Three Times Wins in a Row for Bruins

The Bruins got an early lead and never fell behind as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in their second road game in two nights in Florida.

Boston Bruins left wing Mark Recchi, right, celebrates with teammate Michael Ryder after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010, in Tampa, Fla. Boston won 4-3. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
B’s left wing Mark Recchi netted the game-winning tally on the power play with 20 seconds remaining in the game, and gave the Boston two more points and sole possession of first place in the Northeast Division.

“This is a good stepping-stone, there’s still a long ways to go on this road trip, we’re trying to accomplish something,” Recchi said. “We knew the other night we took our division lead and we wanted to keep it.

"We want to keep it now and we have an opportunity to grab it and run with it.”

Forward Michael Ryder started things off for Boston just 28 seconds into the game when he netted his eleventh goal of the season; his seventh on the power play.

Along with the win, two Bruins notched some NHL milestones during the game.

Rookie defenseman Steven Kampfer scored his first career NHL goal in the second period and Marc Savard’s assist on the same goal marked his 700th NHL point.

“It was definitely exciting," said Kampfer. "It was something I always dreamed about, getting that first goal.

“And then, you know, to come with a win, and it’s even better.”

Winger Brad Marchand returned to the line-up tonight after being out since Dec. 18. He scored his fifth goal of the season in the third period.

“I guess it just shows the importance he’s had in our line-up this year. He’s been a really good player, whether he draws penalties or whether he makes plays like he did tonight,” said Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien following the game.

“You miss a guy like that in your line-up so it was nice to have him back.”

The B’s were outshot 34-29 but managed to remain at least tied with the Lightning throughout the contest.

Tampa Bay scored equalizing goals in all three periods before Recchi scored the game-winner after Steven Stamkos took a two-minute boarding penalty at 18:10.

“Yeah we found a way, you know we battled, you know whenever they scored to catch up we never let them carry any momentum over and on the next shift we came out and battled hard,” said B’s goaltender Tim Thomas (31 saves).

“We might not have necessarily scored that next shift but we stopped them from carrying over any momentum and we got big goals at big times.”

The Bruins will face Atlanta on Thursday in game three of the five game road swing.

Robbie control sinks Jets

Robbie Kruse made himself an irresistible Asian Cup prospect with a dazzling display in Melbourne's 2-1 win over Newcastle on Monday evening that featured a late twist.

Desperate to find a response to last week's shock 4-0 reverse in Wellington, Newcastle fought back from a goal down and looked to have a draw in the bag.

But some sensational individual skills from Kruse set up Ricardinho for the winner in the 90th minute, sending AAMI Park into raptures and giving Holger Osieck every reason to revise his Socceroos squad for Qatar.

Osieck is due to name his squad on Tuesday for the January 7-29 tournament, and Kruse must surely be a strong chance to join A-League stalwarts Jason Culina and Matt McKay on the plane to the Middle East.

The former Roar youngster wrong-footed two Jets defenders with three sets of turns and spins before squaring the ball for a tap-in to his Brazilian strike partner, keeping Melbourne's bid for finals football well and truly alive.

Kruse's creativity came just five minutes after he had missed his own golden opportunity to score after neat lead-up from Ricardinho down the right hand side - missing the target from close range.

But the 22-year-old's new-found penchant for seizing the big moment was not lost on Victory coach Ernie Merrick, especially without injured striker Archie Thompson and three other regular players plus so much at stake.

"I think a little bit of Archie's rubbed off on Robbie," Merrick said.

"He's much stronger, he's tougher, he doesn't get knocked off the ball so easily, I can't praise him enough. He's come a long way in a short period of time.

"It was a wee bit of magic at the end. I don't know how many times he beat either the same player twice or another player.

"Sometimes you think it's going to take something a bit special to break the deadlock and we produced it when we needed to."

A fighting performance from the Jets will give Branko Culina hope his side can continue to defy belief and squeeze into a play-off spot, despite now having lost twice in a row after a seven-match unbeaten run.

"It's very frustrating and disappointing, but it's a lesson for us you can't switch off for moments in the game," Culina said.

Kruse was influential not just in the lead-up to the winner but throughout the course of the match, continuing a brilliant individual season that will surely invite offers from abroad.

"The crowd... every week the Victory fans come out in their groups and it's a wonderful atmosphere here tonight," Kruse told Fox Sports.

"I think it got us over the line.

"We didn't have the best first half of the season, so we really want to start winning and I think tonight was a great example of the courage the boys show."

A thunderbolt midway through the first half from Carlos Hernandez put Melbourne on track for three points as the South American playmaker seemingly conjured something from nothing.

He turned two defenders inside out near halfway, before trying his luck from fully 35 yards and the pace and swerve of Hernandez's fierce strike had Ben Kennedy beaten on the line.

Ruben Zadkovich dragged Newcastle level on 54 minutes but Melbourne had more tricks in the bag and Kruse produced the rabbit with the move that set up Ricardinho for a simple finish.

College basketball: Stanford men fall to Oklahoma State

Stanford cut a 14-point deficit to six in the final two minutes, but Keiton Page hit a 3-pointer and Oklahoma State made its free throws down the stretch in a 79-68 victory Tuesday in Stillwater, Okla.

Page finished with 23 points for the Cowboys (11-1). Josh Owens scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Cardinal (6-4), which also got 17 points from Jeremy Green and 12 points off the bench from Aaron Bright.

Page hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to give the Cowboys the lead, then made two more 3s early in the second half as Oklahoma State took control.

Owens had a pair of two-handed dunks and seven points during a 13-6 comeback by the Cardinal, with Green's transition jumper cutting the deficit to 60-53 with 4:56 remaining. Stanford got within 67-61 when Owens scored the final four points in a 6-0 push by the Cardinal, but Oklahoma State protected its lead down the stretch.

San Diego State 62, USF 56: Neither team led by more than one score in the second half until Malcolm Thomas' layup with less than four minutes left gave the No. 7 Aztecs (13-0) a five-point lead on the way to the victory in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

USF (4-7) pulled within three points with 31 seconds left after Rashad Green converted a layup and a free throw, but the Dons couldn't tie the score.

"It's a bit of a surprise," said Kawhi Leonard, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Aztecs. "They came out playing harder than us, and we just needed to do as well as we did in other games."

Ohio State 96, UNC Asheville 49: David Lighty scored 29 points, including 13 of the Buckeyes' first 16, and No. 2 Ohio State cruised in Columbus, Ohio.

USC 65, Tennessee 64: Maurice Jones scored 15 points, and the Trojans survived a late run to hold off the No. 19 Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn.

Kansas State: Preseason All-America guard Jacob Pullen was suspended for three games, and senior forward Curtis Kelly has been suspended for an undetermined length of the time by the NCAA.

In a prepared statement, the school said Pullen and Kelly were being punished for receiving impermissible benefits in connection with the purchase of clothing at a department store.

The suspensions were announced shortly before the No. 11 Wildcats were stunned by UNLV 63-59 in Kansas City, Mo.

Brett Favre is back

Brett Favre is back.

The Minnesota Vikings activated the 41-year-old QB for Monday's game against the Chicago Bears and said he would start.

It marks a surprising turnaround for Favre, whom the Vikings declared out on Saturday with shoulder and hand injuries. On Monday, the Vikings changed Favre's status from out to questionable and announced he would gauge whether he could play after he did some pre-game throwing.

In another surprise, the Vikings de-activated RB Adrian Peterson for Monday's game.

The move to start Favre came one week after the QB's NFL-record streak of 297 straight starts ended in a loss to the New York Giants.

Favre said Wednesday that expected rookie Joe Webb to start because he was not confident in his health. He said he would not play if he couldn't get feeling back in his hand.

Favre took to the field at TCF Bank Stadium -- the Vikings' temporary home due to the collapse of the Metrodome roof -- around 6 p.m. ET on Monday to test out his arm. He threw some short and deep passes in the snow -- which accumulated all day and was expected to continue during the game -- before the Vikings announced him as the starter around 7 p.m. ET.

The QB said last week he would be content if his career ended with the Week 13 hit that knocked him out of a game against the Buffalo Bills. Favre has said he does not anticipate playing next season.

Wayne Rooney ruled out of Manchester United’s European tie

Wayne Rooney has been ruled out of Manchester United’s Champions League game against Valencia tomorrow night through damage.

Rooney was taken off during yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Bolton in the Premier League after an hour’s play and was seen with an ice-pack over his left ankle.

The 24-year old has had a hard start to the season on the back of a wretched World Cup, where he failed to score for England. He has only scored one goal this season so far, which was a penalty in the 3-0 win over West Ham.

Allegations about his private life have also been well documented over the last few weeks.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to leave his talisman out against the team who are top of La Liga at the moment. United made a poor start to their Champions League campaign, drawing 0-0 with Scottish champions Rangers in their first game.

Roberto Mancini: 'Chelsea will win Premier League title easily'

Roberto Mancini has tipped Chelsea to run away with the Premier League title this season.

Mancini's Manchester City side tackles the champions at Eastlands tomorrow with a patched-up side containing just three fully-fit senior defenders. It is hardly the background he wanted heading into one of the key games of the movement, and not one that was anticipated when City were spending in excess of £100m this summer.

The Italian feels Carlo Anclote’s men are head and shoulders above his own side and the rest. "Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League at the moment," he said. "They are most likely going to win the Premier League title easily.

"They are a strong team, who has been playing together for many years. They have a fantastic manager and they have worked to reach this situation."

Mancini has damage problems ahead of tomorrow's game, with only 11 fully fit first-teamers to choose from.

U-17 Women to Face Japan in World Cup Soccer Final

The under-17 women`s soccer team has become the first South Korean team to advance to the final of a FIFA-sanctioned tournament.

South Korea will face Japan Saturday for the championship after having beaten Spain, 2-1, Tuesday in the semifinals of the FIFA U-17 Women`s World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. Japan rallied to beat defending champion North Korea, 2-1, in the other semifinals.

At the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, South Korea gave up the opening goal and trailed 1-0 in the 23rd minute, but scores by Yeo Min-ji and Joo Soo-jin propelled the team over Spain.

The semifinals had been South Korea`s best finish in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament. South Korea reached the final four of the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico, the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, and this year`s U-20 Women`s World Cup in Germany.

Yeo is the tournament`s leading scorer with eight goals in five games, and could finish as both top scorer and Most Valuable Player.

Before the final, North Korea will play Spain for third place.

Mainz stay top of Bundesliga, Ribery injured in Bayern win

BERLIN (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Mainz 05 beat Cologne 2-0 on Tuesday to stay top, while Bayern Munich face an anxious wait to hear the extent of Franck Ribery's injury from their late 2-1 win at Hoffenheim.

Having been stunned by a goal after just 36 seconds, Bayern hit back as Ribery's fierce long-range shot was followed up by Thomas Mueller on 62 minutes before Munich defender Daniel van Buyten's winner in added time.

But Mueller's equaliser could be costly as Ribery had to be helped off with what looked like a painful ankle injury on 64 minutes as he fell awkwardly after taking his shot.

With Bayern facing Basel in next Tuesday's Champions League match, Munich coach Louis van Gaal will be hoping the Frenchman can face the Swiss side.

"It doesn't look good, it looks like it is a bad ankle injury and we will have to wait and see what the tests show," said a grim-faced van Gaal.

Bayern got off to the worst possible start when they conceded the fastest goal in Hoffenheim's history.

The defending champions were stunned as midfielder Sebastian Rudy beat Munich's defence on the right and squared for Hoffenheim's Veded Ibisevic to score before Bayern hit back.

German daily Bild reported in its Wednesday edition that Van Gaal was set to sign a year's extension to his contract to stay with Bayern until 2012.

Having coached Bayern to the German league and cup titles last season, van Gaal is in his second season with Munich.

"Nothing is signed. All I can say is that we are very happy with the work of Louis van Gaal," said Bayern's sporting director Christian Nerlinger.

The result in Hoffenheim lifts Bayern up to seventh while the hosts are second.

Mainz picked up their fifth straight win to keep their 100 percent record and open a five-point lead with their win over Cologne.

The hosts took the lead when subsititute midfielder Lewis Holtby's header beat Cologne goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon on 72 minutes before he scored his second in added time.

Champions League side Werder Bremen slumped to their second consecutive league defeat when they were beaten 4-1 at Hanover.

Bremen face defending holders Inter Milan next Wednesday in Italy, but Thomas Schaaf's side are lacking in confidence after following up Saturday's defeat at home to Mainz with this loss in Hanover.

An own-goal by Germany defender Clemens Fritz after just 10 minutes put Bremen on the back foot until captain Torsten Frings converted a penalty after 36 minutes to put his side level.

Hanover reclaimed the lead when Ivory Coast striker Didier Ya Konan scored in the 53rd minute before defender Christian Schulz scored the second on 79 minutes.

To add insult in extra time, Hanover's Norway striker Mohammed Abdellaoue added the fourth to put his side third and Bremen 12th.

In Wednesday's games, bottom side Schalke are at fourth-placed Freiburg and are desperate to avoid their fifth straight defeat.

Life goes on for Peyton and Eli after Manning Bowl II

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - With the distractions of another Manning Bowl behind them, quarterbacking brothers Peyton and Eli Manning can focus on the rest of a demanding NFL season that could end with the ultimate sibling showdown - at the Super Bowl.

Peyton Manning showed no mercy to his younger brother as the Indianapolis Colts crushed the New York Giants 38-14 on Sunday to maintain a vice-like grip on the family bragging rights.

After a Week One loss to the Houston Texans, the Colts looked every bit the Super Bowl contenders they are expected to be this season as they overwhelmed the Giants, Peyton throwing for three touchdowns while a swarming Indianapolis defense harassed little brother Eli all night.

While the Mannings embraced the Manning Bowl II hype they were relieved to have it over with, although Peyton hinted at a game plan that might see them renew the family feud in February in Dallas on one of the sporting world's biggest stages.

Peyton said he and the Colts are prepared to do what they can to help Eli and the Giants and expects little brother to return the favor, starting next weekend when New York host Indy's AFC South rivals the Tennessee Titans.

"I think they (Giants) will be fine," Peyton told reporters. "They will be playing the Titans next week and we'll be pulling hard for them, hopefully they can help us out in the AFC South and we're going to do our best to help them when we play all these other NFC East teams.

"So I'm real proud of him and I love him."

RARE REUNION

Manning family reunions on the field are rare, Sunday's rout marking just the second time and first in four years they had stared across at each other from opposing sidelines.

When the brothers met in the first Manning Bowl in 2006, Peyton, who is five years older, was already well on his way to a Hall of Fame career while Eli was just beginning his third season and still undergoing intense on the job training.

Since that night at Giants Stadium, both Eli and Peyton have gone on to lead their teams to Super Bowl titles and Super Bowl most valuable player awards.

But despite their impressive resumes, a Super Bowl-like build-up and a prime time television audience, Manning Bowl II failed to produce any drama as Peyton schooled Eli, delivering a quarterbacking master class.

Peyton Manning is known to sometimes wander over to the Colts defense during a game and ask them to turn up the heat on the opposing quarterback.

He might have wanted to ask them to dial it down a notch on Sunday, as Colts pass rushers had Eli scrambling for his life most of the night sacking the beleaguered Giants quarterback four times.

"He (Peyton) didn't say anything to me," smiled Colts sack master Dwight Freeney. "I'll have to give it to him (Peyton).

"He normally gives me a little tap, 'Get after that quarterback.'"

Polansky stakes Canada to 1-0 lead

TORONTO -- Peter Polansky and Milos Raonic got Canada off to a winning start in its Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I tie with the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Polansky, ranked No. 176 in the world, defeated Jhonson Garcia 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match of the best-of-five tie. Then Ranoic needed more than three hours to dispatch Dominican No. 1 Victor Estrella 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 9-7.

Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., can cement the tie for Canada with a win in doubles over the Dominican tandem of Luis Delgado and Jose Hernandez on Saturday.

The winner of the tie maintains its spot in Americas Zone Group I, which is one tier below the 16-country World Group. The loser will be relegated to Americas Zone Group II.

"(Garcia) was playing this junk game, giving me a lot of slices, a lot of high balls and then some slow ones, and it was tough for me to adapt to," Polansky said.

But the native of Thornhill, Ont., found his rhythm by being the aggressor and putting more pressure on the 29-year-old Garcia.

"I think I was, kind of, being more aggressive in the third and fourth," he said. "In the end, I should've been more aggressive on a more regular basis."

Raonic, also of Thornhill, entered his contest with just three Davis Cup matches under his belt and having never played a five-set affair. Making use of his six-foot-four frame and booming first save the Canadian was able to secure the victory.

And while he looked tired following the match, Raonic clearly hadn't lost his sense of humour.

"Maybe I wanted to break some records here," he said jokingly in reference to the historic John Isner-Nicolas Mahut marathon at Wimbledon earlier this year. "I was feeling 72-70."

On Sunday, Polansky takes on Estrella in singles, with Raonic scheduled to meet Garcia.

Polansky had to endure some tricky elements during his match, played on the grandstand court at Rexall Centre. There was the cold, windy weather as well as noise from a group of schoolchildren sitting in the upper portions of the stadium.

"The atmosphere was for sure a little different," said Polansky. "I think they were cheering just to cheer ... but I think it's good for them to see and to be there for a match like that."

Liverpool Start Fast in Europa League

London: Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus will put their domestic problems to one side when they begin their Europa League campaigns on Thursday.

In unfamiliar surroundings after having failed to qualify for this season's Champions League, the two teams head into Europe's second-tier competition struggling for form in their domestic championships.

Defending champion Atletico Madrid opens the defense of its title with a trip to Greek side Aris and big-spending English club Manchester City visits Red Bull Salzburg.

Hodgson was named manager of the year in England last season after his exploits in Europe with Fulham, which beat Juventus, Hamburg, Wolfsburg and then-defending champion Shakhtar Donetsk in its fairy tale run to the final.

He left Fulham for Liverpool at the start of July but has had a difficult start at Anfield. The five-time European champions have had a tough run of fixtures in the league, winning just one of their four matches, and were poor in the 0-0 draw at Birmingham on Sunday.

Offseason signing Joe Cole is available after suspension and Hodgson will have to decide whether to start Fernando Torres, who is still feeling his way back to full fitness after injury problems.

Torres has come in for some criticism by sections of the British media for his display against Birmingham, but Hodgson defended the Spain striker.

"Criticism is something we have to live with," Hodgson said. "We bear strong expectations at this club and everyone is interested in us.

"Everything that happens at the club is put under the microscope and that includes players' performances. Fernando Torres has no problem with that. He is an excellent player."

Hodgson said he could rest key players ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against fierce rival Manchester United.

Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt is missing with a shoulder problem and left back Fabio Aurelio is struggling with an Achilles' tendon injury.


Juventus, which like Liverpool is usually a Champions League challenger, followed up a 1-0 loss at Bari in its Serie A opener with a 3-3 draw at home to Sampdoria, leaving the Turin club in 15th place.

"At this stage of the season, making mistakes helps the team develop but unfortunately we've conceded too many goals," Del Neri said. "I want a nastier team and one able to read the game better."

City, which is in the same group as Juventus, has spent a lot of money on players since the club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi royal family two years ago.

"Because of our profile, each time we play in Europe it will be a kind of cup final for the home team," City captain Kolo Toure said. "Everyone wants to beat us, but we need to begin the group stages with a good result, so we'll be ready."

City is without striker Emmanuel Adebayor due to a dead leg, but left back Wayne Bridge is available to start his first match of the season after recovering from an ankle injury.

Salzburg has also spent heavily since being bought and re-branded in 2005 but has still failed to make the Champions League. The Austrian side lost to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the qualifiers this season.

Atletico ended a 14-year wait for silverware and claimed its first European trophy since 1962 when it beat Fulham 2-1 in last season's final in Hamburg.

Buoyed by that success, it has started the Spanish league in great form this season and is only one of two teams to have a perfect record after two matches. Diego Forlan, who scored both goals in last season's Europa League final, has already found the net three times in wins over Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao to lead Atletico to the top of the table.

Other standout matches see Sevilla, winner of the UEFA Cup in 2006 and '07, host Paris Saint-Germain in Group J while former European champions FC Porto and PSV Eindhoven take on Rapid Vienna and Sampdoria, respectively.

Nadal wins his first U.S. Open and Clijsters coasts to third US Open

New York: Rafa Nadal sealed his place among the tennis greats on Monday, beating Novak Djokovic to win the U.S. Open and complete his collection of grand slam titles. With eight grand slams already under his belt before this tournament began, the Spaniard was already assured a spot in the sport's elite, but conquering New York elevated him to a whole new level and left no doubts about who is the number one player in the world. Nadal overcame the distraction of a two-hour relay delay and losing his first set of the tournament to beat the brave but ultimately outclassed Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 after three hours and 43 minutes of unrelenting tension at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic, who had beaten Roger Federer in an exhausting five-set semi-final on Saturday, expelled any doubts about his fighting qualities with a courageous performance, fending off an astonishing 20 break points during the course of the match, but the pressure eventually wore him down. After losing the second set on a sloppy service game, Nadal ran away with the last two -- clinching the victory when Djokovic hit a forehand wide -- and collapsed on court as the enormity of his achievement sank in. Nadal had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon singles titles and by adding the U.S. Open he joined Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer as the only men to win the four majors. At 24, he was the third youngest to achieve the feat and his best may be still to come. Nadal became the first man since Laver in 1969 to win the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in the same year and he now has the chance to hold all four concurrently if he can add the Australian Open in January. With nine grand slam titles in total -- five French Opens, two Wimbledon, one Australian Open and now one U.S. Open, he climbed to seventh place on the all-time list and Federer's record of 16 could be within his reach if he stays healthy. The U.S. Open, played on hardcourt, had always been Nadal's biggest hurdle because of the wear and tear it puts on his troublesome knees. But he arrived in New York this year, fresher than ever and armed with a new and improved serve that enabled him to sail through his opening matches without fuss. Djokovic has always been at his best on hardcourts. He made the final at Flushing Meadows in 2007, losing to Federer, then won the Australian Open the following season. He fought off two match points to beat Federer in the semi-finals on Saturday and got a lucky break when rain washed out Sunday's final, giving him an extra day to recharge his batteries. He got another lucky break when the final was halted after a thunderstorm hit midway through the second set but it was never going to be enough against a man with destiny in his sights.
New York: Kim Clijsters won her second consecutive US Open championship and third overall on Saturday, easily beating Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in a final that lasted 59 minutes and lacked any drama.

Clijsters is the first woman since Venus Williams in 2000-01 to win the title in Flushing Meadows two years in a row. And the Belgian's US Open winning streak is actually up to 21 matches because she also won the 2005 title. She missed the tournament in 2006 because of injuries, including wrist surgery, and skipped it the next two years while taking time off to get married and have a baby.

US Open tennis timetable 2010 & results: Williams to fight Clijsters in semi

US Open tennis schedule 2010 & results: Williams to fight Clijsters in semis. Venus Williams, last American trust in the ongoing U.S. Open is to get on Kim Clijsters in the semifinals on Friday. All American hopes drop upon Venus as their star player Andy Roddick was knocked out in the first rounds of the tournament.
Venus has not exposed any of her plans while fighting the Belgian player in the semifinal. She often shied away from media questions on her plans in the game. “Win the point” and “perform my game” were her normal responses when asked about the approaching face-off.

Outside Venus, the only American presences in the U.S. Open are the Bryan brothers and a boy called Jack Sock in the junior level. It heightens Venus’ force to win for the arrogance of the country.

The African-American tennis player has faced Clijsters twelve times in the past. Out of which both the players grabbed six victories respectively. “I don’t really know her that well as a person,” Williams said. “I see her around, and she always seems pretty pleasant.”Venus advanced into the semifinals domineeringly successful the Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-6, 6-4 in just two hours. The quarterfinal match will provide Venus some extra energy. She has triumphed over Schiavone seven times before. “I like seeing my name against hers,” Venus said after the memorable quarterfinal victory.

In the meantime, for Clijsters quarterfinal win was not a memorable event. She could just manage the victory out of luck more. The Belgian player was found suffering more than most in the swirling wind during her matchup beside the Australian Sam Stosur.

Even Clijsters was astonished at her 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over her strong opponent. “I didn’t play a good match,” she said after the match. “I said to my coach: ‘Wow, what just happened? How did I win?’ Next match, everything will have to be a lot better.”

US Open tennis timetable 2010 & results: Williams to fight Clijsters in semi

US Open tennis schedule 2010 & results: Williams to fight Clijsters in semis. Venus Williams, last American trust in the ongoing U.S. Open is to get on Kim Clijsters in the semifinals on Friday. All American hopes drop upon Venus as their star player Andy Roddick was knocked out in the first rounds of the tournament.
Venus has not exposed any of her plans while fighting the Belgian player in the semifinal. She often shied away from media questions on her plans in the game. “Win the point” and “perform my game” were her normal responses when asked about the approaching face-off.

Outside Venus, the only American presences in the U.S. Open are the Bryan brothers and a boy called Jack Sock in the junior level. It heightens Venus’ force to win for the arrogance of the country.

The African-American tennis player has faced Clijsters twelve times in the past. Out of which both the players grabbed six victories respectively. “I don’t really know her that well as a person,” Williams said. “I see her around, and she always seems pretty pleasant.”

Venus advanced into the semifinals domineeringly successful the Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-6, 6-4 in just two hours. The quarterfinal match will provide Venus some extra energy. She has triumphed over Schiavone seven times before. “I like seeing my name against hers,” Venus said after the memorable quarterfinal victory.

In the meantime, for Clijsters quarterfinal win was not a memorable event. She could just manage the victory out of luck more. The Belgian player was found suffering more than most in the swirling wind during her matchup beside the Australian Sam Stosur.

Even Clijsters was astonished at her 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over her strong opponent. “I didn’t play a good match,” she said after the match. “I said to my coach: ‘Wow, what just happened? How did I win?’ Next match, everything will have to be a lot better.”

US Open - Men: Nadal cruises into quarter-finals

Rafael Nadal edged closer to a place in his first US Open final after thrashing fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4 6-4 in the fourth round.

The world number one, who would complete the collection of Grand Slam titles with a victory at Flushing Meadows, had few problems wrapping up his fourth straight-sets win of this year's championship.

The start was delayed due to a backlog of matches and did not finish until early on Wednesday morning, but the result appeared a foregone conclusion from the moment Nadal strolled out to the centre court dressed menacingly in an all-black outfit.
His opponent in Thursday's quarter-finals is another Davis Cup team-mate, Fernando Verdasco, who advanced the hard way by wearing down David Ferrer 5-7 6-7(8) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4) after almost four and a half hours on court.

Verdasco's bid to reach the quarter-finals for a second straight year looked incredibly slim as he failed to find his range with his high-risk, heavy-hitting style of play and duly lost the first two sets.
But a medical timeout for treatment to his right ankle turned the tide of a captivating match and the 26-year-old, immensely popular with the crowd in Louis Armstrong Stadium, unleashed a barrage of winners with his powerful forehand.

He levelled the match but found himself a break down in the fifth against the run of play before turning it around to win the four-hour and 23-minute encounter in a deciding tiebreak.

Stanislas Wawrinka ensured a first for Switzerland at the US Open when he edged out big-serving American Sam Querrey 7-6(9) 6-7(5) 7-5 4-6 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Wawrinka wrapped up a gruelling victory in four hours 28 minutes to join five-times champion Roger Federer in the last eight, the first time Switzerland has ever had two men in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event.

Number 25 seed Wawrinka, who upset fourth seed Andy Murray in the previous round, took the first-set tie-break 11-9, but was broken when serving for the second set as Querrey hit back to level the match.

Wawrinka then came from 3-1 down to win the third set but Querrey broke once to level again before Wawrinka broke in the 10th game of the decider to win and set up a clash with Russian 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny.

Youzhny reached the fourth Grand Slam quarter-final of his career with a convincing 7-5 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory over Spain's Tommy Robredo.

Youzhny, a semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2006, successfully landed 62 per cent of his first serves and blasted 50 winners to win the fourth-round encounter.

After dropping the first two sets, Robredo forced his way back into the match with a solitary break in the third set. But he did not have the consistency to challenge his 28-year-old opponent as the match wore on.

Robredo was one of five Spaniards in action in the men's singles draw on day nine of the tournament.
Reuters

Venus Williams' dress gives her problems during U.S. Open win

Opinions on Venus Williams' pink, sequined dress with matching Bedazzled tennis underwear will vary, but on one thing we can all agree: It was quite a distraction.
Though Venus defeated No. 18 seed Shahar Peer in straight sets during their third-round match at the U.S. Open on Sunday, the tightness of Venus' self-designed dress clearly gave her issues throughout the match. During most points the tight garment would ride up Venus' hips, revealing her undergarments for everyone to see. Before the next point began, Venus would have to pull down the sides of the dress. The routine captivated the announcers in the CBS broadcast booth, who talked about the form-fitting dress for much of the match.

Clijsters, Stosur, Dementieva move ahead before rainwater hits N.Y.

NEW YORK - Kim Clijsters hit Petra Kvitova and Hurricane Earl with a quick victory before rain briefly poised play at the U.S. Open.

The estimate from the tournament's meteorologist Friday called for intermittent showers, and officials planned to try to get in the full schedule of matches. The rain stoppage lasted 25 minutes.

It took only a matter of hours before the main apprehension went from heat to rain. Clijsters, the caring champion, won the final 12 games in her 6-3, 6-0 third-round victory over the 27th-seeded Kvitova. The second-seeded Belgian dropped two service games to fall at the back 3-0 early.

"A match like this today probably gives me more satisfaction, because I beat a good player without even playing my best tennis," Clijsters said.American teenager Ryan Harrison wasted three match points in a fifth-set tiebreaker to lose to Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky in the men's second round.

The 18-year-old qualifier led 6-3 in the tiebreaker but dropped the next five points. The 36th-ranked Stakhovsky won 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in 4 hours, 13 minutes.

Fans packed the grandstand and peered in from neighboring Louis Armstrong Stadium to cheer Harrison, the youngest and lowest-ranked player left in the draw. Harrison, who is based in Bradenton, Fla., and ranked 220th, upset 15th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic in the first round.
Fourth-seeded Andy Murray defeated Jamaica's Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 to move into the third round. Fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur and 12th-seeded Elena Dementieva also advanced before the rain hit. Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal were to play at night.

Stosur nearly lost in the first round at the U.S. Open, dropping the opening set then going to a tiebreaker in the second against 64th-ranked Elena Vesnina. But she has cruised since and had seven aces and 37 winners Friday."First rounds are always that little extra bit of nerves and a little tricky," Stosur said. "Vesnina had been playing well recently, so it certainly wasn't the easiest first round you could've got. So to battle through that, I have a chance now to get to this point. And, yeah, I've played quite well the past two matches."

Stosur moves on to face Dementieva, who ousted 24th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-2. Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, has reached the semifinals three times but lost in the second round last year. The Russian missed Wimbledon with a left calf injury and has fallen out of the top 10 for the first time in more than three years.

Andy Roddick falls in second round of U.S. Open to Janko Tipsarevic

With monstrously huge glasses, a wide black headband and a Fyodor Dostoyevsky quote tattooed on his arm in Japanese, Janko Tipsarevic looks more like a mad scientist than the No. 44 tennis player in the world. But Wednesday night, it was Andy Roddick who was mad.

During the third set at Arthur Ashe Stadium Wednesday night, the ninth-seeded Roddick spiked his racket in frustration, but that was nothing compared with what was to follow in his 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Serving to stay in the third, Roddick was called for a foot fault on his first serve. Told by the lineswoman that the call was for dragging his right foot, a doubtful Roddick asked the chair umpire, "Have you ever seen me move my right foot in my career?"

"Not in my matches," Enrik Molina replied. "But she called it." And the call stood.
The call actually was right - it was the lineswoman's explanation that was wrong. Roddick hopped forward and put his left foot on the line as he served.
"I just anticipate my umpires to know the difference between my left foot and right foot. . . . The inflexibility, if they'd just say, 'It was your left foot,' I would've stopped. . . . The truth I couldn't get her to acknowledge it - the need of common sense was unbelievable to me."

Roddick didn't match the expletive-laden pressure that Serena Williams hurled at a lineswoman over a foot-fault call a year ago, but he did carry on his complaints through the remainder of the game, and again before going to the locker room to change his shorts between sets. And even though Roddick fought heroically in the fourth set, Tipsarevic held his own and prevailed in the tiebreaker.

Roddick screamed at one point during his go on, which he carried on while falling behind love-40, and while rallying to win the game. But Tipsarevic held his serve to close out the set, then closed it out in the fourth, and Roddick's next call is for a cab to the airport.

He'll go with supermodel wife Brooklyn Decker on his arm, and the United States' best hopes to win the tournament packed in his racket bag. Roddick, who won his only Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2003 (the last by any American), hasn't been past the quarterfinals since 2006. He lost in the first round in 2005 and in the third round last year, and now exits in the round of 64.

The highest remaining American seed, No. 18 John Isner, advanced Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Frederico Gil, and although he famously played in the longest match in history at this year's Wimbledon, he has won just one tournament in his career and has never been past the round of 16 at a Grand Slam.

Tipsarevic, whose left arm says, "Beauty will save the world," a quote from Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot," moves on to face No. 17 Gael Monfils in the third round.
It's been a tough season for Roddick, who hasn't been to the final of an event since he won the Miami Masters in March, and lost to unheralded Yen-Hsun Lu in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. He's fought mononucleosis, and while he was still able to crank his serve up as high as 142 miles an hour Wednesday night, it was telling that he wasn't firing aces. In a category that Roddick usually dominates, his edge was only one, 17-16. Tipsarevic had a 66-40 edge in winners, as Roddick's usually strong forehand was nowhere to be seen.Roddick had just four forehand winners, compared to 21 for Tipsarevic.

"He used to be known as so dangerous with the forehand," Tipsarevic said. "He needs to be more aggressive. He needs to go for more with his forehand. I'm not here to give tips, but he needs to change something in order to win a Grand Slam again."

Tipsarevic, playing in his seventh career U.S. Open, is in the third round for the first time. He has never been past the round of 16 in any Grand Slam event.

Tipsarevic had his ankle taped before he served out the second set, and again before he served down 2-1 in the fourth. But Roddick, who had his pinkie taped between the second and third sets, was unable to take advantage and make Tipsarevic move around.

Federer's U.S. Open quarter includes former fate Soderling

NEW YORK -- If Roger Federer is going to reach a seventh repeated U.S. Open title match, he might want to get history the man who ended his Grand Slam semifinal strip.

Five-time U.S. Open winner Federer was given a probable quarterfinal beside two-time French Open second best Robin Soderling in Thursday's draw. The No. 5-seeded Soderling disturb Federer in the quarterfinals in Paris this year, stopping Federer's record run of reaching at least the semifinals at 23 following Grand Slam tournaments.

The other men's matchups in the quarterfinals could be No. 1-seeded Rafael Nadal next to No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, two-time major finalist Andy Murray against Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych, and No. 3 Novak Djokovic against No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko or No. 9 Andy Roddick.

The top-seeded woman, 2009 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki, could face 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.
"I know if I play well that I can beat anybody out there," said Clijsters, who also won the 2005 Open, "so that's what I'm going to try to accomplish."
Murray, hoping to turn into the first British man since 1936 to be successful a Grand Slam title, could meet No. 20-seeded Sam Querrey of the United States in the fourth round. Another American, Wimbledon marathon man John Isner, is seeded 18th and also is in that quarter of the draw.

In the semifinals, Murray was drawn to meet Nadal, who lost in that round in New York each of the past two years and is trying to complete a career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open for the first time.

"Over the last three years here, I've only lost to one player -- Federer -- and that gives me enough reason to believe I can go far this year," Djokovic said, "because I like the courts, I like the feel here. I just like the tournament -- it's appropriate to my game, and to my personality."
Federer could face another common enemy in the third round: 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Federer beat Hewitt in the 2004 U.S. Open final, part of a 15-match, opposite winning line for Federer -- which ended when Hewitt hit him in the final of a grass-court tournament at Halle, Germany, in June.

Williams' older sister Venus, who is seeded No. 3, could face an intriguing matchup in the third round against No. 32-seeded Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. Pironkova has won two of her previous three matches against Venus Williams, including a straight-set upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals June 29.

The U.S. Open begins Monday, and Williams will have gone more than two months without a match by the time she meets her first-round opponent, Roberta Vinci of Italy, who is 1-7 for her career at Flushing Meadows.

Stephen Strasburg Injury Devistating For Nationals

"I look at the bright side," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday. "Tommy John surgery is a surgery that we've had great success at. The success rate for guys coming back from Tommy John and retaining their stuff is very good. We saw two examples of it on the mound yesterday at Nationals Park."

Empirically, Rizzo is correct about Stephen Strasburg's ability to recover from likely Tommy John surgery. In fact, he may be right even statistically. Look at this list of players in MLB who have had Tommy John surgery. There are plenty of success stories in there. Chris Carpenter. Tim Hudson. Shawn Marcum. AJ Burnett. Josh Johnson. Joakim Soria. Rafael Soriano.

The problem with Strasburg, however, is that the Nationals didn't draft and sign Tim Hudson. Or Shawn Marcum. Or a closer like Soria and Soriano. Rather, the Nationals used the #1 pick of the 2009 draft on what Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, dubbed a "once in a generation pitcher." Carpenter and Johnson are very good pitchers, but they're not the type of pitcher that comes around every fifty years.

Reality is that Strasburg will return in 2012 and will likely be a very good pitcher. More and more pitchers are recovering from Tommy John surgery with good success, returning with their stuff, as Rizzo said. But, will Strasburg be able to throw 99-100mph in 2012? Will his change up still be 90-91mph? That type of ability seems unlikely to survive a major elbow surgery.

Beyond the obvious impact Strasburg's physical ability, the impact to the Nationals bottom line will be crippling, even at the simple basic level of individual ticket sales. Consider that the Nationals average ticket price is $35 and their average crowd for a Strasburg start is roughly (and conservatively) 10,000 fans larger than a typical home game. At $350,000 a game times the approximately five home starts Strasburg would have left that is a $1.75M loss for the Nationals.

WNT: USA takes bronze with win

U.S. handles Venezuela, 15-5, at World Cup

MARACAY, Venezuela -- Team USA scored in every inning en route to a 15-5, six-inning win over swarm Venezuela to imprison the bronze medal Sunday at the 2010 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) Women's World Cup. The U.S., which entered the semifinals as the No. 4 seed, registered a team-high 20 hits to come away with its second repeated bronze medal.


"I think we had a marvelous mind edge over Venezuela," said head coach Don Freeman. "They were beat up from playing the last game last night and our girls came to play. It's an example of their determination and flexibility because it could have been very easy for them not to show up and take the field following our disappointing loss to Japan last night."

Jenna Marston was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and finished as the team leader in hits with 16, doubles with eight and a .571 average. Tamara Holmes and Veronica Alvarez drove in a pair of runs each while Malaika Underwood posted a team-best three hits with a run batted in. Clarisa Navarro was 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Navarro, in her first World Cup, played all nine games and batted .483 while finishing second on the team with 14 hits and eight RBIs. Holmes posted a team-best 14 runs batted in and three home runs.


The U.S. jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on three Venezuela errors. Marston sparked the inning with a one-out double and took third on a dropped fly-ball by centerfielder Marianne Perez. Holmes' single would score the first U.S. run and Jenny Dalton-Hill gave the U.S. a 3-0 lead with a two-run single to right. Back-to-back errors allowed Dalton-Hill to plate the fourth run of the inning.


Venezuela cut into the lead in the top of the third. Leonel Reyes singled and Lesli Gomez reached safely on an error by USA. Venezuela then delivered three straight singles, scoring Reyes and Gomez and loading the bases for Allinson Velasquez, who was hit by the field, pushing across Kellyn Mendoza. Sementelli ended the rally by reserved the final two batters with Team USA holding on to a 7-3 lead.


The U.S. answered with three runs in the fourth. Anna Kimbrell's leadoff double was cashed in by Veronica Alvarez's hit through the left side. Underwood knocked in Laura Espinoza-Watson with a double and Harbert gave USA the 10-3 lead with a run-scoring single to left.


The U.S. ended the game in the bottom of the sixth. Underwood singled and wrap second before taking third on Ashley Sujkowski's grounder to short. Karen Costes was plunked by the pitch and Navarro laced a single to right to score Underwood. Nicki Holt continued the rally with a bloop single to center to load the bases for Kimbrell, who extended USA's lead to 10 runs with a two-RBI single.

Atwal becomes first Indian to win on PGA Tour

Greensboro: Arjun Atwal became the first Indian and just the sixth Asian-born player to win on the PGA Tour when he secured a one-stroke victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.
Atwal joined Japanese trio Isao Aoki, Shigeki Maruyama and Ryuji Imada and South Koreans KJ Choi and Y.E. Yang in an elite but growing club of champions from world's most populous continent.
The 37-year-old, who now lives in Florida, sank a pressure-packed seven-foot par putt at the final hole to edge American David Toms at Sedgefield.
His final round of 67 left him on 20-under 260, ignited by an opening day 61. Toms closed with a 64.

"It was a long-time dream of mine to win out here but until it happens you keep doubting yourself and, believe me, I had my doubts teeing up today, even with a three-shot lead," Atwal, who took up golf at the age of 14 in Kolkata, told reporters.
"Until you do it, you don't know. My swing wasn't feeling all that great today. It was a little tight (but) I just grinded it out and got it done somehow."
Atwal believes his victory will resonate in his homeland.

Yuki in finals in Youth Olympic Games

Singapore: Yuki Bhambri pulled off an upset victory to storm into the final of the tennis event but the hoopsters and swimmers came up with disappointing performances on a mixed day for the Indians in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games here on Thursday.

Yuki stunned second seeded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the boys' singles semifinal at Kallang Tennis Centre on the fifth day of the Games to at least assure India of another silver. In the summit clash, the sixth-seeded Indian will take on Juan Sebastian Gomez of Colombia who beat Victor Baluda of Russia 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in the other semifinal. Yuki had on Wednesday braved cramps to get the better of Ireland's John Morrissey in the quarterfinals. Wrestlers had won two medals for India. Pooja Dhanda had bagged a silver in women's 60kg freestyle while Kadian Satyawart fetched a bronze in men's 100kg freestyle. Shuttler H S Prannoy is also assured of at least a silver after stunning top seed Kang Ji Wook of Korea in the singles semifinal on Wednesday. He, however, will have to wait longer in his quest for a gold medal as his final match against Pisit Poodchalat of Thailand has been rescheduled. The other Indian who impressed on Thursday was Durgesh Kumar who won the boys 400m race heat number two with an effort of 52.20sec to qualify for the final round. In basketball, Indian boys lost to New Zealand 12-17 in a Group A preliminary round match. In swimming, Aaron Agnel D'Souza finished fifth in boys 100m freestyle second semifinal with a timing of 51.49sec. He had qualified for the semifinals after finishing fourth in the heat number five. In women's 100m butterfly, Arhatha Magavi finished a disappointing eighth in heat number four. India fielded 32 competitors in the inaugural edition of the Games which is meant for athletes in the age group of 14 to 18.

India enter Emerging Players Tournament final

Melbourne: India huffed and puffed to a two-wicket win against Australia AIS in their third league game of the Emerging Players Tournament to book a place in the final of the 50-over leg.
Jaydev Unadkat's dream spell of four wickets for eight runs restricted AIS to just 127 runs. However, Indian batting almost caved in but for a sensible 32 by Cheteshwar Pujara and 23 not out by Manish Pandey in the end.

Though the Indian openers Abhinav Mukund (27) and Shikhar Dhawan (20) began well, quick wickets pegged India back to 95/5, when Manish Pandey distorted down to overhaul the not enough target with two wickets to spare.

India will play South Africa in the final on August 20, 2010.
Fantasy Football

I am no bad boy, says Balotelli

Manchester: Manchester City signing Mario Balotelli says he is "not a bad boy."

The Italy soccer player had a tempestuous relationship with Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, but is ready for a new start after being reunited with Mourinho's ancestor, Roberto Mancini.



The 20-year-old Balotelli said on Wednesday that he is "happy to be here at Manchester City because of the manager and the environment."

Mancini added that "all of us are said to be bad boys when we are young."

City's offseason spending is now beyond 100 million pounds (7 million) — and midfielder James Milner is immobile to sign from Aston Villa.

Mancini hopes to confirm the deal for Milner by Wednesday, with City midfielder Stephen Ireland leaving for Villa.
Fantasy Football

Federer refutes talks of his decline

Mason, Ohio: Roger Federer has heard the speak about his supposed refuse before and the world number two finds it hard to take the proposal seriously.

The record 16-times Grand Slam winner failed to get beyond the quarter-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon this year and with the last Grand Slam of the season - the US Open - on the horizon, speak has twisted to whether the Swiss is vanishing.

Federer, who lost to Andy Murray in last week's final in Toronto, appears to find the idea ludicrous. "I had a wonderful summer last year with (winning) the French Open and Wimbledon, which wasn't the case this year.



"But last year after the Australian Open, when I lost against Nadal, people were also talking about how I was on a enormous decline. I cried on center court at the Australian Open, which was a big disaster for many people," he told reporters.

"Nobody ever believed I would come back. I won two slams and played the finals of the US Open and won the Australian Open. So then everything changes and you don't win the French or Wimbledon and things are all bad again.

"So it moves very quickly. I know the rules and how it all works," he said.

Federer said that in the current age, with four outstanding players at the top of the rankings and others such as Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych closing in, people better get used to eager competition.

"(You) can't win them all. I always knew that. So I was very shocked and surprised at how dominant I was and how well I played for so many years. And still today I'm hanging with the top and I've got chances and already won a slam again this year. I have a chance to win a second one and maybe the World Championships at the end of the year.

"There's still a lot to play for. But usually if you stay the same, you will move down. That's never something I was content with," he said.

Federer, whose semifinal win over Novak Djokovic last week regained second spot in the world from the Serb, says he has a very simple measurement for how well he is doing.

"For me, it's important that I'm happy with my game... I'm very happy with how I played in Toronto.

"I fought hard and I was able to turn it around a bit and get those close matches going my way. Now we're gonna be on this kind of (hard court) surface for eight months. So I think this is a very important start for me, playing well on the hardcourts again," he said.
Fantasy Football

Basic wicket keeping tips

step1

After adopting the correct stance, the body should rise as you judge the bounce of the ball.Move the feet and body to get into the line with the ball.

Step 2

• If the ball is below the chest height,then take the ball with the fingers pointing down.
• If the ball is above the chest height, then twist the head and body and take the ball with hands horizontal.

Fantasy Football

Schumacher was almost disqualified: Warwick

London: Michael Schumacher would have been disqualified from Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix if his risky move on Rubens Barrichello had been earlier in the race, steward Derek Warwick said on Tuesday.

Warwick, a retired Formula One racer acting as the drivers' representative on the four-man stewards panel at the Hungaroring, told BBC radio that the seven-times world champion should have been shown a black flag for almost driving the Brazilian into the pit lane wall.

Instead the former Ferrari ace, making a comeback with Mercedes after three years out and at the age of 41, was handed a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for his favourite Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this month.

"Throwing a black flag would have shown a better example to our young drivers," said Warwick, who overlapped with Schumacher in Formula One for one season in 1993 when the Briton drove for the Footwork team.

"But by the time we got the video evidence we ran out of time and we had to do it retrospectively."

Barrichello, who skimmed the wall at 300 kph and then had to chop across the pitlane exit and on to the rough before passing Schumacher for 10th place, said it had been the most dangerous manoeuvre against him he had experienced in nearly 300 grands prix.

Schumacher made a rare apology to his former Ferrari team mate on Monday.

Fantasy Football

Nadal, Djokovic sweat it out in Toronto

World number one Rafael Nadal was made to work and number two Novak Djokovic had to sweat as they launched their North American hardcourt campaigns with battling second round wins at the Toronto Masters on Wednesday.

Under a floodlit center court, Nadal was put to the test by Stanislas Wawrinka, needing two hours and 20 minutes and all his weapons to put away the stubborn Swiss 7-6 6-3.

The opening set took a gruelling 92 minutes before ending in a pulsating tiebreak that Nadal took 14-12, matching the longest tiebreak of his career.

In five meetings with Nadal, Wawrinka had never taken a set off the muscular Mallorcan or claimed a victory over any world number one in six tries.

But Nadal, playing his first match since his Wimbledon victory in July, never panicked and seized control of the tiebreak and the second set to remain on course for a third Canadian title.

"I had a little bit of everything today being my first match after awhile," Nadal told reporters. "I had difficult moments. I had moments when I played well. I did a little bit of everything."

While Nadal skipped off the court looking as if he could keep playing, Djokovic could barely stand after a gritty 7-5 7-5 win over Frenchman Julien Benneteau in sweltering midday conditions.

Drained by the sauna-like conditions, the Serb was left slumped over the net gasping for breath after finally finishing off his French opponent in a little over two hours.

"I have said before, I will never risk my health to win and I was really on the edge," said Djokovic, who has struggled with heat-related issues throughout his career.

"If your body gives you signs that something bad is going on, you have to do something... no one can turn off the sun and do me a favour even though I would like it."

A winner in Canada in 2007, Djokovic appeared uncomfortable the moment he stepped onto the court and eventually summoned for the trainer after going down a break in the second set.

Struggling for air, Djokovic appeared ready to throw in the towel but hung on as Benneteau kept up the pressure.

Desperate to keep the match from going to a third set, a faltering Djokovic finally finished off his French opponent on the fifth match point with an overhead slam.

Briton Andy Murray followed Djokovic onto a scorching center court and had to overcome a slow start before speeding past Belgian Xavier Malisse 7-5 6-2.

It was a positive start to an important tournament for Murray, who needs a good result in Toronto to keep Swede Robin Soderling from replacing him as world number four.

Fantasy Football

Building up for London with a trip to Kentucky

BRITISH Showjumping have announced their team for the Alltech World Equestrian Games which take place in Kentucky at the end of September.
The squad members are Scott Brash, riding Intertoy Z; Tina Fletcher, riding Hello Sailor; David McPherson, riding Chamberlain Z and Michael Whitaker, riding GIG Amai II. Robert Smith is the non-travelling reserve with Talan.

Rob Hoekstra, Team GB's performance manager, said: "My target this year was to remain in the top level Nations' Cup series for 2011, which we have now achieved.

"This fits with the overall build-up to London 2012 which is primary to all we do. Results have been exciting and we have seen a number of new horses and riders producing excellent performances in the Nations' Cup.

"The team for WEG is very much part of the development of the squad for 2012 and we have selected horses that have performed well in the Nations' Cup.

"Michael will be the experienced hand in the team; Scott and Tina will benefit enormously from experiencing their first championship, while David has championship experience but takes an inexperienced horse. It is an exciting team for the future and part of the road to 2012."

Tina Fletcher has been having a very successful season, including putting in a terrific performance as a member of our winning team in the Nations' Cup at Hickstead recently, where she had two clear rounds with Hello Sailor.

She also came close to winning the Hickstead Derby with Promised Land but was beaten by Guy Williams in the jump-off.

The show-jumping competition at the World Equestrian Games will take place between October 4 and 9. And soon after that, up-and-coming show-jumpers in Yorkshire will have the chance to win tutorials with Tina Fletcher and her husband Graham, the former Olympic show-jumper.

The couple have run some very popular demonstrations at the Countryside Live event, which is held at the Yorkshire Show ground. This year, they will be leading tutorials in a new competition to find Yorkshire's most talented show-jumper. More details about this in Equestrian Post shortly.

Countryside Live is being held on October 23-24.

A POLO tournament this weekend will be helping to raise money for research into Parkinson's Disease.

The White Rose Polo Club at North Cliffe, near Market Weighton, hosts an annual tournament, the Yorkshire Open, and the organisers have joined forces with Ann-Marie Jackson, from Spaldington near Howden, a sufferer from the illness. She and her husband, David, who is a member of the polo club, have raised over £80,000 for the charity through Music in the Park events at their home over the past seven years.

"I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease myself 13 years ago and there is some really exciting research taking place at the moment. This is the first year we haven't been able to organise an event, so I'm thrilled that the proceeds from this year's Yorkshire Open will go towards the research," said Mrs Jackson.

Polo teams from Yorkshire and beyond will be competing over the two days.

Fantasy Football

'Grondona didn't keep his word on Maradona'

Buenos Aires: Argentina's soccer chief Julio Grondona broke his word when the ruling body did not renew World Cup coach Diego Maradona's contract, striker Carlos Tevez said on Tuesday.


"Mr. Grondona said Maradona could do what he liked (after the World Cup)," Tevez said, adding the AFA president had told the coach the job was still his after Argentina's 4-0 quarter-final defeat by Germany.


"In the changing room (after Argentina's elimination), Don Julio told Diego he would continue (as coach). If (Grondona) holds a meeting and I can say it to him face to face, I'll do it," the outspoken Tevez told TyC Sports when he joined the squad in Dublin for Wednesday's friendly against Ireland.

"There's a lot lacking in the AFA's word... I say what I think and feel. I don't care if for the next match I'm in the national team or not," the Manchester City player said.


The AFA board voted against renewing Maradona's contract after the coach had said he could not accept Grondona's demand to drop of some of his coaching staff and pick new assistants.


Argentina are under interim coach Sergio Batista, who has been in charge of the juniors and steered the country to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008.


The AFA plan to name a coach in December to see Argentina through to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a job Batista - who played alongside Maradona in the 1986 World Cup-winning team - is keen to land.

New one-day cricket format makes debut in Australia

Darwin (Australia), Aug. 11 : Split-innings one day cricket made its Australian domestic debut in Darwin on Tuesday as Cricket Australia hurried to fine-tune the format ahead of an imminent decision on the shape of the coming season.

Tasmania thumped South Australia by six wickets with 8.3 overs to spare in an experimental contest that featured two 40-over innings split in half, with fielding restrictions applying in both brackets and only four bowlers required.

The first bracket of each innings was mediocre fare, as SA made 4-87 and Tasmania replied with 4-77, before the Redbacks folded for only a further 58 runs and allowed the Tigers an easy fourth innings chase.

CA officials watched with interest in preparation for a board meeting in Melbourne on Friday, after which the details of the one day domestic format to be trialled this summer will be finalised.

Tasmanian acting captain Xavier Doherty said the format''s conditions placed greater focus on specialists and less on bit-part players.

Doherty admitted the rules made all-rounders a less valuable commodity, reducing the need for versatile role-players capable of swinging both bat and ball.

"The rules also allowed 12 players, 11 bat or bowl, so it''ll probably leave all-rounders a little bit out of the game, obviously if they''re still in your best 11 they''ll play, but there''s probably not such a great need for an all-rounder now," he said.

He added: "There are probably a few blokes a bit shirty about having this split innings (format), but without trialling it no-one''s going to know what it''s going to throw up, so the only way to go is to try it and see what happens.",

The match was played minus Cricket Australia''s most left-field concept, that of a super-striker batting twice, and Doherty was strong in his disapproval of the idea. (ANI)