America's Cup race management "could be left with a lengthy backlog of races to get through this weekend," with Thursday's abandonment "expected to be just the beginning" of long weather delays in Bermuda. Thursday's racing was "called off due to light winds on the Great Sound." The bad news for organizers is the forecast for Friday "is even worse, with Saturday also looking marginal at this stage." If the forecasting proves accurate, Regatta Dir Iain Murray will have a "scheduling nightmare" on his hands (NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 6/1).
The Rugby Football League Summer Bash attracted a record attendance of 16,444 "for the third year running at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool last weekend." The record attendances were not "evenly spread" with 11,557 attracted to Saturday’s fixtures, including the "two best-supported sides in the division" -- Championship side Bradford Bulls and Super League side Hull KR -- playing each other on the bill as well as the League One Cup final between Barrow and North Wales Crusaders. A smaller crowd of 4,887 accumulated on Sunday in the 17,338-capacity stadium (RUNNING RUGBY, 5/30).
Afghanistan canceled proposed home and away cricket fixtures with Pakistan "after a deadly bomb attack blamed by the country’s intelligence agency on militants allegedly backed by Islamabad." Pakistan was set to play its first Twenty20 match in Kabul later this year in "what was seen as an opportunity" for the neighbors to "ease tensions over border skirmishes and alleged proxy warfare." The Kabul match, set for July or August, would have been "followed by a fixture in Pakistan and a full series at an unspecified date" (AFP, 6/1).
