Groenewegen wins 2nd straight stage at Tour
AMIENS, FRANCE » Dylan Groenewegen has turned the sprinting battle at the Tour de France into a threeman race.
The 25-year-old Dutch rider won his second consecutive stage on Saturday, joining world champion Peter Sagan and Tour newcomer Fernando Gaviria as two-stage winners at this edition of the world’s leading cycling race.
Groenewegen entered the final meters of Stage 8 behind Andre Greipel, Gaviria and Sagan, but the Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider timed his last surge perfectly, swinging around his hard-charging opponents to cross first.
“It was a hectic (finish), but that’s every day in the Tour,” Groenewegen said. “I am very happy with my team. The last two days have been very good with two wins.”
Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet, who is riding in support of BMC leader Richie Porte, kept the overall lead for a fifth consecutive day.
Matthysse will have ‘no respect’
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA » Argentinian Lucas Matthysse will have “no respect” as he seeks to knock out Manny Pacquiao and defend his World Boxing Association welterweight title in Sunday’s showdown that could cap an illustrious career for the Filipino sports icon.
Both fighters were comfortably below the 147-pound limit when they stepped on a scale Saturday ahead of their match, dubbed the “Fight of Champions.”
An 11-time champion across eight divisions, Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) weighed in at a trim 146 pounds while Matthysse tipped the scales at 146.7 pounds.
“I know Manny Pacquiao brings an intense energy in a fight, so we are ready for that. All we need to do is just to keep composed, make sure that he is ready to catch Manny at the right time and have no respect for Manny,” Matthysse’s trainer, Joel Diaz, told The Associated Press after the weigh-in.
The main advantage for Matthysse, known by his nickname “The Machine” for winning 36 out of his 39 matches by knockout, is his strength and ability to deliver power punches from both hands, Diaz said.
Source: Mich. St. set to hire Beekman as AD
Michigan State is set to hire Bill Beekman as athletic director, a person with knowledge of the decision said Saturday. Beekman has been the interim head of the troubled athletic department since early February.
Beekman took over on an interim basis shortly after athletic director Mark Hollis retired following the sex abuse scandal involving former sports doctor Larry Nassar and just before ESPN reported allegations of sexual assault and violence against women involving Michigan State football and basketball players. The report questioned how the athletic department handled those cases.
Beekman has also been a vice president of the school and secretary of its board.
Interim school president John Engler appointed Beekman as interim AD on Feb. 5. Engler said no internal candidates would be considered for the AD job, but Beekman is now on the verge of having his interim tag removed.