31 August 2005 (Wednesday) Baseball: Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins becomes the second player in Major League Baseball history to hit a grand slam in his first major league at bat. It had only previously been done in 1899 by pitcher Bill Duggleby. The Marlins nonetheless lose 10–5 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cricket Videocon Tri-Series: New Zealand (238, Styris 63, Astle 61; Blignaut 4–46; Ewing 3–31) beat Zimbabwe (211, Blignaut 50; Bond 4–17) by 27 runs. New Zealand qualify for the final. (Cricinfo) Bangladeshi tour of Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka (269 for 9, Tharanga 60, Jayawardene 50) beat Bangladesh (181 for 9, Maharoof 3–29) by 88 runs. (Cricinfo) 30 August 2005 (Tuesday) Football England striker Michael Owen signs a four-year deal to move to Newcastle United from Real Madrid, for a reported transfer fee of £17 million. 29 August 2005 (Monday) Football: Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, widely regarded as the best referee in the world, announces his retirement following a dispute with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The dispute centred on Collina's decision to accept a sponsorship deal with Opel, who also sponsor Serie A side A.C. Milan. The deal was seen as a major conflict of interests by the FIGC and Collina was demoted to refereeing Serie B matches, in response to this Collina handed in his resignation, ending his career. BBC Cricket, Videocon Tri-Series: India (226 for 6, Kaif 65, Dhoni 56, Yuvraj 53*; Ireland 3–54) beat Zimbabwe (65, Pathan 5–27, Agarkar 4–18) by 161 runs. (Cricinfo) 28 August 2005 (Sunday) Auto racing: IRL: Tony Kanaan wins the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix, his second victory of the year. Points leader Dan Wheldon was hampered by fuel problems and finished out of the race in 18th. Champ Car: Oriol Servia wins his first series victory in the Molson Champ Car race in Montreal, Quebec after officials order rookie Timo Glock to let him pass on the final lap for illegally blocking another car. Baseball: 2005 Little League World Series Championship Game West Oahu from Ewa Beach, Hawai'i comes from behind with a three-run sixth inning and then wins the first extra-inning game since 1971, defeating Willemstead, Curaçao 7–6 in seven innings. Michael Memea's walk-off home run provided the difference, preventing the defending champions from repeating their attempt to repeat what the Long Beach, California team did in 1992 and 1993. Rancho Buena Vista, California defeated Chiba