's taking two with him, and somewhere else we're going to have the opportunity to throw the ball."

Smith-Schuster anticipated matching up against corner Jalen Ramsey on Sunday.

"He's arguably one of the best corners in the league. I have the opportunity to go against him; it's going to be great, it's a blessing," Smith-Schuster said Wednesday. "Their secondary is one of the best secondaries we play throughout the season."

In past matchups with the Steelers, Ramsey was assigned to Antonio Brown. Smith-Schuster would provide a different type of matchup for the two-time Pro Bowler.

"No disrespect to him, he's not Antonio Brown," Ramsey said Friday. "I matched up with Antonio there for two years and that was a good battle and I held my own in those battles, and yeah, now I'm going up against a different person, different body type, different receiver a little bit, he can make plays.

"He plays very physical, he plays strong, aggressive through the catch, so I have to be on my s--- early. I look forward to it."

The Steelers have four wide receivers other than Smith-Schuster on the active roster: Ryan Switzer, James Washington, Diontae Johnson and Johnny Holton.

Meanwhile, the running back group will also be thin without Conner, who injured the AC joint in his right shoulder in the final minutes of the win over the Miami Dolphins, and Benny Snell Jr., who had knee surgery two weeks ago.

Running back Trey Edmunds missed part of the week with injured ribs, but he practiced fully Friday. With Conner and Snell out, the run game will heavily rely on Jaylen Samuels and Edmunds for the second week in a row.

"It is what it is," coach Mike Tomlin told Steelers.com on Friday. "We'll have a running back on the field and expect those guys to deliver for us. We've been challenged in that way this year and it seems like at every turn, guys have had an opportunity to stand and deliver. Benny Snell had a big half or so a couple weeks back in L.A. Edmunds had an opportunity to be a major contributor last week. We don't fear it. We fully understand the position that we're in, but we fully expect whoever is to do it, to do a credible job."

British wheelchair racer wins medal despite surgery this summer, while India’s Sandeep Chaudhary gets javelin gold with world record throw

Sammi Kinghorn added a bronze medal to Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s medal tally at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai on Friday.

On day two of the championships, the defending world T53 100m and 200m champion clocked 16.64 to finish third in the shorter event as China’s Fang Gao broke the championship record with 16.26 to get gold ahead of her team-mate Zhou Hongzhuan (16.58).

“I’m so happy with the bronze,” said Kinghorn, who had taken time out over the summer for surgery.

“Obviously, it’s tough when you come in as the defending champion but after the year I have had, I am so pleased to make it on to the podium.

“My family will agree. This year has been really tough, so I was honestly thinking I’d be top five but to win a bronze is great. I’ll be ready to fight for a higher medal in Tokyo.”

On the race, she added: “I got a much better start than last night (in the heat) but I kind of slipped a few times. I sort of panicked. But that’s fine – if I came off the track saying everything was perfect, I’d be pretty worried. Even coming away with a world bronze, I know I can do even better.

“It gives me so much confidence for next year because I know I can go a lot faster than that. There’s going to be a tough training block ahead, but I’m now focused to be on that podium.”

World records were broken in the men’s F64 javelin throw as India’s Sandeep Chaudhary threw 66.18m to improve his own world record in the F44 category, while his team-mate Sumit Sumit threw 62.88m to improve the F64 world record and secure silver.

“I’m really satisfied with my performance as it was my personal best and it is also a new world record,” said Chaudhary.

“Sumit trains with me and he is also doing a really good job. It’s great news for India – world record and two medals tonight. I’m really happy for him and we are delighted to make our country proud.”

There was a 12th world title for Canada’s Brent Lakatos as he won the T53 100m in 14.59.

“I’m just really relived,” said the Paralympic champion, who is married to GB’s 2017 world T44 long jump winner Stef Reid, who is missing the Dubai event through injury.

“I was quite nervous – even though I have the world record and I was probably the favourite going in, I was quite nervous as it has been a tough season. To be able to get that out of the way and do well in it, I’m really relieved and happy.”

Asked about his schedule for the week, he replied: “Everything! The 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m.”

.@AthleticsCanada’s @BrentLak speaks with @stuartweir after winning his 12th world title at the @ParaAthletics Championships in Dubai #Dubai2019 pic.twitter.com/L4Nb1gbvlg

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) November 8, 2019

Leo-Pekka Tähti of Finland retained his T54 100m title with time of 13.97, while his team-mate Amanda Kotaja also got gold after a win in the women’s event in 16.00, breaking the championship record.

There were also double golds for Brazil and China as Júlio César Agripino won the men’s T11 1500m (4:07.02) and Thiago Paulino claimed the men’s F57 shot put title (14.68m) for Brazil, while Peng Zhou jumped 6.23m to gain another gold for China to go with Gao’s T53 100m win.

Colombia’s Dixon Hooker won the men’s T38 400m in 51.10, while Italy’s world record-holder Assunta Legnante won the women’s F12 shot put (15.83m), Oksana Zubkovska of Ukaraine won the women’s T12 long jump with 5.73m and Tunisia’s Maroua Ibrahmi got gold in the women’s F32 club throw (24.45m).

Britain’s Lydia Church, making her senior international debut, finished seventh in the F12 shot put with a best throw of 11.25m, while Richard Chiassaro secured his spot in the men’s T54 800m final after placing second in his heat behind multiple world champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland to progress automatically.

USA’s Daniel Romanchuk was another heat winner but Nathan Maguire narrowly missed out on a place to join them in the final.

Their British team-mates Isaac Towers (53.54) and Ben Rowlings (53.71) both qualified for the men’s T34 400m final, which saw Tunisia’s Walid Ktila break the championship record in the first round with 49.31.

Full results can be found here, while further Dubai 2019 news and coverage can be found here.

Tamimi overcome home court jitters to make second round of World Champs
By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor

History was made today at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre when two Qataris made it into the second round of the 2019 Men’s World Championships held here in Doha, Qatar. Top player Abdulla Al Tamimi finally buried his demons of the centre court here when he overturned the seedings to topple Frenchman Gregoire Marche.

Abdulla, looking visibly leaner compared to a year ago, gave the home crowd in the gallery much to cheer for today as her masterfully took out the world number 14 in four games. Having been struggling to play well on his home court for years, this certainly lifts a lot of pressure off the shoulders of the world number 47.

“I’m really happy to have finally won a big match here. It’s great to do it here on the biggest stage – the World Championships. I could see the happiness in my dad and friends’ eyes just now and I am just happy I am able to play well today to make everyone proud.

My goal from here on is obviously to just do well again in the next round. I’m going to try and play well like I did again today”, said a beaming Abdullah.

The win sets him up against another Frenchman tomorrow after Matthieu Castagnet won against Canada’s Shawn Delierre.

There was further cause for celebration for the host as local wild card Syed Azlan Amjad also made it to the next round after Iker Pajares was forced to concede the match for opponent inflicted injury. In a fit of frustration, the Spaniard had hit the ball directly into Syed Azlan, who was not able to continue after that.

The top four seeds all won today, led by in-form third seed Karim Abdel Gawad, who showed no signs of his famous slow starts in disposing France’s Auguste Dussourd who qualified by merit of winning the Aspin Cup in Canada, in straight games.

Top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy and fourth seed Paul Coll also both won in straight games. Mohamed saw off up and coming French player Victor Crouin while Paul won comfortably against local wild card Hamad Al-Amri.

“I actually think Victor is a very good player. I watched him play the World Junior final previously and he was the one who impressed me the most there. If you look in his eyes, you’ll see how hungry he is. He wants it very much, he wants to be there you know. I also watched his match in Egypt last week. When I knew I was going to play him, I needed to watch him more because I’ve never played him.

“I’m very happy to see him play the way he play. He reminds me a lot of (Thierry) Lincou. The way he moves and the way he strikes the ball. It’s good because Lincou was such a classy player and it’s good for France to have someone like that”, Mohamed said of his young opponent.

However, it wasn’t as breezy for second seed Tarek Momen, who had a tough opponent in Germany’s Raphael Kandra. The German number two, who was ranked 13th in March this year was toe-to-toe with Tarek in the first two games, split between the pair in similar 12-10 score lines. But Tarek upped the tempo in the third and fourth to win more comfortably and book his place in the second round.

“I am relieved! It’s really tough to play someone like Raphael’s calibre in the round of 64 at the World Champs! But I tried to look at it from a positive perspective because getting past these (difficult) matches tend to put me in a good shape. They will definitely sharpen me for the next match and hopefully I will play better every day”, Tarek said of his tough first encounter today.

One of the four PSA invitees, Ryosei Kobayashi, made history today by becoming the first Japanese man to play in the main draw of the World Championships. The younger brother of now retired Misaki Kobayashi, showed true grit in his match against Scotland’s Alan Clyne and had the Scot on the ropes for most of the match.

Ryosei had his chances to take the first game but it was the more experienced Alan who played the big points better to sneak it in 12-10 before winning comfortably 11-5 in the second. Just as everyone thought the Japanese was done, he bounced back to take the third 11-7, before bowing out in a close fourth game.

“It’s obviously a completely kind of atmosphere and hospitality (compared to the ones I’m used to) playing in these kind of tournaments. It’s a great experience for me and even though it was only one match, I enjoyed every minute of it.

“It’s a better than average performance and I think I am happy with myself. It was very close in two of the games and I think if I had a little bit more luck, the result could’ve been different. A little bit disappointed with how those two ended, but overall happy with how I played”, said Ryosei Kobayashi.

There were mixed fortunes for the English camp, with James Willstrop and Adrian Waller winning all-English battles against George Parker and Chris Simpson. Declan James also won but not before being coming back from two-down against Indian Vikram Malhotra.

Daryl Selby as he was ousted by After games were split 2-a piece, there was a dramatic end to the fifth game. Daryl had leaned onto Youssef to ask for a let which led to the Egyptian losing his footing and needing a 15-minute injury break at 9-9. When the match resumed and with Youssef still visibly limping, Daryl failed to retrieve a drop shot and then hit a boast into the tin.

The other English casualties are Ben Coleman, Nathan Lake, Richie Fallows and Tom Richards. Apart from Ben who took a game off Simon Roesner, all others went out in straight games.

There was no joy for the Malaysian camp as both Ng Eain Yow and Ivan Yuen were both shown the exit by their more illustrious opponents. Despite putting up good performances today, the Malaysians were forced to submit to the superiority of their opponents. Fares Dessouky was stretched to four games by Eain Yow while Diego Elias won in three close games against Ivan.

“I’ve never played Ivan before so I really didn’t know what to expect. It was a little hard but I felt good in court and am happy with the way I played.

“I think I always play well here and I’ve been working very hard to prepare for this. So, I hope I will win a couple more of these tough matches and do well here again”, said Diego, who took out top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy at the Qatar Classic here last year.

After a long opening day which saw all 32 matches being played over four courts, tomorrow sees only the top half of the round of 32 being played on the all glass court.

First round.

[5] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-1 Ben Coleman (Eng) 12-10, 4-11, 11-2, 11-2 (55m)

James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 George Parker (Eng) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (44m)

Cesar Salazar (Mex) 3-0 Nathan Lake (Eng) 14-12, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)

Edmon Lopez (Esp) 3-0 [Q] Kristian Frost (Den) 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 (42m)

[6] Diego Elias (Per) 3-0 Ivan Yuen (Mas) 11-8, 11-9, 14-12 (45m)

Declan James (Eng) 3-2 Vikram Malhotra (Ind) 8-11, 1-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (51m)

[13] Fares Dessouky (Egy) v Eain Yow Ng (Mas) 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (58m)

C3 Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-1 Max Lee (Hkg) 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (56m)

[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Auguste Dussourd (Fra) 11-4, 11-8, 13-11 (28m)

[11] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 Richie Fallows (Eng) 11-9, 11-2, 15-13 (49m)

Mohamed ElSherbini (Egy) 3-0 Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) 11-4, 3-0 rtd (12m)

Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 3-2 [16] Daryl Selby (Eng) 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9 (107m)

[4] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-0 [wc] Hamad Al-Amri (Qat) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (20m)

Mazen Hesham (Egy) 3-0 Tom Richards (Eng) 17-15, 11-8, 11-8 (42m)

Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 [Q] Shawn Delierre (Can) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (29m)

Borja Golan (Esp) 3-0 Remit Tandon (Ind) 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)

[1] Mohamed Shortage (Egy) 3-0 Victor Crouin (Fra) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (33m)

[12] Omar Mossad (Egy) 3-1 Baptiste Maloti (Fra)    8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 (54m)

[14] Zahed Salem (Egy) 3-1 Tsz Fung Yip (Hkg) 11-7, 3-11, 11-3, 11-6 (33m)

Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 Campbell Grayson (Nzl) 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (42m)

Abdulla Al Tamimi (Qat) 3-1 [15] Gregoire Marche (Fra) 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 (50m)

Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-1 [Q] Ryosei Kobayashi (Jpn) 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9 (52m)

[7] Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) 3-0 Tayyab Aslam (Pak) 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (25m)

Leo Au (Hkg) 3-0 Todd Harrity (Usa)  16-14, 11-7, 11-3 (36m)

[2] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-1 Raphael Kandra (Ger) 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4 (52m)

Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0 [Q] Aqeel Rehman (Aut) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (33m)

[9] Marwan Shortage (Egy) 3-0 Arturo Salazar (Mex) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (22m)

[wc] Syed Azlan Amjad (Qat) 3-2 Iker Pajares (Esp) 8-11, 12-10, 4-11, 2-0 rtd (60m)

[8] Miguel Rodriguez (Col) 3-1 Youssef Soliman (Egy) 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (73m)

[10] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 3-0 Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) 11-7, 11-7, 18-16 (56m)

Lucas Serme (Fra) 3-1 [Q] Benjamin Aubert (Fra) 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (64m)

Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-0 Chris Simpson (Eng) 15-13, 11-7, 11-1 (44m)

Pictures courtesy of    Qatar Squash

STOCKHOLM -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league plans to return to Europe for games in the next two years.

Citing huge demand, Bettman said on Friday that the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators will open the regular season next year with a game in Prague. The Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a couple of games in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

Bettman did not specify dates for the games.

He added that he is "pretty certain" the NHL will return to Sweden in two years, but he gave no details about the teams involved and venue.

Bettman was talking to reporters before the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning play the first of their two games in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

In October, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 to open their season in Prague.