The planned march by the PLC party, to proclaim fraud over the recent municipal elections was abandoned when rival factions from the FSLN ruling party blocked the route with buses and gangs of hooded youths with mortars and various other weapons.

Hundreds of Sandinista armed with homemade mortars, stones and sticks surrounded a group of liberals, among them was the candidate for mayor of Managua, Eduardo Montealegre, who had to be removed by riot to prevent being assaulted by the mob.

The siege of the marchers, which also involved politicians, intellectuals and civil society leaders, was maintained for about two hours in the western sector of the capital, until the opponents decided to withdraw.

Fighting broke out in various parts of the capital also, with the media once again a target of the FSLN.

One of the journalist covering the events, Ivan Olivares was stabbed with a bayonet and taken to the hospital for stitches.

Olivares later made a call to President Daniel Ortega not to incite further violence, stressing that journalists are becoming the targets of violence from the groups allied to his government.

In two other seperate events media crews from local channels 2 and 8 had their vehicles ransacked and destroyed.

This is the second time in three days the FSLN supporters have refused to let the opposition express their solidarity in the form of a protest march.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Nov. 15 — Full Story">Cal Ripken Jr. could have guessed it was going to be “a real interesting trip,” as he diplomatically put it, when the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua decided it was too dangerous for the baseball Hall of Famer to stay as planned at the Intercontinental hotel in the capital. The night before his arrival, a mob of club-wielding Full Story">Sandinista supporters had smashed windows at the mall next door, part of ongoing violence here since contested elections.

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The defunct �Pomares’ baseball league from ’80s to be brought back in Jan.

By Tim Rogers,

Determined to put an end to the embarrassing failure of Nicaraguan baseball in recent years � the last two seasons have ended disastrously, with teams forfeiting, fighting each other on the field or collapsing in financial ruin � the Sandinista government is coming in from the bullpen to try to save the game.

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Fightnews.com ,

In an absolutely tremendous war, WBC interim strawweight champion Nicaragua’s Full Story">Full Story" alt="" width="300" height="179" />Juan “El Exterminador” Palacios outlasted Teruo Misawa to stop the tough challenger in eight bloody rounds. From round one, Misawa would streak across the ring at each bell, the joy of the crowd. Palacios took his time to find a rhythm, but the Japanese gave as good as he took. In round two, Misawa seemed to shake Palacios with a right to the head for a moment. In round three Palacios caught Misawa against the ropes, sending his challenger down and onto the ring apron. Misawa beat the count and survived the round by firing back. After four rounds, the scores read 40-36 x two and 39-37. Palacios power seemed to be increasing over the next few rounds but Misawa kept firing back. Bynow, Misawa was bleeding heavily from the nose and Palacios had a terrible gash thelength of his left eyebrow, just inderneath. In round seven, both fighters tumbled to the canvas in a ruled slip, but it was Misawa who rose on shaky legs. A follow-up barrage of upper cuts to the body and head dropped Misawa again, and again the gritty challenger rose. Palacios jumped on his stricken foe and referee Steve Blea stopped the bout, time of 2:28 of the round.

IBF junior flyweight champion Ulises “Archie” Solís (28-1-2, 20 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Full Story">Full Story" alt="" width="300" height="171" />Nicaragua’s #9 rated Nerys “Machoman” Espinoza (25-5, 18 KOs) to retain his title for the eighth time on Sunday night at the Palenque de la Feria in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Round two wasn’t kind to Solis as he was cut over the left eye by an unintentional head clash, then deducted a point for a low blow by referee Robert Byrd. Things got better in a hurry, however, as Solis floored Espinoza with a right/left combination in round three. Solis’ corner did a great job on the cut, which wasn’t giving the champion any problems as he continued to put rounds in the bank. Espinoza picked things up in the seventh and brought blood streaming again from Solis’ injured optic. A low blow slowed up Espinoza in the eight, but no point was deducted. Solis dropped Espinoza again in the ninth and Espinoza was also deducted a point. Solis controlled the rest of the bout and won 115-109, 117-107 and 108-107. Solis is expected to face ex-WBC king Brian Viloria in his next fight.

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By Ronnie Nathanielsz

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American Dante Ortiz who negotiated for Florante Condes to get a mandatory title fight against Raul “Rayito” Garcia which Condes lost largely due to his wrong tactics in the early rounds, is this time working on a WBA title fight against Nicaragua’s Roman “Chocalatito” Gonzalez early next year.

In an email to www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Ortiz said he had a “long talk” with matchmaker Alex Marin and promoter Silvio Conrado of Promotora Prodesa in Nicaragua and said “they both welcomed the proposal” of a title defense against Condes.

Ortiz said he had promosed that Rey Labao who he manages fighting for a regional super featherweight title against a Japanese since well-known Japanese businessman-sportsman Akihiko Honda promotes Gonzales in Asia.

Ortiz said he had discussed Condes fight plans with well-known promoter Sammy Gello-ani who is flying to Manila over the weekend to meet with Condes regarding a possible ten-round tune-up fight on November 30.

Condes will need to fight since he hasn’t seen action since the loss to Garcia in Mexico last June.

Ortiz expressed the hope that Condes who is currently ranked No. 4 minimum weight by the WBA will “take advantage of this opportunity” even as he expressed confidence in the experience and power of “The Little Pacquiao” to become a world champion again.

Condes won the IBF title with a hard-fought twelve round decision of Indonesia’s Muhammad Rachman in July 2007 but problems with his manager and contractual dispute with his American promoter delayed the title defense for almost one year,

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WASHINGTON - Cal Ripken, Jr. will visit Nicaragua from November 13-18, the second trip that the baseball great will make in his role as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Ripken was appointed to the position in August 2007 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

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By Darrell Williams, This Sunday night marks the 6th attempt at a world title by a Nicaraguan fighter this year.
In La Feria de San Marcos, Mexico Nerys Espinosa (25-4) takes on WBA light Flyweight champion Ulisis Solis (27-1).
Espinosa has been waiting patiently for his shot at a title. But in Solis he faces the number one rated fighter in the division.
Solis is a slick fighter with a tremendous left hook that has speed and devastating power on it.
Espinosa is in great shape and very hungry for the title but will not be able to make any errors if he wants to be the 3rd World champion from Nicaragua this year, following in the footsteps of Roman “Chocolate’ Gonzales and Juan Palacios.
On the 14th of this month we have the return to the ring of former World lightweight champion Jose Alfaro. Alfaro has not fought since the loss of his title in Japan earlier this year.
The fight at Pharaohs Casino in Managua will headline a 10-bout card, which will include Nicaragua’s newest sensation, 16-year-old Carlos (El Chocorronito) Buitrago.
Buitrago has a pro record of (6-0) and although not blessed with the punching power of “Chocolate” yet, is as technically gifted a fighter as Nicaragua as seen for many a year. The boy is a pure joy to watch and although still only fighting four rounders, it is something not to be missed.
This event will be completely enclosed inside the big tent at Pharaohs Caretera A Masaya location. Rain or shine, the fights will go on.
World champion Juan Palacios is also back in the ring shortly, with the 1st defense of his 105lb title. He takes on Teruo Masawa in China, Nov 7th, on the undercard of Andrew Golota versus Ray Austin. This should be a comfortable night for the Nicaraguan, but he will do well to remember the fate of Alfaro, who went to Japan in very similar circumstances, only to be upset.
And finally, in one of the most bizarre situations of recent times; after 4 postponements, William Gonzalez will finally step into the ring Dec 13th for his title shot against Joseph Agbeko. William’s is often overlooked because of the trials and tribulations that have continually derailed his career. But make no doubt about it, he is an excellent fighter, and come Dec 13th, don’t be surprised if once again, El Presidente is digging in to the government coffers, for yet another house in an ever growing list of Nicaraguan World champions.

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The dates are set for Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of November 2008. Last year we had over 80 people in attendance with 50 golfers of all skill levels along with 5 professionals and this year we anticipate approximately 70 golfers and around 100 attendees! While Iguana has double in condos and homes since our last tournament we are anticipating a full house so space will be limited. Please reserve your spots now by calling Humberto Sanchez at humberto@haciendaiguana.com or calling (505) 855-7906. IF you cannot attend we are still taking donations and sponsors. Hopefully two major liquor distributors will take part this year! We already have commitments from Costa Rica teams!