Button named driver of year

London: Readers of Britain?s Autosport magazine have again snubbed Ferrari?s Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher by naming Jenson Button as their international racing driver of the year. Schumacher won 13 of the 18 Grands Prix this year and clinched his seventh title while Briton Button finished third overall for BAR.

The 24-year-old has yet to win a Grand Prix but took four second places this year to help his Honda-powered team finish runners-up in the constructors? championship behind the dominant Italian team.

Schumacher lost out to Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in the 2003 award for the same category.

Celebration mishap

Bern: A player in Switzerland?s top division has been left without a finger after a goal celebration went horribly wrong. Servette midfielder Paulo Diogo was forced to have his left ring finger amputated on Sunday after catching it on a perimeter fence during his side?s 4-1 win at Schafthausen. The 29-year-old Swiss-Portuguese player jumped up on the fence in celebration after setting up his team?s third goal. Diogo, who got married recently failed to notice that his wedding ring was caught in the metal barrier and severed the top two joints of the finger as he jumped back down. He was then shown a yellow card for his excessive celebration. Doctors at a Zurich hospital were unable to re-attach the finger joints and advised the amputation of the remaining stump.

Cyclist ?sentenced?

Brussels: Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke has been sentenced to 200 hours community service, Belga news agency reported on Monday. Vandenbroucke was charged this year with possession of drugs and banned performance-enhancing substances. Police found morphine, EPO and the steroid clenbuterol in the cyclist?s home in 2002.

Sania loses

Hyderabad: Sania Mirza, ranked 194 in the WTA rankings, went down fighting in the final of the Bernstein USTA $50,000 tournament in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday. According to information received here, she lost to third seed Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria 6-3, 2-6, 5-7 after being up 5-4 in the third set with three match points.

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