SPORTDigest D Wednesday, November 4, 2009 METROSPORT 21 French Open faces switch TENNIS: The French Open may be moved from its traditional home at Roland Garros if Paris City Council do not show their backing for extension plans. Plans for a new centre court with a retractable roof like that recently added at Wimbledon were agreed earlier this year but the council could be ready to perform a U-turn, according to French tennis federation director general Gilbert Ysern. It seems the mayors entourage has become more hostile to our project, which was not the case when we launched it, said Ysern. Add to that residents opposition and we are now forced to look for other options, including leaving the premises. Haye eyes jaw-dropping KO Springboks hit by Spies loss RUGBY: South Africa will be without forward Pierre Spies when they take on Ireland on November 28 after the number eight withdrew from the Springbok squad for their European tour after undergoing an emergency operation on a broken finger on Monday. Spies suffered the injury during the Blue Bulls Absa Currie Cup campaign and has been replaced in the squad by Jean Deysel of the Sharks. South Africa begin with a Test meeting with France on November 13. Heavy toll: Haas Haas feels fine over swine TENNIS: Tommy Haas has had to pull out of the Swiss Indoor tournament in Basle after contracting swine flu. The 31-year-old German consulted his doctor when he contracted flu-like symptoms and said: I did a test because I suspected I had the swine flu and the test was positive. It was obviously a shock for me but I am quite relaxed because when you are in a good physical condition, like I am, you can quickly beat it off. Haas also revealed the toll the illness has taken on him. It was really bad for three days and I couldnt leave my hotel room, he added. GAA RUGBY Cooney staying out of Banner power struggleBY PAUl kEANEGAA president Christy Cooney has urged a speedy resolution to the Clare hurling crisis without any help from Croke Park. Clares players want rid of manager Mike McNamara after a poor season though the former All-Ireland winning trainer has another year to run on his deal. Player power has already been to blame for forcing John Mey- ler, Justin McCarthy and Gerald McCarthy out of inter-county management positions in the last two seasons. Cooney, whose native Cork was engulfed in a strike crisis last winter and spring, admitted we have had enough of this over the years and its time we all moved on in a positive manner. Asked if the GAA would inter- vene as they did in Cork earlier this year, Cooney rejected the suggestion and said Clare would have to deal with the issue soon- er rather than later. I would personally like to see Clare sorting this out them- selves, said Cooney. Someone coming in from the outside doesnt usually solve a problem. If theres a problem the hurl- ers, Mike Mac and his team and the county board need to sit down to resolve it. Maybe have a clear- the-air meeting to move things forward but I would prefer to leave it to themselves. Sometimes when these things are sorted out internally they are stronger going forward rather than someone coming in from the outside. I believe Clare have the means to do this. Cooney believes McNamara can still work with his players in 2010, despite all but one of the Clare panel agreeing to a no- confidence vote in the Scariff man on Sunday evening. McNamara is scheduled to present his end of season review next Tuesday night but may step down well before then. All-IrelANd finalists Kerry and Cork have secured all but one of the 15 places on the GPA Opel Football Team of the Year. While counties like donegal and Tyrone were represented on the Vodafone-sponsored AllStars, only Kildares dermot earley breaks the Kerry/Cork dominance in the GPA selection. Kerry are the big winners as Marc S and Australia-bound Tommy Walsh are picked on the team having not made the AllStar list. S ousts donegals Karl lacey while Walsh gets in ahead of Tyrones Stephen ONeill at left corner-forward. The only downside for Kerry is that half-forward Tadhg Kennelly is overlooked in favour of Corks Paddy Kelly. The GPA awards will be presented in the City West Hotel on Friday night where the Footballer of the Year will also be announced. Opel GPA Football Team of the Year: D Murphy (Kerry), M S (Kerry), M Shields (Cork), T OSullivan (Kerry), T S (Kerry), G Canty (Cork), J Miskella (Cork), D Earley (Kildare), S Scanlon (Kerry), P Galvin (Kerry), P O Neill (Cork), P Kelly (Cork), D Goulding (Cork), D OSullivan (Kerry), T Walsh (Kerry) Rugby and soccer will not be played at Croke Park after the current arrangement ends in 2010. That is the view of gAA president Christy Cooney, who believes it is pointless keeping Croke Park open indefinitely when Lansdowne Road is reopened. The gAAs money-spinning deal to lease out Croke Park to the FAI and IRFu runs out in mid-2010. I dont honestly believe that [Croke Park will be needed again], said Cooney. The commercial reality is that they have agreed naming rights for their stadium. They have seats sold to patrons which guarantees that games are going to be played there and if you are paying significant money for naming rights you are going to expect that games are going to be played there. So I dont envisage it. Its not that soccer or rugby wouldnt want to play in Croke Park. but they have their own stadium and we have to respect that fully. Croker likely finished with soccer and rugby Final pair dominate GPAs football team u THE GAA has become the first sporting organisation to be honoured on an Irish coin. A limited number of 15 silver coins are on sale to mark the GAAs 125th anniversary while separate coin sets of varying values are also available. IRElAND trained for the first time ahead of the November international series yesterday, with management happy to report no major injury concerns in the squad in the run-up to the opening test against Australia at Croke Park on Sunday week. Several players were rested after picking up knocks over the weekend, with Gordon DArcy, Brian ODriscoll (both calf) and Rob kearney (hamstring) among those sitting out. Jerry Flannery and Tony Buckley also underwent rehabilitation on the field as they recover from calf injuries. However, Marcus Horan was not in camp as he has been undergoing a series of tests and investigations that will be completed this week and may not be available. Ireland begin test prep work Reaching out: Ireland forward Jamie Heaslip during training at the University of limerick yesterday Picture:Sportsfile BOxING: David Haye has vowed to produce one of the most jaw- dropping knockouts of all-time when he attempts to win Nikolai Valuevs WBA heavyweight title on Saturday. Londoner Haye is in Nuremberg in Germany aiming to secure a portion of the so-called richest prize in sport. However, to do that he must beat a man who stands nearly a foot taller than him at 7ft 2in and who has never been down on the canvas in his 16-year professional career. Haye, though, insists he wants to secure a place in history, saying: Ive dreamed of the moment Valuev falls to the canvas and I truly believe it will be one of the most jaw-dropping knockouts of all-time. Winning any fight by knockout is a bonus, but being in a position to knock out a giant is an exciting proposition. Valuev has never been properly hurt before, let alone knocked down or out, and Im now being given a chance to become the first fighter to bring The Beast to his knees. This is my chance to make history. Haye: Historic chance Utley leads Phillies chase BASEBALL: Chase Utley blasted two towering home runs to keep the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The All Star second-baseman hit a three-run homer in the first inning and went deep with a solo shot in the seventh in an 8-6 win over the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies now trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, which switches back to the Bronx tonight. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html