Hammy McMillan's Scottish champions, with just one win behind them, lost three matches in quick succession to go out of the SGI Charity Classic tournament in Regina.

The British olympic squad was beaten 7-4 by Alberta's former world gold medalist Randy Ferbay in the second round and then went down to Sweden's current world champions skipped by Peter Lindholm 6-4.

Finally, backing McMillan's belief that no Canadian team is a pushover, the Scots lost out to Saskatchewan's Geraldn Shymko 7-4.

But at the same venue, Rhona Martin's Greenacres team kept in contention despite losing out 8-4 for an early place in the finals to Ontario's Sherry Middaugh - losing finalist last weekend in Montreal.

The Scots showed little sign of their extra end battle with three times world gold medalist Jan Betker in the previous round. But at the fifth end Middaugh took 2 to lead 5-3 then stole singles at the 6th and 10th for victory.

Under the three-loss format Martin as two lives in hand as she battles on to claim a place in the last eight.

Athletics

Edinburgh's Angela Mudge surrendered her world mountain racing crown when beaten into second place at grand prix final in Slovenia yesterday by Polish rival Isabel Zakorska, but Kilbarchan'd Bobby Quinn made a remarkable statement, confounding Scotland's selectors when he finished seventh, and leading Briton, in the men's race.

Zakorska clocked 47min 16sec for the 9500m course at Smarna Gora, beating Mudge by 62 seconds, claiming the grand prix title with Mudge third overall.

Scotland's hill selectors, hidebound by a flawed policy, deemed Quinn unworthy of a place in the six-man team for the World Trophy last month. Yesterday his place as leading Briton, ahead of Billy Burns, best UK finisher in the world event, put that nonsense in perspective. As a consequence of their refusal to ignore professional advice, and select him, Quinn was forced to travel at his own expense. He deems it well worth the expenditure.

Italy's European champion, Antonio Molinari, won the men's race in 39:30, but compatriot Marco De Casperi added the grand prix title to his world success two weeks earlier.

baseball

San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds broke the major league single-season home run record by smashing his 71st and 72nd home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

Bonds claimed the record, set by Mark McGwire of the St Louis Cardinals in 1998, in the first inning, when he struck a two-out 1-0 pitch off Los Angeles pitcher Chan-Ho Park over the right-centre field wall to make the score 5-1 to Los Angeles. Not content with breaking the record, the 37-year-old outfielder then repeated the dose in the third inning.

His exploits failed to propel the Giants into the World Series play-offs, however. The Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 earlier on Friday, clinched the National League West title with the victory.

Basketball

Troon Tornadoes are now the only unbeaten men's side in the Scottish League after they were helped by new signing Gary Kober, who scored 26 points, in their 74-64 away win over Dunfermline Reign at Dunfermline High School on Saturday.

Kober, who has been brought up in Canada but has a British passport and can therefore play for Scotland - his mother is from Govan - is a 6ft 4in centre and will certainly help fill the gap left by the Pearson brothers, who are both continuing their studies in the USA. Last season's Scottish Cup runners-up were also well served by junior cap Neil Campbell, who scored 24 points, while Alan Robertson added 10. Barry Pringle, with 15, shaded former Edinburgh Rock James Steel, who scored 14 for the Fifers.

In the women's league Denny Devils scored their first win of the season, beating Glasgow City 75-53 away, while St Mirren kept up their unbeaten run with a 75-51 away win over the champions Midlothian Saints.

bowls

Three-time world indoor junior champion Darren Burnett from Arbroath saved Scotland's blushes in Belfast yesterday when he romped to the British Indoors Singles title.

Burnett's success gave Scotland their only tangible reward from a disappointing week. They lost out in the British triples and fours finals yesterday morning and then later in the day the international side slumped to a 44-shot defeat from England to leave the Scots, the defending champions, with the wooden spoon.

Burnett's success came against local Belfast club man David Corkhill. Burnett dominated from the opening ends and ran out a comfortable 21-13 winner. Indeed, he looked to be heading for an even bigger win when he held a 20-6 advantage after 15 ends but Corkhill, the winner back in 1987, picked up seven shots over the next three ends before a 19th end single sealed a 21-13 win for the Arbroath man.

The Home International series saw Scotland finish with their worst performance ever. They managed just one winning rink in yesterday's 130-86 defeat from England with Graham Robertson beating Danny Danison 22-15.

hockey

Scotland's final warm-up match before the start of the Junior World Cup finals in Tasmania was cancelled yesterday when only five of the Argentinian opposition turned up. But, after a splendid four-match build-up in Canberra last week, the Scots probably needed the enforced rest before meeting European champions Spain in the opening competitive game tomorrow.

Back in Scotland over the weekend, Grange Edinburgh Ladies demonstrated their intentions in the Spektra Systems national league with an impressive 6-0 victory over Western A, who finished only one place behind them last season. The international players, in particular, looked sharp and eager, and were never far from the action as Ali Grant, with two, Sue Gilmour, Louise Burton, Linsey Allan, and new recruit Julie Bryce all got on the score sheet of GEL's opening game.

Champions Bonagrass Grove had an altogether much more straightforward encounter with a 7-0 win at Hillhead in Glasgow.

But former champions Westcoast Western dropped points immediately by failing to convert any of their numerous penalty corner opportunities against MIM Edinburgh. The league leaders, by virtue of their three wins while the big guns were away on international duty, remained unbeaten after a goalless draw.

In the men's league cup, Menzieshill surprised leaders Western with a brilliant display of gritty hockey. After Barry Kane had scored his 14th goal of the season, at least one in each of the five matches so far, veteran Kenney Stibbles acted as playmaker, setting up three of the Taysiders' goals for a 5-1 win.

ice hockey

Teeder Wynne fired two goals in the last four minutes last night to claim a come-from-behind victory for Findus League rookies Dundee Stars.

Mike Ellis put Bison, last season's league runners-up, ahead after 12 minutes and Derek Higdon made it 2-0 after 41. Stars' captain Jan Mikel then found the net but it was nine long minutes later until Scott Young notched the equaliser.

Wynne scored his first in the 56th minute and made sure of the points with another one second from time.

The win kept Stars second in the table as leaders Coventry Blaze beat Fife Flyers 3-2 in the Midlands after the Kirkcaldy club arrived later following a massive tail-back on the M6.

Elsewhere, Edinburgh Capitals lost 4-2 at reigning league champions Guildford Flames but put the Englishmen under pressure by recovering from 3-0 down with goals from Jason Lafreniere and Mikko Koivunoro before a late strike killed them off.

Meanwhile, Rhett Gordon turned the record books upside down last night with a late goal that defeated London Knights 2-1. The former Canadian national team winger slotted home less than six minutes from time on the powerplay to punish Knights.

Eagles were in front all the way, with Dino Bauba breaking the deadlock with 13 seconds left of the opening stanza only to see Kim Ahlroos level on the power play four minutes into the second, but it was the Scots who came away with the points to keep them in the top two.

squash

Scottish No.1 John White recorded the best win of his career yesterday to set up a semi-final meeting with world champion Peter Nicol at the Qatar Classic in Doha.

The Australian-born sixth seed upset Canada's world No.2 Jonathon Power 15-14, 15-11, 15-9 in less than an hour.

Nicol, seeded three this week, was taken to four games by former British Open winner David Evans of Wales before claiming a 15-9, 15-17, 15-10, 15-4 victory.

tennis

US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt demolished Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil 6-4 6-2 in the Japan Open final yesterday for his fifth title of the year, while in the women's final, Monica Seles thrashed Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-3 6-2 for her 50th career singles title.

After serving out the first set, Australian top seed Hewitt quickly broke for 2-1 in the second and secured a double break in the seventh game, before wrapping up proceedings with a service winner down the middle to extend his winning streak to 14 matches.

Seles took just 64 minutes to wrap up victory against second seed Tanasugarn, who had no answer to the power and depth of the American's groundstrokes in a one-sided final.