News.com.au Cowboys coach Paul Green’s ‘little fish’ sledge for NFL dreamer Jason Taumalolo

Sharks vs Cowboys

NORTH Queensland coach Paul Green has baulked at claims Jason Taumalolo’s NFL trial is a cynical attempt to boost his NRL market value.

At least 16 NFL scouts will watch Taumalolo and Cronulla’s Valentine Holmes attend the weekend drills session at the University of Southern California. Sceptical Sharks captain Paul Gallen claimed this week it may be a ploy for the pair to add a few more dollars to their next NRL contract.

Both are off contract in 2017 and share the same manager.

Asked about the theory, Green said: “I am not sure — you will have to ask his management group.”

However, the Cowboys coach added: “But I think there is a bit of genuine interest (from the NFL).

“After what Jarryd Hayne did I think it piqued interest in our game and Jason is an unbelievable athlete so he fits the mould.

“But he is a little fish in a big pond over there.

“It will be interesting to see how he goes.”

Asked if he wasn’t too concerned Taumalolo would be lost to the NFL, Green said: “I don’t want to lose him.

“He will play for us next year so we don’t lose anything to that extent.

“But we would __like to extend Jason (contract) for longer — hopefully that is the case for the club.”

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News.com.au Rod Pampling never doubted he could still win after breaking drought at Las Vegas tournament

Shriners Hospitals For Children Open - Final Round

ADD Rod Pampling to the list of drought-breaking winners in 2016.

Pampling, ranked 451 in the world, collected just over $1.5 million for his win, earned direct passage in next year’s Masters at Augusta and secured his US playing card for the next two seasons.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s amazing,” Pampling said

“It’s extremely rewarding ... coming back from what we had the last few years is phenomenal.

“I don’t want to go out thinking, oh, Pampling, he’s still out here just throwing in numbers. I knew I could still win out here, and this is fantastic, and it justifies the hard work we’ve put in. So I’m looking forward the next few years.”

Rod Pampling celebrates with his trophy after winning the Las Vegas tournament. Picture: Getty Source: AFP

Pampling only got in to the event because of a clerical error. The field was only supposed to have 132 players after a date change to November, but it was never made official and Pampling was one of 12 who made up the usual 144 starters.

He made the most of it too, shooting an opening round of 11-under 60, going within centimetres of a 59 after just missing a final hole birdie.

The field caught Pampling by Sunday and he endured a rollercoaster final round, before making birdies on four his final six holes, and a crucial par on the 5, 16th hole.

Pampling had a one-shot lead going to the 18th after Glover made bogey on 17, and holed a 10m birdie putt on the last hole to put the victory beyond doubt.

“The week got off to a fantastic start. Dream of those sorts of starts. And then to finish it was just another dream on top of the first round,” he said.

“It was — to make a putt __like that on the last is, I don’t know how often as kids we do that to ourselves on the putting green trying to make a putt on the last to win the tournament.

Rod Pampling reacts as he birdies the 18th hole to clinch victory. Picture: Getty Source: AFP

Pampling’s last victory was the 2008 Aussie Masters, but he hadn’t won in the US since 2006 at the Bay Hill Invitational.

He lost his US tour card after the 2013 season, spent the next two years on the secondary Web.com tour, and after a poor season back on the main tour last year, winning just $185,000 in 18 events, he used the Web.com finals to get his card back.

“I didn’t think it would take this long after ‘06, but it’s a funny game, and things happen,” he said.

“There was a few chances, didn’t work out. But to come back after last three or four years and to get this again is a huge reward.”

The leaderboard was full of Aussies with Geoff Ogilvy finishing tied for fourth, Cameron Smith tied 10th and reigning Austarlian Open champ Matt Jones tied for 15th.

News.com.au Antony Mundine to train with Roy Jones Jr in US before relocating to Brisbane ahead of Green rematch

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ANTHONY Mundine is planning to spend the next month training with all-time great Roy Jones Jr and his father Roy Sr in Florida before basing himself in Brisbane ahead of his February 3 superfight with Danny Green at Adelaide Oval.

In Australia, Mundine will use Brisbane’s world No.12 Trent Broadhurst as his main sparring partner. Broadhurst, who has 18 wins in 19 fights, and fought Poland’s Michal Ludwiczak (14 wins in 18 fights) at the Eaton’s Hill Hotel on Saturday night.

Danny Green famously knocked out Roy Jones Jnr. Picture: Sam Mooy Source: News Limited

“Trent is the perfect sparring partner for Choc (Mundine),’’ said Broadhurst’s trainer Chris McCullen who is also an assistant trainer for Mundine.

“He is about the same size as Danny and has a very similar style – a big thumping left jab, a fast left hook and a big right over the top.

‘‘Trent and Choc have done a lot of rounds together over the years and they were sparring just before the fight was officially announced.

‘‘Choc knows he has to be battle hardened and very fit for this fight. He needs real physical hardness to cope with Danny’s power. Danny is a big, strong guy and no one ever has it easy against him.’’

McCullen said Mundine’s decision to base himself in Florida for a month at the start of his preparation was ideal.

‘‘He is preparing himself for a war,’’ McCullen said, ‘‘so he wants no distractions. Roy Jones Sr was in Choc’s corner when he beat Danny the first time and Choc relies very heavily on confidence for big fights. He will use different sparring partners over there and then knuckle down with Trent back in Brisbane.’’

Broadhurst is coming off a big win over American Shawn Miller at Eatons Hill on August 20.

He said that in his first sparring sessions with Mundine before that fight, the former world champ had been faster than he had been for many years following a hip operation in England.

“If Choc shows that speed against Danny again he’ll win the rematch, too,’’ Broadhurst said. ‘‘Danny looked very slow in his last fight (against Melbourne’s Kane Watts).’’

News.com.au Live: Supercars ITM Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe, Sunday

Supplied Unknown Supercars driver Jamie Whincup apologises to team mate Shane van Gisbergen after the two spun dur

MARK Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup claimed the race wins at Pukekohe Park but series leader Shane van Gisbergen wore the biggest smile after emerging from the weekend with an iron grasp on his first Supercars title.

The two title contenders entered the final day of racing tied on points for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, while the home crowd’s hero maintains a 148-point lead in the standings.

See how the drama unfolded below.

Tune in to FOX SPORTS 506 from 7:00am AEDT, head to FOX SPORTS Supercars Race Centre for live timing, on-board cameras and team radio audio, or follow all the action with our live blog below.

LIVE stream the ITM Auckland SuperSprint on FOX SPORTS. Get your FREE 2-week FOXTEL PLAY trial now and start streaming in minutes. FIND OUT MORE >

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FULL REPORT

Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup claimed the race wins at Pukekohe Park but series leader Shane van Gisbergen wore the biggest smile after emerging from the weekend with an iron grasp on his first Supercars title.

The Aucklander lapped up the affection from his home crowd as he claimed the Jason Richards Trophy for best points haul from the New Zealand meet, roaring to a 191-point championship lead with just two season-ending Homebush races to come.

Van Gisbergen will need only to finish 16th in each Sydney race to claim the crown, the first for a Kiwi since Jim Richards did so in a Nissan in 1991. For perspective, the 27-year-old hasn’t done so badly at a meet since Perth in 2014.

But there was a moment in Auckland when the title race hung in the balance. Desperately seeking any improvement in his championship deficit, Whincup dive- bombed his teammate around the turn eight hairpin, t-boning van Gisbergen. Both Red Bulls spun into the grass.

Van Gisbergen re-emerged in eighth, steadily climbing through the pack to finish third.

Whincup redressed behind his teammate and was served a drive-through penalty and finished 25th, ceding another 49 points to his sole title rival. If the racing was explosive, the meeting of the two teammates in pit lane afterwards was anything but.

Whincup meekly apologised for his misstep, and van Gisbergen quickly accepted - along with the huge advantage in the title race it gave him. Team boss Roland Dane told Fox Sports he wasn’t surprised to see Whincup resort to the most desperate of measures, given the six-time champion was guaranteed second place in the overall standings.

“It was going to happen at some point ... Jamie probably felt he had nothing to lose,” he said.

After sharing a pair of race wins and one-two results on Saturday, the dominant Red Bulls combined again for another one-two in Sunday’s second race. Scott McLaughlin claimed third place.

The Volvo man’s duel with Craig Lowndes for third place in the overall standings will be one of the hottest contests at Homebush.

McLaughlin arrived 76 points in arrears to the 42-year-old but cut the deficit to just 21 points after besting the veteran in three of the four New Zealand races.

Winterbottom claimed Sunday’s opening race after powering from the second row of the grid past van Gisbergen and Scott Pye.

“I might be old but I do alright off the line,” the reigning champion said. Pye went on to finish second, DJR Team Penske’s best result in the series in two years.

Results from Race 4 in the Auckland, the 13th round of the series, at Pukekohe Park Raceway (circuit: 2.915km) today:

Race 4 (35 laps) 1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 37mins37.1619sec 2. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 37:45.8985 3. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 37:56.6399 4. Chaz Mostert (Ford) 37:57.0606 5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 37:57.8116 6. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 37:58.2968 7. Garth Tander (Holden) 37:59.0881 8. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 38:00.7310 9. Scott Pye (Ford) 38:01.5646 10. James Moffat (Volvo) 38:02.5212 11. Todd Kelly (Nissan) 38:03.1037 12. Michael Caruso (Nissan) 38:05.5570 13. Will Davison (Holden) 38:08.2376 14. James Courtney (Holden) 38:08.8822 15. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 38:09.2918 16. Tim Slade (Holden) 38:12.3505 17. Cameron Waters (Ford) 38:14.4354 18. Dale Wood (Nissan) 38:14.9670 19. Jason Bright (Holden) 38:22.3422 20. Tim Blanchard (Holden) 38:23.0351 21. Nick Percat (Holden) 38:23.4807 22. Chris Pither (Ford) 38:33.3017 23. Shae Davies (Holden) +1 Lap 24. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +1 Lap 25. David Reynolds (Holden) +2 Laps 26. Andre Heimgartner (Holden) DNF

Results from Race 3 in the Auckland, the 13th round of the series, at Pukekohe Park Raceway (circuit: 2.915km) today:

Race 3 (35 laps) 1. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 38mins6.2689sec 2. Scott Pye (Ford) 38:16.4185 3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 38:19.2616 4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 38:20.1635 5. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 38:21.6818 6. Chaz Mostert (Ford) 38:22.5722 7. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 38:24.3027 8. Will Davison (Holden) 38:26.8415 9. Rick Kelly (Nissan) 38:27.1280 10. Garth Tander (Holden) 38:27.9822 11. James Courtney (Holden) 38:28.8614 12. James Moffat (Volvo) 38:29.6880 13. Michael Caruso (Nissan) 38:30.1005 14. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 38:30.5888 15. Todd Kelly (Nissan) 38:31.4737 16. Jason Bright (Holden) 38:35.3428 17. David Reynolds (Holden) 38:36.0480 18. Nick Percat (Holden) 38:36.4103 19. Tim Slade (Holden) 38:36.7392 20. Cameron Waters (Ford) 38:40.6786 21. Dale Wood (Nissan) 38:44.1541 22. Andre Heimgartner (Holden) 38:44.9879 23. Chris Pither (Ford) 38:50.5895 24. Shae Davies (Holden) 39:01.1118 25. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +1 Lap 26. Tim Blanchard (Holden) +1 Lap

— AAP

News.com.au NBA: Indiana Pacers’ Paul George fined $US15,000 for kicking ball into stands

Indiana Pacers v Charlotte Hornets

INDIANA Pacers forward Paul George has been fined $US15,000 ($A19,300) for kicking the ball into the stands that hit a fan in the face.

Paul George #13 of the Indiana Pacers reacts to a call. Source: AFP

George, who won a men’s basketball gold medal with Team USA at the Rio Olympics in August, is averaging a team-leading 20.4 points for a Pacers team that have struggled to a 3-4 start to the NBA’s 2016-17 season.

.@Pacers' Paul George sends flowers, apology note to fan he accidentally hit with basketball https://t.co/iiz1VGTlPR pic.twitter.com/nKvxZ8DlIJ

— FOX59 News (@FOX59) November 8, 2016

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