Latvia's FK Ventspils, the nation's strongest premier league soccer team, lost 1-0 to England's Newcastle last weekend during the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. But considering Newcastle's talent, Ventspils played surprisingly well and had several chances of their own. The most notable play was when Igors Slesarcuks made a bold kick toward the goal, which was blocked by Shay Given. After the break, Ventspils' Kaspars Gorkss narrowly missed a goal with a strike from the edge of the Newcastle box. But it was Bramble who scored the decisive goal, powerfully heading Newcastle in front with 20 minutes left.
With a dominating fourth-quarter finish, Sweden took down Latvia 72-62 to win the U16 women's European Basketball Championships Division B title. Going into the fourth quarter trailing 58's50, Sweden outscored Latvia 22-4 in the last 10 minutes of the game to cap off a remarkable comeback, enabling them to claim the gold medal. Latvia's Anete Steinberga scored nine points in the third quarter to put her side ahead by eight. But then Sweden turned on its offense and rallied together in strong team play to finally win the game.
Estonia won three silver medals during the Greco-roman wrestling Nordic Country Championships last weekend. Olari Sujslep won silver in the under 66 kilogram weight category, while Tarvi Tomberg and Karol Mayer earned their silver medals in the under 84 and under 96 kilogram category, respectively. The championship placed Estonia in fourth place, while Finland claimed first place, Sweden second and Denmark third.
British athlete Darren Campbell said he refused to run a lap of honor at the European Championships because of losing two medals thanks to Dwain Chambers' doping abuse. His 2002 relay gold and 2003 world silver were taken away because Chambers used performance-enhancing drugs. In return, Campbell refused to celebrate his country's 4x100 meter win with a victory run. "I felt that the fact that I have lost two medals because of what occurred with Dwain, it wasn't appropriate," he told a London radio station. "I made my feelings clear to the management and I don't really want to discuss it too much further." It is believed Campbell did not want Chambers in the team following his two-year ban for taking the steroid THG.
