Estonian cyclist Jaan Kirsipuu of the AG2R Prevoyance team won the 202.5-kilometer Liege-Charleroi race, the first stage of the Tour de France race on July 4. Kirsipuu was ranked 38th in the general classification after the stage, with the leading positions taken by Fabian Cancellara of the Fassa Bortolo team, Thor Hushovd from Credit Agricole and Lance Armstrong from US Postal.
Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski has turned down the chance to take over at the Los Angeles Lakers and will stay with the Blue Devils. "Coach K" as he's known has been in charge at Duke for 24 years and has led them to three national championships. The 57-year-old had been in talks with the Lakers about succeeding Phil Jackson as team boss, but it seems Krzyzewski will stick for now with the lifetime contract that he was given three years ago by Duke.
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that he wants to try and change the sport's controversial qualifying system. He wants to replace the current one-lap system by two 25-minute sessions with the final grid position determined by aggregate times. The various teams reneged last month on an agreement to implement the changes, although Ecclestone is hoping to introduce them as soon as the upcoming British Grand Prix. Some sponsors may object to the plans, as well as the smaller teams who fear they'll receive less media coverage in the new system.
Roger Federer retained his Wimbledon title after beating Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 in an enthralling, closely fought contest. Federer was never quite able to play with the extraordinary skill that has made him such a favorite with the crowd, but he showed a resilience rarely seen before in his game against the hard-hitting Roddick. In the women's final, 17-year-old Russian sensation Maria Sharapova (photo) beat Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in a victory that sent shock waves throughout women's tennis.
Greece stunned the soccer world with its 1-0 victory against Portugal in the final of Euro 2004. The Greeks were 100-1 outsiders at the start of the tournament, but went on to show that its 2-1 defeat of Portugal in its first game was no fluke. The only game Greece lost was 2-1 against Russia. No doubt this astonishing victory will inspire a little much-needed soul searching among European clubs and coaches.
