Wellington, July 9 NZPA - Result of Wellington's defence of rugby's Ranfurly Shield against Wanganui at Cooks Gardens in Wanganui today:-

Adelaide fans have got behind the ANZ Championship Finals, with the Thunderbirds match against Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel on Monday night officially sold out.

The Thunderbirds fans have supported their team all season with sellout crowds a regular occurrence at ETSA Park.

The Austrian ski town of Kitzbuhel hosts the fourth round in the ITU Dextro Energy Triathlon World Championship Series this weekend with the men's field possibly the best so far in the series as the heavy hitters look to pick up valuable ranking points, including the likes of Bevan Docherty and K

Auckland: July 9, 2009: McCain Foods (NZ) Limited today announced it would become a Gold sponsor of the New Zealand national netball team - The Silver Ferns and Netball New Zealand.

McCain Foods will further support the sponsorship with television and marketing campaigns.

Perth businessman and philanthropist Dr. Jack Bendat has accepted an invitation to join the Board of Basketball Australia (BA).

Dr. Bendat pioneered the concept of shopping centres in Western Australia and founded the first satellite television station in Australia.

With the announcement on Tuesday of New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) BLACKCAPS and New Zealand A squads, there came a pat on the back for NDCricket's Cricket Operations Manager, Pat Malcon.

Wellington, July 9 NZPA - Otago team named to play Mid Canterbury in a pre-season rugby match at Ashburton on Saturday:

All Blacks Coach Graham Henry and his two Assistant Coaches, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen, have been re-appointed to guide the All Blacks team through until the end of 2011, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) announced today.

The NZ Breakers today announced that long time basketball supporter Burger King will be the club's naming rights partner for new ANBL season, with the club adopting the new moniker of 'Burger King Breakers' from today.

By Robert Lowe of NZPA

Auckland, July 9 NZPA - The signing of two-time Australian National Basketball League winner Dave Thomas fits in the New Zealand Breakers' team philosophy, coach Andrej Lemanis said today.