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Taranaki relegated Taranaki’s difficult season has ended in disappointment. The Bulls were relegated from the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership last night after suffering a 34-10 loss to Wellington in New Plymouth. The visitors roared home to victory after taking a 12-10 lead in the first half, aided by the return of several All Black big guns. Flanker Vaea Fifita returned straight to the starting XV for Wellington after travelling with the All Blacks to Argentina and South Africa. But all eyes were on All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, who played 16 secondhalf minutes after an extended period on the sidelines. Both All Black hopefuls made a rapid impact, with Fifita crossing for Wellington’s first try, while Coles’ loose ball dive minutes after coming on led to a try. Taranaki — who also surrendered the Ranfurly Shield to Waikato this season — will play in the Championship next year for the first time since its inception in 2011.

LeBron draws crowds

LeBron James’ first game against the Warriors as a Laker drew nearly two million viewers, making it ESPN’s most-watched pre-season game ever. The Lakers’ 123-113 victory in Las Vegas was watched by 1.98 million viewers, the network said. A spokesman says that is the most viewers for an NBA pre-season game on any network since at least 1994, which is as far back as records go. James developed a rivalry with the Warriors while meeting them in a record four straight NBA finals while at Cleveland. His move to Los Angeles in July put him in the same division as the two-time defending champions.

Vonn plans to retire

Lindsey Vonn, widely regarded as the greatest female ski racer of all-time, will retire from competition following the 2018-19 season, even if she fails to break the record for World Cup wins, she said yesterday. The 33-year-old holds the women’s record of 82 World Cup wins and trails only Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing mark of 86. Since first tearing her ACL in 2007, Vonn has suffered frequent knee ligament injuries, as well as broken bones.

Aussies hang on for draw

Australia earned a sensational draw in the first cricket test against Pakistan after opening batsman Usman Khawaja scored a patient century on the last day yesterday. Needing an improbable 462 runs to win, Australia batted for a draw and survived a testing last hour eight wickets down. After legspinner Yasir Shah snared Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle within eight balls, Australia captain Tim Paine, 61 not out, and No

10 batsman Nathan Lyon, 5 not out, held out against Pakistan. Australia finished on 362-8, their longest fourth innings for a draw, after 202 in the first innings. Pakistan scored 482 and

181-6 declared.

Ace for share of lead

Eddie Pepperell recorded a hole-inone on the way to claiming a share of the lead on 5-under 67 after the first round of the British Masters yesterday, while tournament host Justin Rose struggled to a 74. Fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace also shot 67s on a windy day at the Walton Heath course on the outskirts of London. The first hole-inone of Pepperell’s career came in spectacular style as his 5-iron from 172 yards on the 9th hit the bottom of the flag and bounced high in the air away from the hole before spinning back into the cup.

Kaepernick honoured

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and comedian Dave Chappelle are among eight people being saluted by Harvard University for their contributions to black history and culture. Kaepernick, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, created a firestorm when he began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and social injustice.

Lochte getting help

Ryan Lochte’s attorney says the swimmer is undergoing counselling for alcohol use, but the 12-time Olympic medallist is not in a treatment facility and is training in his bid to make the 2020 Tokyo Games. Jeff Ostrow said Lochte’s decision to pursue counselling has nothing to do with incidents in California and Florida last week. Asked if Lochte planned to give up alcohol, Ostrow said: “Ryan will make that decision.”

Turan in strife

Barcelona’s Arda Turan has given testimony to police following a nightclub brawl during which he reportedly broke the nose of a singer. Turan, on loan to Istanbul side Basaksehir, was called to a police station where he was questioned for three hours. News reports said a fight broke out between the 31-year-old midfielder and pop singer Berkay Sahin after the footballer allegedly made comments to the singer’s wife.

Ko in contention in Korea

Lydia Ko is two shots off the lead at the halfway mark of the KEB Hana Bank Championship in South Korea. The New Zealander recorded a 68 in the second round to go with her 70 in the first to be in a tie for fifth. Ko trails South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn — the LPGA’s two top-ranked players — along with American Danielle Kang and England’s Charley Hull, who are all 8-under. Jutanugarn shot the day’s best round of 67, making her move on the back nine with six birdies, including four on the last five holes. “I hit a few shots pretty close and I made some long putts,” she said. Firstround leader Nasa Hataoka of Japan slipped to a 73 but was only two strokes off the lead along with Ko in the US$2 million tournament.