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Lin Dan nails hard-fought title at Asia Championships
- SEOUL: Five-times world champion Lin Dan earned a hard-fought title in the men’s singles at the Badminton Asia Championships in South Korea on Sunday.
The Chinese great outlasted Sho Sasaki of Japan 14-21, 21-9, 21-15 in the seesaw final that took 66 minutes in Gimcheon, 230 kilometers (144 miles) southeast of Seoul.
It was Lin’s third Asian title and his second win of 2014 in as many appearances.
He won the China Masters earlier this month in his season debut that ended an extended layoff.
Lin, a former world number one, saw his world ranking fall outside the top 100 before bouncing back to 83rd following the win on home soil.
Lin had not dropped a set en route to the final in South Korea before Sasaki, world number 23, pushed him early.
But the Japanese ended up losing for the 10th time in 11 meetings against the Chinese.
The Asia Championships were missing the world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who withdrew at the last moment.
Lin’s compatriots also reached the top of the podium in the women’s doubles, as the unseeded Luo Ying and Lou Yu defeated the second-seeded duo from South Korea, Kim Ha-Na and Jung Kyung-Eun, 21-18, 21-18.
The host nation also picked up two titles on Sunday. In the women’s singles, Sung Ji-Hyun toppled the number one seed Wang Shixian of China, 21-19, 21-15.
In the men’s doubles, Shin Baek-Cheol and Yoo Yeon-Seong edged out Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China 22-20, 21-17.
Shin came up short in the mixed doubles final. Lee Chun Hei and Chau Hoi Wah of Hong Kong prevailed over Shin and Jang Ye-Na, 13-21, 21-15, 21-15.
Levy gets first title in China:
- SHENZHEN, China: Frenchman Alexander Levy won the first professional tournament of his fledgling career Sunday, holding off a spirited charge from England’s Tommy Fleetwood in the $3.2 million Volvo China Open.
The 23-year-old overnight leader showed few nerves as he plotted his way around Shenzhen’s par-72 Genzon Golf Club in 69 for a total score of 19-under-par and the $530,000 winner’s cheque.
“It’s a very nice feeling and I’m very happy,” said Levy, who was showered in champagne on the 18th green by several of his compatriots on the tour before an overexuberant fan tried to run off with his cap.
“I didn’t feel a lot of pressure on the golf course because I was confident,” he added.
Levy, who played with a smile throughout, had started the final round three strokes ahead of Alvaro Quiros and was soon four ahead when the Spaniard bogeyed the first hole.
It quickly got worse for the big-hitting Quiros as he played aggressive golf in a bid to gain ground on Levy but dropped further back to go out in one-over par.
Levy, whose previous best finish in a tournament was third at last year’s BMW International Open, picked up a shot at the sixth to complete his first nine in one-under 34.
France’s world number 282 was five shots ahead of Quiros at the turn and by now the biggest threat was coming from the match in front, where the 23-year-old Fleetwood was making a move.
The Englishman, ranked 108 in the standings, started with three straight birdies before chipping in for another on the ninth to get to minus 15.
He suffered a setback on the par-5 13th when he drove into a hazard on his way to a bogey, his first since the 16th hole of round one.
Minutes later Levy made a birdie at 13 to go five shots ahead with five holes left before Fleetwood bounced back with a 30-foot birdie putt at the 14th.
Levy — who had held the lead since a sublime 62 Friday — showed his first sign of nerves at the next, stumbling to a double bogey which reduced the gap to just two with three holes to play.
Fleetwood, chasing his second European Tour title, then birdied the 17th but Levy immediately matched it after hitting a stunning three iron onto the green from 220 meters (yards).
“I hit a good drive onto the fairway, then saw Tommy make a birdie to go just one shot from me.
“I closed my eyes and hit one of the best shots of the week. It was an amazing shot.”
Levy followed with another birdie at 18 after a Fleetwood bogey to clinch a four-shot victory over the Englishman, who finished alone in second with Quiros third.
“It’s been a fantastic week... for me,” Fleetwood said. “I’ve been on a little bit of a dodgy stretch, so it’s nice to get myself up there again and get in the mix.
“We aim for wins, but today... I had to play outstanding golf. Alex has led from Friday, and that’s one of the hardest things you can do. What a performance from him.”
Denmark’s Anders Hansen enjoyed the round of the day at the 7,145-yard-long course, making nine birdies for a 63.
He finished tied 5th with world number three Henrik Stenson (65) and Ian Poulter (67) on 11-under.
PGA champion Jason Dufner ended a miserable week with a 75, which included an eight, to finish tied 54th on level par.
Ouyang Zheng was the leading Chinese player at four-under.
One of Sunday’s biggest cheers came on the 12th when England’s Danny Willett got a hole-in-one to win a Volvo V40 car.
It was the second ace of the day, coming after German Marcel Siem’s three-iron shot dropped in on the eighth.
The 20th edition of China’s national championship was co-sanctioned by the European Tour and OneAsia.
- HOUSTON: Fernando Verdasco booked his first ATP semi-final of 2014 on Friday, powering home to beat Donald Young 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 in the US Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The fourth-seeded Spanish veteran admitted Young’s solid play had him feeling “uncomfortable” in the opening set, but once he’d pocketed the tiebreaker he was on his way.
“He played great tennis in the first set,” Verdasco said. “I kept fighting and he didn’t serve well in the game I broke him. After that he started missing a little more, including in the tie-break. After I won the tie-break I took extra confidence and started to be more stable on the court.” Verdasco next faces Santiago Giraldo, who defeated Alejandro Gonzalez 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Colombian clash.
The 26-year-old Giraldo will be playing the fifth ATP semi-final of his career and his second in 2014. He fell to Leonardo Mayer in the semis at Vina del Mar earlier this year.
Third-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro also advanced, downing American Jack Sock 6-2, 6-4.
Almagro will face American Sam Querrey, who fired 15 aces and saved all four break-points he faced in a 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, victory over Germany’s Dustin Brown.
Querrey, a former world No. 17, is in the final four in Houston for the second time. He finished runner-up in 2010.
“You have to be ready for anything,” Querrey said of Brown’s varied game. “He might come in, he might stay back, he might serve and volley, slice a forehand, drop shot. You have to expect everything and not get frustrated when he wins points.” Almagro will be trying to improve on his runner-up finish in Houston last year, when he lost to American John Isner in the final.
Carjacking attempt
Wheelchair tennis’ US Open champion Lucas Sithole and his brother were dragged out of their car by four armed men in a late-night carjacking attempt in their native South Africa, the sport’s national federation said Saturday.
Both were unhurt, Wheelchair Tennis South Africa said, but had their cellphones stolen in the incident near a highway in Johannesburg at around 11.15 Friday night.
“I am glad my car, wallet and my life are still with me,” Sithole said in the statement.
Sithole’s car was also damaged after the armed men emerged from a vehicle in front of the brothers on a highway onramp and forced them out of their car, WTSA said.
“Although Lucas is shaken and traumatized, he was not physically injured or shot and is recovering well,” the statement said.
Sithole, 27, lost both his legs and his right arm in a train accident in 1998. He took up tennis and won the 2013 US Open title, becoming the first African player to win a wheelchair tennis Grand Slam event.
South Africa’s crime problem has been raised as an issue at the murder trial of double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius, who is a multiple Paralympic champion, Olympic athlete and South Africa’s most famous disabled sportsman. Pistorius, who is also 27, claims he fatally shot his girlfriend by mistake last year thinking she was a dangerous intruder in his home.
- HOUSTON: Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo sent second-seeded Tommy Robredo packing Thursday, while two other seeded Spaniards made it safely into the quarterfinals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship.
Giraldo saved all four break points he faced en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Robredo, who was making his Houston debut.
“I had a lot of chances in a lot of games, and every time it was 0-30, 15-30, I was hitting three in a row straight to the fence,” Robredo said. “With this, there’s no chance to win.” It was a different story for third-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro and number four Fernando Verdasco, who both moved into the last eight of the ATP event.
Almagro, last year’s runner-up in Houston, cruised past American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-3 while left-hander Verdasco got past American Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Almagro, 28, peppered Russell with seven aces, denying the Houston resident a second quarterfinal appearance of the season.
Almagro next faces 21-year-old American Jack Sock, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Germany’s Benjamin Becker.
“I played really good tennis today,” Almagro said. “I am happy with my tennis. I played very aggressive.” Verdasco dropped serve just once and converted four of his five break chances against Johnson, who arrived in Houston at a career-high 69th in the world after winning the Le Gosier Challenger last week.
“This is my first match on clay this season,” Verdasco said. “I’ve been just trying to get the rhythm and feel the ball as much as I can. Even when I wasn’t playing that well, mentally I was well.” Verdasco next faces 24-year-old American Donald Young, who upset sixth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3.
Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez reached his first ATP quarterfinal with a truncated victory over fifth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
Gonzalez was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Lopez retired with severe allergies that he said left him “really sick.”
- ARLINGTON, Texas: Led by one of a dying breed in college basketball, a senior point guard who spurned chances to leave early for the NBA, Connecticut upended a Kentucky team that had cornered the market on talent to claim the school's fourth NCAA championship on Monday.
Shabazz Napier did nearly everything for his Huskies at AT&T Stadium, leading all players with 22 points, dictating the tempo and calling the shots for his team to direct a 60-54 victory before a NCAA championship-record crowd of 79,238 that included the country's past two presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who sat side-by-side in a luxury box.
Led by second-year Coach Kevin Ollie, a former Connecticut point guard and assistant coach, the seventh-seeded Huskies (32-8) vanquished a Kentucky team that included seven McDonald's all-Americans. Napier was named most outstanding player of the Final Four.
Ollie built his team the same way he built his own 13-year career as an NBA backup, on hard work, persistence and belief.
The Huskies bolted to a 15-point lead, weathered a 16-5 run that all but negated that advantage and kept their composure down the stretch, while No. 8 Kentucky (29-11) failed to pull off what would have been its fourth consecutive come-from-behind victory.
Kentucky was led by James Young's 20 points, while its star forward, Julius Randle, was held to 10.
It was a championship matchup not even the coaches' wives would have predicted three weeks ago.
Neither team qualified for the tournament last season. This season, talent-laden Kentucky, anointed the preseason No. 1, fell short of expectations and by season's end had fallen out of the national rankings entirely. Connecticut, back in the NCAA's good graces after serving a one-year ban from the tournament because of poor academic performance, ended the season ranked No. 18.
Still, both programs were steeped in postseason glory, with 11 NCAA men's basketball championships between them (eight for Kentucky; three for Connecticut).
This season's squads trotted onto the court with distinctly different strengths: Kentucky awash in talent; Connecticut, rich in experience, particularly at point guard, with Napier running the floor.
Kentucky's strong suit was its heft up front, where Randle dominated the paint and feasted on rebounds. Through each round of the tournament, the Wildcats had ratcheted up the pressure in the second half. The Wildcats had hoped to become the first team of all-freshmen starters to win the NCAA championship. Now the speculation turns whether they'll join the ranks of the one-and-dones and defect the college ranks for the NBA.
Randle, playing before a home crowd, was pulled less than three minutes in with apparent leg cramps but rejoined the lineup soon after, earning a trip to free throw line, Wildcats trailing 13-6.
Ryan Boatright, covered well on a drive to the basket, wrong-footed two defenders, cut back and laid it in for a reverse that put Connecticut up 17-8, prompting Calipari's first time-out with 13 minutes 8 seconds remaining in the first half.
To that point, the Huskies had made seven baskets; Kentucky, just two.
The Wildcats looked rattled. Aaron Harrison Sr., the father of Kentucky freshmen Aaron and Andrew, was shouting instructions from his seat. Kentucky couldn't hit free throws, couldn't hit from long range and committed four turnovers in the first 10 minutes — as many as it had the entire game against Wisconsin.
Trailing by 15, Kentucky Coach John Calipari switched to a zone defense, and the hapless Wildcats changed their spots, helped by Boatright's relegation to the bench with two fouls.
Young's first three-pointer of the night keyed the 12-3 run that followed. It was one huge shot after another, including a dunk and long-range bomb from the 6-foot-6 Harrison twins. In a flash, the Wildcats had slashed the Huskies' lead to single digits. Randle hit his first basket with 1:03 to play, then got a put-back that closed the half on a 16-5 run.
Connecticut led 35-31 at the break.
True to form, Kentucky struck quickly to start the second period.
And with the Wildcats bottling up the front court, Connecticut couldn't drive the ball, couldn't hit from outside and seemingly couldn't even communicate its plays, with Napier stiff-arming his own backcourt mate, Boatright, on one foray down the court.
Kentucky trailing by nine, Young stormed down court for a monster dunk and let out a roar of defiance before sinking the extra point.
Napier tried and settled the tempo to stave off the brewing shift of momentum. But Kentucky pulled within one with 8:13 to play on a pair of free throws by Young.
Niels Giffey hit from beyond the arc to restore a little cushion.
From there, Napier did all he could to slow the pace.
The Huskies got a huge offensive rebound from reserve Lasan Kromah that kept the ball out of Kentucky's hands and proved key in quashing any thought of another Wildcats rally.
- SYDNEY: Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has described the Ravichandran Ashwin’s delivery to Hashim Amla, which uprooted the off stump during the second semifinal of ICC World T20 on Friday, as ‘T20 ball of the century’.
Hashim Amla, who was looking dangerous, was sent packing by Ashwin on a brilliant carom ball, which landed on the leg but crashed into the off stump.
"T20 ball of the century from Ashwin," Gilchrist tweeted.
Ashwin received huge applause for this particular delivery. He received comparison with legendary spinner Shane Warne’s ‘Ball of the Century’ to Mike getting.
Ashwin took 3 for 22 against South Africa as India thrashed Proteas by six wickets to set the summit clash with Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Apart from Ashwin, Virat Kohli played superb knock of 72 to guide India to final of ICC T20 World Cup.
Federer, Wawrinka slump; Britain eyes semis
- PARIS: Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka slumped to a shock defeat in the Davis Cup on Saturday while Great Britain edged closer to a first semi-final appearance since 1981.
Seventeen-time Grand Slam title winner Federer and Wawrinka, the reigning Australian Open champion, may have had the pedigree of being the 2008 Olympic doubles champions.
But they were embarrassed by minnows Kazakhstan who opened up a 2-1 lead in their quarter-final clash in Geneva.
Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov stunned world No.4 Federer and Wawrinka, the third-ranked singles player, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6).
Saturday’s loss was the Swiss duo’s fourth straight Davis Cup loss as a team having also lost the doubles against USA and Netherlands in 2012 and Australia in 2011.
Wawrinka had also lost his opening singles on Friday, going down 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) to 64th ranked Golubev before Federer then stormed to a straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Mikhail Kukushkin to level the tie.
“We have defeated the Olympic champions and it’s a special momment. I am proud of our team,” said Nedovyesov, the world 128 in doubles.
On Sunday, Switzerland will need to win both reverse singles with Wawrinka due to face Kukushkin while Federer takes on Golubev.
“I’m not overly worried about what happened the last couple of days,” said Federer.
“We knew the Kazakhs have been playing well in Davis Cup the last few years now. So it’s for us now to shine and prove ourselves. We are good players and we are the favorites still.”
Sunday’s winners will face either Italy or Great Britain in September’s semi-finals.
Andy Murray and Colin Fleming edged Britain a step closer to ending their 33-year wait for a place in the last-four with a hard-fought doubles win in Naples.
Their 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win over Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini means Murray can wrap up the quarter-final on Sunday with a win over Fognini.
Wimbledon champion Murray won the pair’s last clash on clay in Monaco five years ago.
“It should be a tough match, Fabio has played really well this year, especially on clay. But hopfully I can play a good match and finish the tie,” said the Scot.
Italy last advanced to the semi-finals in 1998 when they went on to finish runners-up to Sweden.
Title holders the Czech Republic reached the semi-finals after clinically dispatching Japan in Saturday’s doubles to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in Tokyo.
Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol beat Tatsuma Ito and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in front of the Japanese emperor and empress as the two-time defending champions set up a clash with either France or Germany from September 12-14.
“The Japanese guys fought their hearts out but we had it pretty much under control,” said Stepanek, who won the deciding rubber for the Czechs in the last two finals — against Spain and Serbia respectively.
In Nancy, France stayed alive against Germany when Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau beat Tobias Kamke and Andre Begemann 6-1, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-5 in the doubles.
Germany had shrugged off the absence of their top six players to take a shock 2-0 lead on Friday.
Benneteau slumped to a 7-6 (10/8), 6-3, 6-2 loss to world No. 96 Kamke in the day’s opening rubber.
Then world No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga squandered a match point to lose 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 8-6 to Peter Gojowczyk, the world 119.
MIRPUR, Bangladesh: When Virat Kohli accepted the man of the match award it was the second gift he had received in quick succession.
With the scores level in the World Twenty20 semi-final against South Africa, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not have asked for a more innocuous delivery as left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks sent down a slow, short ball to conclude the 19th over.
Dhoni, who has a penchant for hitting the winning runs with a six, instead offered a defensive shot that appeared to baffle Kohli as he gestured to his smiling skipper from the other end.
Kohli then smashed the first ball of the final over from fast bowler Dale Steyn for four to seal a six-wicket triumph with five balls to spare.
"Yes, he gave me the chance (to score the winning runs)," the Delhi batsman said after finishing unbeaten on 72 as India reached their victory target of 173. "I told him, 'You finish it off'.
"But he said, 'What else can I give you? You've batted well in this match. This is my gift'.
"I said, 'That's very kind of you'. I accepted it, why not? Scoring the winning runs always feels different. I'm grateful to him that he let me finish it off."
Kohli once again showed the poise and skill that has made him the mainstay of India's batting.
A player with a silky touch, he said his performance could not have come at a better time.
"I've hit the ball better on other occasions, my timing has also been better on a few occasions. But considering the situation and the occasion it's definitely my top Twenty20 innings," Kohli said.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was also full of praise for the Indian.
"It was a fantastic knock. We all know how good he is. We all know he has shown that so many times," said Du Plessis.
"As a fielding captain you always have at the back of your mind that Virat is a real danger, a real threat.
"He paced his knock really well and he saw them home. He is a really good batsman and he played some really good shots."
India now meet Sri Lanka in Sunday's final.
Sri Lanka want World T20 success at third attempt:
- MIRPUR, Bangladesh: Will it be third time lucky for Sri Lanka? The Sri Lankans have played in the World Twenty20 final two times, but never walked away with the trophy.
Here are five things to know about the Sri Lankan team that will play Sunday's World Twenty20 final against India:
BAD HISTORY: In the T20 finals, Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan in the 2009 final and to the West Indies in 2012 despite having home advantage. Pakistan, and now India, are next best in terms of final appearances with two each.
AND MORE BAD HISTORY: Sri Lanka has to break the curse of losing in finals of World ICC events. It did win the 1996 World Cup but has lost in four finals over the last 7 years. It lost to Australia in the 2007 World Cup final and to India four years later, as well as failing at the 2009 and 2012 World Twenty20s.
CAPTAIN CONUNDRUM: Pace bowler Lasith Malinga was always expected to be vital to Sri Lanka's hopes. But what people did not expect was that he would be leading the side despite original choice skipper Dinesh Chandimal being fit. In what was said to be a team decision, Chandimal was rested for the semifinal against the West Indies because of indifferent form, with Malinga going out for the toss.
PARTING GIFT: A victory at the World Twenty20 would be the ideal parting gift for former captains Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who have announced that they will not play any Twenty20 internationals after this tournament. Another stalwart, Tillakaratne Dilshan, may also not play international T20s for much longer either.
HERATH FACTOR: While all eyes were on the likes of Malinga and Ajantha Mendis, experienced left-arm spinner Rangana Herath struck it big when least expected. He finished with enviable figures of 5-3 against New Zealand in what was a must-win game to qualify for the semis. He went wicket-less in the semifinal against West Indies but is one extra weapon in Sri Lanka's armory.
- LOS ANGELES: Trainer Freddie Roach says avenging losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez are the top items on Manny Pacquiao’s to-do list, but believes the Filipino will one day face Floyd Mayweather.
But Hall of Fame trainer Roach said Pacquiao’s legacy depends more on turning the tables on the two opponents who beat him in 2012 than on a belated, late-career tilt at Mayweather.
“In the history books you have to avenge your losses, you have to avenge your losses in life,” Roach said Wednesday at his Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, where Pacquiao’s media workout drew a throng.
Pacquiao, the former world champion in eight weight divisions, will get his shot at retribution against Bradley in Las Vegas on April 12.
Both fighters are calling it a chance for redemption, after Bradley beat Pacquiao by a controversial split decision in June 2012 — a bout that many observers thought Pacquiao had dominated.
“We feel we got robbed in the last fight — now we need to be sure that we get the victory,” said Pacquiao, 35, who will be fighting to regain the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown he surrendered to Bradley.
Six months after losing to the American, Pacquiao was knocked out in the sixth round by Mexico’s Marquez in the fourth bout between the two.
If Pacquiao beats Bradley and Marquez beats American Mike Alvarado in May, a fifth Pacquiao-Marquez fight could be on the cards.
“I’m not thinking about the next fight,” Pacquiao said. “I’m thinking about this fight.”
However, Pacquiao can never escape speculation about a matchup with unbeaten Mayweather.
In late 2009 and early 2010, Pacquiao and Mayweather were considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters and record profits were expected from a showdown.
But a disagreement over pre-fight blood testing scuttled talks.
Mayweather vowed never again to do business with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, but the subject never goes away.
“I’ve thought about it so much, I’ve had dreams about that fight,” Roach said.
While he added that it seems to be “getting further away instead of closer” Roach added that he thought it would happen simply because there are so few big-draw opponents for Mayweather and Pacquiao as they seek to extend their careers and cement their legacies.
“The pool’s very small for both guys,” Roach said. “Somewhere they’re going to have to fight each other.”
Roach thinks meeting Pacquiao has become more important for Mayweather.
At 45-0 with 26 knockouts, the 37-year-old Mayweather is approaching the 46-0 career mark of retired Welsh star Joe Calzaghe and the iconic 49-0 mark of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
But Roach said that unbeaten record loses some gloss without a Pacquiao fight on it.
“His record looks good, but if he’s so good, why didn’t he fight Pacquiao?” Roach asked.
In the meantime, Pacquiao is calmly getting on with the business of preparing for Bradley, who has twice defended the title he won from Pacquiao and taken his record to 31-0 with 12 knockouts.
In his only fight of 2013 Pacquiao defeated Brandon Rios to take his record to 55-5 with two draws and 38 knockouts.
Asked if there was anything he saw from Bradley in their first fight that concerned him, Pacquiao thought for a moment, and said: “No, nothing.”
- With one month to go before Jordan hosts the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, organizers have unveiled a twist that will position the rally as one of the world’s toughest.
Following a high profile launch on May 1 in an, as yet, unnamed city center location, the Jordan Rally will be held over two days on tough tracks through the Jordan Valley and close to the Dead Sea.
But this year, organizers have removed the service stop after the first two stages on each day, to cut down on the road sections and increase the competitive intensity of the event.
Previously, drivers returned to the Dead Sea service park for maintenance and a breather after two stages but this will now take place remotely with the first visit back to ‘base’ now scheduled after five stages.
The move will not only provide a greater physical challenge to the drivers but will push the cars’ durability to the limits which could influence team tactics.
Reigning Jordan and Middle East champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah returns to Jordan as a hot favorite after securing victory in the last round in Kuwait. But he will face a host of the region’s leading drivers as well as a slew of top Jordanians.
Entry for the event will close in a fortnight so teams are advised to get in touch with Jordan Motorsport soon.
Following the soon-to-be-revealed spectator stage on the Thursday evening, the following two days will see 20 stages held on some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world of motorsport.
Middle East driver standings (after two rounds)
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) 50pts
2. Khalid Al-Qassimi (ARE) 33pts
3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) 27pts
4. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) 26pts
5. Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT) 14pts
United had been encouraged by wins over Olympiakos and West Ham United, but Dzeko needed only 43 seconds to put City ahead in the 150th league derby between the teams and the hosts never threatened to respond.
Dzeko claimed his second goal early in the second half before Yaya Toure added a late third to leave Manuel Pellegrini’s side three points behind leaders Chelsea, with two games in hand, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Arsenal.
The Bosnia international’s brace gave City a third consecutive victory at Old Trafford and prevented United from avenging their 4-1 humiliation at the Etihad Stadium in September.
Defeat left David Moyes’s United 12 points adrift of the top four and to compound matters, while they slumped to a sixth home defeat of the campaign, next week’s Champions League opponents Bayern Munich were beating Hertha Berlin to secure the Bundesliga title in record time.
Eager to avoid a repeat of United’s recent 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool, Moyes stiffened his midfield by deploying Tom Cleverley alongside Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini, but the hosts were behind within a minute.
After Rafael da Silva had thrown himself into a block to deny David Silva, City worked the ball wide to Samir Nasri on the left and when his shot came back off the near post, Dzeko tapped in.
Momentarily United looked dazed, and their sloppiness on the edge of their own box only invited City to attack them.
Jones had to slide in to block from Silva after Carrick lost the ball, while United goalkeeper David de Gea produced a superb one-handed save to thwart Dzeko and atone for a loose kick of his own.
Gradually the hosts began to make inroads, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart was able to save comfortably from first Wayne Rooney and then Fellaini, while Juan Mata lashed over from a Rafael cut-back.
Fellaini, meanwhile, was fortunate to make it to half-time after being shown only a yellow card by referee Michael Oliver despite appearing to catch City right-back Pablo Zabaleta with a deliberately raised elbow.
Moyes introduced Shinji Kagawa in place of Cleverley at half-time, but it was City who took the upper hand.
United were given warnings — Fernandinho heading over from an offside position, Jones producing a last-ditch tackle to deny Dzeko — but they did not heed them and in the 56th minute it was 2-0.
Nasri shaped a corner toward the near post from the right-hand side and Dzeko left Rio Ferdinand in his wake to steer a right-foot volley into the top-right corner.
With victory secure, City’s fans delved into their songbook, goading both Moyes and his predecessor, Alex Ferguson, as well as proclaiming their side “the pride of Manchester.”
There were opportunities for United to reduce the arrears in the latter stages, but Hart saved twice from England colleague Danny Welbeck and then boxed a deflected free-kick by Mata over the bar.
It was left to Toure to apply the coup de grace, collecting a deflected cross from substitute James Milner in the 90th minute and drilling a low shot into the bottom-left corner to notch his 21st goal of the season.
UAE’s Al-Jafla and Malik snatch Hail Rally lead
The UAE crew of Khalid Al-Jafla and Ahmad Malik stormed through the field to take an unofficial outright lead in the FIA-sanctioned Hail International Rally, Saudi Arabia’s premier off-road motor sport event, after the third leg and the second desert selective section across the An Nafud desert on Tuesday.
Jafla was in impressive form on the day’s stage in a Chevrolet Buggy and won the special after starting from fifth overall and seventh position on the road in the morning, despite losing time near the stage finish.
Former winner Rajeh Al-Shammeri began the day 25th on the road and in 29th overall after massive time penalties, but he battled through the field to record the second quickest time. Several of the top runners hit problems during the stage.
Tuesday’s third leg and second desert selective section started at Jubbah and finished at Kna’ for the cars and at Al Muhaffar for the bikes and quads. The cars ran for 192.68km of competition and the bikes and quads tackled a competitive section of 105.05km.
Unofficial overall leader Mutair Al-Shammeri was handed a 1hr 52min time penalty at the overnight halt and this pushed the Saudi down to 15th in the overall rankings and handed the lead to Farhan Al-Shammeri. The original leader had placed his Toyota on a trailer after the special stage and reached Hail without actually driving the road section.
Farhan duly arrived at the start of Tuesday’s stage with an 8min 39sec advantage over Khaled Al-Shammeri, with Motad Saud retaining third and Ridha Lafi moving up to fourth place. Thirty-one of the original 36-car entry started the day’s action, but Mufadi Al-Shammeri stopped at the stage start and Ahmed Al-Qashimi suffered technical issues shortly afterwards.
Fifth-placed Khalid Al-Jafla was the fastest of the leading group at PC1, but newly instated leader Farhan Al-Shammeri had already dropped 18 minutes and lost his advantage to Khalid Al-Shammeri.
Mutair Al-Shammeri was still permitted to run first on the road and he began to drop time as the pack chased him down, but Al-Jafla was driving superbly in the Buggy and the Emirati reached PC2 well clear of the chasing group. Ali Al-Kitbi and Ahmed Al-Shuhail were running in a virtual second and third through the stage after starting further down the field. Saleh El-Hout, former winner Rajeh Al-Shammeri and Saleh Al-Abdulali were also pushing hard at the rear of the car entry.
Al-Jafla lost time near the end of the special and arrived at the finish with Mutair Al-Shammeri, but he still climbed up the leader board. Khaled Al-Shammeri also finished well ahead of the chasing pack but there was no position for the Saudi at PC4 and he had the risk of time penalties to follow. Many of the front-runners struggled through the closing kilometers and Ridha Lafi was the fourth driver to cross the finish line.
Sultan Al-Masood was handed the overall motorcycle/quad lead at the Maghwat conference center on Monday evening after Ahmed Al-Nasser incurred a fistful of time penalties and the Saudi headed into Tuesday’s stage with a 28-second lead over Meshal Al-Khaledi once tracking and route vagaries had been taken into account.
But the Saudi stopped shortly after the start and Meshal Al-Khaledi and Abdul Majeed Khulaifi hit the front, with Al-Khaledi well clear at PC2, despite all the riders taking on extra water because of the heat. At PC2, Al-Khaledi had a 16min 33sec advantage over Khulaifi, with Ahmed Al-Nasser in third. This had given Al-Khaledi the virtual overall lead.
Wednesday, cars will tackle another demanding selective section of 256.55km through the An Nafud desert in a day’s route of 485.41km. The bikes and quads tackle a selective section of 104.5km in a longer route of 455.82km around Al Aim.
The event finishes at the Maghwat Conference Center on Thursday afternoon after 856.7km of competition in a total route of 1,685.83km
Positions after leg 2 – Tuesday (unofficial @ 14.50hrs):
*Cars
1. Khalid Al-Jafla (ARE)/Ahmed Malik (ARE) Chevrolet Buggy 7hr 40min 02sec
2. Ridha Lafi (SAU)/Nawaf Onizan (SAU) Toyota 8hr 13min 11sec
3. Ahmed Al-Shuhail (SAU)/Abdulaziz Ashfour (SAU) Nissan 8hr 20min 13sec
4. Salman Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Rasheed Al-Tiwyawi (SAU) Toyota 8hr 35min 02sec
5. Abdel Al-Ghamdi (SAU)/Mohammed Al-Ghamdi (SAU) Nissan 8hr 48min 23sec
6. Ibrahim Muhanna (SAU)/Ali Obaid (UAE) Nissan 8hr 50min 21sec
7. Niaf Al-Otaibi (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sfiani (SAU) Nissan 8hr 51min 51sec
8. Farhan Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Tariq Al-Shammeri (SAU) Toyota 8hr 53min 54sec
9. Ali Al-Kitbi (ARE)/Rashid Al-Shamsi (ARE) Nissan Patrol 8hr 53min 56sec
10. Motab Saud (SAU)/Issa Masoud (SAU) Toyota 8hr 57min 45sec
Khaled Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Farhan Al-Shammeri (SAU) Toyota 7hr 41min 51sec+
+not classified at PC4
*Results provisional at press time and exclude additional time penalties that may be added later by race officials
Spurs run streak to 14 games vs. woeful Sixers
SAN ANTONIO: Austin Daye scored a season-best 22 points as the Spurs won their 14th consecutive game 113-91 while handing the Sixers their 25th straight defeat.
Philadelphia (15-56) can match the NBA record for longest losing streak on Thursday at Houston.
Daye, playing only his fourth game since the Spurs acquired him in a trade with Toronto on Feb. 20, hit six of 10 three-point shots, grabbed six rebounds and made two blocks.
Tim Duncan scored 19 for the NBA-best Spurs (54-16).
Rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 17 points apiece.
Heat 93 Trail Blazers 91: The Miami Heat held off a furious rally by the Portland Trail Blazers to squeak out a victory.
LeBron James, playing despite a sore back and an ankle injury, led all scorers with 32 points, including the game-winning layup with 11 seconds left.
The Heat saw a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead disappear and needed a game-saving block by Chris Bosh as Portland’s Damian Lillard drove the basket in the final two seconds looking to tie the score.
Lillard scored 19 for Portland (45-26), who have now lost seven of their past 11 games.
The Heat (48-21) are 12-7 in games without Dwyane Wade, who sat out Monday’s game due to an ankle injury.
Bulls 89 Pacers 77: Taj Gibson scored 23 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Kirk Hinrich added 18 points for the Bulls (40-31). Joakim Noah finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Indiana (51-20) missed the chance to clinch the Central Division title, although that seems to be a formality. Their lead atop the Eastern Conference was trimmed to two games over Miami.
Thunder 117 Nuggets 96: Kevin Durant scored 27 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Durant has now scored at least 25 points in 35 consecutive games and is five away from tying Michael Jordan’s all-time record since the NBA merger in 1976. Durant also had eight assists and shot 10-for-21 from the field.
Oklahoma City (52-18) played without Russell Westbrook, out with a knee injury.
The injury-plagued Nuggets (32-39) were never really in contention the entire night.
Rockets 100 Bobcats 89: James Harden scored 31 points as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Harden scored 14 of his points in the third quarter, when the Rockets pushed a four-point halftime lead to 78-68 after three quarters.
Dwight Howard returned after missing the previous three games with a left ankle strain and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes as the Rockets (48-22) remain in the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Suns 102 Hawks 95: Goran Dragic used a combination of outside jumpers and drives to the basket to score 19 points, helping the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks and move a step closer to the playoffs.
Dragic scored the last six points of the third quarter to punctuate an 18-9 run and send the Suns to their fourth consecutive victory.
Phoenix (42-29) are eighth in the West and in a tight race with Dallas and Memphis for the final two playoff spots.
Grizzlies 109 Timberwolves 92: Mike Conley scored 23 points, Zach Randolph added 17 and Marc Gasol registered a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves (34-35) lost for the 16th time in their past 18 meetings with the Grizzlies (42-28).
Minnesota were led by forward Kevin Love’s 16 points.
Memphis survived a scare late in the third quarter when Conley fell to the floor after apparently re-injuring his ankle. Conley, who missed seven games in early February after spraining his right ankle, returned to start the fourth quarter, however.
Pelicans 109 Nets 104: Anthony Morrow overcame a frigid shooting night to bury a pair of three-pointers in overtime, and New Orleans got a season-high 33 points from Tyreke Evans to erase a 22-point, third-quarter deficit and defeat the Brooklyn Nets.
Morrow’s first long-range jumper came just seconds after coach Monty Williams tried to pull him from the game for his 2-of-10 shooting but had the substitution disallowed.
Anthony Davis, who scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, had a monster defensive play down the stretch for the Pelicans (30-40), swallowing up a layup attempt by Mason Plumlee.
The Nets (37-32) were paced by Paul Pierce with 24 points and Deron Williams with 23.
Pistons 114 Jazz 94: Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe had double-doubles and the Detroit Pistons ended a four-game Western Conference swing on a positive note by beating the Jazz.
Drummond scored 19 points with 14 rebounds, Monroe contributed 18 points and 11 boards.
Detroit improved to 26-44 and trail eighth-place Atlanta (31-38) by 5.5 games.
Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 32 points and dished out a team-best six assists for Utah (23-48).
CHITTAGONG: Dale Steyn and JP Duminy led South Africa to a thrilling two-run win over Group One rivals New Zealand on Monday that kept them in the hunt for a semi-final spot at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
South Africa, who lost their opening match to Sri Lanka, struggled early on and needed a blistering unbeaten 86 off 43 balls by Duminy to reach 170 for six.
New Zealand seemed to be cruising in their reply thanks to Kane Williamson’s 35-ball 51 and Ross Taylor’s 62.
They needed 31 off 24 deliveries with seven wickets in hand but a brilliant two-over spell from Steyn (4-17) turned the match on its head.
The fiery paceman dismissed the dangerous Corey Anderson for seven in the 18th over and then picked up two for four in the last over with the Kiwis, who beat England in their first match, requiring seven for victory.
Taylor, needing three off the last ball, was run out.
“I was thinking all the time, Dale is my trump card and I need to bring him back in the game because he was bowling beautifully,” South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who missed the Sri Lanka match with injury, said at the presentation.
“But with the way they were hitting the ball... it was a fantastic effort from Dale.
“We were in huge trouble at the start. JP took his time and then hit it sweetly at the end. Fantastic effort and one of the best innings I have seen him play.” Leg-spinner Imran Tahir also played a key role, taking two for 27, but paceman Morne Morkel had a day to forget as he went for 50 in three overs.
“Credit to South Africa for the way they hung in there... We probably should have won it pretty easily,” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said.
“But you can’t probably take it to the last over against such a quality bowler like Dale Steyn.
“Little bit of luck today and we would have got across the line but credit to South Africa for their performance.” Earlier, Hashim Amla (41) and Duminy fought back with a 55-run stand after South Africa had slumped to 42 for three.
The fourth-wicket partnership was broken in bizarre fashion when Amla thumped a ball from Anderson and it hit Duminy’s bat at the non-striker’s end before spooning up for the bowler to complete an easy catch.
Duminy was full of improvised strokes, bludgeoning 10 fours and three sixes as his side added 70 runs in the last five overs.
SCOREBOARD
South Africa innings:
Q. de Kock c Ronchi b Mills 4
Hashim Amla c and b Anderson 41
Faf du Plessis c N. McCullum b Southee 13
AB de Villiers b N. McCullum 5
JP Duminy not out 86
D. Miller c and b Anderson 6
A. Morkel b Southee 13
D. Steyn not out 1
Extras: 1
Total: (for 6 wkts; 20 overs) 170
Fall of wkts: 1-16, 2-32, 3-42, 4-97, 5-131, 6-159.
Bowling: Mills 4-0-29-1, McClenaghan 4-0-30-0 (1w), Southee 4-0-46-2, N. McCullum 4-0-24-1, Anderson 3-0-28-2, Williamson 1-0-13-0.
New Zealand innings:
M. Guptill c de Kock b A. Morkel 22
K. Williamson c de Villiers b Steyn 51
B. McCullum st de Kock b Tahir 4
R. Taylor run out 62
C. Munro c Amla b Tahir 7
C. Anderson c Miller b Steyn 7
L. Ronchi c de Kock b Steyn 5
N. McCullum c du Plessis b Steyn 4
T. Southee not out 0
Extras: 6
Total: (for 8 wkts; 20 overs) 168
Fall of wkts: 1-57, 2-66, 3-117, 4-140, 5-148, 6-164, 7-168, 8-168.
Bowling: Duminy 3-0-30-0, Tsotsobe 4-0-29-0 (1w), Steyn 4-0-17-4, M. Morkel 3-0-50-0 (1w), A. Morkel 2-0-13-1, Tahir 4-0-27-2 (2w).
Federer, Murray in simmering Miami:
MIAMI: Two-time winner Roger Federer and defending champion Andy Murray eased into the fourth round of the ATP and WTA Miami Masters, producing efficient wins in heat and humidity Sunday.
Fifth-ranked Federer pounded Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour while British sixth seed Murray downed practice partner Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-1.
Ivan Lendl, the coach from whom Murray recently parted, was sitting in the player box to watch his former protege’s triumph.
Federer, 32, broke for victory in the final game, with de Bakker saving a pair of match points but also double-faulting at a crucial moment.
Federer secured his 21st match win of the season when a backhand from the Dutchman floated long.
“I’m feeling really good with my game,” said Federer, who next faces French ninth seed Richard Gasquet.
“My confidence is high and I’m moving well. I’m excited about how I’ve been playing.” Federer said he will need to gather information on Gasquet, whom he last played in November at the season-ending event in London.
“We’ve played many times and I’m not sure how he’s playing right now,” he said. “I have to find out a little bit.” Murray polished his record to 9-0 over Lopez in only 73 minutes. The Scotsman, who does much of his off-season training in Miami, improved to 21-6 in the US city.
“I don’t know how hot it was, but when we came over at like 9:30 it was already 80 Fahrenheit (23 Celsius) and it was extremely humid. They are not easy conditions,” said Murray.
He now faces French 11th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who outlasted Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5.
Murray has won eight of their nine ATP meetings, the most recent last year on grass at Queen’s.
Tsonga trailed a set and was down 5-1 in the second-set tiebreaker when he suddenly found some much-needed form, rallying to win after two and a half hours.
The Frenchman fired 16 aces and needed only one break of serve to make the winning difference.
“It seemed like a very tough match,” Murray said of Tsonga’s win. “A lot of tight games toward the end. He did well to come back.” Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer defeated Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2.
Also advancing was Chinese world number two Li Na, the reigning Australian Open champion who dispatched American Madison Keys 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Li spent nearly an hour surviving the first set, saving two set points on the serve of 38th-ranked Keys.
The American committed a backhand error on her first chance and double-faulted on the second before Li got the break for 5-4 in a set which eventually went into a tiebreaker.
Li won the decider on the first of four set points to seize the momentum. She then saved a pair of break points in the final game and won after one hour, 41 minutes.
Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, last week’s Indian Wells runner-up, beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina 7-5, 6-3.
Radwanska will play 19-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tenth-seeded Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova beat Alize Cornet 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 while former world number one Caroline Wozniacki hammered American Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-0.
Every nabs breakthrough win on PGA Tour
ORLANDO, Florida: Matt Every always believed he would finally win on the PGA Tour. He couldn’t have imagined it happening Sunday at Bay Hill.
Nine shots out of the lead going into the weekend, still four shots behind Adam Scott going into the final round, Every took advantage of a surprising collapse by the Masters champion and held on to the very end for a 2-under 70 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Every made two bogeys in the last three holes, including a 4-foot par putt he missed on the 18th hole. That forced him to wait 10 excruciating minutes to see if Keegan Bradley could force a playoff. Bradley’s 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole missed on the left side.
Cocky by nature, Every choked back tears when he realized he had won in his 92nd try as a professional.
“It’s hard,” he said, stopping to compose himself. “It’s tough, man. You just never know if it’s going to happen. You get there so many times. It’s nice to get it done.”
Scott, in his final tournament before he defends his title at Augusta National, came undone.
Along with two quick bogeys to start his round, he didn’t make a birdie over the final 14 holes. Nothing summed up his awful day like the par-5 16th, the easiest at Bay Hill. Every made a bogey to fall to 14-under par. Scott, playing behind him in the final group, had a 20-foot eagle putt on the 16th to tie for the lead. He ran it 4 feet by, and then missed that for a three-putt par.
Scott closed with a 76 to finish third. He had to win to reach No. 1 when he arrived at the Masters. Now, the No. 1 spot held by Tiger Woods for the last year will be up for grabs at Augusta among Woods, Scott and Henrik Stenson, who tied for fifth at Bay Hill.
Every grew up about 90 minutes away in Daytona Beach. This was the first PGA Tour event he attended as a kid, coming with his father to watch Mark Calcavecchia, his favorite player. After a wild final hour, Every donned the blue blazer on the 18th green and had an audience with The King — tournament host Arnold Palmer.
“I kept telling myself, ‘Maybe it’s going to be somewhere special,’” Every said about going for his first win. “This is really cool. I still can’t believe it.”
Every finished at 13-under 275, one shot ahead of Bradley, who needed two late birdies for a 72.
Until Sunday, about the only time Every made news on the PGA Tour was when he was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor drug possession charge at the 2010 John Deere Classic after agents were called to a casino hotel because of a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room he was in.
Every paid the price with a three-month suspension that kept him from retaining his PGA Tour card. He once said earning his card back was his greatest achievement, though that sure takes a seat back to his win at Bay Hill.
Along with getting into the Masters, Every qualifies for two World Golf Championships and the PGA Championship.
Jason Kokrak closed with a 73 to finish alone in fourth. Erik Compton, twice a recipient of a heart transplant, shot 69 and tied for fifth with Stenson and Francesco Molinari of Italy (73).
As big of a win as it was for Every, it was crushing for Scott. His long putter staked him a big lead at the halfway point, and it hurt over the final two rounds, particularly on Sunday. The longest putt he made all day was from 12 feet for par on the 15th hole, and he missed five putts inside 10 feet.
He had talked Saturday night about being in the prime of his career and needing to capitalize on chances. Instead, the 33-year-old Australian let another one get away.
Scott had a three-shot lead over Bradley to start the final round and had another sloppy start.
This time, however, he didn’t recover.
He went bunker-to-bunker for bogey on the opening hole and pulled his 3-wood off the tee and into the water for another bogey on No. 3. He appeared to steady himself with an up-and-down birdie on the par-5 fourth.
He didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way.
Every seized control after one of his worst shots of the day, and one of his best breaks. He pulled his tee shot on No. 9 toward the trees and the out-of-bounds stakes, only for the ball to roll along the cart path for a slight opening through the trees. He hit that 15 feet below the hole for birdie, and then tied Scott for the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the next hole.
And when Every made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, it was the first time since mid-morning Thursday that someone other than Scott was not atop the leaderboard. And it only got better for Every — and worse for Scott — the rest of the way.
Iowa State edges North Carolina 85-83:
SAN ANTONIO: DeAndre Kane drove for the game-winning layup with 1.6 seconds left and No. 3 seed Iowa State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000 with an 85-83 victory over North Carolina on Sunday.
The Cyclones (28-7) head to Madison Square Garden next week to face No. 7 seed Connecticut in the East Regional semifinals.
The Tar Heels (24-10) are gone in the NCAA tournament's opening weekend for the first time in consecutive seasons under coach Roy Williams.
North Carolina's Nate Britt raced the ball up court after Kane's basket, but time expired before he could reach halfcourt and call a timeout. Officials huddled for several minutes reviewing clock replays before ruling the game was over.
Marcus Paige led the Tar Heels with 19 points.
Virginia 78 Memphis 60: In Raleigh, N.C., Joe Harris scored 16 points and top-seeded Virginia shot 56 percent, earning its first trip to the NCAA tournament round of 16 in nearly two decades.
Anthony Gill added 13 points for the Cavaliers (30-6), who turned in a dominating performance while controlling the tempo and shutting down the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-10) at nearly every turn.
Virginia led by 15 at halftime and pushed that to 27 points late, picking right up where it left off in its strong finish to Friday's tournament-opening win against Coastal Carolina.
MIDWEST REGION
Tennessee 83 Mercer 63: Jarnell Stokes had 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds, and Tennessee denied Mercer a second straight upset in the NCAA tournament.
Josh Richardson had a career-high 26 points and Antonio Barton added 18 for the 11th-seeded Vols (24-12), who outrebounded Mercer 41-19 and kept the Southeastern Conference perfect in the tournament.
They joined Florida and Kentucky in the round of 16 — the first time three SEC teams made it that far since 2007.
Tennessee will face second-seeded Michigan (27-8) in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in Indianapolis.
SOUTH REGION
UCLA 77 Stephen F. Austin 60: In San Diego, Jordan Adams scored 19 points and UCLA reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.
The fourth-seeded Bruins (28-8) will play Florida, the tournament's overall top seed, in the South Regional semifinals on Thursday in Memphis. First-year coach Steve Alford has won as many NCAA tournament games in three days as the Bruins had in the previous five seasons combined.
Alford replaced Ben Howland, who was fired a year ago after the Bruins lost to Minnesota in their NCAA tournament opener. This is UCLA's first trip to the regionals since Howland got the Bruins to their third straight Final Four in 2008.
Stephen F. Austin (32-3), the No. 12 seed, had its 29-game winning streak snapped.
WEST REGION
Baylor 85 Creighton 55: In San Antonio, Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip each scored 17 points and Baylor shut down Creighton's Doug McDermott with suffocating defense, ending the career of the one of the most prolific scorers in college history.
Baylor's size and speed overwhelmed the third-seeded Bluejays (27-8) and their national scoring leader, earning a third trip to the Sweet 16 since 2010.
McDermott, who averaged 27 points this season, finished with 15 but had just three in the first half as Baylor built a 20-point lead. McDermott ranks fifth on the NCAA career scoring list.
No. 6 seed Baylor (26-11) had five players score in double figures and shot 64 percent in one of the dominant performances of the NCAA tournament. The Bears advance to play Wisconsin in the West Regional semifinals.
Arizona 84 Gonzaga 61: In San Diego, Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 18 points each, and Arizona looked every bit the No. 1 seed in the West.
After four days of upsets and buzzer beaters, Arizona (32-4) closed out the NCAA tournament's first weekend with a display of domination.
The Wildcats harassed the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (29-7) into 21 turnovers — 15 on steals — that led to 31 points.
Cavaliers snap Knicks’ winning streak:
NEW YORK: The short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, using just nine players, beat the Knicks 106-100 to end New York’s eight-game winning streak.
Cavaliers (27-44) guard Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 31 points and recorded 10 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Jack started in place of Cleveland’s leading scorer, Kyrie Irving, who is out due to a biceps injury.
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks (29-40), who failed to capitalize on an Atlanta loss earlier in the day. New York trails the Hawks by three games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Nets 107 Mavericks 104 OT: The Brooklyn Nets got the big shots and big stops when they needed them most in rallying to beat Dallas in overtime.
Joe Johnson scored 22 points, sending the game into overtime with a shot with 9.9 seconds left in regulation, including six to seal it in the extra session.
The Nets (37-31) won for the 11th time in their last 13 games, as they continue to climb in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Brooklyn, fifth in the East, are eyeing a top-four seed with 14 games left in the regular season.
The Mavericks (42-29) fell into eighth in the Western Conference and dropped to 2-2 on their franchise-record eight-game homestand.
Suns 127 Timberwolves 120: Markieff Morris scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns (41-29) trailed after each of the first three quarters, but outscored the Timberwolves 34-17 in the fourth.
With 48 seconds to play, Eric Bledsoe put Phoenix on top 120-118 and they sealed it at the free throw line.
Kevin Love emerged with game-high totals in points (36) and rebounds (14) for Minnesota (34-34).
Nuggets 105 Wizards 102: Kenneth Faried had 20 points and eight rebounds as the short-handed Denver Nuggets overcame a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards.
Washington (36-34) pulled to two with 10 seconds to go but the Nuggets closed it with free throws.
Randy Foye had 17 points and forward Darrell Arthur added 15 off the Nuggets bench.
Injury ravaged Denver (32-38) played their first game without J.J. Hickson, who tore his right ACL and was lost for the season on Friday.
Lakers 103 Magic 94: Jordan Hill scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Lakers end a four-game skid with a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Nick Young scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers (23-46), who handed the Magic their ninth consecutive defeat.
Orlando (19-52), the worst road team in the NBA at 4-34, have lost 23 of their past 24 games.
Victor Oladipo led Orlando with 21 points and 10 assists. Arron Afflalo added 18 points, while Tobias Harris had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Raptors 96 Hawks 86: Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 25 points and the Toronto Raptors came from behind to defeat the Atlanta Hawks.
The Raptors overcame a 14-point deficit and took their first lead of the second half when DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper to make it 85-84 lead with two minutes remaining. DeRozan finished with 21 points.
Paul Millsap and and DeMarre Carroll each had 17 points for Atlanta (31-37).
With the win, Toronto (39-30) matched their win total at home last season at 21. The Raptors now have a winning home record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Kings 124 Bucks 107: DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points and pulled in 12 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas added 30 points and Rudy Gay had 24, and the Kings rolled to a victory over the hapless Bucks.
The Kings (25-45) led from wire to wire for the first time all season.
O.J. Mayo led the Bucks (13-57) with 21 points, but Milwaukee lost for the seventh consecutive time, their third skid of at least that many games this season.
Messi hat trick guides Barca to 4-3 win at Madrid:
Talk ‘N Text poised for No. 1 after beating Ginebra
Showing no signs of fatigue despite having the busiest schedule in the first 18 days of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Talk ‘N Text can go into a week-long break knowing it did nothing wrong.
The Tropang Texters stayed perfect after carving out a 94-87 victory over Barangay Ginebra on Sunday night and they can resume gunning for the No. 1 playoff spot next weekend as one fully rested lot.
No other team has played six games since the tournament opened last March 5 and no team has yet to defeat the Texters, who are playing with so much fluidity that Ranidel de Ocampo led five others in twin digits in the impressive win at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We have seven days off, and I am happy to take that,” said coach Norman Black, who also acknowledged a huge endgame break that went their way with 2:16 left that stopped Ginebra’s comeback cold.
Ginebra trailed by as large as 16 points early in the fourth quarter before coming to within 81-87 only for a bum call from the referees awarded possession to Talk ‘N Text which led to a De Ocampo layup going into the final 1:32.
“That was one (good) call (for us) the entire game,” Black, who got thrown out for the first time in his long PBA career last week for contesting a bum call against San Miguel Beer, said.
“Breaks happen like that. We’ve been on the other end (of bum calls) so many times,” he added.
Import Richard Howell scored 19 points and had 23 rebounds for the Texters, who also drew twin digit outputs from Jason Castro, Ryan Reyes and Larry Fonacier.
Fonacier hit a cold-blooded triple from right quarter court with 29.4 seconds remaining that made it 92-85 that all but snuffed the fight out of the Gin Kings, who dropped to 2-3 overall.
“Besides that (the endgame break), I think we played good defense, executed what we wanted to do defensively and that is to take the ball out of the hands of LA (Tenorio) and (Mark) Caguioa,” Black, a Grand Slam winner with San Miguel, said.
Leon Rodgers, the Ginebra import, scored 32 points but local support – or the lack of it – clearly spelled the difference for the Gin Kings.
Mark Caguioa did score 14 points but was scoreless in the final 12 minutes and Ginebra’s twin tower combination of 7-foot rookie Greg Slaughter and the 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar could only combine for 13 points and 12 boards.
Tenorio found the going rough all game long as the Talk ‘N Text defense met him up high each time that delayed the set up of the Ginebra offense.
Aguilar played 20 minutes and had just five points and two boards, his performance continuing to take a dip that started in the playoffs of the Philippine Cup won by the San Mig Coffee Mixers.
In the first game, Brian Butch — who was told before the start of the game that he was on the way out — made the entire Meralco coaching staff have second thoughts after shooting 40 points and grabbing 31 rebounds in a 109-98 win over Air21.
The Bolts, with Butch scoring 21 points in the fourth period, rallied from deficits of as large as 20 points in the third quarter and were 18 behind at the start of the fourth.
Meralco got back into the upper half of the standings after rising to 3-2.
Darnell Jackson is already in town ready to take the job of Butch, until the explosion against the Express had coaching staff led by Ryan Gregorio, and management thinking things over again.
Wesley Witherspoon debuted with 44 points for the Express, who blew an 81-61 third quarter lead to now be at 2-3 like the Kings.
Gators beat Pittsburgh to advance to Sweet 16:
ORLANDO, Florida: Scottie Wilbekin scored 21 points and top-seeded Florida beat Pittsburgh 61-45 in the NCAA tournament Saturday, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive year.
Patric Young added seven points and eight rebounds for the Gators, who extended their school record for consecutive wins to 28 with the victory in the South Regional.
Coming off a lacklustre performance in its NCAA opener, Florida (34-2) played with considerably more energy and intensity against the Panthers (26-10).
Wilbekin and Young spearheaded the effort. The Gators were 5 of 20 from behind the arc, with at least five of those rimming in and out.
Florida advanced to the round of 16, where it will play fourth-seeded UCLA or 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin on Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee The Bruins and Lumberjacks play Sunday in San Diego.
Talib Zanna led the Panthers with 10 points, their only player in double figures.
Dayton 55 Syracuse 53: In Buffalo, N.Y., Dyshawn Pierre scored 14 points and Jordan Sibert, held scoreless in the first half, hit a key 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left as Dayton stunned Syracuse to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time in three decades.
Syracuse was in position to pull it out, but freshman Tyler Ennis missed two jumpers that would have given the Orange the lead in the final seconds.
Dayton (25-10), the 11th seed in the South, advanced to the regional semifinals next week against No. 2 seed Kansas or 10th-seeded Stanford.
The third-seeded Orange (28-6), who finished second in their first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, struggled all game against the swarming Dayton defense.
EAST REGIONAL
Michigan State 80 Harvard 73: In Spokane, Washington, Branden Dawson scored a career-high 26 points to help fourth-seeded Michigan State fend off a wild Harvard rally.
The 12th-seeded Crimson (27-5) trailed by 16 early in the second half but took a 62-60 lead when Laurent Rivard hit a 3-pointer with 7:12 remaining. Travis Trice answered with a 3 of his own on the next possession, and the Spartans (28-8) never trailed again.
Michigan State made it to the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in 17 years. Gary Harris had 18 points and five assists for the Spartans, who will play top-seeded Virginia or No. 8 seed Memphis next Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Connecticut 77 Villanova 65: In Buffalo, N.Y., Shabazz Napier scored 25 points in leading Connecticut over second-seeded Villanova, which became the highest seed to get knocked out of the tournament so far.
No. 7 seed Connecticut (28-8) advanced to the regional semifinals in New York City next week, when they’ll play the winner of Sunday’s game between third-seeded Iowa State and sixth-seeded North Carolina.
Ryan Arcidiacono scored 18 points for Villanova (29-5) in a matchup of two former Big East rivals.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
Louisville 66 Saint Louis 51: Luke Hancock scored 21 points and defending national champion Louisville shrugged off a cold shooting performance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
The fourth-seeded Cardinals (31-5) shot under 45 percent, had 19 turnovers and only got 11 points from star Russ Smith. It didn’t matter, with the fifth-seeded Billikens (27-7) going 0 for 15 from 3-point range and struggling to take care of the ball.
Louisville moved on to face No. 1 seed Wichita State or No. 8 seed Kentucky. The unbeaten Shockers and Wildcats meet Sunday in St. Louis.
Michigan 79 Texas 65: In Milwaukee, Nik Stauskas had 17 points and eight assists to lead Michigan to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
Jordan Morgan added 15 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 seed Michigan (27-8) advanced to the regional semifinals in Indianapolis. The Wolverines will face the winner of Sunday’s Mercer-Tennessee game in Raleigh, N.C.
Michigan lost to Louisville in the national championship game a year ago.
WEST REGIONAL
Wisconsin 85 Oregon 77: In Milwaukee, Ben Brust hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:07 left and second-seeded Wisconsin overcame seventh-seeded Oregon to reach the Sweet 16.
Brust’s clutch 3 from the corner gave the Badgers (28-7) the lead for good in a heavyweight fight of an NCAA tournament game. They will play third-seeded Creighton or No. 6 seed Baylor in the regional semifinals.
Traevon Jackson followed with three free throws, but missed one with 21 seconds left to give the Ducks (24-10) one more chance to tie trailing by three.
San Diego State 63 North Dakota State 44: In Spokane, Washington, Xavier Thames scored 30 points and San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history.
The fourth-seeded Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the highway to Anaheim, California, where they will face No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals.
Dodgers, Diamondbacks arrive Down Under:
SYDNEY: Adrian Gonzalez ripped line drives to all areas of the park, often scattering his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in the outfield from the safety of the batting cage. It was just a few hours after arriving in Australia, with his body thinking it was about midnight.
Still, the first baseman who led the Dodgers in hits, home runs, RBIs and games played last season did a good job of making Sydney Cricket Ground, the home for two Major League Baseball season-opening games this weekend, sound and look like a real ballpark.
The Dodgers and their weekend opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks, arrived early Tuesday on separate jumbos from the US west coast. It was a 15-hour flight and took the teams across the International Date Line, missing Monday altogether, and putting them in a time zone 18 hours ahead of the one they left behind.
Hence Gonzalez in the batting cage was well past his usual bedtime, but looking pretty impressive.
“We’re all very excited to be here,” Gonzalez said before the Dodgers’ workout. “We’ll have a few hits, see how the ball carries, but it all looks like a real ball park.”
Vin Scully, the 86-year-old Dodgers’ announcer, proclaimed after he got off the plane that “it’s great to be here,” and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and his Diamondbacks counterpart Kirk Gibson later gave the ball field a similar thumbs-up.
“No question, everyone is saying that having a chance to start the season here in Sydney, to be able to get out of spring training a bit early, it’s great,” said Mattingly. “Let’s get this thing started.”
Gibson said he had fond memories of Australia because he spent his honeymoon here in 1985 “and that part worked out pretty good, so I hope this does.”
“Of all the historic places we’ve played over the years, you walk in and you can see they’ve put a lot of work into the field,” Gibson added. “And I’ve been told by (Diamondbacks’ Australian relief pitcher) Ryan Rowland-Smith, it’s fair dinkum.”
Translated, that means he thinks it’s a pretty good place to play baseball.
Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was in the best position to judge the change to Sydney Cricket Ground, having been part of a promotional visit here last year.
“When I was here it was set up for cricket matches, but you wouldn’t know that walking out there today,” he said. “Very impressed.”
Goldschmidt said he was surprised by the distance in foul territory between the baselines and the stands. That’s in keeping with the natural shape of a cricket ground, where the batting “wicket” is usually closer to the center of the ground and the entire field is in play.
“Foul territory, that’s going to be the big difference,” Goldschmidt said. “But baseball stadiums are different in the States, so it’ll just take some adjusting. We’ll work it out in the next few days.”
The teams will only have one workout Wednesday before taking on Team Australia in a pair of exhibition games — the Diamondbacks on Thursday and the Dodgers on Friday.
Clayton Kershaw, who spent time Tuesday stretching in the outfield bullpen, will start for the Dodgers in Saturday’s season opener. Left-hander Wade Miley replaces Patrick Corbin, who has a left elbow injury, as the Diamondbacks starter.
Gibson said Tuesday the Diamondbacks were still waiting for a second opinion on the severity of Corbin’s injury, which could require surgery and put him out for the season.
The teams will close out the two-game series Sunday when the Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu is slated to start against Arizona’s Trevor Cahill.
The series marks the first regular-season games in Australia. Previous MLB season openers were held in Monterrey, Mexico (1999), San Juan, Puerto Rico (2001) and four times in Tokyo, most recently in 2012.
The weekend games will mark the 100th anniversary of an exhibition game played by the Chicago White Sox and the New York Giants at the same stadium.
Capacity crowds of about 40,000 are expected for both games at the historic ground where Australia’s cricket teams have played memorable matches for the past century and a half. In keeping with the theme, Goldschmidt and Gonzalez were presented with cricket bats signed by Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke.
The two first basemen were asked to pose with the bats, and a few in the crowd chuckled when Gonzalez initially slung it over his shoulder in a very un-cricket like pose. But he quickly adopted an impressive Clarke-like stance for the cameras.
Gonzalez also prompted laughter later when he answered a question in Spanish for about 30 seconds. When asked for a translation into English, his response took only several seconds. He smiled and said: “We’re ready to go.”
Djokovic beats Federer to win Indian Wells title
INDIAN WELLS, California: Novak Djokovic came into Indian Wells for the first time in four years without a title.
He left with a $1 million check and his first trophy of the year, beating Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open for the third time.
“Not winning a title and coming here, there were certain doubts,” Djokovic said. “I had ups and downs in my concentration in opening rounds, but I managed to stay mentally strong and have that self-belief. That’s something that definitely makes this title very special to me.”
Federer rallied from a break down and a 5-3 deficit in the third set to force the tiebreaker, but he made a slew of mistakes to lose the 33rd meeting between the rivals.
Federer still leads the series 17-16, having beaten Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals at Dubai two weeks ago. Djokovic will remain No. 2 in the world, while Federer will rise three spots to No. 5 on Monday in the ATP Tour rankings.
Flavia Pennetta routed injured Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 to win the women’s title, the biggest of her career.
Federer was trying to win a record fifth title in the Southern California desert, and at 32, he would have been the oldest Masters 1000 winner since 34-year-old Andre Agassi won at Cincinnati in 2004.
But Djokovic wouldn’t allow it.
After Federer breezed to the first set in 31 minutes, Djokovic earned the lone break of the second set to go up 5-3 after Federer pulled a forehand wide.
“I know he always comes out confident, aggressive,” Djokovic said. “He doesn’t give you the victory; you have to earn it.”
Djokovic got the early break in the third, again on one of Federer’s forehand errors, to lead 2-1. His 112-mph (180 kph) ace gave him a 4-2 lead, and he extended it to 5-3 with a backhand winner down the line.
But Federer then served a love-game to make it 5-4 and broke Djokovic to tie the set, 5-all.
“I was able to just keep the pressure on Novak and show him that if he slips up, I will be there and I will make it a very competitive match in the end for him,” Federer said.
In the tiebreaker, however, the Serb raced to a 5-1 lead, helped by four errors from Federer, and closed it out when Federer’s backhand landed in the net.
“At the end, he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered,” Federer said.
A year ago, Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis.
The Italian veteran’s ranking plunged to 166th in the world in June, and she had struggled to rebuild her career after having right wrist surgery the previous August.
Now she’s glad she stuck around.
“After so many years, so much work and everything, this is the moment I always waited for,” she said. “And it’s coming when you don’t expect. It was something I was waiting since long time, and finally I have a good trophy in my hands.”
Actually, the crystal trophy was so heavy, she didn’t hoist it for photographers.
The 32-year-old Italian became the third-oldest winner of the tournament after Martina Navratilova, who won at age 33 and again at 34 in 1990-91. It was Pennetta’s first title since winning at Marbella in 2010.
“We are old, but we still good athletes,” Pennetta said. “We are strong. We have so many years on the tour, and we know how to handle the emotion and everything.”
As the 20th seed, Pennetta became the lowest seed to win the title. She came in ranked 21st and is projected to rise to No. 12 in the world Monday in the WTA Tour rankings. She beat top-seeded Li Na in the semifinals on her way to the title.
Radwanska, seeded second, was bothered with a left knee injury in the final. She twice called for the trainer in the second set and had her knee heavily taped. She was in tears apologizing to the sympathetic crowd afterward, saying she was unable to run.
The Pole said she hurt her knee a few days ago in practice.
“I just didn’t expect it was going to be much worse today,” she said. “But when the pain is so big that nothing is working — no painkillers, no tape — that means it is bad.”
Drogba vows to pile on the misery for Chelsea
Stirling steers Ireland last-ball win over Zimbabwe
Minions, Noto excel in Alyoum Tuesday Bowling League
Philadelphia (15-56) can match the NBA record for longest losing streak on Thursday at Houston.
Daye, playing only his fourth game since the Spurs acquired him in a trade with Toronto on Feb. 20, hit six of 10 three-point shots, grabbed six rebounds and made two blocks.
Tim Duncan scored 19 for the NBA-best Spurs (54-16).
Rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 17 points apiece.
Heat 93 Trail Blazers 91: The Miami Heat held off a furious rally by the Portland Trail Blazers to squeak out a victory.
LeBron James, playing despite a sore back and an ankle injury, led all scorers with 32 points, including the game-winning layup with 11 seconds left.
The Heat saw a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead disappear and needed a game-saving block by Chris Bosh as Portland’s Damian Lillard drove the basket in the final two seconds looking to tie the score.
Lillard scored 19 for Portland (45-26), who have now lost seven of their past 11 games.
The Heat (48-21) are 12-7 in games without Dwyane Wade, who sat out Monday’s game due to an ankle injury.
Bulls 89 Pacers 77: Taj Gibson scored 23 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Kirk Hinrich added 18 points for the Bulls (40-31). Joakim Noah finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Indiana (51-20) missed the chance to clinch the Central Division title, although that seems to be a formality. Their lead atop the Eastern Conference was trimmed to two games over Miami.
Thunder 117 Nuggets 96: Kevin Durant scored 27 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Durant has now scored at least 25 points in 35 consecutive games and is five away from tying Michael Jordan’s all-time record since the NBA merger in 1976. Durant also had eight assists and shot 10-for-21 from the field.
Oklahoma City (52-18) played without Russell Westbrook, out with a knee injury.
The injury-plagued Nuggets (32-39) were never really in contention the entire night.
Rockets 100 Bobcats 89: James Harden scored 31 points as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Harden scored 14 of his points in the third quarter, when the Rockets pushed a four-point halftime lead to 78-68 after three quarters.
Dwight Howard returned after missing the previous three games with a left ankle strain and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes as the Rockets (48-22) remain in the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Suns 102 Hawks 95: Goran Dragic used a combination of outside jumpers and drives to the basket to score 19 points, helping the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks and move a step closer to the playoffs.
Dragic scored the last six points of the third quarter to punctuate an 18-9 run and send the Suns to their fourth consecutive victory.
Phoenix (42-29) are eighth in the West and in a tight race with Dallas and Memphis for the final two playoff spots.
Grizzlies 109 Timberwolves 92: Mike Conley scored 23 points, Zach Randolph added 17 and Marc Gasol registered a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves (34-35) lost for the 16th time in their past 18 meetings with the Grizzlies (42-28).
Minnesota were led by forward Kevin Love’s 16 points.
Memphis survived a scare late in the third quarter when Conley fell to the floor after apparently re-injuring his ankle. Conley, who missed seven games in early February after spraining his right ankle, returned to start the fourth quarter, however.
Pelicans 109 Nets 104: Anthony Morrow overcame a frigid shooting night to bury a pair of three-pointers in overtime, and New Orleans got a season-high 33 points from Tyreke Evans to erase a 22-point, third-quarter deficit and defeat the Brooklyn Nets.
Morrow’s first long-range jumper came just seconds after coach Monty Williams tried to pull him from the game for his 2-of-10 shooting but had the substitution disallowed.
Anthony Davis, who scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, had a monster defensive play down the stretch for the Pelicans (30-40), swallowing up a layup attempt by Mason Plumlee.
The Nets (37-32) were paced by Paul Pierce with 24 points and Deron Williams with 23.
Pistons 114 Jazz 94: Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe had double-doubles and the Detroit Pistons ended a four-game Western Conference swing on a positive note by beating the Jazz.
Drummond scored 19 points with 14 rebounds, Monroe contributed 18 points and 11 boards.
Detroit improved to 26-44 and trail eighth-place Atlanta (31-38) by 5.5 games.
Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 32 points and dished out a team-best six assists for Utah (23-48).
CHITTAGONG: Dale Steyn and JP Duminy led South Africa to a thrilling two-run win over Group One rivals New Zealand on Monday that kept them in the hunt for a semi-final spot at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
South Africa, who lost their opening match to Sri Lanka, struggled early on and needed a blistering unbeaten 86 off 43 balls by Duminy to reach 170 for six.
New Zealand seemed to be cruising in their reply thanks to Kane Williamson’s 35-ball 51 and Ross Taylor’s 62.
They needed 31 off 24 deliveries with seven wickets in hand but a brilliant two-over spell from Steyn (4-17) turned the match on its head.
The fiery paceman dismissed the dangerous Corey Anderson for seven in the 18th over and then picked up two for four in the last over with the Kiwis, who beat England in their first match, requiring seven for victory.
Taylor, needing three off the last ball, was run out.
“I was thinking all the time, Dale is my trump card and I need to bring him back in the game because he was bowling beautifully,” South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who missed the Sri Lanka match with injury, said at the presentation.
“But with the way they were hitting the ball... it was a fantastic effort from Dale.
“We were in huge trouble at the start. JP took his time and then hit it sweetly at the end. Fantastic effort and one of the best innings I have seen him play.” Leg-spinner Imran Tahir also played a key role, taking two for 27, but paceman Morne Morkel had a day to forget as he went for 50 in three overs.
“Credit to South Africa for the way they hung in there... We probably should have won it pretty easily,” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said.
“But you can’t probably take it to the last over against such a quality bowler like Dale Steyn.
“Little bit of luck today and we would have got across the line but credit to South Africa for their performance.” Earlier, Hashim Amla (41) and Duminy fought back with a 55-run stand after South Africa had slumped to 42 for three.
The fourth-wicket partnership was broken in bizarre fashion when Amla thumped a ball from Anderson and it hit Duminy’s bat at the non-striker’s end before spooning up for the bowler to complete an easy catch.
Duminy was full of improvised strokes, bludgeoning 10 fours and three sixes as his side added 70 runs in the last five overs.
SCOREBOARD
South Africa innings:
Q. de Kock c Ronchi b Mills 4
Hashim Amla c and b Anderson 41
Faf du Plessis c N. McCullum b Southee 13
AB de Villiers b N. McCullum 5
JP Duminy not out 86
D. Miller c and b Anderson 6
A. Morkel b Southee 13
D. Steyn not out 1
Extras: 1
Total: (for 6 wkts; 20 overs) 170
Fall of wkts: 1-16, 2-32, 3-42, 4-97, 5-131, 6-159.
Bowling: Mills 4-0-29-1, McClenaghan 4-0-30-0 (1w), Southee 4-0-46-2, N. McCullum 4-0-24-1, Anderson 3-0-28-2, Williamson 1-0-13-0.
New Zealand innings:
M. Guptill c de Kock b A. Morkel 22
K. Williamson c de Villiers b Steyn 51
B. McCullum st de Kock b Tahir 4
R. Taylor run out 62
C. Munro c Amla b Tahir 7
C. Anderson c Miller b Steyn 7
L. Ronchi c de Kock b Steyn 5
N. McCullum c du Plessis b Steyn 4
T. Southee not out 0
Extras: 6
Total: (for 8 wkts; 20 overs) 168
Fall of wkts: 1-57, 2-66, 3-117, 4-140, 5-148, 6-164, 7-168, 8-168.
Bowling: Duminy 3-0-30-0, Tsotsobe 4-0-29-0 (1w), Steyn 4-0-17-4, M. Morkel 3-0-50-0 (1w), A. Morkel 2-0-13-1, Tahir 4-0-27-2 (2w).
Federer, Murray in simmering Miami:
MIAMI: Two-time winner Roger Federer and defending champion Andy Murray eased into the fourth round of the ATP and WTA Miami Masters, producing efficient wins in heat and humidity Sunday.
Fifth-ranked Federer pounded Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour while British sixth seed Murray downed practice partner Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-1.
Ivan Lendl, the coach from whom Murray recently parted, was sitting in the player box to watch his former protege’s triumph.
Federer, 32, broke for victory in the final game, with de Bakker saving a pair of match points but also double-faulting at a crucial moment.
Federer secured his 21st match win of the season when a backhand from the Dutchman floated long.
“I’m feeling really good with my game,” said Federer, who next faces French ninth seed Richard Gasquet.
“My confidence is high and I’m moving well. I’m excited about how I’ve been playing.” Federer said he will need to gather information on Gasquet, whom he last played in November at the season-ending event in London.
“We’ve played many times and I’m not sure how he’s playing right now,” he said. “I have to find out a little bit.” Murray polished his record to 9-0 over Lopez in only 73 minutes. The Scotsman, who does much of his off-season training in Miami, improved to 21-6 in the US city.
“I don’t know how hot it was, but when we came over at like 9:30 it was already 80 Fahrenheit (23 Celsius) and it was extremely humid. They are not easy conditions,” said Murray.
He now faces French 11th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who outlasted Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5.
Murray has won eight of their nine ATP meetings, the most recent last year on grass at Queen’s.
Tsonga trailed a set and was down 5-1 in the second-set tiebreaker when he suddenly found some much-needed form, rallying to win after two and a half hours.
The Frenchman fired 16 aces and needed only one break of serve to make the winning difference.
“It seemed like a very tough match,” Murray said of Tsonga’s win. “A lot of tight games toward the end. He did well to come back.” Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer defeated Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2.
Also advancing was Chinese world number two Li Na, the reigning Australian Open champion who dispatched American Madison Keys 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Li spent nearly an hour surviving the first set, saving two set points on the serve of 38th-ranked Keys.
The American committed a backhand error on her first chance and double-faulted on the second before Li got the break for 5-4 in a set which eventually went into a tiebreaker.
Li won the decider on the first of four set points to seize the momentum. She then saved a pair of break points in the final game and won after one hour, 41 minutes.
Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, last week’s Indian Wells runner-up, beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina 7-5, 6-3.
Radwanska will play 19-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tenth-seeded Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova beat Alize Cornet 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 while former world number one Caroline Wozniacki hammered American Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-0.
Every nabs breakthrough win on PGA Tour
ORLANDO, Florida: Matt Every always believed he would finally win on the PGA Tour. He couldn’t have imagined it happening Sunday at Bay Hill.
Nine shots out of the lead going into the weekend, still four shots behind Adam Scott going into the final round, Every took advantage of a surprising collapse by the Masters champion and held on to the very end for a 2-under 70 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Every made two bogeys in the last three holes, including a 4-foot par putt he missed on the 18th hole. That forced him to wait 10 excruciating minutes to see if Keegan Bradley could force a playoff. Bradley’s 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole missed on the left side.
Cocky by nature, Every choked back tears when he realized he had won in his 92nd try as a professional.
“It’s hard,” he said, stopping to compose himself. “It’s tough, man. You just never know if it’s going to happen. You get there so many times. It’s nice to get it done.”
Scott, in his final tournament before he defends his title at Augusta National, came undone.
Along with two quick bogeys to start his round, he didn’t make a birdie over the final 14 holes. Nothing summed up his awful day like the par-5 16th, the easiest at Bay Hill. Every made a bogey to fall to 14-under par. Scott, playing behind him in the final group, had a 20-foot eagle putt on the 16th to tie for the lead. He ran it 4 feet by, and then missed that for a three-putt par.
Scott closed with a 76 to finish third. He had to win to reach No. 1 when he arrived at the Masters. Now, the No. 1 spot held by Tiger Woods for the last year will be up for grabs at Augusta among Woods, Scott and Henrik Stenson, who tied for fifth at Bay Hill.
Every grew up about 90 minutes away in Daytona Beach. This was the first PGA Tour event he attended as a kid, coming with his father to watch Mark Calcavecchia, his favorite player. After a wild final hour, Every donned the blue blazer on the 18th green and had an audience with The King — tournament host Arnold Palmer.
“I kept telling myself, ‘Maybe it’s going to be somewhere special,’” Every said about going for his first win. “This is really cool. I still can’t believe it.”
Every finished at 13-under 275, one shot ahead of Bradley, who needed two late birdies for a 72.
Until Sunday, about the only time Every made news on the PGA Tour was when he was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor drug possession charge at the 2010 John Deere Classic after agents were called to a casino hotel because of a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room he was in.
Every paid the price with a three-month suspension that kept him from retaining his PGA Tour card. He once said earning his card back was his greatest achievement, though that sure takes a seat back to his win at Bay Hill.
Along with getting into the Masters, Every qualifies for two World Golf Championships and the PGA Championship.
Jason Kokrak closed with a 73 to finish alone in fourth. Erik Compton, twice a recipient of a heart transplant, shot 69 and tied for fifth with Stenson and Francesco Molinari of Italy (73).
As big of a win as it was for Every, it was crushing for Scott. His long putter staked him a big lead at the halfway point, and it hurt over the final two rounds, particularly on Sunday. The longest putt he made all day was from 12 feet for par on the 15th hole, and he missed five putts inside 10 feet.
He had talked Saturday night about being in the prime of his career and needing to capitalize on chances. Instead, the 33-year-old Australian let another one get away.
Scott had a three-shot lead over Bradley to start the final round and had another sloppy start.
This time, however, he didn’t recover.
He went bunker-to-bunker for bogey on the opening hole and pulled his 3-wood off the tee and into the water for another bogey on No. 3. He appeared to steady himself with an up-and-down birdie on the par-5 fourth.
He didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way.
Every seized control after one of his worst shots of the day, and one of his best breaks. He pulled his tee shot on No. 9 toward the trees and the out-of-bounds stakes, only for the ball to roll along the cart path for a slight opening through the trees. He hit that 15 feet below the hole for birdie, and then tied Scott for the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the next hole.
And when Every made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, it was the first time since mid-morning Thursday that someone other than Scott was not atop the leaderboard. And it only got better for Every — and worse for Scott — the rest of the way.
Iowa State edges North Carolina 85-83:
SAN ANTONIO: DeAndre Kane drove for the game-winning layup with 1.6 seconds left and No. 3 seed Iowa State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000 with an 85-83 victory over North Carolina on Sunday.
The Cyclones (28-7) head to Madison Square Garden next week to face No. 7 seed Connecticut in the East Regional semifinals.
The Tar Heels (24-10) are gone in the NCAA tournament's opening weekend for the first time in consecutive seasons under coach Roy Williams.
North Carolina's Nate Britt raced the ball up court after Kane's basket, but time expired before he could reach halfcourt and call a timeout. Officials huddled for several minutes reviewing clock replays before ruling the game was over.
Marcus Paige led the Tar Heels with 19 points.
Virginia 78 Memphis 60: In Raleigh, N.C., Joe Harris scored 16 points and top-seeded Virginia shot 56 percent, earning its first trip to the NCAA tournament round of 16 in nearly two decades.
Anthony Gill added 13 points for the Cavaliers (30-6), who turned in a dominating performance while controlling the tempo and shutting down the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-10) at nearly every turn.
Virginia led by 15 at halftime and pushed that to 27 points late, picking right up where it left off in its strong finish to Friday's tournament-opening win against Coastal Carolina.
MIDWEST REGION
Tennessee 83 Mercer 63: Jarnell Stokes had 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds, and Tennessee denied Mercer a second straight upset in the NCAA tournament.
Josh Richardson had a career-high 26 points and Antonio Barton added 18 for the 11th-seeded Vols (24-12), who outrebounded Mercer 41-19 and kept the Southeastern Conference perfect in the tournament.
They joined Florida and Kentucky in the round of 16 — the first time three SEC teams made it that far since 2007.
Tennessee will face second-seeded Michigan (27-8) in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in Indianapolis.
SOUTH REGION
UCLA 77 Stephen F. Austin 60: In San Diego, Jordan Adams scored 19 points and UCLA reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.
The fourth-seeded Bruins (28-8) will play Florida, the tournament's overall top seed, in the South Regional semifinals on Thursday in Memphis. First-year coach Steve Alford has won as many NCAA tournament games in three days as the Bruins had in the previous five seasons combined.
Alford replaced Ben Howland, who was fired a year ago after the Bruins lost to Minnesota in their NCAA tournament opener. This is UCLA's first trip to the regionals since Howland got the Bruins to their third straight Final Four in 2008.
Stephen F. Austin (32-3), the No. 12 seed, had its 29-game winning streak snapped.
WEST REGION
Baylor 85 Creighton 55: In San Antonio, Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip each scored 17 points and Baylor shut down Creighton's Doug McDermott with suffocating defense, ending the career of the one of the most prolific scorers in college history.
Baylor's size and speed overwhelmed the third-seeded Bluejays (27-8) and their national scoring leader, earning a third trip to the Sweet 16 since 2010.
McDermott, who averaged 27 points this season, finished with 15 but had just three in the first half as Baylor built a 20-point lead. McDermott ranks fifth on the NCAA career scoring list.
No. 6 seed Baylor (26-11) had five players score in double figures and shot 64 percent in one of the dominant performances of the NCAA tournament. The Bears advance to play Wisconsin in the West Regional semifinals.
Arizona 84 Gonzaga 61: In San Diego, Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 18 points each, and Arizona looked every bit the No. 1 seed in the West.
After four days of upsets and buzzer beaters, Arizona (32-4) closed out the NCAA tournament's first weekend with a display of domination.
The Wildcats harassed the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (29-7) into 21 turnovers — 15 on steals — that led to 31 points.
Cavaliers snap Knicks’ winning streak:
NEW YORK: The short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, using just nine players, beat the Knicks 106-100 to end New York’s eight-game winning streak.
Cavaliers (27-44) guard Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 31 points and recorded 10 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Jack started in place of Cleveland’s leading scorer, Kyrie Irving, who is out due to a biceps injury.
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks (29-40), who failed to capitalize on an Atlanta loss earlier in the day. New York trails the Hawks by three games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Nets 107 Mavericks 104 OT: The Brooklyn Nets got the big shots and big stops when they needed them most in rallying to beat Dallas in overtime.
Joe Johnson scored 22 points, sending the game into overtime with a shot with 9.9 seconds left in regulation, including six to seal it in the extra session.
The Nets (37-31) won for the 11th time in their last 13 games, as they continue to climb in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Brooklyn, fifth in the East, are eyeing a top-four seed with 14 games left in the regular season.
The Mavericks (42-29) fell into eighth in the Western Conference and dropped to 2-2 on their franchise-record eight-game homestand.
Suns 127 Timberwolves 120: Markieff Morris scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns (41-29) trailed after each of the first three quarters, but outscored the Timberwolves 34-17 in the fourth.
With 48 seconds to play, Eric Bledsoe put Phoenix on top 120-118 and they sealed it at the free throw line.
Kevin Love emerged with game-high totals in points (36) and rebounds (14) for Minnesota (34-34).
Nuggets 105 Wizards 102: Kenneth Faried had 20 points and eight rebounds as the short-handed Denver Nuggets overcame a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards.
Washington (36-34) pulled to two with 10 seconds to go but the Nuggets closed it with free throws.
Randy Foye had 17 points and forward Darrell Arthur added 15 off the Nuggets bench.
Injury ravaged Denver (32-38) played their first game without J.J. Hickson, who tore his right ACL and was lost for the season on Friday.
Lakers 103 Magic 94: Jordan Hill scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Lakers end a four-game skid with a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Nick Young scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers (23-46), who handed the Magic their ninth consecutive defeat.
Orlando (19-52), the worst road team in the NBA at 4-34, have lost 23 of their past 24 games.
Victor Oladipo led Orlando with 21 points and 10 assists. Arron Afflalo added 18 points, while Tobias Harris had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Raptors 96 Hawks 86: Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 25 points and the Toronto Raptors came from behind to defeat the Atlanta Hawks.
The Raptors overcame a 14-point deficit and took their first lead of the second half when DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper to make it 85-84 lead with two minutes remaining. DeRozan finished with 21 points.
Paul Millsap and and DeMarre Carroll each had 17 points for Atlanta (31-37).
With the win, Toronto (39-30) matched their win total at home last season at 21. The Raptors now have a winning home record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Kings 124 Bucks 107: DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points and pulled in 12 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas added 30 points and Rudy Gay had 24, and the Kings rolled to a victory over the hapless Bucks.
The Kings (25-45) led from wire to wire for the first time all season.
O.J. Mayo led the Bucks (13-57) with 21 points, but Milwaukee lost for the seventh consecutive time, their third skid of at least that many games this season.
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored a hat trick to give Barcelona a 4-3 win at 10-man Real Madrid in an electrifying and contentious “clasico” match that kept the three-way Spanish league title race wide open.
The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years.
In a game that saw three penalties, a red card and a host of missed chances, Andres Iniesta set the tone by rocketing home an early opener, only for Karim Benzema’s brace to put the hosts ahead by the 24th.
The teams went into the break level at 2-2 after Messi slotted in an equalizer, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to re-establish Madrid’s lead with a 55th-minute penalty.
But Messi scored a pair of penalties after that — including the 65th-minute equalizer after Sergio Ramos was sent off — to end Madrid’s 31-game unbeaten run stretching back to the last “clasico” in October.
“It’s unusual to see so many penalties called in a clasico,” Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba said. “This win will give us a lot of momentum going forward.”
While Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti tried to defuse tension surrounding the three penalties, Ronaldo did not.
“I don’t want to say the referee favored one team more than the other, but he favored Barca a little more,” Ronaldo said.
Earlier, Diego Costa’s 23rd goal followed Gabi Fernandez’s opener as Atletico beat 10-man Real Betis 2-0 and now leads Madrid on head-to-head with the city rivals level on 70 points. Barcelona is on 69 points.
“Right up until the last game this league is wide open,” Ancelotti said. “Any of these last nine games can prove decisive.”
The high pace of play and buzzing atmosphere inside the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium left little doubt this was a “clasico” with much at stake.
Messi spotted Iniesta’s run down the left side seven minutes in and slid a perfect ball clear into the area for him to lift into the top of goal to kickstart the memorable match.
Madrid winger Angel Di Maria troubled right back Dani Alves throughout, especially when he twice set up Benzema with crosses from the left side, with the France striker nodding home the first in the 20th before controlling the second to smash a right-footed volley beyond Victor Valdes. The goalkeeper got a glove to Benzema’s opener but couldn’t keep it out.
The strengths and philosophies of each club were apparent as Barcelona looked to set the tempo through possession while Madrid always looked dangerous when breaking on the counter.
Madrid’s defense nodded off when Neymar and Messi’s hopeful combination came to fruition and the Argentina star could equalize before halftime, with Benzema left ruing a number of missed chances that could have given Madrid control.
Gareth Bale’s speed provided problems for Barcelona down the right, but Ronaldo was equally troublesome along the left and he was tripped by Dani Alves after the break to set up the penalty for his league-leading 26th goal that put Madrid back on top. However, replays showed the contact had taken place just outside the penalty area.
But Barcelona replied when Ramos was shown a straight red for tangling with Neymar and Messi stepped to equalize again.
Benzema then came off as Madrid looked to defend the draw, with Barcelona patiently coming forward and Dani Alves sending a shot off the post in the 74th. Iniesta was then taken down by Xabi Alonso and Dani Carvajal in the area to set up the 84th-minute spot kick that Messi slotted home for his 21st goal of the season.
“You could say some of the decisions penalized us, but it doesn’t change anything,” Ancelotti said. “We’re not happy because we lost an important opportunity, but that’s OK. We just need an immediate reaction now.”
Messi climbed to No. 2 on the Spanish league’s all-time scoring list with 235 goals, passing Hugo Sanchez. He also became the leading scorer in “clasico” matches with 21 goals, bettering the mark of 18 he shared with Madrid great Alfredo di Stefano.
In other 29th-round games on Sunday, Sevilla beat Osasuna 2-1 and Valencia won 2-1 against Villarreal.
The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years.
In a game that saw three penalties, a red card and a host of missed chances, Andres Iniesta set the tone by rocketing home an early opener, only for Karim Benzema’s brace to put the hosts ahead by the 24th.
The teams went into the break level at 2-2 after Messi slotted in an equalizer, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to re-establish Madrid’s lead with a 55th-minute penalty.
But Messi scored a pair of penalties after that — including the 65th-minute equalizer after Sergio Ramos was sent off — to end Madrid’s 31-game unbeaten run stretching back to the last “clasico” in October.
“It’s unusual to see so many penalties called in a clasico,” Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba said. “This win will give us a lot of momentum going forward.”
While Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti tried to defuse tension surrounding the three penalties, Ronaldo did not.
“I don’t want to say the referee favored one team more than the other, but he favored Barca a little more,” Ronaldo said.
Earlier, Diego Costa’s 23rd goal followed Gabi Fernandez’s opener as Atletico beat 10-man Real Betis 2-0 and now leads Madrid on head-to-head with the city rivals level on 70 points. Barcelona is on 69 points.
“Right up until the last game this league is wide open,” Ancelotti said. “Any of these last nine games can prove decisive.”
The high pace of play and buzzing atmosphere inside the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium left little doubt this was a “clasico” with much at stake.
Messi spotted Iniesta’s run down the left side seven minutes in and slid a perfect ball clear into the area for him to lift into the top of goal to kickstart the memorable match.
Madrid winger Angel Di Maria troubled right back Dani Alves throughout, especially when he twice set up Benzema with crosses from the left side, with the France striker nodding home the first in the 20th before controlling the second to smash a right-footed volley beyond Victor Valdes. The goalkeeper got a glove to Benzema’s opener but couldn’t keep it out.
The strengths and philosophies of each club were apparent as Barcelona looked to set the tempo through possession while Madrid always looked dangerous when breaking on the counter.
Madrid’s defense nodded off when Neymar and Messi’s hopeful combination came to fruition and the Argentina star could equalize before halftime, with Benzema left ruing a number of missed chances that could have given Madrid control.
Gareth Bale’s speed provided problems for Barcelona down the right, but Ronaldo was equally troublesome along the left and he was tripped by Dani Alves after the break to set up the penalty for his league-leading 26th goal that put Madrid back on top. However, replays showed the contact had taken place just outside the penalty area.
But Barcelona replied when Ramos was shown a straight red for tangling with Neymar and Messi stepped to equalize again.
Benzema then came off as Madrid looked to defend the draw, with Barcelona patiently coming forward and Dani Alves sending a shot off the post in the 74th. Iniesta was then taken down by Xabi Alonso and Dani Carvajal in the area to set up the 84th-minute spot kick that Messi slotted home for his 21st goal of the season.
“You could say some of the decisions penalized us, but it doesn’t change anything,” Ancelotti said. “We’re not happy because we lost an important opportunity, but that’s OK. We just need an immediate reaction now.”
Messi climbed to No. 2 on the Spanish league’s all-time scoring list with 235 goals, passing Hugo Sanchez. He also became the leading scorer in “clasico” matches with 21 goals, bettering the mark of 18 he shared with Madrid great Alfredo di Stefano.
In other 29th-round games on Sunday, Sevilla beat Osasuna 2-1 and Valencia won 2-1 against Villarreal.
Talk ‘N Text poised for No. 1 after beating Ginebra
Showing no signs of fatigue despite having the busiest schedule in the first 18 days of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Talk ‘N Text can go into a week-long break knowing it did nothing wrong.
The Tropang Texters stayed perfect after carving out a 94-87 victory over Barangay Ginebra on Sunday night and they can resume gunning for the No. 1 playoff spot next weekend as one fully rested lot.
No other team has played six games since the tournament opened last March 5 and no team has yet to defeat the Texters, who are playing with so much fluidity that Ranidel de Ocampo led five others in twin digits in the impressive win at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We have seven days off, and I am happy to take that,” said coach Norman Black, who also acknowledged a huge endgame break that went their way with 2:16 left that stopped Ginebra’s comeback cold.
Ginebra trailed by as large as 16 points early in the fourth quarter before coming to within 81-87 only for a bum call from the referees awarded possession to Talk ‘N Text which led to a De Ocampo layup going into the final 1:32.
“That was one (good) call (for us) the entire game,” Black, who got thrown out for the first time in his long PBA career last week for contesting a bum call against San Miguel Beer, said.
“Breaks happen like that. We’ve been on the other end (of bum calls) so many times,” he added.
Import Richard Howell scored 19 points and had 23 rebounds for the Texters, who also drew twin digit outputs from Jason Castro, Ryan Reyes and Larry Fonacier.
Fonacier hit a cold-blooded triple from right quarter court with 29.4 seconds remaining that made it 92-85 that all but snuffed the fight out of the Gin Kings, who dropped to 2-3 overall.
“Besides that (the endgame break), I think we played good defense, executed what we wanted to do defensively and that is to take the ball out of the hands of LA (Tenorio) and (Mark) Caguioa,” Black, a Grand Slam winner with San Miguel, said.
Leon Rodgers, the Ginebra import, scored 32 points but local support – or the lack of it – clearly spelled the difference for the Gin Kings.
Mark Caguioa did score 14 points but was scoreless in the final 12 minutes and Ginebra’s twin tower combination of 7-foot rookie Greg Slaughter and the 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar could only combine for 13 points and 12 boards.
Tenorio found the going rough all game long as the Talk ‘N Text defense met him up high each time that delayed the set up of the Ginebra offense.
Aguilar played 20 minutes and had just five points and two boards, his performance continuing to take a dip that started in the playoffs of the Philippine Cup won by the San Mig Coffee Mixers.
In the first game, Brian Butch — who was told before the start of the game that he was on the way out — made the entire Meralco coaching staff have second thoughts after shooting 40 points and grabbing 31 rebounds in a 109-98 win over Air21.
The Bolts, with Butch scoring 21 points in the fourth period, rallied from deficits of as large as 20 points in the third quarter and were 18 behind at the start of the fourth.
Meralco got back into the upper half of the standings after rising to 3-2.
Darnell Jackson is already in town ready to take the job of Butch, until the explosion against the Express had coaching staff led by Ryan Gregorio, and management thinking things over again.
Wesley Witherspoon debuted with 44 points for the Express, who blew an 81-61 third quarter lead to now be at 2-3 like the Kings.
Gators beat Pittsburgh to advance to Sweet 16:
ORLANDO, Florida: Scottie Wilbekin scored 21 points and top-seeded Florida beat Pittsburgh 61-45 in the NCAA tournament Saturday, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive year.
Patric Young added seven points and eight rebounds for the Gators, who extended their school record for consecutive wins to 28 with the victory in the South Regional.
Coming off a lacklustre performance in its NCAA opener, Florida (34-2) played with considerably more energy and intensity against the Panthers (26-10).
Wilbekin and Young spearheaded the effort. The Gators were 5 of 20 from behind the arc, with at least five of those rimming in and out.
Florida advanced to the round of 16, where it will play fourth-seeded UCLA or 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin on Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee The Bruins and Lumberjacks play Sunday in San Diego.
Talib Zanna led the Panthers with 10 points, their only player in double figures.
Dayton 55 Syracuse 53: In Buffalo, N.Y., Dyshawn Pierre scored 14 points and Jordan Sibert, held scoreless in the first half, hit a key 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left as Dayton stunned Syracuse to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time in three decades.
Syracuse was in position to pull it out, but freshman Tyler Ennis missed two jumpers that would have given the Orange the lead in the final seconds.
Dayton (25-10), the 11th seed in the South, advanced to the regional semifinals next week against No. 2 seed Kansas or 10th-seeded Stanford.
The third-seeded Orange (28-6), who finished second in their first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, struggled all game against the swarming Dayton defense.
EAST REGIONAL
Michigan State 80 Harvard 73: In Spokane, Washington, Branden Dawson scored a career-high 26 points to help fourth-seeded Michigan State fend off a wild Harvard rally.
The 12th-seeded Crimson (27-5) trailed by 16 early in the second half but took a 62-60 lead when Laurent Rivard hit a 3-pointer with 7:12 remaining. Travis Trice answered with a 3 of his own on the next possession, and the Spartans (28-8) never trailed again.
Michigan State made it to the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in 17 years. Gary Harris had 18 points and five assists for the Spartans, who will play top-seeded Virginia or No. 8 seed Memphis next Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Connecticut 77 Villanova 65: In Buffalo, N.Y., Shabazz Napier scored 25 points in leading Connecticut over second-seeded Villanova, which became the highest seed to get knocked out of the tournament so far.
No. 7 seed Connecticut (28-8) advanced to the regional semifinals in New York City next week, when they’ll play the winner of Sunday’s game between third-seeded Iowa State and sixth-seeded North Carolina.
Ryan Arcidiacono scored 18 points for Villanova (29-5) in a matchup of two former Big East rivals.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
Louisville 66 Saint Louis 51: Luke Hancock scored 21 points and defending national champion Louisville shrugged off a cold shooting performance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
The fourth-seeded Cardinals (31-5) shot under 45 percent, had 19 turnovers and only got 11 points from star Russ Smith. It didn’t matter, with the fifth-seeded Billikens (27-7) going 0 for 15 from 3-point range and struggling to take care of the ball.
Louisville moved on to face No. 1 seed Wichita State or No. 8 seed Kentucky. The unbeaten Shockers and Wildcats meet Sunday in St. Louis.
Michigan 79 Texas 65: In Milwaukee, Nik Stauskas had 17 points and eight assists to lead Michigan to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
Jordan Morgan added 15 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 seed Michigan (27-8) advanced to the regional semifinals in Indianapolis. The Wolverines will face the winner of Sunday’s Mercer-Tennessee game in Raleigh, N.C.
Michigan lost to Louisville in the national championship game a year ago.
WEST REGIONAL
Wisconsin 85 Oregon 77: In Milwaukee, Ben Brust hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:07 left and second-seeded Wisconsin overcame seventh-seeded Oregon to reach the Sweet 16.
Brust’s clutch 3 from the corner gave the Badgers (28-7) the lead for good in a heavyweight fight of an NCAA tournament game. They will play third-seeded Creighton or No. 6 seed Baylor in the regional semifinals.
Traevon Jackson followed with three free throws, but missed one with 21 seconds left to give the Ducks (24-10) one more chance to tie trailing by three.
San Diego State 63 North Dakota State 44: In Spokane, Washington, Xavier Thames scored 30 points and San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history.
The fourth-seeded Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the highway to Anaheim, California, where they will face No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals.
Dodgers, Diamondbacks arrive Down Under:
SYDNEY: Adrian Gonzalez ripped line drives to all areas of the park, often scattering his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in the outfield from the safety of the batting cage. It was just a few hours after arriving in Australia, with his body thinking it was about midnight.
Still, the first baseman who led the Dodgers in hits, home runs, RBIs and games played last season did a good job of making Sydney Cricket Ground, the home for two Major League Baseball season-opening games this weekend, sound and look like a real ballpark.
The Dodgers and their weekend opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks, arrived early Tuesday on separate jumbos from the US west coast. It was a 15-hour flight and took the teams across the International Date Line, missing Monday altogether, and putting them in a time zone 18 hours ahead of the one they left behind.
Hence Gonzalez in the batting cage was well past his usual bedtime, but looking pretty impressive.
“We’re all very excited to be here,” Gonzalez said before the Dodgers’ workout. “We’ll have a few hits, see how the ball carries, but it all looks like a real ball park.”
Vin Scully, the 86-year-old Dodgers’ announcer, proclaimed after he got off the plane that “it’s great to be here,” and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and his Diamondbacks counterpart Kirk Gibson later gave the ball field a similar thumbs-up.
“No question, everyone is saying that having a chance to start the season here in Sydney, to be able to get out of spring training a bit early, it’s great,” said Mattingly. “Let’s get this thing started.”
Gibson said he had fond memories of Australia because he spent his honeymoon here in 1985 “and that part worked out pretty good, so I hope this does.”
“Of all the historic places we’ve played over the years, you walk in and you can see they’ve put a lot of work into the field,” Gibson added. “And I’ve been told by (Diamondbacks’ Australian relief pitcher) Ryan Rowland-Smith, it’s fair dinkum.”
Translated, that means he thinks it’s a pretty good place to play baseball.
Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was in the best position to judge the change to Sydney Cricket Ground, having been part of a promotional visit here last year.
“When I was here it was set up for cricket matches, but you wouldn’t know that walking out there today,” he said. “Very impressed.”
Goldschmidt said he was surprised by the distance in foul territory between the baselines and the stands. That’s in keeping with the natural shape of a cricket ground, where the batting “wicket” is usually closer to the center of the ground and the entire field is in play.
“Foul territory, that’s going to be the big difference,” Goldschmidt said. “But baseball stadiums are different in the States, so it’ll just take some adjusting. We’ll work it out in the next few days.”
The teams will only have one workout Wednesday before taking on Team Australia in a pair of exhibition games — the Diamondbacks on Thursday and the Dodgers on Friday.
Clayton Kershaw, who spent time Tuesday stretching in the outfield bullpen, will start for the Dodgers in Saturday’s season opener. Left-hander Wade Miley replaces Patrick Corbin, who has a left elbow injury, as the Diamondbacks starter.
Gibson said Tuesday the Diamondbacks were still waiting for a second opinion on the severity of Corbin’s injury, which could require surgery and put him out for the season.
The teams will close out the two-game series Sunday when the Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu is slated to start against Arizona’s Trevor Cahill.
The series marks the first regular-season games in Australia. Previous MLB season openers were held in Monterrey, Mexico (1999), San Juan, Puerto Rico (2001) and four times in Tokyo, most recently in 2012.
The weekend games will mark the 100th anniversary of an exhibition game played by the Chicago White Sox and the New York Giants at the same stadium.
Capacity crowds of about 40,000 are expected for both games at the historic ground where Australia’s cricket teams have played memorable matches for the past century and a half. In keeping with the theme, Goldschmidt and Gonzalez were presented with cricket bats signed by Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke.
The two first basemen were asked to pose with the bats, and a few in the crowd chuckled when Gonzalez initially slung it over his shoulder in a very un-cricket like pose. But he quickly adopted an impressive Clarke-like stance for the cameras.
Gonzalez also prompted laughter later when he answered a question in Spanish for about 30 seconds. When asked for a translation into English, his response took only several seconds. He smiled and said: “We’re ready to go.”
Djokovic beats Federer to win Indian Wells title
INDIAN WELLS, California: Novak Djokovic came into Indian Wells for the first time in four years without a title.
He left with a $1 million check and his first trophy of the year, beating Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open for the third time.
“Not winning a title and coming here, there were certain doubts,” Djokovic said. “I had ups and downs in my concentration in opening rounds, but I managed to stay mentally strong and have that self-belief. That’s something that definitely makes this title very special to me.”
Federer rallied from a break down and a 5-3 deficit in the third set to force the tiebreaker, but he made a slew of mistakes to lose the 33rd meeting between the rivals.
Federer still leads the series 17-16, having beaten Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals at Dubai two weeks ago. Djokovic will remain No. 2 in the world, while Federer will rise three spots to No. 5 on Monday in the ATP Tour rankings.
Flavia Pennetta routed injured Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 to win the women’s title, the biggest of her career.
Federer was trying to win a record fifth title in the Southern California desert, and at 32, he would have been the oldest Masters 1000 winner since 34-year-old Andre Agassi won at Cincinnati in 2004.
But Djokovic wouldn’t allow it.
After Federer breezed to the first set in 31 minutes, Djokovic earned the lone break of the second set to go up 5-3 after Federer pulled a forehand wide.
“I know he always comes out confident, aggressive,” Djokovic said. “He doesn’t give you the victory; you have to earn it.”
Djokovic got the early break in the third, again on one of Federer’s forehand errors, to lead 2-1. His 112-mph (180 kph) ace gave him a 4-2 lead, and he extended it to 5-3 with a backhand winner down the line.
But Federer then served a love-game to make it 5-4 and broke Djokovic to tie the set, 5-all.
“I was able to just keep the pressure on Novak and show him that if he slips up, I will be there and I will make it a very competitive match in the end for him,” Federer said.
In the tiebreaker, however, the Serb raced to a 5-1 lead, helped by four errors from Federer, and closed it out when Federer’s backhand landed in the net.
“At the end, he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered,” Federer said.
A year ago, Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis.
The Italian veteran’s ranking plunged to 166th in the world in June, and she had struggled to rebuild her career after having right wrist surgery the previous August.
Now she’s glad she stuck around.
“After so many years, so much work and everything, this is the moment I always waited for,” she said. “And it’s coming when you don’t expect. It was something I was waiting since long time, and finally I have a good trophy in my hands.”
Actually, the crystal trophy was so heavy, she didn’t hoist it for photographers.
The 32-year-old Italian became the third-oldest winner of the tournament after Martina Navratilova, who won at age 33 and again at 34 in 1990-91. It was Pennetta’s first title since winning at Marbella in 2010.
“We are old, but we still good athletes,” Pennetta said. “We are strong. We have so many years on the tour, and we know how to handle the emotion and everything.”
As the 20th seed, Pennetta became the lowest seed to win the title. She came in ranked 21st and is projected to rise to No. 12 in the world Monday in the WTA Tour rankings. She beat top-seeded Li Na in the semifinals on her way to the title.
Radwanska, seeded second, was bothered with a left knee injury in the final. She twice called for the trainer in the second set and had her knee heavily taped. She was in tears apologizing to the sympathetic crowd afterward, saying she was unable to run.
The Pole said she hurt her knee a few days ago in practice.
“I just didn’t expect it was going to be much worse today,” she said. “But when the pain is so big that nothing is working — no painkillers, no tape — that means it is bad.”
Drogba vows to pile on the misery for Chelsea
LONDON: Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba has warned Chelsea not to expect any favors when he makes an emotional return to his old club for a decisive Champions League last 16 clash on Tuesday.
Jose Mourinho’s side are reeling after a tempestuous 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday ended their 14-match unbeaten run in the Premier League and cast doubt about their ability to cope with the pressure of the title race.
The Blues imploded in spectacular fashion as Willian and Ramires were sent off, while Mourinho got his marching orders from referee Chris Foy after stepping onto the pitch to protest during the row that followed Ramires’s dismissal.
The FA will examine Foy’s match report before deciding whether to charge Mourinho, but there was no escaping the sense that Chelsea need to quickly recover their equilibrium to stop a promising season going up in smoke.
Mourinho’s men remain four points clear at the top of the table, but they have less margin for error in Champions League, where a win or high-scoring draw for Galatasaray in Tuesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge would send the Turks into the quarter-finals following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Istanbul last month.
In the circumstances, it will be something of a bittersweet reunion with Drogba, who is certain to be greeted as a returning hero by Chelsea fans before the match but could end up shattering their European dreams by the end of the night.
Drogba, who remains close to Mourinho and is reportedly considering an offer to return to Chelsea as a striker coach next season, won every major prize during a glorious eight-year stay in west London.
He was the hero of the club’s 2012 Champions League final victory against Bayern Munich, scoring a late equalizer and then netting the winning penalty in the shoot-out to seal Chelsea’s first ever European Cup.
On the eve of his first appearance at the Bridge since his departure immediately after that unforgettable night in Munich, Drogba admitted he is nervous about how he will react to being the center of attention.
“First of all I was happy to play against my ex-club, against my friends. But at the same time it is a very special moment because I do not know what my reaction will be,” Drogba told UEFA.com.
“You know that I spent eight years at Chelsea, so I really don’t know, I am quite apprehensive about it.
“It’s the club where I experienced everything. It allowed me to get closer to the best players in the world.” Drogba makes no attempt to hide his love for Chelsea, but he would relish another run to the latter stages of the competition, even if it comes at the expense of his old friends.
“I hope that Galatasaray qualify. It will be difficult, but I think that regarding the welcome, I think I’m allowed to say that I will receive a warm welcome, because I know Chelsea’s fans and our relationship is really special,” Drogba said.
“It will be great to see them again, I am looking forward to it.” There was one piece of good news for Mourinho after the Villa match as it emerged that Samuel Eto’o is expected to be fit for the Galatasaray tie.
Eto’o sat out the Villa game, but Fernando Torres gave a lackluster performance in his place and Mourinho is likely to throw the Cameroon striker back into the fray.
Despite Saturday’s troubling defeat, Chelsea are still firm favorites to advance to the last eight in Europe, which would be a welcome tonic for Mourinho, who has never hidden his dislike for Galatasaray coach Roberto Mancini.
“In Istanbul we saw each other and only said ‘hello’. We certainly aren’t friends,” Mancini was quoted as telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“I don’t think Mourinho wants to have friends, or maybe that’s just the way he likes to appear.”
Jose Mourinho’s side are reeling after a tempestuous 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday ended their 14-match unbeaten run in the Premier League and cast doubt about their ability to cope with the pressure of the title race.
The Blues imploded in spectacular fashion as Willian and Ramires were sent off, while Mourinho got his marching orders from referee Chris Foy after stepping onto the pitch to protest during the row that followed Ramires’s dismissal.
The FA will examine Foy’s match report before deciding whether to charge Mourinho, but there was no escaping the sense that Chelsea need to quickly recover their equilibrium to stop a promising season going up in smoke.
Mourinho’s men remain four points clear at the top of the table, but they have less margin for error in Champions League, where a win or high-scoring draw for Galatasaray in Tuesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge would send the Turks into the quarter-finals following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Istanbul last month.
In the circumstances, it will be something of a bittersweet reunion with Drogba, who is certain to be greeted as a returning hero by Chelsea fans before the match but could end up shattering their European dreams by the end of the night.
Drogba, who remains close to Mourinho and is reportedly considering an offer to return to Chelsea as a striker coach next season, won every major prize during a glorious eight-year stay in west London.
He was the hero of the club’s 2012 Champions League final victory against Bayern Munich, scoring a late equalizer and then netting the winning penalty in the shoot-out to seal Chelsea’s first ever European Cup.
On the eve of his first appearance at the Bridge since his departure immediately after that unforgettable night in Munich, Drogba admitted he is nervous about how he will react to being the center of attention.
“First of all I was happy to play against my ex-club, against my friends. But at the same time it is a very special moment because I do not know what my reaction will be,” Drogba told UEFA.com.
“You know that I spent eight years at Chelsea, so I really don’t know, I am quite apprehensive about it.
“It’s the club where I experienced everything. It allowed me to get closer to the best players in the world.” Drogba makes no attempt to hide his love for Chelsea, but he would relish another run to the latter stages of the competition, even if it comes at the expense of his old friends.
“I hope that Galatasaray qualify. It will be difficult, but I think that regarding the welcome, I think I’m allowed to say that I will receive a warm welcome, because I know Chelsea’s fans and our relationship is really special,” Drogba said.
“It will be great to see them again, I am looking forward to it.” There was one piece of good news for Mourinho after the Villa match as it emerged that Samuel Eto’o is expected to be fit for the Galatasaray tie.
Eto’o sat out the Villa game, but Fernando Torres gave a lackluster performance in his place and Mourinho is likely to throw the Cameroon striker back into the fray.
Despite Saturday’s troubling defeat, Chelsea are still firm favorites to advance to the last eight in Europe, which would be a welcome tonic for Mourinho, who has never hidden his dislike for Galatasaray coach Roberto Mancini.
“In Istanbul we saw each other and only said ‘hello’. We certainly aren’t friends,” Mancini was quoted as telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“I don’t think Mourinho wants to have friends, or maybe that’s just the way he likes to appear.”
Stirling steers Ireland last-ball win over Zimbabwe
SYLHET: Opener Paul Stirling smashed 60 off 34 balls to set Ireland up for a last-ball victory over Zimbabwe in their first-round match in the World Twenty20 championship on Monday.
Stirling’s fifth Twenty20 half-century, including nine fours and a six, helped Ireland to a three-wicket victory on St. Patrick’s Day at the Sylhet stadium.
Ireland needed four runs off the last over but lost Ed Joyce (22) and Max Sorensen, run out without scoring, before winning through a bye off the last ball of the over — bowled by paceman Tinashe Panyangara who finished with 4-37.
Stirling and skipper William Porterfield, who scored a 23-ball 31 with three fours and a six, had given Ireland a fiery 80-run start in 8.2 overs as their run chase began confidently.
A ruthless Stirling hit paceman Panyangara for four boundaries in one over before he fell with the total on 100.
Ireland then lost three quick wickets to Panyangara, including that of hard-hitting Kevin O’Brien (17), before their last-gasp victory.
Zimbabwe earlier owed their total to a solid 46-ball 59 by Brendan Taylor. The Zimbabwe skipper hit six boundaries and two towering sixes, while Elton Chigumbura made 22 and Hamilton Masakadza scored 21.
But spinners George Dockrell (2-18) and debutant Andy McBrine (2-26) restricted Zimbabwe to 163-5 in their 20 overs.
The Group B defeat has put Zimbabwe in a tight corner as only one team will go on from each of the two Groups into the Super-10 stage.
Hosts Bangladesh beat Afghanistan and debutant Nepal downed Hong Kong in Group A matches on the opening day of the World Twenty20 on Sunday.
The two top teams from each Group will join the top eight seeds in the Super-10 stage, starting from March 21.
The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.
Brief scores: Ireland 163-5 in 20 overs (B. Taylor 59, E. Chigumbura 22, H. Masakadza 21; G. Dockrell 2-18, A. McBrine 2-26) Ireland 164-7 in 20 overs (P. Stirling 60, W. Porterfield 31; T. Panyangara 4-37) Ireland won by three wickets.
Stirling’s fifth Twenty20 half-century, including nine fours and a six, helped Ireland to a three-wicket victory on St. Patrick’s Day at the Sylhet stadium.
Ireland needed four runs off the last over but lost Ed Joyce (22) and Max Sorensen, run out without scoring, before winning through a bye off the last ball of the over — bowled by paceman Tinashe Panyangara who finished with 4-37.
Stirling and skipper William Porterfield, who scored a 23-ball 31 with three fours and a six, had given Ireland a fiery 80-run start in 8.2 overs as their run chase began confidently.
A ruthless Stirling hit paceman Panyangara for four boundaries in one over before he fell with the total on 100.
Ireland then lost three quick wickets to Panyangara, including that of hard-hitting Kevin O’Brien (17), before their last-gasp victory.
Zimbabwe earlier owed their total to a solid 46-ball 59 by Brendan Taylor. The Zimbabwe skipper hit six boundaries and two towering sixes, while Elton Chigumbura made 22 and Hamilton Masakadza scored 21.
But spinners George Dockrell (2-18) and debutant Andy McBrine (2-26) restricted Zimbabwe to 163-5 in their 20 overs.
The Group B defeat has put Zimbabwe in a tight corner as only one team will go on from each of the two Groups into the Super-10 stage.
Hosts Bangladesh beat Afghanistan and debutant Nepal downed Hong Kong in Group A matches on the opening day of the World Twenty20 on Sunday.
The two top teams from each Group will join the top eight seeds in the Super-10 stage, starting from March 21.
The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.
Brief scores: Ireland 163-5 in 20 overs (B. Taylor 59, E. Chigumbura 22, H. Masakadza 21; G. Dockrell 2-18, A. McBrine 2-26) Ireland 164-7 in 20 overs (P. Stirling 60, W. Porterfield 31; T. Panyangara 4-37) Ireland won by three wickets.
Minions, Noto excel in Alyoum Tuesday Bowling League
Minions scorched the lanes to bag the Best Team of the Week award while UFTBR Chairman Ernee Noto emerged Best Bowler of the Week awardee during the 15th session of the Alyoum-FBGR Tuesday Bowling League at Universal Bowling Center (UBC) here.
Minions mentored by Dong Yamco blanked TGIT Genesis of Rollie Cleofe 4-0 on 22-7 points. Jaffar Al-Kathiri was the Minions top scorer on 843 points, with support from Erwin Atienza 827, Koko Torres 797 Bong Solomon 739 and Jau Urbano 711. Lito Vega led the losing team on 868 and followed by Efren Abuyo 718, Rizal Dellosa 637 and Boy Mirando 603. Bernie Bacani and Rollie Cleofe added 393 and 387.
UFTBR mentored by Armin Isles defeated Tsamba Bowlers of Abdulrahman Ahmed in a win that Noto embellished with an individual award after he shot the high series of 923 on lines of 259, 227, 225 and 212 points. Fernie Balano was likewise outstanding on 921, Stephen Solomon had 862, Rey Bautista 730 and Art Palustre 729 for UFTBR. For Tsamba bowlers at the helm was Rasheed Rasheidan 786 followed by Zaldy Torres 709, Rico Feria 698, Marvin Arocena 692, Abdulrahman Ahmed 494 and Jobert Pomado 180.
In another game, T3S Warriors mentored by Nelson DeVera defeated Die Hard 5 of Ric Urrutia Jr. 13-8 in a 2-2 match. Edgar Buenaventura led the team with 815 points with Joel Lambo on 731, Mike Ecalnir 727, Cheng Lambo 718 and Arnold Jesena 632. Nap Torres led Die Hard on 786. Rudy Usudan 754, Ed Cruz 731 and Butch Mateo 659 were the other Die Hard scorers.
Enigma Strikers mentored by Bandar Al-Marshad recorded a 20-10 points victory against Alyoum of Emerson Mitra. Carrying the load at Enigma were Edwin Atienza 858, Bandar Al-Marshad 837, Joe Garrido 730, Benito Santos 533, Erwin Nacario 524 and Andro Tismo 408. Paul Decena 824, Jun Daniel 726, Doy Del Moral 712, Fhel Ramos 662, Joel Batolina 607 and Mitra 166 built the total for Alyoum.
Other results: UBC Family of Lulu Quejada defeated IBG Storm of Ric Singson 18-6, new team Almarai CPP mentored by Manny Dolon upset Dabarkads of Charlie Cheng 11-6, and Breakers of Shakur Kamlian blanked EPO-L captained by Lope Ramirez 4-0 (22-6)
Standings (15th Week) 1.UFTBR 249 points 2. UBC Family 246 3. Minions 231 4. Enigma Strikers 221 5. Breakers 217 6. T3S Warrior 210 7. Alyoum 202 8. TGIT Genesis 196 9. EPO-L 192 10. Die Hard 5 162 11. Tsamba Bowlers 156 12. IBG Storm 156 13. Dabarkads 93 14. Almarai CPP 63
Federer books semis clash with Dolgopolov
INDIAN WELLS: Roger Federer charged into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Thursday with a straight sets win over South African Kevin Anderson.
The Swiss master succeeded where others had failed by blunting the serve of the towering 6ft 8in (2.13m) Anderson to win 7-5, 6-1.
Federer faced only one break point in the entire match and reeled off seven games on the trot to clinch the opening set and race to a 5-0 lead in the second.
His reward for winning was a semifinal clash on Saturday with Ukrainian giant-killer Alexandr Dolgopolov, who continued his fairytale run in the Californian desert by defeating big-serving Canadian Milos 6-3, 6-4.
In the women’s draw, China’s Li Na won her rematch with Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova to join Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta in the semis.
In her first meeting with Cibulkova since the Australian Open final in January, Li once again proved too strong for her younger opponent, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a little over two and a half hours.
Pennetta booked her place in the last four by beating American Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a seesawing match played in gusting winds.
In a tournament that has been packed with surprises and high-profile casualties, the 32-year-old Li has been a model of consistency, ferociously battling through each round.
The Chinese top seed, in the absence of world No.1 Serena Williams, has struggled with her serve all week and committed eight double faults against Cibulkova, four in the opening set and four more in the third when the pressure was on.
The Slovak also made eight doubles while the pair combined for more than 100 unforced errors in a match that was longer and much tighter than their last meeting in Melbourne.
Li got the decisive break late in the third set and then served out for victory to stay on course for her first title at one of the biggest events outside the grand slams.
“Here is different than Australia. Of course score should be different,” said Li.
“I think today she played more aggressive. I was feeling if I try to go back like a little bit she was trying to step in to hit the ball.
“Also I was feeling in the second set I think I dropped down a little bit and gave her more chance. She can get a lot of winners.”
Pennetta looked to be heading for the exit when she blew her first chance to win the match then fell behind in the deciding third set.
The 32-year-old was two points from victory when serving for the match in the second set when the wind suddenly started to blow a gale and her game started to unravel.
Stephens, 20, broke her serve and won six games in a row to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third when Pennetta staged her own comeback, winning six of the last seven games to wrap up an extraordinary victory.
“We didn’t play our best tennis,” Pennetta said. “Maybe in the beginning we played much better, and in the second one, but the third was a disaster for both of us.
“I’m happy to get through this match, but I don’t have good feelings right now — it’s just crazy outside, the wind is just coming out of nowhere.”
Dolgopolov has been a revelation at Indian Wells since he was thrust into the spotlight when he scored an upset win over world No.1 Rafa Nadal in the third round.
Players who register shock wins often fail to maintain their form on but the 28th seed has gone from strength to strength, beating three seeds in succession.
Raonic, one of the biggest servers in tennis, beat Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Wednesday but found Dolgopolov too hot to hold.
“I just wish I could have served better. But other than that, he did the right things at the right times right away from the start of the match,” said Raonic.
“He was a factor of why I didn’t serve as well as I would have liked as well.”
Not only did Dolgopolov succeed in breaking the Canadian’s serve three times, including twice in the second set to overcome a 3-0 deficit, but showed he also has a serve to be reckoned with as he fired six aces, two more than his opponent.
“I was really happy with that. And I was able to get more returns than usually you can against him,” said Dolgopolov.
“He serves really big and I knew I had to do that, and I’m quite pleased how I anticipated on his serve and have seen the toss of the ball and was really, really concentrated to get those serves back.”
Lord takes Gold Cup after dramatic finish
CHELTENHAM, United Kingdom: Lord Windermere survived a lengthy stewards’ inquiry to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in dramatic fashion on Friday.
The eight-year-old came from last to first, pipping On His Own at the finish to snatch a famous victory for trainer Jim Culloty, who won three Gold Cups on Best Mate as a jockey.
Silviniaco Conti led over the last, but he was collared by Davy Russell on Lord Windermere (20-1), who just held the Willie Mullins-trained On his Own (16-1) by a short head.
The Giant Bolster (14-1) stayed on strongly to finish third, three-quarters of a length back.
After two false starts, Knockara Beau was quickly away, although On His Own soon took it up while Lord Windermere was a few lengths detached in last place after a few fences.
Teaforthree and Lyreen Legend were others to join in with pace-making duties and then Last Instalment unseated his rider at the fifth-last fence.
Silviniaco Conti led three out and last year’s winner Bobs Worth was also in with a chance as the pack closed in a wide-open race.
Lord Windermere joined in the fight late, but he veered right on the punishing dash to the line, resulting in an inquiry, as he just kept On His Own at bay.
An anxious wait followed before the stewards announced the placings would remain unaltered.
“I can’t believe it, I was never on the bridle,” Russell said.
“I was never in the race, the whole field was in front of me for the whole race, I had to sit and suffer the whole way.
“I didn’t use any petrol, I went around the inside and he jumped great.
“The whole way round I was hunting, I thought the race had gone — the credit has to go to Jim Culloty, what a man.” A delighted Culloty admitted he feared he was in for a disappointing day after his horse’s slow start.
“To be fair halfway round Davy Russell was getting the sack,” Culloty joked.
“He was beaten 26 lengths at Leopardstown last month, but Davy said take no notice, it will be a different ball game at Cheltenham.
“I knew he’d take his time but that was waiting tactics exaggerated.
“I can’t believe it. The horses just weren’t right this season, but God they have come right at the right time.” On His Own trainer Mullins was unhappy with the frenetic conclusion to the race and he hinted an appeal against the stewards’ verdict was possible.
“I thought he (On His Own) was interfered with and he was beaten a short head and was in front after the line,” Mullins said.
“The stewards felt he didn’t deserve to get it and what more can I do at this stage.
“I’ll have a chat with the owners and see what they want to do. I’ll have a chat with David and then speak to people who are more experienced than me on appeals in England.”
Howell leads Texters to key win over SMB
Richard Howell certainly picked the perfect time to churn out a breakout game.
The lightly-regarded Talk ‘N Text import on Friday night showed that he got game as well, carrying the Tropang Texters on his wide shoulders to key a 107-99 victory over San Miguel Beer in a battle of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup’s unbeaten teams.
Howell, who was unimpressive offensively in the Texters’ first two victories, finished with 38 points that went with 19 rebounds as he upstaged the much-ballyhooed Kevin Jones in his debut as the Beermen went down for the first time in three matches.
“Richard Howell delivered the goods, simple as that,” Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black, who was ejected near the middle of the fourth period after successive technical fouls, told reporters later.
“It was lonely out there in the locker, watching the game by myself,” Black chided. “But the coaching staff and the players delivered. It was a really nice win because we all know how tough that (San Miguel) team is.” Tough could be an understatement, considering the form that the Beermen took into the game and with Jones and cornerstone June Mar Fajardo seeing action for the first time.
But Howell ran rings around Fajardo as the Texters built leads of as many as 19 points in the first half before holding off the Beermen in the stretch mainly through their import and the indefatigable Jimmy Alapag.
Alapag had a string of five crucial points when the Beermen got within four as he finished with 18 points, counting four triples, that went with seven assists to win Player of the Game honors.
Jones, who came in as a replacement for the hardworking NBA veteran Josh Boone, finished with 35 points despite being saddled with early fouls to show his true worth.
Meanwhile, an Air21 side that has been pretty solid so far, notched its second win in three games earlier in the night after tearing Josh Dollard and Barako Bull apart, 103-85.
Herve Lamizana, the Express’ slow-starting import, tossed in all of his 24 points in the second half and played terrific defense on Dollard all night, holding the Barako Bull import to PBA career-lows of 12 points and nine rebounds.
Coming into the game averaging 44.5 points and 18.5 boards, Dollard got very little breathing room from the Air21 defense the entire time and all the kinks in his armor have been exposed as the Energy dropped to 1-2.
“Our primary concern going to this game was to hold down Dollard. In my opinion, Herve is the best defensive import right now and we saw how he limited Dollard’s production,” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren.
“We really played terrific defense – for us to hold down such a high-scoring Barako Bull team was a testament to our good dedication to play defense,” added Pumaren.
Aldrech Ramos, less than three days after being dealt away by Alaska for Vic Manuel, was impressive right in his first game in an Air21 uniform, canning all four three-point attempts to finish with 17 points.
“Aldrech gave us additional scoring from the outside,” said Pumaren of their new trade acquisition.
Mac Cardona and Asi Taulava also put in double-digit outputs to downplay a balanced effort by the Express, a casualty in the last Philippine Cup together with Meralco.
Air21 was so dominant that it led by as large as 93-58 and made it look really ugly for the Energy..
From a close game after the first 12 minutes, the Express – starring their reserves – applied a defensive blanket that the Energy weren’t able to break as Air21 zoomed to a 17-point lead and never looked back.
Air21 had command after the first two periods, 45-32, even with Lamizana going scoreless.
In Saturday’s game, Alaska Milk and Meralco both go for win No. 2 as they tangle with Rain or Shine and Globalport, respectively, also at the Big Dome in Cubao.
Benfica, Valencia big winners in Europa League:
PARIS: Benfica and Valencia secured convincing away wins to take a giant step toward the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday while Real Betis surprisingly beat Sevilla 2-0 in a fierce Spanish derby played for the first time on the European stage.
Brazilian defender Luisao scored two second-half goals to help Benfica beat Tottenham 3-1 and cap a good night for Portugal’s top clubs in the last-16 first legs, with Porto defeating Napoli 1-0 at home.
Valencia defied the early sending-off of Seydou Keita to beat Ludogorets Razgrad 3-0 away and Lyon was the night’s other big winner, coming from behind to thrash Viktoria Plzen 4-1.
Germany striker Mario Gomez grabbed a late equalizer for Fiorentina in a 1-1 draw at Juventus in an all-Italian matchup while AZ Alkmaar beat Anzhi Makhachkala 1-0 and Basel drew 0-0 with Red Bull Salzburg, which failed to win in Europe’s second-tier competition for the first time this season.
The second legs will be played next week.
At the end of a week when Arsenal and Manchester City exited the Champions League, English woes in Europe continued as Tottenham was outplayed at White Hart Lane by Benfica, last season’s beaten finalist.
Spurs manager Tim Sherwood was seeking a response from his players after attacking their character and desire following Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League but more poor defending cost them dear.
After Rodrigo opened the scoring for Benfica with a low curling shot in the 29th, Luisao doubled the lead in the 58th when he lost his marker at a corner and powered home a header.
Christian Eriksen pulled a goal back for Spurs with a superb free kick but Luisao slammed a close-range finish in off the bar after another set piece with six minutes to go, leaving Benfica in a commanding position.
Sherwood squared up to counterpart Jorge Jesus after the visitors’ third goal after the Benfica coach held up three fingers in a goading celebration. They didn’t shake hands after the match.
“I thought his team were very good, got a lot of class,” Sherwood said. “It’s a pity he doesn’t.” Betis will also take a two-goal lead into a home second leg after strikes by Leo Baptistao and Salva Sevilla settled its 108th derby match against Sevilla, which started the game as the favorite.
Betis, bottom of the Spanish league, was coming off consecutive losses at Sevilla by a combined 9-1 score going into the match.
Valencia virtually sealed its place in the last eight despite playing most of its game in Bulgaria with 10 men following the 24th-minute red card to Keita, who brought down Roman Bezjak in the penalty box.
Bezjak’s spot kick was saved and the Spanish visitors added goals by Fede Cartabia and Philippe Senderos to the opener scored by Antonio Barragan in the fifth minute. Juninho Quixada was sent off with 10 minutes to go for Ludogorets, which eliminated Lazio in the last 32.
Lyon, the only French side left in the competition, went behind after two minutes but surged back thanks to a double from Gueida Fofana and other goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Arnold Mvuemba.
Jackson Martinez scored Porto’s goal in a 1-0 win over Napoli, which is coached by the man who led Chelsea to last season’s Europa League title — Rafael Benitez.
Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 in Serie A on Sunday to tighten its grip atop the standings and went ahead four days later through Arturo Vidal in the third minute. However, Gomez, the former Bayern Munich striker, controlled a pass from Josip Ilicic and smashed a shot through goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s legs to grab a draw for the visitors.
Spurs blast Bulls to keep NBA’s best record:
San Mig Coffee off to fast start, routs Globalport
BELLEVILLE, France: Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter won a sprint finish to win the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice on Wednesday but breakaway companion Geraint Thomas is the new overall leader.
Garmin’s Slagter edged out Britain’s Thomas in a sprint finish at the end of the 201.5km stage from Nevers to Belleville, with Dutchman Wilco Kelderman coming home third five seconds later.
“I thought I’d be in good shape for this stage, but not that good,” said a beaming Slagter.
“The aim is still the overall standings. It’s the first day where it moved, now there are four more.”
Sky’s Thomas now leads the overall standings by three seconds from previous leader John Degenkolb of Giant-Shimano, continuing the British team’s recent domination of this race.
Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 edition before going on to win the Tour de France while Richie Porte triumphed last year.
Porte would have led Sky this time around as well but was shifted over to the Tirreno-Adriatico race at the last moment when current Tour de France holder Chris Froome had to pull out of that race due to a bad back, meaning Thomas was promoted to team leader in the ‘Race to the sun’.
“It’s incredible, I didn’t know I’d be team leader until Friday, after Richie pulled out,” said a delighted Thomas.
“I trained really well but to be honest, I hadn’t planned on attacking on the final climb.
“I was even asking myself what I was doing there!
“Paris-Nice is a great fixture on the calendar after the big tours. Last Friday I’d have never dreamed of wearing the yellow jersey.”
The day began with a four-man breakaway featuring Italy’s Valerio Agnoli, Spaniard Jesus Herrada, Luxembourg’s Laurent Didier and Frenchman Perrig Quemeneur, but they were caught with 18km left.
Soon afterwards, former Tour Down Under winner Slagter made his move on the tough Mont Brouilly with Thomas eventually joining him on the technical, winding descent just after the summit.
The pair held off a disorganized 30-strong chase group — despite the best efforts of Giro d’Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali and Frenchman Romain Bardet — all the way to the finish while German Degenkolb dropped into the second chase group.
That proved crucial as he came home 18sec behind and lost his grip on the leader’s jersey.
Nibali now finds himself 19sec off the overall lead, alongsaide world champion Rui Costa, who struggled on the Brouilly climb but managed to hang on to the coat-tails of the 30-strong chase group.
The big loser of the day, though, was Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, who came home 57sec down, effectively seeing his overall hopes go up in smoke.
Thursday’s fifth stage is a hilly 153km from Creches-sur-Saone to Rive-de-Gier.
Cavendish takes Tirreno lead as Omega wins TTT
In San Vincenzo, Italy, British sprinter Mark Cavendish leads the Tirreno-Adriatico after his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team won a time trial to open the weeklong cycling race on Wednesday.
Omega clocked 20 minutes, 13 seconds over the 18.5-kilometer (11.5-mile) route from Donoratico to San Vincenzo.
It was an identical start from last year, when Cavendish also took the lead with an Omega win.
“I’m happy,” Cavendish said. “The team is stronger than last year.”
One of the greatest sprinters of all time, Cavendish has had a slow start to this season, with his only individual win coming in a stage of the Tour of Algarve last month.
Three-time time trial world champion Tony Martin was again the main engine behind Omega’s success, which should benefit Michal Kwiatkowski and Rigoberto Uran, who are aiming for the overall win.
Orica Greenedge finished second, 11 seconds behind, and Movistar — featuring Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana — was third, 18 seconds behind.
Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff Saxo placed fourth, 24 seconds behind. Sky, with Bradley Wiggins and Richie Porte, was sixth, 27 seconds behind.
Porte was added to Sky’s squad last week when Tour de France winner Chris Froome announced that he would sit out the race due to a back injury.
LONDON: Second-tier Wigan Athletic stunned Manchester City in the FA Cup for the second season running with a shock 2-1 quarter-final victory at a disbelieving Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
City, newly crowned League Cup champions, were bidding to avenge their 1-0 defeat in last season’s final, but instead it was the holders — managed by former City striker Uwe Rosler — who advanced to a last-four date with Arsenal.
Jordi Gomez gave Wigan the lead with a 27th-minute penalty after Martin Demichelis fouled Marc Antoine-Fortune and James Perch made it 2-0 within seconds of kick-off in the second half.
Samir Nasri pulled a goal back for City with 22 minutes remaining, but the Championship side — relegated within days of last season’s final — withstood heavy pressure from the hosts to record another famous FA Cup win.
The Etihad was buoyant after City’s 3-1 win over Sunderland in last weekend’s League Cup final, but the home fans were silenced in the 27th minute when Wigan took the lead.
A neat turn took Fortune past Demichelis on the Wigan left and after the Argentine brought him down, Gomez sent goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon the wrong way from the penalty spot.
City’s frustration was evident, with Nasri booked for kicking the ball away, and Wigan extended their lead early in the second half when Perch stole in front of Gael Clichy to tuck in a low cross from James McArthur.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini reacted by sending on James Milner, David Silva and Edin Dzeko, and the latter came within a whisker of equalizing in the 64th minute with a header that hit the post.
The hosts continued to push, though, and four minutes later Nasri dragged them back into the tie with a left-foot shot from outside the box that skidded into the bottom-right corner.
City threw everything at Wigan in the closing stages, with Emmerson Boyce producing an extraordinary goal-line block to thwart Dzeko, but Wigan held on by the skin of their teeth.
Earlier, Hull City and giant-killers Sheffield United set up an unlikely semi-final showdown after coming through their respective quarterfinal ties.
Hull defeated Premier League rivals Sunderland 3-0 at the KC Stadium to reach the last four for the first time since 1930, while third-tier United overcame Charlton Athletic.
Hull’s Sone Aluko saw a first-half penalty saved by Sunderland goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, but three goals in nine minutes from Curtis Davies, David Meyler and Matty Fryatt in the second period gave the hosts victory.
“I’ve just seen the draw and it’s a great one,” said Hull manager Steve Bruce, who twice won the trophy as a player with Manchester United.
“Sheffield United have had a wonderful run and beaten every team put in front of them.
“But you have got to be honest — you want to avoid the big boys and I’m sure Sheffield United will be thinking the same having drawn us.” Sheffield United continued their remarkable journey in the FA Cup by upsetting second-tier Charlton 2-0 at Bramall Lane.
Managed by Nigel Clough, son of legendary former Nottingham Forest manager Brian, the Blades became the first team from the third tier to reach the last four since Wycombe Wanderers in 2001.
“I’m just delighted for everybody that we’re going to Wembley, especially the players,” Clough, whose late father never won the tournament, told BT Sport.
“To win nine games on the spin, they deserve an immense amount of credit. We hope to play a lot more big games like this in the future.” Having previously accounted for Premier League sides Fulham and Aston Villa, as well as second-tier Forest, the Blades prevailed thanks to quick-fire goals from Ryan Flynn and John Brayford mid-way through the second half.
Nadal survives; Federer, Murray through:
INDIAN WELLS: Top seed Rafa Nadal survived a scare from Radek Stepanek before winning his BNP Paribas Open second round match in three tight sets at Indian Wells on Saturday.
The Spaniard, in his first match as defending champion, was stretched to the limit before prevailing 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in night match that lasted two hours, 24 minutes in the California desert.
Nadal served eight double faults and was broken three times, but he also broke his Czech opponent three times, including twice in the final set.
The pivotal moment came in the sixth game of the third set, when Nadal fended off three break points to hold serve.
Earlier, Briton Andy Murray recorded his 300th hardcourt victory when he beat Stepanek’s compatriot Lukas Rosol in three sets.
Fifth seed Murray recovered from a slow start to beat his Czech opponent 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 as the top seeds took to the courts for the first time after receiving first round byes.
“I got broken three times in a row the end of the first set, beginning of the second,” Murray told reporters. “I just kind of kept going and found a way to win, which is always the most important thing.” Only five active players have won more tour-level hardcourt matches, headed by Roger Federer (575).
Seventh seed Federer dominated the first set but was taken to a tie-break in the second before prevailing 6-2, 7-6(5) against French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu, while Swiss compatriot and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka clinched a 6-3, 7-5 win over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt failed to notch his 600th career win when he was beaten by South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(5), 6-4.
The veteran Hewitt saved 10 of 11 break points but was unable to break the tall 17th seed’s powerful serve in the match.
There was high drama in another match as Colombian Alejandro Falla saved a match point at 5-2 down in the third set to beat Polish 18th seed Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5).
On the women’s side, top seed Li Na beat Chinese compatriot Zheng Jie 6-1, 7-5.
Australian Open champion Li notched six breaks as Zheng struggled on serve.
Defending champion Maria Sharapova made short work of her first match, beating German Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-4 in barely an hour.
Juventus on course for third Serie A title:
MILAN: Juventus remained firmly on course for a third straight Serie A title after beating Fiorentina 1-0 on Sunday to provisionally extend its lead at the top of the standings to 14 points.
Second-placed Roma has played two games less and travels later to Napoli, which trails its opponent by six points.
Kwadwo Asamoah scored a brilliant goal three minutes from halftime to give Juventus the lead.
Unlike the first match this season where Juventus squandered a two-goal lead against Fiorentina to lose 4-2 — its only league defeat this campaign — the Bianconeri held on to record its 14th home league victory. It has a perfect record at the Juventus Stadium this season.
Inter Milan is only a point behind fourth-placed Fiorentina after beating Torino 1-0. Parma, which has a game in hand, is a point further back following its 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona.
Lazio lost 1-0 at home to Atalanta in a match, which saw Antonio Candreva sent off for two bookings.
At the other end of the table, Livorno wasted a two-goal lead to lose a relegation battle 4-2 at Sampdoria.
Elsewhere, it was: Chievo 2, Genoa 1; and Bologna 0, Sassuolo 0.
It was the first of three matches in less than two weeks between Juventus and Fiorentina as they meet in the Europa League.
Asamoah gave Fiorentina warning of what was to come with a deflected volley which Neto did brilliantly to turn around for a corner with a desperate one-handed save.
The resulting corner eventually came back out to Asamoah but his low drive was just past the far post.
Juventus broke the deadlock when Asamoah cut in from the left and carved out space between four Fiorentina defenders before unleashing a stunning effort which took a slight deflection before going in off the inside of the far post.
Fiorentina thought it had leveled three minutes after the break but Modibo Diakite’s effort was ruled out for a tight offside decision.
Mario Gomez had a clear chance on the hour mark when he was left unmarked at the far post but the Germany striker, who is still not back to his best following five months out with injury, headed a cross wide.
Fiorentina was improving and went closest 11 minutes from time when substitute Ryder Matos headed off the crossbar shortly after coming off the bench.
Inter is sneaking up on Fiorentina after picking up only its third win in 2014 and stretching its unbeaten run to five.
Inter dominated and took a deserved lead in bizarre circumstances as Rodrigo Palacio appeared to be trying to nod Esteban Cambiasso’s cross back across the face of goal but it went in at the far post.
Parma and Verona were level on points at the start of the match and knew the victor would boost its hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.
Jonathan Biabiany got a decisive touch to deflect Massimo Gobbi’s snap shot into the net off the inside of the right post in the 20th.
Parma sealed the result in stoppage time as Antonio Cassano stole the ball off Verona goalkeeper Rafael and, although his curling shot crashed off the post, Ezequiel Schelotto was on hand to follow up.
Livorno appeared to be heading for all three points after a double from Ibrahima Mbaye had given it a two-goal lead at halftime.
However, Sampdoria was level eight minutes after the break.
First, Francesco Bardi pulled off a good save to parry Roberto Soriano’s effort but halftime substitute Nenad Krsticic bundled in the rebound and four minutes later Livorno defender Federico Ceccherini put the ball into his own net.
Stefano Okaka and Manolo Gabbiadini sealed the result.
Livorno is now two points off safety following Bologna’s draw against bottom club Sassuolo.
Chievo moved three points clear after a dramatic finale against Genoa.
Former Genoa striker Alberto Paloschi scored two penalties, one in the fifth minute and the winner in stoppage time, minutes after Alberto Gilardino had leveled for Genoa.
BIRMINGHAM: Lee Chong Wei produced one of his finest performances despite an ankle problem to regain the All-England Open title doing so with an impressively emphatic straight games win over Chen Long in Birmingham on Sunday.
The world number one from Malaysia beat the titleholder from China 21-13, 21-18 — revenge for his loss to Chen in the final last year — for his third All-England trophy and then admitted he may not be back to try and win a fourth title.
The variety of the 31-year-old’s game was often mesmerising, and his focus was steely enough to resist determined second-game fight-backs by Chen from 4-10 to 9-10 and from 13-18 to 17-18 and to within the width of the net tape of getting to 18-all.
Lee, however, said he may not be back — not because he is retiring but because this tournament has underlined that preserving his body for another Olympic bid has become increasingly problematic.
“I didn’t know how well I would be able to play, but I feel very happy with what I did,” Lee said.
“I had this injury before I came here and I just relaxed because I think it maybe my last time.
“I think I did my best. Now I want to go home and talk with my coach (Rashid Sidek, a former All-England finalist) and go back to doing some rehab.”
Chen was gracious in defeat.
“He played some amazing points,” said Chen.
“I can accept winning or losing today.”
Earlier China won the women’s singles when Wang Shixian, the fourth-seeded former All-England champion, beat Li Xuerui, the top-seeded Olympic champion, 21-19, 21-18.
It was a match which never caught fire, though Wang did enough to suggest she possesses a wider range of strokes and tactics than when she won the title three years ago.
Li, who sometimes walked gingerly as if she was not in the best shape, led 19-17 in the first game and 14-13 in the second, but could not press her slight advantages home.
“It wasn’t too difficult playing a colleague because these days it happens in finals lot,” said Wang.
“I hope we will win more matches as a team.”
Yu Yang’s improbable rehabilitation continued in dramatic fashion also on Sunday as she and her women’s doubles partner Wang Xiaoli saved a match point to complete a successful defense of their All-England Open title.
Yu, who had said she was quitting after she and Wang were among those banned during the match-fixing scandal at the London Olympics, was again a bundle of renovated self-belief and forecourt energy as the top-seeded pair edged out their unseeded compatriots Ma Jin and Tang Yuanting 21-17, 18-21, 23-21.
“We really wanted to win again this year,” said Wang.
“We were quite scared about coming here because we were getting challenged by all the other players, but we managed to adjust and it was really just about playing to the right level.”
Indonesia regained the men’s doubles title after an interval of more than a decade when top-seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan followed their August capture of the world title with a 21-19, 21-19 win over Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.
The Japanese pair led 16-15 in the first game and repaired a three-point deficit in the second, and were not far from becoming their country’s first All-England champions since 1978.
China’s top-seeded mixed doubles pair of Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei was beaten 21-13, 21-17 by Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir, the titleholders from Indonesia.
It left China with just two titles, its smallest all-England haul for six years.
Sri Lanka waltzes to Asia Cup title:
DHAKA: Opener Lahiru Thirimanne hit a magnificent century to help Sri Lanka thump Pakistan by five wickets to regain the Asia Cup title in Dhaka on Saturday.
The left-hander notched 101 for his third one-day hundred to anchor Sri Lanka’s successful chase of a 261-run target in 46.2 overs for his country’s fifth Asia Cup title at Dhaka’s Shere Bangla stadium.
Thirimanne, who also scored a hundred in the tournament’s opening match against the same opponents, hit 13 boundaries during his 108-ball knock and steadied the chase during a solid 156-run third-wicket partnership with veteran team-mate Mahela Jayawardene, who made 75.
Pakistan’s main spin weapon Saeed Ajmal had broken through after Sri Lanka’s confident start of 56, dismissing Kusal Perera (42) and dangerman Kumar Sangakkara (nought) off successive deliveries.
Jayawardene, who had a poor run of scores with 13, nine, 14 and nought in the tournament, benefitted when wicket-keeper Umar Akmal dropped a regulation catch off Shahid Afridi.
Jayawardene, then 36, hit nine boundaries and a six before he holed out off paceman Mohammad Talha.
Sri Lanka also lost Ashan Prinyanjan (13) to Junaid Khan and Thirimanne to Ajmal but skipper Angelo Mathews (16 not out) hit the winning runs.
Thirimanne, who reached his hundred with a single off Khan, was finally bowled by Ajmal who finished with 3-26.
Sri Lanka had also won the Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008.
“We wanted to break the barrier between us and finals,” said Mathews of Sri Lanka’s failure to win the World Cup finals of 2007 and 2011 and the Twenty20 finals of 2009 and 2012.
“The credit goes to the whole team. It was a very good run chase and big victory not only for me but for the whole team,” said Mathews whose team won all the five matches in the event.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq blamed defeat on his side’s loss of early wickets.
“I think losing the first three wickets quickly put us under pressure and although we managed to reach 260, it was some 20-30 short,” said Misbah.
Pakistan, who decided to bat after winning the toss, were helped to 260-5 by a brilliant unbeaten 114 by Fawad Alam and a solid 65 by Misbah.
Alam’s knock helped Pakistan recover from early devastation caused by paceman Lasith Malinga, who took the first three wickets to force Pakistan on to the back foot, before he finished with 5-56.
Alam added an invaluable 122 for the fourth wicket with Misbah and then another 115 for the fifth wicket with Umar Akmal who made a 42-ball 59.
Alam, who returned to the team with a brilliant 74 against Bangladesh on Tuesday after a four-year absence, hit eight boundaries and three sixes off 134 balls.
Alam became the first left-handed Pakistan batsman, other than openers, to hit a one-day century. He hit paceman Thisara Perera over long-on for a six to reach his century off 126 balls.
Akmal hit seven boundaries to give impetus to the innings as Pakistan scored 101 in the last ten overs.
Earlier, Malinga rocked the innings with the wickets of Sharjeel Khan (eight), Ahmed Shehzad (five) and Mohammad Hafeez (three) in his incisive four-over spell, pushing Pakistan to 18-3 by the fifth over.
Misbah and Alam played steadily during their 122-run partnership and were lucky to survive some close chances.
Misbah was ruled not out on 19 by Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford when action replays suggested he edged Mathews to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.
Misbah hit three boundaries and two sixes during his solid 98-ball knock before Malinga returned for his second spell and had the Pakistan captain caught in the deep.
Five-times champions India, hosts Bangladesh and Afghanistan were the other teams in the competition.
SCOREBOARD
Pakistan innings:
S. Khan c Thisara b Malinga 8
A. Shehzad c Sangakkara b Malinga 5
M. Hafeez c Sangakkara b Malinga 3
Misbah-ul Haq c Perera b Malinga 65
F. Alam not out 114
U. Akmal c Priyanjan b Malinga 59
S. Afridi not out 0
Extras: 6
Total: (for 5 wkts; 50 overs) 260
Fall of wkts: 1-8, 2-17, 3-18, 4-140, 5-255.
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-56-5, Lakmal 10-2-41-0 (2w), Senanayake 9-0-54-0, Thisara 10-1-66-0 (2w), Mathews 7-1-23-0 (1w), de Silva 4-0-19-0.
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera st Akmal b Ajmal 42
L. Thirimanne b Ajmal 101
K. Sangakkara lbw Ajmal 0
M. Jayawardene c Sharjeel b Talha 75
A. Priyanjan c Akmal b Khan 13
A. Mathews not out 16
C. de Silva not out 6
Extras: 8
Total: (for 5 wkts; 46.2 overs) 261
Fall of wkts: 1-56, 2-56, 3-212, 4-233, 5-247.
Bowling: Hafeez 9-0-42-0 (1w), Gul 6-0-44-0 (1w), Khan 9-0-56-1, Ajmal 10-2-26-3 (3w), Talha 6.2-0-56-1(1nb), Afridi 6-0-35-0.
Huntelaar trick ends Schalke crisis; Bayern marches on
BERLIN: Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat trick and had a penalty saved as Schalke 04 bounced back from last week’s heavy defeats to ease past Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday and tighten their hold on fourth spot.
Leaders Bayern Munich’s unstoppable march toward the Bundesliga title continued with Thomas Mueller and Mario Mandzukic grabbing two goals each as the reigning champions demolished hosts VfL Wolfsburg 6-1 for a league record 16th consecutive victory.
Schalke, who had lost 6-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League and 5-1 to Bayern in the league last week, grabbed a two-goal cushion with Huntelaar tapping in from close range in the sixth minute and rifling in from 18 meters in the 28th.
He failed to get a first half hat trick when he chipped a weak penalty into the hands of keeper Koen Casteels but Chinedu Obasi did it better in the 55th, drilling in after a superb Kevin-Prince Boateng pass in the 55th.
Huntelaar, who had missed much of the season through injury, made amends for his earlier miss in the 79th as Schalke moved five points clear in fourth place, with Wolfsburg in fifth on 39.
Bayern extended their lead at the top to a staggering 23 points from second-placed Borussia Dortmund, storming past Wolfsburg in a dazzling second half.
Brazilian defender Naldo slid in to connect with a Kevin De Bruyne cross at the far post for a deserved Wolfsburg lead in the 17th minute before Xherdan Shaqiri levelled after a goalmouth scramble in the 26th with the goal initially awarded to Mueller.
Bayern needed an hour to peak with Mueller and Mario Mandzukic scoring twice and Franck Ribery on target as well in an explosive five-goal spell in 17 minutes.
Wolfsburg had managed to contain the Bavarians for about an hour before surrendering to their quick breaks.
Bayer Leverkusen failed to move past Dortmund into second place after drawing 1-1 at Hanover 96. Dortmund, who play Freiburg on Sunday, are a point ahead of them on 45.
VfB Stuttgart conceded a late equalizer in their relegation battle against Eintracht Braunschweig to draw 2-2 and hover above the relegation zone.
Augsburg continued their fine run with an 81st minute winner by Tobias Werner to edge past Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 and stay in sixth, on course for a European spot.
Arsenal into FA Cup semis; United wins in EPL
Arsenal into FA Cup semis; United wins in EPL
DHAKA: Rampaging Shahid Afridi and prolific Kumar Sangakkara have set the stage for a rousing contest when Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup one-day final in Dhaka on Saturday.
Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka have been the dominant team in the five-nation event with four straight victories in the league, including a 12-run win over Pakistan in the tournament opener on Feb. 25.
The charge was led by Sangakkara, the 36-year-old left-hander who has been in prime form during his team’s current tour of Bangladesh, which began with a bilateral series in January.
Sangakkara scored 75, 319 and 105 in two Test matches and 128 in the second one-day international to steer Sri Lanka to series wins in all three formats against the hosts.
The veteran has also played three match-winning innings in the Asia Cup, making 67 against Pakistan, 103 versus World Cup champions India and 76 against minnows Afghanistan.
He remains the leading scorer in the tournament with 248 runs despite falling cheaply for two in Thursday’s last league match against Bangladesh.
“It is great to have Sangakkara in such good form, but the others will also need to step up and rally around him if we are to win,” Mathews said.
“Pakistan have shown how tough a side they are to beat. But we have our plans and are confident of doing well if we execute them well.” Pakistan, the defending champions, bounced back after the loss against Sri Lanka to qualify for the final with three successive victories against Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh.
The mercurial Afridi fashioned two tense last-over wins, slamming an 18-ball 34 against India before making an astonishing 59 off 25 balls against Bangladesh.
Short boundaries at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium where even mis-hits land over the fence appear tailor-made for Afridi, and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq hoped for another power-packed display in the final.
“Afridi is our main player,” a grateful Misbah said. “The kind of form he is in and the kind of confidence he shows, it’s good for the Pakistan team.
“We just tell him to make sure he bats for at least 25-30 balls. If he does that he can score a 50. I’m really happy with the way he’s playing.” Pakistan Cricket Board official Zakir Khan said Afridi, Umar Gul, Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad were suffering from injury niggles, but he expected them to be fit for the final.
“Afridi has a hip strain and the others have minor niggles, but all of them have responded well to rest and treatment and should be available to play tomorrow,” Khan said in Dhaka on Friday.
Both teams boast of destructive bowling attacks with Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis the tournament’s joint leader with nine wickets and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal in second place with eight.
Sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who has taken six wickets, said Afridi’s explosive game-changing form did not worry him.
“I am more concerned about how I bowl,” Malinga said. “Afridi does not worry me and I don’t think they (Pakistan) are thinking too much about me either.”
Easy for Dibaba, Aman; Vlasic wobbles:
SOPOT, Poland: Fancied Ethiopian duo Genzebe Dibaba and Mohammed Aman both advanced to the finals of their respective events, but there was a scare for Blanka Vlasic at the World Indoor Championships on Friday.
Dibaba has been in electrifying form this season, breaking three world indoor records as she looks to add the 3000m crown to the 1500m indoor title she won two years ago in Istanbul.
At the opening session in Sopot’s Ergo Arena, the 23-year-old cruised through her heat, happy to sit near the back of the pack led alternately by Kenyan Irene Jelagat and Alia Saeed Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates.
Dibaba, sister of multi-world and Olympic medal winner Tirunesh, moved up the field effortlessly through the 2km mark and with three laps to go took the lead and upped the pace.
She finally clocked 8min 57.86sec, more than 40 seconds slower than the world record of 8:16.60 she set in Stockholm early last month.
“The race went very well,” Dibaba said. “I didn’t want to lead in the early laps, I only wanted to move up with five laps remaining and I executed my plan.
“I know I have a great time in this event and that gives me confidence... I don’t think I’ll have a hard time taking gold.” Dibaba will come up against Kenya’s reigning indoor 3000m champion, Hellen Obiri, and Bahrain’s Ethiopian-born two-time world 1500m champion Maryam Jamal in Sunday’s final.
Dibaba’s teammate Aman also advanced smoothly into the final of the men’s 800m.
Aman bolted past Spain’s Kevin Lopez at the bell and kicked home in 1:46.73 to win his heat and put him well on the way to defending the title he won in Istanbul as a junior.
“I’ll do my best to take my second gold at my second championships,” Aman said. “The race went great and I ran it as expected and the result was as I expected.” In-form South African Andre Olivier and Poland’s two-time European indoor champion Adam Kszczot both looked comfortable winning the remaining two heats, with only the winners sure to qualify.
A second Pole, Marcin Lewandowski, also made the final, but world outdoor silver medalist Nick Symmonds of the United States missed out.
There was a huge scare earlier for Croatia’s Vlasic, the former two-time outdoor and indoor world high jump champion missing the qualifying standard of 1.95m.
She eventually went through to the final with Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam in joint eighth place with a best of 1.92m and was eager to play down her morning session blip.
“My main and only aim was to qualify for the final,” the 30-year-old said. “I don’t know why, my leg fell asleep during the qualification.
“I only had two competitions before Sopot but I feel confident.” American Ashton Eaton took control of the heptathlon, on 2,012 points after a personal best 6.66sec in the 60m followed by a season’s best of 7.78m in the long jump.
It left Eaton, the current world and Olympic decathlon champion, defending indoor heptathlon champion, and world record holder in both the decathlon and heptathlon, just 48 points shy of his equivalent total during his world record.
His Canadian wife Brianne Theisen Eaton was also well placed in the women’s penathlon after two events, with the shot put, long jump and 800m to come in the gruelling one-day event.
Stepanek sets up Nadal clash at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, California: Top seed Rafa Nadal will open his Indian Wells title defense against Radek Stepanek after the Czech overcame a poor second set to beat Denis Istomin 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round on Thursday.
Stepanek, ranked 50th in the world, was broken only once and did not double fault but needed nearly two hours to defeat the Uzbek.
Also on Thursday, Lleyton Hewitt notched his 599th career win when he beat fellow Australian Matthew Ebden 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3.
Hewitt will try for his 600th career victory in a second round encounter against South African Kevin Anderson, who has been a losing finalist in his past two ATP events.
The top 32 seeds receive a bye to the second round, with the leading players making their first appearance over the weekend.
Serbian Novak Djokovic is the second seed, while Stanislas Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion from Switzerland, is third seed for the season’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
On the women’s side, the second round starts on Friday and among those in action will be second seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who hits the court against qualifier Heather Watson of Great Britain.
Third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will start her campaign against American Lauren Davis.
Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who lost last year’s final to Maria Sharapova, will play Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski.
Australian Open champion Li Na is the top women’s seed and meets compatriot Jie Zheng in the second round. Zheng outlasted Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) on Thursday.
Baltacha battling cancer
Former British No.1 Elena Baltacha has been diagnosed with liver cancer, the Scot said on Friday.
“I have recently been diagnosed with cancer of the liver. I’m currently undergoing treatment and fighting this illness with everything I have,” Baltacha, 30, said in a Lawn Tennis Association statement.
Baltacha, once ranked in the world’s top 50, announced her retirement from competitive tennis in November.
“Obviously this is a tough time for Bally, (husband) Nino and her family but she is a such a determined, upbeat person and everyone around her is staying positive as well,” Britain’s Federation Cup captain Judy Murray said.
“I know she’ll be really grateful for all the support that she’s getting.”
Barca boss voices concern over Messi’s healthBARCELONA: Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino has voiced his concern for star player Lionel Messi after the Argentine was seen vomiting during his country’s goalless draw with Romania on Wednesday.
Messi was also sick on the pitch recently in Barca’s 3-1 defeat at Real Sociedad and Martino admitted the player has visited specialists to try and resolve the problem.
“It is not a normal situation, but there is no alarm. He has been to see specialists but as yet they haven’t found a solution.
“The important thing is that it doesn’t affect him from doing his job. It is something that he has had for a while now.” Messi was just one of a number of Barca players away on international duty in midweek with Brazilian duo Neymar and Dani Alves only returning to training on Friday having represented their country against South Africa in Johannesburg.
And Martino lamented having such little time to prepare for the Catalans visit to relegation threatened Valladolid on Saturday.
Barca currently trail leaders Real Madrid by a point, but can take top spot for 24 hours with a win as Madrid are not in action until Levante visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
“It has been a short week. The majority of the players arrived back on Thursday and some not even till Friday.
“We have only been able to speak about the game for one day, but that should not be an excuse. We need to concentrate, play well and win.
“The game worries me because of what it means for our opponents. They are fighting in the bottom part of the table, but they have only lost two games at home. They are very strong at home.” Martino hinted that Neymar is likely to rested from the start having completed the 90 minutes against South Africa and with Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg against Manchester City in mind.
Gerard Pique is included in the squad for the first time in three games, though, as he has overcome a calf problem.
Five share lead; Woods struggles at weather hit WGC-Cadillac:
DORAL, Florida: American Harris English birdied his final hole in fading light to grab the clubhouse lead at the weather hit WGC-Cadillac Championship on Thursday with most of the field still on the course when play was suspended due to darkness.
English, who returned a three-under 69 on the revamped Blue Monster course was joined at the top of a crowded leaderboard with compatriots Hunter Mahan, Jason Dufner, Patrick Reed and Italian Francesco Molinari also on three-under, though they still have to complete their first rounds.
The redesigned course was put to an early test as a violent storm swept across south Florida drenching the Doral resort causing a two hour, 24 minute weather delay that allowed only six of the 68 players to complete their rounds.
English, who has four top 10 finishes in his last five PGA Tour starts, ended his day in spectacular style rolling a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-three ninth to complete an error free back nine.
“We were pretty much running to the tee on nine.” English told reporters. “Jonas (Blixt) had just birdied eight and he said he wanted to hit, and Brendon (De Jonge) and I were very happy with that.
“It was getting really dark, very quickly, but I wanted to finish the hole, because it really changes the way you approach the day, waking up and playing one hole at 8:00 in the morning and then waiting around for three or four hours for your tee time. (It) is tough to do.
“That way in the morning, we can have a normal day.” Dufner, who got his round off to a blazing start with four successive birdies from the 11th, missed a chance to hold the outright lead when his six-foot par putt on the seventh rolled past the cup to take a bogey with two holes still to play.
Mahan will have four holes to complete, Molinari five and Reed seven when first round action resumes on Friday.
Lurking one shot behind the leaders on two-under is a pack of seven golfers led by Australian world number two Adam Scott, who will have a chance replace Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings if he wins on Sunday.
While Woods struggled with his putter, Scott reeled off seven successive pars to open his round before picking up his first birdie at the eighth then draining in a 12-footer at the ninth.
Woods, who pulled out of the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday with a sore back, labored to two-over slumping off the course with a bogey at the 10th to leave him five behind the leaders and eight holes required to complete his round.
“Warmup was good and I felt good all day even through the delay,” said Woods, refusing to blame any of this troubles on back spasms. “I’m ready to go back out tomorrow and play well.
“Hopefully tomorrow I can get back out there in the morning, play well and work back to even par by the end of the first round. Then shoot a low one in the afternoon.” Rory McIlroy, looking to rebound from a final round back nine meltdown and playoff loss at the Honda Classic last Sunday, got his day off to a flying start with birdies on three of his opening four holes.
But after a bogey-birdie wobble at 14 and 15 the Northern Irishman suddenly lost his form finishing his first nine with back-to-back bogeys.
Another bogey at the fourth and the double major winner found himself among another large group at one-under with four to play.
“Of course I wanted to get a fast start,” said McIlroy. “I’m playing well and I’m comfortable with my game.
“So I wasn’t going to let one bad day last week sort of derail the good path that I’m on.
“I said I’d be happy with anything under par from this round and I’m still on course for that. I’m happy with the way I played and I’d like to get something in the 60s and I’d be happy with that.” Aside from Scott it was not a fantastic start for the Australian contingent with world number four Jason Day withdrawing due to a thumb injury.
Brett Rumford then carded an ugly 11 on his opening hole, the par five 10th, which was followed by two more bogeys to leave him last in the elite field at eight-over still with six holes to go.
Air21 off to auspicious start in PBA Commissioner’s Cup
MANILA: One thing was made perfectly clear on Air21 import Herve Lamizana in his first game on Philippine soil.
And it was made known to him in quite a hard way by coach Franz Pumaren.
“It’s a good thing that he stepped up for us in the second half,” Pumaren told reporters, minutes after an 83-78 victory over Globalport that gave the Express an auspicious PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I was brutally frank with him during the halftime break,” Pumaren said. “I told him that this is an import-flavored conference, and imports like him should dominate. I’m glad he responded.”
Lamizana, considered as one of the lesser lights in the current crop of reinforcements, scored just two points in the first two quarters before coming out of the halftime lull to prove himself and gift the Express with a win.
He scored 16 points in the third period and had the most crucial basket of the night that came at the final 1:22 mark as his tight reverse layup off a drive gave the Express a 79-78 lead which they never lost.
“You just don’t look at the performance of an import in the first half and then judge – though he was terrible,” Pumaren said when asked if his import’s first game performance would be enough to cement his place in the team.
“We play again on Saturday, against a very tough team in Talk 'N Text,” he said. “If he gets in shape fast, I’m sure he will be a very good import for us. But we still have to see.”
The Air21 defense also did its job as it held the Batang Pier scoreless in the final 1:38 when Evan Brock, their hard-working import, gave Globalport a 78-77 lead after a free throw off Asi Taulava.
In the second game, Talk 'N Text took command in the second quarter to beat Alaska, 85-72, making the Aces open up defense of their title on a sour note.
Ranidel de Ocampo fired 21 points to pace the Tropang Texters, with import Richard Howell shooting 15 while grabbing a night-high 30 rebounds.
Robert Dozier scattered 16 for the Aces.
Joseph Yeo scored 21 points, the 40-year-old Taulava finished with 14 and Mac Cardona accounted for 11 for the Express, who were eliminated in the Philippine Cup together with Meralco and are itching to make the playoffs this time.
Brock was a dominating presence for the Batang Pier, finishing with 28 points and 26 rebounds. Still, he couldn’t save Globalport from losing its first game under new head coach Pido Jarencio and with new all-star guard Alex Cabagnot.
Cabagnot, who was traded by San Miguel Beer for Sol Mercado three weeks before opening, struggled to shoot just four points in 41 minutes. He did have eight assists, though, but it was clear that he was still trying to feel his teammates the whole game.
The 6-foot Cabagnot was 0-for-4 from three-point range, with his last two misses coming inside the final 30 seconds.
Another star that struggled for Jarencio was Jay Washington, who had just nine points on nine attempts.
In the Philippine Cup, the 6-foot-7 forward tossed in an average of a shade over 19 points a night that went with 9.9 rebounds to make it as one of the five candidates for the Best Player of the Conference award won by Petron Blaze/San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo.
Chua was the only local to finish in twin digits for Jarencio with 10, with rookie Terrence Romeo, who has had a 34-point explosion in the Philippine Cup, shooting just three.
Wolverines blow away Illini 84-53 for Big Ten title:
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois: Michigan came to Champaign, Illinois, with a shot at sewing up its first outright Big Ten title since 1986.
One potential obstacle stood in the way: Illinois was riding a hot streak and had held four straight opponents under 50 points.
It turns out the Illini weren’t much of a problem.
Michigan (22-7, 14-3 Big Ten) buried Illinois with 16 3-pointers on the way to an 84-53 blowout Tuesday night.
Nik Stauskas scored 24 points, hitting a career-best seven 3 pointers. He said Michigan didn’t want to share the championship with anybody, something it did in 2012.
“We came with that mindset, this was our championship and we wanted to win it,” he said.
Dialed in or not, Michigan coach John Beilein said he didn’t see that kind of shooting performance coming against the Illini (17-13, 6-11).
“I haven’t seen that in practice even,” Beilein said. “We were really good today.”
Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 16 and Kendrick Nunn added 14.
No. 1 Florida 72 South Carolina 46: At Columbia, S.C.: Michael Frazier II set a Florida record with 11 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 37 points and help the Gators move a game from a perfect Southeastern Conference regular season.
Georgia Tech 67 No. 7 Syracuse 62: At Syracuse, N.Y.: Trae Golden scored 16 points, including six clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Georgia Tech stunned struggling Syracuse.
Georgetown 75 No. 13 Creighton 63: At Washington: D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and Georgetown frustrated Doug McDermott until late in the game, holding off a rally led by the nation’s leading scorer in a win over Creighton.
No. 25 Kentucky 55 Alabama 48: At Lexington, Kentucky: Julius Randle had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Kentucky rallied past Alabama to end a two-game losing streak.
Milwaukee 83 Detroit 73: At Rochester, Michigan: Jordan Aaron and Steve McWhorter combined to score 31 points to power Milwaukee past Detroit in a Horizon League tournament opener.
Women
No. 9 Baylor 70 Iowa State 54: At Ames, Iowa: Nina Davis scored 26 points to help Baylor clinch a share of the Big 12 title by beating Iowa State.
Nikki Moody had 17 points and Hallie Christofferson scored 14 for Iowa State (20-9, 9-9).
Abu Dhabi International Triathlon attracts 2,400 racers from 68 countries
ABU DHABI: Next week’s Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is marking its fifth anniversary with its first, completely sold out event. A lineup of 2,400 triathletes from 68 countries are due to converge on Abu Dhabi Corniche on March 15 making it one of the world’s 20 largest must-do triathlons.
“The huge demand for the event demonstrates a consistent rise in amateurs and elites looking for the ultimate triathlon challenge with 60 percent of racers registered from around the world and 40 percent from the UAE alone,” explained Faisal Al Sheikh, director, Events Bureau, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which presents the annual event.
“The number of keen triathletes flying in for the race from countries such as Russia, Portugal, the Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Finland continues to rise which is a positive indicator of the event’s success and growth on a global scale.”
The International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) successful bid two years ago for the inclusion of triathlon in the Arab Games 2015 was a significant step for the sport in the Middle East, offering an additional opportunity to showcase the sport internationally and promote it as a gateway to active lifestyles.
“We are hoping this event will inspire more adults and children in the region to engage in the sport and encourage the international community to travel to the Emirates,” added Al Sheikh.
This year the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon features first-time entries from as far afield as Algeria, China, Ethiopia, Iceland, Norway, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine and Vietnam.
The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon will again offer three different distances — long, short and sprint courses — for racers of all abilities. The short and sprint distances also offer the popular option of relay entry, allowing groups of colleagues, families and friends to tackle the event together.
Amateur athletes have the chance to compete alongside a world-class field of elite triathletes on the spectacular course, which starts with a swim in the crystal blue waters off Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, continues with the cycling stage across to Saadiyat and Yas islands, and concludes with a run out past the iconic Marina Mall breakwater. Star names including Olympic gold and bronze medallists the Brownlee brothers, defending champions Belgium’s Frederick Van Lierde and Australia’s Melissa Hauschildt, Spain’s Eneko Llanos and many more will be lining up to claim the prestigious title.
For those wanting to cheer on their children, friends and family members at the race there will be a Fans Village on the Corniche East Plaza, filled with action-packed activities, money-can’t-buy giveaways and tons of prizes to be won all day. In addition to all the race action, stilt walkers, Zumba instructors and Capoeira (Brazilian martial art) performers will be on hand throughout the day to entertain kids and adults alike.
Jamon-Busico captures OFBC Mixed Doubles title:
To kick off its special events of the 2014 season on top of the two leagues and monthlies the OFBC (Overseas Filipino Bowlers Club) gathered its members at Ice Land Bowling Center for the Mixed Doubles Bowling Championship recently.
In a day-long competition players enjoyed themselves out on the lanes in an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie. There were 21 pairs that battled for honors in eight games sudden death format, according to OCBC Commissioner Joel Nidoy.
The tandem of Rudy Jamon and Kristhea Mae Busico emerged champion after combining for total pinfalls with handicap of 2,929. It was a decisive victory for Jamon and Busico with the 1st runner-up pair of Robert Gamboa and Carms Lim finishing 16 pins adrift on 2,913.
The husband-and-wife team of Toto Lim and Vangie Lim edged out Jameel Gabrera and Margie Villasanta at 2nd runner-up by six pins 2,859 to 2,853.
Fourth runner-up was the Tom Langa-Shirley Sagmit pair who rolled 2,832 followed by Jun Ejanda-Sharmaine Patayan 2,823 and Nards Hassan-Sharmaine Patayan 2,800. Sharmaine was paired with two male bowlers and her score made to count for two teams after Hassan ended up without a partner and had to pick one in a draw since the female players were short by one to match the total number of male bowlers that turned out on the day.
Archie Alcantara and Fuly Primo finished 7th runner-up on 2,805, Benj Espinosa-Hyeth Ann Achai 8th runner-up 2,801 and Joel Nidoy-Farida de Guzman completed the first 10 winners eligible for a prize at 2,800.
The top five teams each received a cash prize and elegant gift from the sponsor Advanced Fabrics Co. Ltd. (SAAF). Cash prizes were awarded to the rest of the winners.
Nidoy thanked the sponsors, participants, OFBC members and officers for their support to the event.
The SAAF sponsorship was courtesy of Mounir Haddad, managing director; Don Moore, project manager; and Mohamed Hadidy and Juan Gouws, technical managers.
Another sponsor, Petro Rabigh Co., provided T-shirts, ball caps and car shades to the top 15 finishers thanks to Sales and Marketing Manager Adieb Jafari, Eyad M. Ajaj, corporate affairs manager; Salah Kathani, public affairs supervisor; Ammar Fadaq, Adnan A. Malki and Dante Macaraeg.
Resurgent Federer adds to Indian Wells buzz:
INDIAN WELLS, California: Roger Federer will seek to back up his Dubai title win on Saturday with a record fifth Indian Wells crown starting this week which if successful would be his 79th career title.
Federer, though, will face a top class field with defending champion Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the top seeds.
The $12 million ATP and WTA hardcourt event begins on Wednesday for the women — where Maria Sharapova is the defending champion — and Thursday for the men.
Federer won titles at Indian Wells from 2004-2006 and again in 2012 and showed top form in reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and taking his sixth Dubai crown which included beating Djokovic in the semi-finals and coming from behind to beat Tomas Berdych in the final.
“I think this is how you win your first title again after a while, and then hopefully from here on it’s easier, especially closing out,” Federer said.
“There is a lot of pressure. Sometimes I have been disappointed with my play when it really mattered. I was able to deliver when I had to. I was able to come up with the goods. It was one of those tournaments I kind of need this way right now.”
The 32-year-old Swiss star will have Stefan Edberg with him as coach, one of four former Indian Wells winners on hand to guide others, with Michael Chang helping Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Boris Becker working with Djokovic and Ivan Ljubicic coaching Canada’s Milos Raonic.
“It has just been nice spending time with him,” Federer said. “It’s clearly inspiring at this point just hearing him speak about the game.”
Federer battled nagging injuries much of last year but sees himself in a strong position to go far in events and add to his record total of 17 men’s Grand Slam titles, the most recent of them in 2012 at Wimbledon.
And based upon hard work in the off-season, Federer says he has a new spark of confidence.
“I feel I am in good enough shape at least now and that’s very encouraging,” he said.
“I feel my best tennis is around the corner. I’ve said that quite a few times, but I feel like this time it’s really the case. I wake up with zero pain. I’m excited playing tournaments. It’s a good start to the season.”
Nadal, who has 13 career Grand Slam titles, will try to match Federer as a four-time Indian Wells champion, having won in 2007 and 2009 as well as last year.
Djokovic, the 2008 and 2011 Indian Wells winner, will also be a contender, as will Berdych, Britain’s Andy Murray and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, in his first event since capturing his first Grand Slam crown by beating Nadal in the Melbourne final.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt, 33, could become only the third active player to crack the 600 match win mark, joining Federer and Nadal.
On the women’s side, Sharapova will be tested by 2012 Indian Wells winner Victoria Azarenka, 2011 winner Caroline Wozniacki and Australian Open champion Li Na of China.
Li hopes to replace the absent Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings.
“I want to be number one in the world,” Li said. “It’s a goal, the dream for all athletes. I will try as hard as I can.”
Williams has boycotted Indian Wells since 2001, when fans booed her as she won in a walkover against sister Venus.
Lindsay Davenport elected to Tennis Hall of Fame:
FIFA panel tightens rule on player shirt slogans:
ZURICH: Players at the World Cup face FIFA disciplinary action for revealing any slogan or image on their undershirts.
Football’s rules-making panel modified the law, which previously related only to political and religious statements and advertising, and agreed on Saturday it will take effect on June 1.
The panel, known as the International Football Association Board (IFAB), said breaking the rule was not a yellow-card offense, though players can be disciplined by competition organizers.
“We think it’s the simplest rule for the image of the game to start from the basis that there is no room for slogans, images or alternative sponsor logos on the undershirt,” said IFAB member Alex Horne, general secretary of England’s Football Association.
At the 2010 World Cup final, Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal then took off his shirt to reveal a statement on his undershirt dedicated to a Spanish player who died that season. That act will now lead to a probable FIFA fine in addition to a yellow card for removing the shirt.
Also, the panel rejected UEFA’s proposal to remove red cards from the so-called “triple punishment” — penalty, sending off and suspension — for penalty-area fouls, which deny a goal-scoring opportunity.
IFAB’s new football and technical advisory panels will discuss the issue and oversee trials of rugby-type “sin-bins” where players are sidelined for several minutes for some yellow-card offenses.
IFAB approved head coverings for male and female players, and restated opposition to giving match officials access to video replay in decision-making.
The tougher rule on personal messages follows incidents this season when players including Didier Drogba of Galatasaray revealed tributes to Nelson Mandela on their undershirts.
Italy forward Mario Balotelli famously revealed “Why Always Me?” written on his undershirt in 2011 after scoring for his then-club Manchester City against crosstown rival Manchester United.
Still, the IFAB panel — comprising FIFA and the four British associations — agreed the England-proposed amendment would help avoid complications with statements having different meanings in different languages and cultures.
“It is better to say no and have a clean situation,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said at a briefing after the two-hour IFAB meeting.
The triple punishment rule will return yet again to the IFAB agenda at its 2015 meeting, after several failed attempts to modify it since being introduced after the 1990 World Cup to help eradicate cynical fouls by defenders and goalkeepers.
Scotland FA chief executive Stewart Regan said the panel wanted to avoid a “flip-flop” of reverting to the old rule which allowed defenders to avoid a red card for deliberately preventing a clear scoring chance.
A European proposal to experiment with sin-bins will continue in youth football, after UEFA President Michel Platini called for different ways to punish offenders who were already shown a yellow card.
Trials in England suggested a 10-minute period on the sidelines was too long, and prompted teams to be too defensive after losing a player.
“It did have some unforeseen consequences on the flow of the game,” Horne acknowledged.
The final consent for head coverings follows extra trials after a July 2012 decision to approve scarves worn by Islamic female players.
Valcke said Saturday’s decision extended to male players following a request from Sikh community leaders in Canada.
The IFAB meeting in July 2012 also approved use of goal-line technology, which will remain the only use of cameras to help referees make decisions. The issue of video replay was listed for preliminary talks on Saturday’s agenda.
“We can always discuss but the use of the video will not be in our game except in the goal-line technology,” Valcke said.
Federer trumps Berdych for Dubai title:
Fisher moves five shots clear at Tshwane OpenPRETORIA: Ross Fisher moved closer to a first European Tour triumph in four years by taking a five-shot lead Saturday after three rounds of the Tshwane Open.
The 33-year-old English golfer, whose last title was the 2010 Irish Open, fired a 67 at The Els Club Copperleaf west of Highveld city Pretoria.
His see-saw front nine produced five birdies and two bogeys and he claimed another two birdies on the back nine of the 7,281-meter (7,964-yard) layout.
Fisher, a stroke ahead at the halfway stage of the 1.5 million euro ($2.1 million) event, carded a five-under-par 67 to give a 198 total for 54 holes.
Michael Hoey from Northern Ireland, who climbed into contention Friday with seven consecutive back-nine birdies, lies second after a mixed third trek over the longest European Tour course. Like Fisher, Hoey delivered a mix of birdies (six) and bogeys (three) in the second edition of the Tshwane Open, which South African Dawie van der Walt won last year.
Englishman Simon Dyson, who shared the opening-round lead, and Spaniard Carlos Del Moral lie third on 204, six shots adrift of Fisher.
Dyson could manage only a one-under 71 composed of three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars over a course designed by South African quadruple Major champion Ernie Els.
Del Moral, seeking his maiden European victory, also had a three birdie-two bogey round of 71 on a day when cloudy weather replaced a sunny opening half of the tournament.
A group of seven golfers on 205 — seven shots behind Fisher — includes Italian Edoardo Molinari (70) and Irishman Kevin Phelan (68).
Dortmund goes second as Leverkusen crashes again
Webb maintains top spot in Singapore:
Federer shocker for Djokovic in Dubai:
Pietersen takes swipe at ‘big cheese’ Prior:
Masked James leads Heat past Knicks:
Sangakkara steers Sri Lanka to dramatic win over sloppy India:
Pairs & Spares Team of the Week anew in OFBC Morning League:
Pairs & Spares savored back-to-back Team of the Week victories when it took advantage playing against the bye team during the fifth session in the OFBC Friday Morning League Season 2 at the Ice Land Bowling Center here.
Bowling pressure-free, Pairs & Spares trotted out the top total win points of 27. Its total pinfalls of 2,601 was good for only 7 rank points though the automatic 20 win points clinched it for Pairs in the race for honors against RTJ Transient House.
RTJ, the only other team to win consecutive awards thus far in the tournament, finished on 26 points after an 18-2 victory over TFSJ Pin Crusher in a match that gave Rudy Jamon’s squad not only the top rank points of 8 off total pinfalls of 2,661but the lead as well.
D’ Luf’s Strikers hammered out a 16-4 win over Mixed Shots on total pinfalls of 2,552-2,37, rank points of 6-5 and total win points of 22-9.
The match between American Garden and Cyclone ended in a 10-10 draw on total pinfalls of 2,521-2,475, rank points of 4-3 and total win points of 14-13.
The day’s honors were spread out with Med Ramos of Cyclone claiming the men’s Bowler of the Week award on 584 and D’ Luf’s’ Farida De Guzman the ladies accolade on 575.
The underrated Pairs again came good to outperform the rest of the pack with the duo of Conrad Baltazar and Alona Antinero leading the way on 555 and 540. Akang Victorino’s effort of 518 proved valuable, while Ed Sardiña had 498 to go with the 115-109 by Mia Cedotes and 134 by team captain Jhun Estefano.
In grabbing back the lead RTJ drew big games from the trio of league commissioner Joel Nidoy 579, Jamon 545 and Kristhea Mae Busico 531. Richard Junio contributed 485, Ed Cordova 167-171 and Malou Nidoy 145.
Nards Hassan rolled three-game series of 567 to back up Farida at Luf’s with Cesar Pagtalunan on 491 as the other player to go the distance. Co-captain Danny Francisco tallied 107-148, Alexander Duma had 125-154 and Cromwell Marzo made 147.
Over at American Garden Shirley Sagmit was at the helm on 550 followed by Archie Alcantara 516, Christine Stone 513 and Robert Stone 450.
Besides Ramos the others that scored at Cyclone were Tom Langa 462, skipper Fatima Jintarat 435, Jack Jarin 135-148, Robert Gamboa 184-139 and Usman de Guzman 141-108.
Team standings after the 5th week:
1. RTJ Transient House 107.0 points 2. Cyclone 93.0 3. American Garden 92.5 4. TSFJ Pin Crusher 88.0 5. Pairs and Spares 70.5 6. Mixed Shots 67.0 7. D’ Luf’s Strikers 57.0 8. Bye 5.0
HSBC chief to Woods: Respect WGC-HSBC Champions:
SINGAPORE: HSBC's sponsorship chief has urged Tiger Woods to respect the bank's large investment by playing at this year's WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai instead of "meaningless... money-making opportunities".
Giles Morgan, HSBC's global head of sponsorship, said the bank had "had words" with the golf tours about impressing on players the importance of appearing at the sport's biggest events.
World No. 1 Woods has caused controversy by skipping the last two editions of the $8.5 million tournament, the richest seen in Asia, in favour of exhibition appearances in the region.
"I do think the tours — and I think the tours are working on this — should make sure that there is respect to the tournaments," Morgan said in an interview in Singapore.
"As opposed to playing in meaningless... money-making opportunities around the World Golf Championships (WGC)."
He added: "It's up to the tours to enforce the criteria to their membership. And we've expressed our position to the tours, which is that we know they can't enforce their players to play and that's fine, we understand that.
"But we do think that players need to be respectful of... these major events (which) are really at the top and the pinnacle and the lifeblood of the sport.
"If you've got sponsors investing that level of money, the players should respect the calendar."
Morgan was speaking on Tuesday ahead of this week's $1.4 million HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore, the bank's only other event in the Asia-Pacific region.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, played in November, is one of four World Golf Championships per year which rank only behind the majors in terms of prestige.
Over the last two years, Woods has opted for highly lucrative exhibition appearances in China and elsewhere instead of playing the Shanghai event.
"The World Golf Championship is an enormous event and we pay a major prize fund for that and we are absolutely not in the business of paying appearance fees on top of that," said Morgan.
He also ruled out an HSBC rescue for the troubled Singapore Open, which is without a title sponsor and facing a second straight year on the sidelines.
"I don't think so," he said. "We have enough golf tournaments around the world... Golf tournaments cost a lot of money to sponsor and we don't have bottomless pockets.
"So us having a north and south Asia men's Champions and women's Champions works very well for us."
And he said he expected Asia's golf schedule, currently split between two competing tours and crowded with events, to gain cohesion in the coming years.
"The trouble is when you have different tours and different administrations with different goals it means that you don't necessarily get a timetable that is entirely worked out," he said.
"I think things will settle because inevitably what will happen is that the cream rises to the top. The tournaments that succeed will create a timetable that will work.
"But at the moment there do seem to be a lot of events growing in Asia that haven't necessarily established themselves.
"And this is the moment that I suspect over the next three or four years you'll see an establishment and proper roots settling down of an Asian schedule... that will gain momentum and some structure."
Love, Timberwolves eclipse Suns:
Clippers extend winning run by beating Pelicans:
Djokovic has it easy in Dubai:
COLLEGE PARK, Md: Syracuse blew most of a 12-point lead in the last eight minutes and used one final defensive stop to squeeze past Maryland, 57-55, on Monday night here, and end a two-game losing streak.
It was another close call for the Orange (26-2, 13-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who dropped to No. 4 in the latest AP poll.
Syracuse’s previous four games were decided by a total of 12 points. The Orange led, 49-37, with 7:54 left, but allowed Maryland to close to 56-55 with 47 seconds remaining.
After C.J. Fair missed a jumper for the Orange, Baye Moussa Keita blocked a driving layup by Nick Faust to keep Syracuse in front. Trevor Cooney was fouled and made one of two free throws with four seconds to go.
No. 5 Kansas 83, Oklahoma 75: At Lawrence, Kansas, Naadir Tharpe had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures, and the Jayhawks wrapped up a share of their 10th consecutive Big 12 championship.
Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2).
Oklahoma State 76 TCU 54: At Fort Worth, Texas, Marcus Smart scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half in his first road game since returning from a suspension for shoving a fan and Phil Forte matched his season high with 23 for Oklahoma State.
Wagner 67, Fairleigh Dickinson 64: At Teaneck, Latif Rivers scored 18 points and hit two late free throws to lift Wagner, which came back from a late seven-point deficit.
Fairleigh Dickinson (10-18, 6-8 NEC) was led by Scooter Gillette with 19 points and nine rebounds and Sidney Sanders Jr. had 15 points with nine assists.
Florida New NO. 1: The Florida Gators are taking their turn as the newest No. 1 in what coach Billy Donovan calls a revolving door atop the AP college basketball poll, their first time on top of the rankings since they repeated as national champions in 2007. The Gators (25-2) moved up one place Monday, replacing Syracuse. Wichita State (29-0) and Arizona (25-2) each moved up one place to second and third.
Portland St. 87 Eastern Washington 76: At Cheney, Washington, Kyle Richardson scored 22 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, and pulled in eight rebounds, pacing Portland State (13-12, 8-8 Big Sky) past Eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington (13-14, 8-8) shot 50.9 percent, but went just 4 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Hosts lead medals table as Games enter homestretch:
SOCHI, Russia: Russia leapt to the top of the medals table on Saturday with two more golds as the Sochi Olympics entered the final stretch, and the host nation said its first Winter Games had helped “break the ice” of skepticism toward it.
Organizers were confident they had achieved what they, and President Vladimir Putin, had set out to do — project Russia as a modern, tolerant country that had thrown off the shackles of its Soviet past.
The icing on the cake was home gold in the men’s snowboard parallel slalom and men’ biathlon relay, lifting Russia above Norway in the rankings with just three more titles to be decided on Sunday, the final day.
“The friendly faces, the warm Sochi sun and the glare of the Olympic gold have broken the ice of skepticism toward the new Russia,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, also Putin’s Olympics organizer.
“The Games have turned our country, its culture and the people into something that is a lot closer and more appealing and understandable for the rest of the world.”
The jury is still out over whether the world agrees, but Putin is likely to be generally pleased that the Games went smoothly, without security scares despite Islamist militant threats and only isolated expressions of dissent to his rule.
There have been problems, however.
On Saturday, the Ukraine National Olympic Committee said cross-country skier Marina Lisogor had failed a doping test, a day after a German and Italian athlete were thrown out of Sochi for taking banned substances.
Protest group Pussy Riot came to Sochi and drew attention to criticism of Russia’s human rights record, and the women’s figure skating competition was overshadowed by a judging scandal deemed to have favored the hosts over South Korea’s Kim Yuna.
Russia’s role in the crisis in neighboring Ukraine also came under scrutiny when a Ukrainian skier pulled out of the Games in protest against her government, and athletes from the team asked to wear black armbands to honor those killed in violent street protests.
But in general the thrills and spills on snow and ice have captured the imagination, and Saturday provided another action-packed day in Sochi and amidst the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains towering in the distance.
Russia wild for Wild
One of the most popular medals of the day was a second Sochi gold for Russian snowboarder Vic Wild in the men’s parallel slalom. In the women’s event, Austrian Julia Dujmovits won.
“Beyond believable,” said the 27-year-old Wild, who staged a remarkable second-run comeback in the semi-final.
“When I came to the Olympics and showed up, I had already won. To win the other day was the greatest feeling of my life. I can’t believe it.”
Wild has faced criticism in his native United States, having become a Russian citizen after marrying Alena Zavarzina, the women’s giant slalom bronze medallist in Sochi, in 2011.
“No matter what you do in your life, people are going to hate you,” he told a news conference. “If you’re good at something, people are going to hate you.”
Questions have also been raised about Russia’s short track speed skater Viktor Ahn, who has won three gold medals in Sochi for his adopted country, having won three for his native South Korea in 2006 as Ahn Hyun-soo.
“In Korea the fact that I changed citizenship has been widely discussed, and some articles I read make me feel uneasy,” Ahn told reporters on Saturday, speaking through a translator.
“The most important thing is ... that I perform for this country and I am happy that I managed to win medals for this country.”
On another day of glorious sunshine, Russia’s second gold came in the men’s biathlon relay.
There was joy for Norway in the women’s event, when “Iron Lady” Marit Bjoergen signed off with her third gold of the Games in the 30 km cross-country skiing, matching her haul in Vancouver.
Compatriot Therese Johaug took silver and Kristin Stoermer Steira, also Norwegian, claimed bronze in a rare clean sweep.
The flying Dutch men and women wrapped up the Sochi speed skating competition by cruising to both team pursuit titles.
The two golds, both won in Olympic record times, took the Dutch tally to eight out of a possible 12 at the Adler Arena, which included four medal sweeps in the 10 individual events.
It was a show of power like no other at a Winter Olympics.
The Soviet Union won six golds in the sport at the 1960 Games, while South Korea matched the half dozen in short track at the 2006 Turin Games.
In the day’s final title to be decided, Austria’s Mario Matt became the oldest winner of an Olympic Alpine skiing gold at 34 when he edged out team mate Marcel Hirscher in a thrilling slalom.
And in the men’s ice hockey bronze medal match, Finland trounced the United States 5-0
Chelsea grabs late victory, Arsenal and City triumph:
LONDON: John Terry grabbed a stoppage-time winner as leaders Chelsea showed their Premier League title mettle by snatching a 1-0 victory over Everton on Saturday having looked set to suffer another damaging blow.
The Chelsea captain strained every sinew to get a faint touch to a Frank Lampard free kick in the 93rd minute and keep his team a point clear of Arsenal who thrashed Sunderland 4-1 and three ahead of Manchester City who beat Stoke City 1-0.
After drawing their last league game against West Bromwich Albion and suffering a chastening FA Cup defeat to rivals Manchester City, Jose Mourinho’s side were looking for a morale-boosting return to form.
Yet they looked sluggish for most of the match and after finally sparking into life they came up against a stubborn Everton rearguard that only crumbled deep into added time.
West Brom’s Matej Vydra snatched an 86th-minute equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw against Fulham, denying the London club a win that would have moved them off the foot of the table.
Fulham stay a point behind Cardiff City whose sorry season hit a new low after a 4-0 home defeat by Hull City.
Hull are now six points clear of trouble and one point behind West Ham United who continued their recent resurgence with a 3-1 win over Southampton.
Bale rocket helps Real to Elche win
A fierce 30-yard drive from Gareth Bale helped give sluggish Real Madrid a 3-0 victory over Elche on Saturday and sent them three points clear of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Asier Illarramendi, who was in the side for the suspended Luka Modric, broke the deadlock with a shot that clipped off Manu del Moral and wrong-footed keeper Manu Herrera after 34 minutes.
Real were again without Cristiano Ronaldo as he missed the final game in his three-match ban and they lacked spark in front of goal against an Elche side who concentrated on defending solidly.
Karim Benzema forced Herrera into a save early on and he along with Angel Di Maria looked the most dangerous Real players but they still needed a slice of fortune with Illarramendi’s effort to give them the lead.
Real continued to lack intensity in the middle of the pitch. Bale was having a quiet game on the right wing but came to life with a powerful shot midway through the second half which went in off the crossbar.
With Elche’s resistance broken, substitute Isco slotted in the third with 10 minutes to go.
After a slow start to the season under coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real have now won 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions and lead the way at the top of the table on 63 points.
Barcelona return to La Liga action later against Real Sociedad after their Champions League first leg win at Manchester City on Tuesday. They have 60 points as do Atletico Madrid who face Osasuna on Sunday.
Hamburg ends seven-match losing run
Hamburg SV gave new coach Mirko Slomka a memorable debut as they ended a seven-match losing streak in the Bundesliga by beating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on Saturday.
Hakan Calhanoglu capped the day by scoring with an astonishing 40-meter free kick as Hamburg, the only ever-present team in the 51-year history of the league, moved out of the relegation zone.
Nuremberg, playing for almost an hour with 10 men after Per Nilsson was sent off, came from behind to beat bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 in a game of three missed penalties while Augsburg grabbed three late goals to win 4-2 at relegation-threatened Freiburg.
VfB Stuttgart’s misery continued when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Hertha Berlin, their seventh league defeat in a row, although they stayed ahead of Hamburg on goal difference.
Venus collars first title in 16 months:
Magic down Knicks in double OT:
Cornet stuns Serena to dash hopes of all-Williams final:
DUBAI: Alize Cornet of France scored a career-best victory and created a major upset in the process with victory over world No. 1 Serena Williams in the Dubai Open, which ended hopes of an all-Williams final.
Cornet, making her way back into the world’s top 20 after a long interval, won their semifinal 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier, Venus Williams reached only her second final in 16 months and with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Caroline Wozniacki, in which she dominated the former world No 1 from Denmark from start to finish with her heavier, and sometimes cleverly angled, driving.
But Cornet dashed hopes of the first all-Williams sisters final in more than four years as she played an almost impeccable match, full of solid serving and sturdy rallying.
She changed the mood of the match when she took advantage of Serena’a errors to break serve to 5-4 in the first set.
Cornet closed out the set without fuss, the pressure was suddenly on WIlliams, whose first tournament this was since injuring her back in last month’s Australian Open.
Cornet rode the momentum to break again, and although Serena pulled that back, she was increasingly tense, dropping serve again to go 3-4 down in strange circumstances.
First she put an uncharacteristic and inappropriate drop shot into the net and then she failed to run a ball down, wrongly thinking her serve had been out.
Cornet could not convert the four match points she had at 5-3, but got all her first serves in at 5-4 and pressed Serena into the errors which ended the match.
“It’s my best ever win but I haven’t realized it yet,” Cornet said. “I played a very good match. I didn’t even realize who I was playing and that’s the way I had to be.
“I forgot it was Serena on the other side, and just got on with my game.”
Amazing Maze strikes double gold:
SOCHI: Tina Maze struck double Olympic ski gold on Tuesday while the stark political realities of the Sochi Games were exposed by the arrests of members of the high-profile Pussy Riot punk group.
Maze bagged her second title after sharing the downhill gold by edging Austrian arch-rival Anna Fenninger by a hairsbreadth seven-hundredths of a second in the giant slalom.
In tricky weather conditions that included heavy snow, torrential rain and fog, the 30-year-old Slovenian clocked a combined total of 2min 36.87sec over the two runs in Rosa Khutor.
“This season’s plan was to show my best here. My focus in training was on the Olympic Games,” said Maze, who won two silvers, in super-G and giant slalom, at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany took bronze, a further 0.20sec adrift while famed violin virtuoso Vanessa Mae marked her Olympics debut with a 67th place finish, a massive 50.10sec behind Maze.
Down on the Black Sea coast, the political controversies that had once threatened to consume the showpiece event nudged back into the spotlight.
Two members of Russian group Pussy Riot who were released from prison late last year said they had both been arrested in downtown Sochi on charges of theft.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were arrested in the center of the host city over accusations of stealing from a local hotel but were freed later in the day.
The pair had been in Sochi for two days on a visit aimed at recording a new performance opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tolokonnikova wrote on her Twitter account that she and Alyokhina had been arrested, with several other people, and piled into a police van.
“When we were arrested, we were not performing any kind of action, we were just walking around Sochi,” she tweeted.
Away from the political tit-for-tat, it was business as usual at the Games with seven gold medals in total being decided.
Netherlands speed skater Jorrit Bergsma dumped more 10,000 meters heartache on compatriot Sven Kramer by taking an upset gold in a blistering Olympic record time on Tuesday as the Dutch swept another Adler Arena podium.
Bergsma clocked 12 minutes, 44.45 seconds for his 25 laps, smashing the previous mark by a huge 14 seconds and ending only three seconds shy of Kramer’s world record set seven years ago on the high-altitude oval in Salt Lake City.
Pre-race favorite Kramer cited “too many small injuries” after claiming silver, 4.57 seconds off Bergsma’s time, with compatriot Bob de Jong almost 23 seconds back from the winner.
South Korean defending champion Lee Seung-hoon was a distant fourth after starting fast alongside Kramer but fading badly.
The Dutch took their speed skating medal haul to 19 out of a possible 27 with their fourth sweep of the podium and fifth win from nine races in a show of dominance not seen before at a Winter Olympics. The three Olympic medals pushed them to 101 in the sport’s all-time list.
Bergsma, who took bronze in the 5,000m on the opening day of competition, was blown away by his upset victory.
“It is a fantastic feeling, I knew with my current shape I could do it, but these are the Olympic Games,” he told reporters after taking a congratulatory call from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
On the slopes of Rosa Khotur, Frenchman Pierre Vaultier emerged from the fog to win a thrilling men’s snowboard cross race, just two months after tearing ligaments in his knee.
The 26-year-old held off surprise package Russian Nikolay Olyunin to take gold.
Norway took gold and silver in the large hill Nordic combined, dealing best with rainy conditions in the 10km ski phase.
Joergen Graabak won gold with his compatriot Magnus Moan taking silver 0.6sec behind. Bronze went to Fabian Riessle of Germany.
South Korea regained the women’s short track 3,000m relay gold, four years after their Vancouver medal hopes were dashed by disqualification.
Shim Suk-Lee passed Li Jianrou heading into the final turn to give the Koreans Olympic gold for the fifth time in the past six Olympics. Defending champions China were disqualified.
Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen held off a desperate late charge from the fast-finishing Martin Fourcade of France to take gold in the men’s 15km biathlon mass start in a photo finish.
Svendsen slowed up as he raised his hands in victory just before crossing the line but he had apparently failed to notice Fourcade, who flung himself across the finish.
Both were given the same time of 42min 29.1sec but Svendsen was awarded the gold by a whisker on the photo. Fourcade was aiming for his third gold at Sochi after winning the pursuit and the individual. Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic took bronze.
Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, seeking a record 13th medal at Winter Olympic Games, will have to wait until the relays after coming in 22nd place.
Halep limps out; Wozniacki rallies in Dubai
DUBAI: Simona Halep was forced to retire with a right Achilles injury at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, handing a first round 6-1, 1-1 victory to Alize Cornet.
The world number nine, who came into Dubai immediately after claiming her seventh career title in Doha on Sunday, received treatment after Cornet had broken to lead 4-1.
There was initially little sign of the injury in some furiously-contested rallies, but as the match progressed Halep eventually lost some mobility and finally accepted that she was no longer able to compete effectively.
“I have an inflammation at my Achilles. So when I jump with my serve and when I stop at the rallies, I feel the pain,” said Halep. “I wanted to try, because I like to try to fight for my chance, but here I couldn’t. After one set I realized that it is dangerous to continue.” Former world number one and Dubai 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki battled back from losing the opening set to overcome 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Another former world number one and number five seed, Jelena Jankovic, had to fight hard to get past qualifier Maryna Zanevska, winning 6-4, 6-3.
“I worked really hard. It was not easy for my first match here,” said Jankovic. “I just came from Doha like one day ago, so it’s completely different. Playing there during the night it’s slower, and here it’s faster and the balls fly. It was quite windy out there, and I felt kind of like I couldn’t play my game totally, you know, play the lines.” “It is a great shame that we have lost Simona Halep from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of tournament owners and organizers Dubai Duty Free. “With her run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month and her triumph in Doha just two days ago, she is one of the most exciting young players on the WTA Tour.
“However, we were able to enjoy wins by former world number one and our 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki, who had a tremendous win over last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Sabine Lisicki, and Jelena Jankovic, a regular here and a finalist as long ago as 2005.” “There are few, if any, tournaments where the competition is so tough that a Wimbledon finalist can be defeated in the first round of a tournament, but that was the fate of Sabine Lisicki,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “We have also already lost a 2013 semi-finalist in Roberta Vinci, reflecting the fact that competition at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is stronger than ever.”
Martin next Hall of Fame CEO
Former top-five player Todd Martin has been selected as the next CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.
Martin achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 4. He was a finalist at the 1999 US Open and the 1994 Australian Open. He played on the US Davis Cup team from 1994 to 2002, and helped the US win the title in 1995. Martin won eight singles titles and four doubles titles.
“It is an honor to be charged with preserving the rich history of our sport and to celebrate the people who have created its greatest moments,” he said.
He will succeed Mark L. Stenning, who is stepping down in September after 35 years with the organization and 14 years as CEO.
Martin will begin working at the Hall of Fame as CEO-designate on April 1, with Stenning remaining as CEO through Sept. 5.
Saudi rally ace Al-Rajhi hopes to take the fight to Qataris in Doha event:
As competitors from across the Middle East and Europe make their final preparations for this weekend’s QMMF Qatar International Rally, round one of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, one man is preparing to take part in his fourth event in as many weeks.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi has begun a new season of motor sport action in superb style and is aiming to become the first Saudi driver ever to win the Qatar International Rally. Three weeks ago he steered his powerful Hummer to outright victory across the desert in the inaugural Rally Jeddah, before jetting off to Sweden to contest the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship on the snow and ice of northern Europe.
The Riyadh driver came within a whisker of winning the prestigious WRC 2 category for a second successive season and eventually finished fourth. He then headed east to the frozen wastelands of northern Russia and, on Sunday, he confirmed a stunning win in the Baja Russia Northern Forest ‘14 to take an early lead the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in an Overdrive Toyota Hilux.
“It’s been very hectic, very tiring and very exciting,” said Al-Rajhi. “Now we are back to the Middle East but this is going to be very difficult. The local drivers are quick here. It will not be easy to beat them on their home rally. This will be the third car I have driven in four weeks with a third co-driver. I hope that Michael (Orr) and I can be successful.”
Meanwhile, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, winner of the Qatar International Rally in 2012, had intended to use a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in this year’s event, but the Qatari has taken the decision to wheel out his Motortune-run Ford Fiesta RRC with family support.
Edith Weiss has been supporting Middle East rallying since the early 1990s and the German is the leading lady on the entry list at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX that she acquired recently from Gassner Motorsport, five-time winners of the German Rally Championship.
With support from the 1993 FIA Middle East rally champion Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani, Weiss and new co-driver Norma Sandawi will be hoping to achieve a top 10 finish.
“I have many fond memories of competing in Qatar and have taken part in the event for the last four years,” said Weiss. “I finished 10th overall with a Nissan Sunny GTi-R in 1997 and my first rally was way back in 1992 with a Toyota Celica, where I also finished 10th overall and met Sheikh Hamed for the first time.”
Turkey’s top female driver Burcu Cetinkaya has been forced to miss the opening round of the Middle East series but is present in Doha in a television media capacity. Nada Zaidan represents the host nation in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Wednesday there will be a meeting of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, while documentation will take place for all teams taking part in the QMMF Qatar International Rally after crews have completed their second day of reconnaissance.
The first Women in Motorsport seminar in the Middle East will start at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning with opening speeches by Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, president of the QMMF and FIA vice-president for sport for the MENA region, and Graham Stoker, the FIA deputy president for sport.
Further presentations will follow from the likes of the FIA’s Michèle Mouton, WIM vice-president Randa Nabulsi, MSA international training program director Susan Sanders, FIA WRC media delegate Hayley Gallagher and FIA commission manager Frédérique Trouve.
Ladies are attending the two-day seminar from all corners of the world and include Egypt’s Yara Shalaby, FIA WMC circuit project co-ordinator Cathy Muller Ehrlacher, Finland’s Tina Lehmonen, Mexico’s Jenny Bertin, former Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons, Moroccan representative Samira Bouhassoune and Keko Ihara of Japan.
Competitive action in the QMMF Qatar International Rally gets under way with a super special stage on the Doha Corniche from 6 p.m. on Thursday.
As NBA resumes, next Durant-James matchup nears:
NEW ORLEANS: LeBron James won’t assume the eventual date with Indiana that so many others expect.
He definitely has another one with Kevin Durant — in just a few days.
The NBA’s two best players went their separate ways after the East’s 163-155 victory over the West in Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, but only temporarily. They will be back on the same floor Thursday in Oklahoma City, perhaps even joined by Russell Westbrook.
Less than two months will remain in the regular season when play resumes Tuesday, with so much still to sort out in the loaded Western Conference.
Things seem so much simpler in the East, where a Miami-Indiana matchup in the Eastern Conference finals has seemed a certainty since the opening weeks of the season — except to James.
“This is more than a two-team race. There’s a lot of good teams in the Eastern Conference,” he said. “It’s been a slow start for us as a whole, but there’s so many good teams, you can’t just count on us and one other team. I respect every team we go against.”
Miami went into the break 2 1/2 games behind Indiana, with third-place Toronto having 10 more losses than the Heat. The Pacers lost Game 7 of the East finals in Miami last June, and they want home-court advantage if — when? — the teams meet again this spring.
The Heat are interested in it too, though only to a point.
“What matters more is that we’re healthy. We’re going to compete for first place of course, but we’re not going to make it this huge thing,” Chris Bosh said.
“We’re within striking distance, 2 1/2 back. We like our chances.”
The Thunder finally opened a little cushion atop the West with their strong finish to the first half, winning their final three games to take a four-game lead over injury-plagued San Antonio, the defending conference champion. Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland are all six games behind.
Durant is the NBA’s leading scorer and has a good chance to end James’ reign as the league’s MVP. The Thunder could get even stronger when Westbrook returns from knee surgery, perhaps even Thursday in their first game after the break.
Durant scored 38 points in the All-Star game and has been unstoppable even in games where there is defense, averaging 31.5 points. He had 33 in the Thunder’s 112-95 victory in Miami last month, but scoring is only part of what he’s done to help Oklahoma City to a league-best 43-12 record even with only 25 games from Westbrook.
“KD is a great player. He’s a great teammate. He does all the things that we have asked,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
“He doesn’t want to be just a scorer. He wants to be a playmaker, a defender and that’s what he’s done all season for us.”
The trade deadline also is Thursday. The Heat and Pacers have perhaps already made their moves with the signings of centers Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum, but other contenders may seek the opportunity to make a deal they feel could position themselves to end the Heat’s quest for a third straight championship.
The Pacers believe they can do it. Paul George isn’t far from the James-Durant level, and a title would help him inch even closer.
“I want to be one of the best players to ever play in this league and be the best player in this league,” George said, “so it’s just taking every day to get better, every year to get better, and you know, I’m going to be at the top at some point.”
So many others have a chance heading into the stretch run. The Clippers (Chris Paul and Blake Griffin), Rockets (Dwight Howard and James Harden) and Trail Blazers (LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard) all have All-Star duos, and don’t forget the Spurs, who were less than a half-minute from finishing off the Heat last June.
“We definitely have the tools, we definitely have the team,” Tony Parker said of his team, which has been playing without Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. “We’ll be in the mix as long as we stay healthy.”
Dutch delight after women skaters’ clean sweep:
SOCHI, Russia: Jorien ter Mors led a Dutch clean sweep in the women’s 1,500 meters speed skating on Sunday as the Netherlands’ medal tally shot up to 17, more than any other nation at the Winter Olympics in Russia.
Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud sped to gold in the men’s super-G alpine skiing and Czech Eva Samkova won the women’s snowboarding cross after yet more tumbles on the testing course where a Russian skier broke her back a day earlier.
Skicross racer Maria Komissarova, 23, was in a serious but stable condition after an operation lasting more than six hours on Saturday to insert a metal implant in her back.
Doctors said it would take three or four days to know how successful the surgery had been.
On the ninth day of medal competition, Sweden won their second cross-country relay gold when they prevailed in the men’s 4x10km event, ahead of Russia and France.
But many Russians’ thoughts were still on the ice hockey action of the previous day, when a late disallowed goal cost the host nation victory over arch-rivals the United States.
In a rare moment of political unity, supporters and opponents of President Vladimir Putin came together on Twitter to express their outrage after the Americans won in a shootout.
“The puck was in the goal. What an abomination. Cheating before the whole world! Disgusting!” wrote Alexei Pushkov, a senior pro-Putin member of parliament after the score was wiped out because the goal had been shifted from its mooring.
Prominent gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev, at odds with Putin over a law banning homosexual propaganda among minors that overshadowed the build-up to the Games, was left in shock: “There’s a huge scandal in the hockey tournament. The American referee didn’t allow the Russian goal. Damn!“
After pre-Games criticism over human rights and the estimated $50 billion cost of bringing the Olympics to Sochi, Putin can so far take satisfaction from an event where Russia has shown a friendly, welcoming face to the rest of the world and the sporting action has yielded plenty of drama.
In the speed skating, Ter Mors clocked an Olympic record of one minute, 53.51 seconds to take gold ahead of team mates Ireen Wust, the defending champion, and Lotte Van Beek. For good measure, another Dutchwoman, Marrit Leenstra, finished fourth.
It was a third speed skating medal sweep in Sochi for the orange-suited Dutch, after the men completed the feat in the 500 and 5,000m.
The United States’ wait for a first speed skating medal went on. Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe finished seventh and 14th in their old skinsuits after the team ditched their Olympic ‘Mach 39’ ones on Saturday in the hope of gaining extra speed.
On the Rosa Khutor piste in the Caucasus mountains, Jansrud secured Norway’s fourth successive Olympic men’s super-G win, while 36-year-old American Bode Miller tied for bronze with Canada’s Jan Hudec to become the oldest ever Alpine skiing medallist.
Miller’s team mate Andrew Weibrecht captured a surprise silver medal after starting 29th, with all the favorites gone.
“When Andrew came down he scared me,” laughed Jansrud. “It was a little too exciting. My legs were like jelly there for a second but I knew I had finished very strong.”
Czech snowboarder Samkova, sporting a fake moustache drawn on her top lip for good luck, avoided the rough and tumble of the pack in the thrilling cross event where racers go head to head down a twisty course full of bumps and jumps, jostling with their rivals to find the best line.
“It’s a lucky moustache. Today it’s in national colors,” she said of her facial adornment in red, white and blue.
Defending champion Maelle Ricker of Canada and 2006 silver medallist Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States were eliminated in the heats after taking tumbles on the Extreme Park course.
Dominique Maltais of Canada claimed silver to add to the bronze she won in Turin eight years ago, while French teenager Chloe Trespeuch was third.
Earlier, two more racers were stretchered off after bad falls — Norway’s Helene Olafsen with knee damage and American Jacqueline Hernandez with concussion, though neither of the injuries was serious.
After 55 of 98 events, the Dutch led the overall medals table with 17 — a remarkable achievement for a country of around 16.7 million people. All were for skating and five were golds — equal with Norway and Switzerland, and two behind Germany. Russia, Canada, the United States and Poland were on four golds each.
Halep stamps class in Qatar Open win:
DOHA: Simona Halep confirmed her status as the WTA’s tour’s rising star on Sunday as she collected the biggest prize of her career with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in the Qatar Open.
The 22-year-old seventh seed Romanian — who was winning her third WTA title — eased to victory over the 26-year-old sixth seeded German, to add her to other impressive conquests this week the second and fourth seeds, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani.
Once again the pace of Halep’s hitting, and her daring play, placed a more experienced and more highly rated opponent under such continuous pressure that she forced uncharacteristic errors.
Only briefly did she falter, at the start of the second set when she went 1-2 down, but she quickly regained the momentum. At the end the tenacious and usually consistent Kerber concluded the one-sided contest with a double fault.
“I never believed I could win the tournament when I came here,” said Halep, who reached the world’s top ten for the first time only last month.
“I had been competing indoors, but mentally I am very strong and I got the feel of the balls and the court here very well. I have to enjoy this now as the best moment of my life.”
She could hardly have made a better start. She broke Kerber’s serve at once, bulleting ground strokes with the same rifling speed and accuracy as in her conquest of Radwanska on Saturday, and bouncing around the court as though she owned it.
Halep consolidated with a comfortable hold of serve, advancing to 3-1. She even summoned the outrageous good fortune to counter a Kerber net cord with a net cord of her own, opening up the court for another of her many winners.
When Halep broke again and held again for 5-1 the match appeared to be heading for a rout. But Kerber knew that getting the first good strike into the rally was more than usually important against an opponent in such hot form and started to take more risks to do it.
It helped her get into it more. Kerber held serve with a struggle but then, with a break-back point for 3-5, unaccountably failed to put a ball away from right on top of the net.
Halep duly closed out the set and broke again at the start of the second, before her momentum subsided a little, allowing Kerber to break back.
However a telling phase followed in the fifth game, when Halep’s pounding rhythm restored itself and Kerber was obliged to take even greater risks.
Eventually, break point down again, she attempted a drop shot from so far back that Halep was able to make the kill with time for a thank you.
Halep held for 4-2, and for 5-3, still launching early and powerful attacks at the slightest opportunity, pressuring a frustrated Kerber into her uncharacteristic anti-climactic double fault.
And yet all might have been different. Few saw Halep’s opening encounter on an outside court in which she trailed 3-5 in the final set to Kaia Kanepi, the unseeded Estonian, before surviving in a frantic tie-break by seven points to five.
Kerber commented: “She played good the whole week.”
“As I said, I was actually not there at the beginning of the match, and she was up very fast. I was then trying to find my rhythm, and I couldn’t find it at the end.
“But I was trying to do everything, but she played better in the important moment and actually in the whole match. “
Halep is already the only woman player to win at least one title on hard, clay and grass courts, and has now won seven of her last eight matches against top ten players.
For the moment her reward is to climb just one place to world number nine. Few would now bet against her soon climbing again though, with Errani, Jelena Jankovic, and Petra Kvitova very much in her sights.
Arsenal ousts Liverpool to face Everton in FA Cup quarters:
LONDON: Arsenal sent Liverpool crashing out of the FA Cup, avenging last weekend’s rout at Anfield, when they beat Brendan Rodgers’s high-flyers 2-1 in a full-bloodied fifth round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Londoners, who lost 5-1 to Liverpool in the Premier League on Feb. 8, won with a 16th-minute goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a 47th-minute strike from Lukas Podolski before Steven Gerrard halved the arrears with a penalty on the hour.
Arsenal meet Everton in next month’s quarterfinals after they beat Swansea City 3-1 at Goodison Park where Roberto Martinez stayed on course to become the first manager to win the FA Cup in successive seasons with different teams.
He led Wigan Athletic to victory over Manchester City in last season’s final and those two sides will face each other again in the last eight after the draw was made on Sunday.
On Saturday, Manchester City beat league leaders Chelsea 2-0 while Wigan won 2-1 at Cardiff City.
Although Arsenal’s victory meant there would be no all- Merseyside clash in the quarter-finals, there could be another derby after League One Sheffield United ended the 16-match unbeaten run of Championship side Nottingham Forest with a 3-1 win at Bramall Lane.
United will face Sheffield Wednesday in the competition for the first time since they met in the 1993 semi-finals if the latter eventually beat Charlton Athletic in a tie that was postponed on Saturday because of bad weather.
The other last-eight clash is between Sunderland, who ousted Southampton 1-0 on Saturday, and Brighton and Hove Albion or Hull City who meet on Monday.
The quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of March 8/9.
Webb captures Women’s Australian Open for 5th time:
MELBOURNE: Karrie Webb won the Women’s Australian Open for the fifth time Sunday, shooting a 4-under 68 in the final round to beat Chella Choi by one stroke.
Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff.
Webb, who clinched her 40th LPGA title, finished at 12-under 276 overall. She previously won the Australian Open in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008.
“I got off to a great start and I just did a great job mentally today,” Webb said. “I can’t think of another time when I held myself together as well as that.”
The win marked a remarkable change of fortune for the No. 8-ranked Australian, who was disqualified from last week’s Australian Ladies Masters after signing an incorrect scorecard. She had been the defending champion at the event.
Webb started five shots off the lead Sunday, but made six birdies and only two bogeys as the other leading challengers struggled in a strong wind on the Victoria Golf Club course.
“I was happy to see the conditions were going to be a little tougher today,” Webb said. “I felt like that gave me a chance to make up some ground.”
Choi had played 14 holes and was at 11 under when Webb finished her round, leaving the Australian with an anxious wait to see whether her score would hold up. But the South Korean, who had two eagles and six birdies in her record-setting third round, couldn’t make a birdie on the back nine Sunday.
“When you’re on the course you feel like you have some control, but when you’re done you have no control and you just have to wait and see,” Webb said. “I actually thought once Chella had that putt on the last, I’ve played with her quite a bit and I was expecting that one to go in.”
Choi was trying to win her first LPGA title.
World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway faltered in her bid to take over the top ranking from South Korea’s Inbee Park. Pettersen, who started the day three shots off the pace in fourth place, needed to finish first or second to pass Park, but had three double bogeys in a final round 80 to drop back into a tie for 28th.
Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the world No. 4, was also unable to challenge Webb, struggling with her putt on the back nine and shooting a 73. She finished tied for third with American Paula Creamer (68) and Frenchwoman Karine Icher (71).
Seventeen-year-old Australian amateur Minjee Lee, the co-overnight leader, had seven bogeys and a double bogey in an error-filled final round of 78. She finished in a share of 11th place.
Lavillenie break’s Bubka pole-vault mark:
DONETSK, Ukraine: Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie broke Sergei Bubka’s 21-year-old indoor pole vault world record on Saturday at the same Donetsk meeting where the Ukrainian great set the old mark in 1993.
Lavillenie, the Olympic champion, vaulted 6.16 meters at his first attempt to improve the record by one centimeter and, to make the moment sweeter, Bubka was present to witness it and was among the first to congratulate him.
Lavillenie, or ‘Airlavallenie’ as his fans nickname him, put his head in his hands and ran round the auditorium celebrating.
Bubka, who still holds the outdoor world record of 6.14m set in 1994, told AFP that Lavillenie had begun a new chapter in the event.
“A new era in the sport has arrived,” said the 50-year-old, who has forged a new career in sports administration and is a prominent member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Today the winner is an Olympic champion, someone who already has tasted success several times.
“We were anticipating this happening and we are delighted that it happened here in Donetsk.
“I like this guy a lot.
“I am sure that it is not the last time he will do this and that other stunning successes await him.” Lavillenie, who subsequently made an unsuccessful attempt at 6.21m, revealed he had changed his pole in between the successful attempt at 6.01m and the record vault, something he had never done before.
“It was totally crazy. I wanted to do my best. It was incredible,” said the 27-year-old.
“I asked for 6.16m because it was the best place to break the record of Sergei Bubka, 21 years after he set the mark.
“I thought it was the best place to try as the best was there,” he added, referring to Bubka’s presence.
Lavillenie, who has yet to win the world outdoor title having garnered two bronzes in 2009 and 2011 and silver last year, had arrived in Donetsk in prime form having broken his own personal record twice last month.
Afghanistan stuns Australia in U19 World Cup:ABU DHABI: Qualifiers Afghanistan stunned Australia in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Monday, beating the three-time champions by 36 runs.
Afghanistan, who qualified for the tournament by winning the Asian Cricket Council's U19 Elite Cup, batted first after winning the toss and compiled a decent total of 253 before being bowled out in the last of their 50 overs.
In reply, Australia could only muster 217 before they were bowled out in exactly 48 overs.
It was Afghanistan's first win in the tournament after being losing their opening match to Bangladesh by 10 wickets on Saturday and they are now tied with Australia on two points in group B.
They next take on minnows Namibia on Wednesday while Australia, who have a better run rate, take on Bangladesh in a virtual knock-out encounter on the same day.
Afghanistan proud captain, Nasir Jamal, said: "I don't think many people expected us to defeat Australia but we did it and we did it convincingly.
"We hope the people at home are enjoying the victory as much as we are. We play for our country and our people and we love to make them happy and proud."
Afghanistan's innings was built around three half-centuries -- Mohammad Mujtaba's 75, which included five fours and two sixes, Ihsanullah's 63 and Hashmatullah Shaidi's 57.
After losing opener Usman Ghani with just two runs on the board, man-of-the-match Mujtaba added 126 runs for the second wicket with Ihsanullah. Shaidi then anchored the innings and was the ninth batsman to be dismissed in the 50th over.
In contrast, only four Australian batsmen managed to reach double figures and only James Bazley, who remained unbeaten on 54, converted it into anything substantial.
Right-arm pace bowler Abdullah Adil claimed four wickets while left-arm orthodox Sharafuddin Ashraf chipped in with three.
The fortunes of Australia's under-19 side contrast markedly with the senior XI, who followed up a 5-0 whitewash of Ashes rivals England with a convincing 281-run win in the first test against South Africa.
In another match played in Dubai Monday, defending champions India survived a mighty scare from Scotland.
Chasing a meager target of 88 after Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav claimed a hat-trick, India lost half their side for 22 before Sarfaraz Khan and Deepak Hooda saw them through.
BRIEF SCORES:
Afghanistan beat Australia by 36 runs
Afghanistan 253 all out in 49.2 overs (Mohammad Mujtaba 75, Ihsanullah 63, Hashmatullah Shaidi 57; Cameron Valente 3-59, James Bazley 3-69)
Australia 217 all out, 48 overs (James Bazley 54 not out, Jaron Morgan 47, Jake Doran 45, Damien Mortimer 43; Abdullah Adil 4-45 ; Sharafuddin Ashraf 3-55).
FIFA’s Valcke: Manaus World Cup stadium is fantastic:
MANAUS, Brazil: FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke on Sunday praised work on the controversial World Cup stadium being built deep in the Amazon rainforest in the city of Manaus.
The Amazonia Arena is one of the five stadiums planned for this year’s tournament that have not been completed.
“One year ago there were doubts over whether Manaus would be ready for the Cup,” Valcke said as he visited the riverside city located some 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) north-west of the capital Brasilia.
“We worked jointly with the organizing committee and the governments and we were successful. Today I can say that the project is one of the nicest, it is a fantastic project.”
Construction on the stadium is 97 percent done, and builders say it will be ready for delivery by early March.
Booming Brazil is gearing up to host the World Cup amid fears its infrastructure for playing and hosting are not ready for prime time, and amid public safety concerns.
The tournament starts in Sao Paulo on June 12, and ends on July 13.
On Friday a construction worker was killed in the Arena, the third fatal accident to hit the venue and the sixth worker killed in Brazil while building a World Cup stadium.
Once a thriving town during the rubber boom of the late 19th century, Manaus was a controversial choice for a new stadium in part because there is no top area club to attract fans after the World Cup.
Four first round World Cup games are scheduled to be played at the Amazonia Arena, including England-Italy on June 14.
That match will be “one of the most important games of the first round,” Valcke said. “This could be a final Cup game.”
The other first-round games to be played in Manaus are Cameroon-Croatia on June 18, the United States-Portugal on June 22, and Honduras-Switzerland on June 25.
Valcke, who is visiting World Cup sites across Brazil, will also visit Brasilia and Porto Alegre before traveling to the southern city of Florianopolis.
FIFA originally set a deadline of December 31 for all stadiums to be ready, but was forced to drop it with six venues still unfinished at that stage.
Valcke has already warned that another of Brazil’s 12 venues, Curitiba, faces being dropped from the World Cup if it cannot show by Tuesday that the venue, whose construction has been lagging behind schedule, is back on track.
The government is keen to cut down spending as far as possible given widespread public discontent at the multi-billion cost of staging the event and the 2016 Rio Games
No criminal wrongdoing in Schumacher ski accident:
PARIS: French investigators have ruled out any criminal wrongdoing in the debilitating ski accident of Formula One great Michael Schumacher, a state prosecutor said Monday.
Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy said “no infraction by anyone has been turned up” and the probe has been closed, his office said in a statement — responding to questions about whether the Meribel ski station in the French Alps or an equipment maker might have had some role in Schumacher’s injury.
The 45-year-old German auto racing legend suffered serious head injuries on Dec. 29 when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock off the side of a demarcated slope in Meribel. Schumacher has been treated at Grenoble University Hospital in southeastern France since then.
Quincy’s office said the rock that caused Schumacher to fall was 10.4 meters (34 feet) away from another rock upon which he hit his head — and each were more than 4 meters away from the edge of the red-level piste that he was on.
“The accident took place in an off-piste area,” the prosecutor’s statement said. “The signage, marking, staking and information provided about the edges of this slope adhere to French norms in place.”
For many fans, the biggest concern is about Schumacher’s health and recovery prospects — and doctors have started waking him from an induced coma. The most recent in a string of statements from his spokeswoman was released last week but declined to provide further details about his health, citing privacy concerns.
Experts have said it will likely be months before Schumacher’s prognosis becomes clear — and that lasting brain damage is a possibility.
Schumacher earned universal acclaim for his uncommon and sometimes ruthless driving talent, which led to a record 91 race wins. He retired from Formula One in 2012 after garnering an unmatched seven world titles. His accident happened on a family vacation in the Alps as Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son.
US melts Russian hopes:
Watson continues Cup heroics as Wigan shocks Cardiff:
Minions mentored by Dong Yamco blanked TGIT Genesis of Rollie Cleofe 4-0 on 22-7 points. Jaffar Al-Kathiri was the Minions top scorer on 843 points, with support from Erwin Atienza 827, Koko Torres 797 Bong Solomon 739 and Jau Urbano 711. Lito Vega led the losing team on 868 and followed by Efren Abuyo 718, Rizal Dellosa 637 and Boy Mirando 603. Bernie Bacani and Rollie Cleofe added 393 and 387.
UFTBR mentored by Armin Isles defeated Tsamba Bowlers of Abdulrahman Ahmed in a win that Noto embellished with an individual award after he shot the high series of 923 on lines of 259, 227, 225 and 212 points. Fernie Balano was likewise outstanding on 921, Stephen Solomon had 862, Rey Bautista 730 and Art Palustre 729 for UFTBR. For Tsamba bowlers at the helm was Rasheed Rasheidan 786 followed by Zaldy Torres 709, Rico Feria 698, Marvin Arocena 692, Abdulrahman Ahmed 494 and Jobert Pomado 180.
In another game, T3S Warriors mentored by Nelson DeVera defeated Die Hard 5 of Ric Urrutia Jr. 13-8 in a 2-2 match. Edgar Buenaventura led the team with 815 points with Joel Lambo on 731, Mike Ecalnir 727, Cheng Lambo 718 and Arnold Jesena 632. Nap Torres led Die Hard on 786. Rudy Usudan 754, Ed Cruz 731 and Butch Mateo 659 were the other Die Hard scorers.
Enigma Strikers mentored by Bandar Al-Marshad recorded a 20-10 points victory against Alyoum of Emerson Mitra. Carrying the load at Enigma were Edwin Atienza 858, Bandar Al-Marshad 837, Joe Garrido 730, Benito Santos 533, Erwin Nacario 524 and Andro Tismo 408. Paul Decena 824, Jun Daniel 726, Doy Del Moral 712, Fhel Ramos 662, Joel Batolina 607 and Mitra 166 built the total for Alyoum.
Other results: UBC Family of Lulu Quejada defeated IBG Storm of Ric Singson 18-6, new team Almarai CPP mentored by Manny Dolon upset Dabarkads of Charlie Cheng 11-6, and Breakers of Shakur Kamlian blanked EPO-L captained by Lope Ramirez 4-0 (22-6)
Standings (15th Week) 1.UFTBR 249 points 2. UBC Family 246 3. Minions 231 4. Enigma Strikers 221 5. Breakers 217 6. T3S Warrior 210 7. Alyoum 202 8. TGIT Genesis 196 9. EPO-L 192 10. Die Hard 5 162 11. Tsamba Bowlers 156 12. IBG Storm 156 13. Dabarkads 93 14. Almarai CPP 63
Federer books semis clash with Dolgopolov
INDIAN WELLS: Roger Federer charged into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Thursday with a straight sets win over South African Kevin Anderson.
The Swiss master succeeded where others had failed by blunting the serve of the towering 6ft 8in (2.13m) Anderson to win 7-5, 6-1.
Federer faced only one break point in the entire match and reeled off seven games on the trot to clinch the opening set and race to a 5-0 lead in the second.
His reward for winning was a semifinal clash on Saturday with Ukrainian giant-killer Alexandr Dolgopolov, who continued his fairytale run in the Californian desert by defeating big-serving Canadian Milos 6-3, 6-4.
In the women’s draw, China’s Li Na won her rematch with Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova to join Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta in the semis.
In her first meeting with Cibulkova since the Australian Open final in January, Li once again proved too strong for her younger opponent, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a little over two and a half hours.
Pennetta booked her place in the last four by beating American Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a seesawing match played in gusting winds.
In a tournament that has been packed with surprises and high-profile casualties, the 32-year-old Li has been a model of consistency, ferociously battling through each round.
The Chinese top seed, in the absence of world No.1 Serena Williams, has struggled with her serve all week and committed eight double faults against Cibulkova, four in the opening set and four more in the third when the pressure was on.
The Slovak also made eight doubles while the pair combined for more than 100 unforced errors in a match that was longer and much tighter than their last meeting in Melbourne.
Li got the decisive break late in the third set and then served out for victory to stay on course for her first title at one of the biggest events outside the grand slams.
“Here is different than Australia. Of course score should be different,” said Li.
“I think today she played more aggressive. I was feeling if I try to go back like a little bit she was trying to step in to hit the ball.
“Also I was feeling in the second set I think I dropped down a little bit and gave her more chance. She can get a lot of winners.”
Pennetta looked to be heading for the exit when she blew her first chance to win the match then fell behind in the deciding third set.
The 32-year-old was two points from victory when serving for the match in the second set when the wind suddenly started to blow a gale and her game started to unravel.
Stephens, 20, broke her serve and won six games in a row to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third when Pennetta staged her own comeback, winning six of the last seven games to wrap up an extraordinary victory.
“We didn’t play our best tennis,” Pennetta said. “Maybe in the beginning we played much better, and in the second one, but the third was a disaster for both of us.
“I’m happy to get through this match, but I don’t have good feelings right now — it’s just crazy outside, the wind is just coming out of nowhere.”
Dolgopolov has been a revelation at Indian Wells since he was thrust into the spotlight when he scored an upset win over world No.1 Rafa Nadal in the third round.
Players who register shock wins often fail to maintain their form on but the 28th seed has gone from strength to strength, beating three seeds in succession.
Raonic, one of the biggest servers in tennis, beat Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Wednesday but found Dolgopolov too hot to hold.
“I just wish I could have served better. But other than that, he did the right things at the right times right away from the start of the match,” said Raonic.
“He was a factor of why I didn’t serve as well as I would have liked as well.”
Not only did Dolgopolov succeed in breaking the Canadian’s serve three times, including twice in the second set to overcome a 3-0 deficit, but showed he also has a serve to be reckoned with as he fired six aces, two more than his opponent.
“I was really happy with that. And I was able to get more returns than usually you can against him,” said Dolgopolov.
“He serves really big and I knew I had to do that, and I’m quite pleased how I anticipated on his serve and have seen the toss of the ball and was really, really concentrated to get those serves back.”
Lord takes Gold Cup after dramatic finish
CHELTENHAM, United Kingdom: Lord Windermere survived a lengthy stewards’ inquiry to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in dramatic fashion on Friday.
The eight-year-old came from last to first, pipping On His Own at the finish to snatch a famous victory for trainer Jim Culloty, who won three Gold Cups on Best Mate as a jockey.
Silviniaco Conti led over the last, but he was collared by Davy Russell on Lord Windermere (20-1), who just held the Willie Mullins-trained On his Own (16-1) by a short head.
The Giant Bolster (14-1) stayed on strongly to finish third, three-quarters of a length back.
After two false starts, Knockara Beau was quickly away, although On His Own soon took it up while Lord Windermere was a few lengths detached in last place after a few fences.
Teaforthree and Lyreen Legend were others to join in with pace-making duties and then Last Instalment unseated his rider at the fifth-last fence.
Silviniaco Conti led three out and last year’s winner Bobs Worth was also in with a chance as the pack closed in a wide-open race.
Lord Windermere joined in the fight late, but he veered right on the punishing dash to the line, resulting in an inquiry, as he just kept On His Own at bay.
An anxious wait followed before the stewards announced the placings would remain unaltered.
“I can’t believe it, I was never on the bridle,” Russell said.
“I was never in the race, the whole field was in front of me for the whole race, I had to sit and suffer the whole way.
“I didn’t use any petrol, I went around the inside and he jumped great.
“The whole way round I was hunting, I thought the race had gone — the credit has to go to Jim Culloty, what a man.” A delighted Culloty admitted he feared he was in for a disappointing day after his horse’s slow start.
“To be fair halfway round Davy Russell was getting the sack,” Culloty joked.
“He was beaten 26 lengths at Leopardstown last month, but Davy said take no notice, it will be a different ball game at Cheltenham.
“I knew he’d take his time but that was waiting tactics exaggerated.
“I can’t believe it. The horses just weren’t right this season, but God they have come right at the right time.” On His Own trainer Mullins was unhappy with the frenetic conclusion to the race and he hinted an appeal against the stewards’ verdict was possible.
“I thought he (On His Own) was interfered with and he was beaten a short head and was in front after the line,” Mullins said.
“The stewards felt he didn’t deserve to get it and what more can I do at this stage.
“I’ll have a chat with the owners and see what they want to do. I’ll have a chat with David and then speak to people who are more experienced than me on appeals in England.”
Howell leads Texters to key win over SMB
Richard Howell certainly picked the perfect time to churn out a breakout game.
The lightly-regarded Talk ‘N Text import on Friday night showed that he got game as well, carrying the Tropang Texters on his wide shoulders to key a 107-99 victory over San Miguel Beer in a battle of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup’s unbeaten teams.
Howell, who was unimpressive offensively in the Texters’ first two victories, finished with 38 points that went with 19 rebounds as he upstaged the much-ballyhooed Kevin Jones in his debut as the Beermen went down for the first time in three matches.
“Richard Howell delivered the goods, simple as that,” Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black, who was ejected near the middle of the fourth period after successive technical fouls, told reporters later.
“It was lonely out there in the locker, watching the game by myself,” Black chided. “But the coaching staff and the players delivered. It was a really nice win because we all know how tough that (San Miguel) team is.” Tough could be an understatement, considering the form that the Beermen took into the game and with Jones and cornerstone June Mar Fajardo seeing action for the first time.
But Howell ran rings around Fajardo as the Texters built leads of as many as 19 points in the first half before holding off the Beermen in the stretch mainly through their import and the indefatigable Jimmy Alapag.
Alapag had a string of five crucial points when the Beermen got within four as he finished with 18 points, counting four triples, that went with seven assists to win Player of the Game honors.
Jones, who came in as a replacement for the hardworking NBA veteran Josh Boone, finished with 35 points despite being saddled with early fouls to show his true worth.
Meanwhile, an Air21 side that has been pretty solid so far, notched its second win in three games earlier in the night after tearing Josh Dollard and Barako Bull apart, 103-85.
Herve Lamizana, the Express’ slow-starting import, tossed in all of his 24 points in the second half and played terrific defense on Dollard all night, holding the Barako Bull import to PBA career-lows of 12 points and nine rebounds.
Coming into the game averaging 44.5 points and 18.5 boards, Dollard got very little breathing room from the Air21 defense the entire time and all the kinks in his armor have been exposed as the Energy dropped to 1-2.
“Our primary concern going to this game was to hold down Dollard. In my opinion, Herve is the best defensive import right now and we saw how he limited Dollard’s production,” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren.
“We really played terrific defense – for us to hold down such a high-scoring Barako Bull team was a testament to our good dedication to play defense,” added Pumaren.
Aldrech Ramos, less than three days after being dealt away by Alaska for Vic Manuel, was impressive right in his first game in an Air21 uniform, canning all four three-point attempts to finish with 17 points.
“Aldrech gave us additional scoring from the outside,” said Pumaren of their new trade acquisition.
Mac Cardona and Asi Taulava also put in double-digit outputs to downplay a balanced effort by the Express, a casualty in the last Philippine Cup together with Meralco.
Air21 was so dominant that it led by as large as 93-58 and made it look really ugly for the Energy..
From a close game after the first 12 minutes, the Express – starring their reserves – applied a defensive blanket that the Energy weren’t able to break as Air21 zoomed to a 17-point lead and never looked back.
Air21 had command after the first two periods, 45-32, even with Lamizana going scoreless.
In Saturday’s game, Alaska Milk and Meralco both go for win No. 2 as they tangle with Rain or Shine and Globalport, respectively, also at the Big Dome in Cubao.
Benfica, Valencia big winners in Europa League:
PARIS: Benfica and Valencia secured convincing away wins to take a giant step toward the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday while Real Betis surprisingly beat Sevilla 2-0 in a fierce Spanish derby played for the first time on the European stage.
Brazilian defender Luisao scored two second-half goals to help Benfica beat Tottenham 3-1 and cap a good night for Portugal’s top clubs in the last-16 first legs, with Porto defeating Napoli 1-0 at home.
Valencia defied the early sending-off of Seydou Keita to beat Ludogorets Razgrad 3-0 away and Lyon was the night’s other big winner, coming from behind to thrash Viktoria Plzen 4-1.
Germany striker Mario Gomez grabbed a late equalizer for Fiorentina in a 1-1 draw at Juventus in an all-Italian matchup while AZ Alkmaar beat Anzhi Makhachkala 1-0 and Basel drew 0-0 with Red Bull Salzburg, which failed to win in Europe’s second-tier competition for the first time this season.
The second legs will be played next week.
At the end of a week when Arsenal and Manchester City exited the Champions League, English woes in Europe continued as Tottenham was outplayed at White Hart Lane by Benfica, last season’s beaten finalist.
Spurs manager Tim Sherwood was seeking a response from his players after attacking their character and desire following Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League but more poor defending cost them dear.
After Rodrigo opened the scoring for Benfica with a low curling shot in the 29th, Luisao doubled the lead in the 58th when he lost his marker at a corner and powered home a header.
Christian Eriksen pulled a goal back for Spurs with a superb free kick but Luisao slammed a close-range finish in off the bar after another set piece with six minutes to go, leaving Benfica in a commanding position.
Sherwood squared up to counterpart Jorge Jesus after the visitors’ third goal after the Benfica coach held up three fingers in a goading celebration. They didn’t shake hands after the match.
“I thought his team were very good, got a lot of class,” Sherwood said. “It’s a pity he doesn’t.” Betis will also take a two-goal lead into a home second leg after strikes by Leo Baptistao and Salva Sevilla settled its 108th derby match against Sevilla, which started the game as the favorite.
Betis, bottom of the Spanish league, was coming off consecutive losses at Sevilla by a combined 9-1 score going into the match.
Valencia virtually sealed its place in the last eight despite playing most of its game in Bulgaria with 10 men following the 24th-minute red card to Keita, who brought down Roman Bezjak in the penalty box.
Bezjak’s spot kick was saved and the Spanish visitors added goals by Fede Cartabia and Philippe Senderos to the opener scored by Antonio Barragan in the fifth minute. Juninho Quixada was sent off with 10 minutes to go for Ludogorets, which eliminated Lazio in the last 32.
Lyon, the only French side left in the competition, went behind after two minutes but surged back thanks to a double from Gueida Fofana and other goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Arnold Mvuemba.
Jackson Martinez scored Porto’s goal in a 1-0 win over Napoli, which is coached by the man who led Chelsea to last season’s Europa League title — Rafael Benitez.
Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 in Serie A on Sunday to tighten its grip atop the standings and went ahead four days later through Arturo Vidal in the third minute. However, Gomez, the former Bayern Munich striker, controlled a pass from Josip Ilicic and smashed a shot through goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s legs to grab a draw for the visitors.
Spurs blast Bulls to keep NBA’s best record:
CHICAGO: Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and Tony Parker had 20 as the league-leading San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls 104-96 on Tuesday night.
Kawhi Leonard added 16 for San Antonio, which won its seventh straight and 10th in its last 11. The Spurs (47-16) maintained their hold on the NBA’s best record, staying ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana, who both started play Tuesday a half-game behind the Spurs.
San Antonio jumped out to a big lead early, taking a 61-33 advantage into halftime, including 18 from Parker. That helped them improve to 24-6 on the road, the NBA’s best mark away from home.
D.J. Augustin led the Bulls with 24 points and Jimmy Butler had 23.
Pacers 94 Celtics 83: In Indianapolis, David West scored 24 points and Andrew Bynum grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in his Pacers debut, helping suddenly struggling Indiana pull away late for a win over Boston.
Indiana (47-17) ended its longest losing streak of the season at four. Paul George added 12 points as the Pacers extended their Eastern Conference lead to 1 1/2 games over two-time defending champion Miami in the East.
Boston (22-42) was led by Jared Sullinger with 17 points and Kris Humphries with 15 as its two-game winning streak ended.
Bynum played just 15 minutes but his first basket gave Indiana a 16-14 lead and the Pacers never trailed again.
Thunder 106 Rockets 98: In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 42 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Houston Rockets.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and got the best of nemesis Patrick Beverley. During last year’s playoffs, Beverley dived for the ball and ran into Westbrook’s right knee as a timeout was being called, causing the injury that ended Westbrook’s season and cost him about half of this season. It was their first meeting since the incident.
Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who had lost two straight.
Former Thunder guard James Harden scored 28 points.
Pistons 99 Kings 89: In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Josh Smith scored 24 points and Rodney Stuckey added 23 to lift the Detroit Pistons over the Sacramento Kings.
Andre Drummond added 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, outscoring DeMarcus Cousins in a matchup of two of the NBA’s top young big men. Cousins had 13 points and 14 rebounds but shot 5 of 15 from the field.
Detroit trailed 54-52 at halftime but outscored the Kings 20-11 in the third quarter.
Timberwolves 112 Bucks 101: In Minneapolis, Kevin Love had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and J.J. Barea broke out of a horrid shooting slump to score 19 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Milwaukee Bucks.
After going 5 for 25 in his previous three games, Barea hit 7 of 10 shots to help wake the sluggish Wolves up and Kevin Martin scored 26 points to help them finish a four-game homestand at 2-2.
Brandon Knight scored 21 points for the Bucks (13-51), who led at halftime and were looking for their first set of back-to-back victories this season. But after scoring 61 points in the first half and leading by 11 points in the second quarter, the Bucks were outscored 19-4 to start the fourth quarter.
Grizzlies 109 Trail Blazers 99: In Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol scored 19 points, Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies solidified their hold on the final Western Conference playoff spot with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mike Conley added 17 points and Courtney Lee finished with 16, including helping the Grizzlies extend their lead in the third quarter. Mike Miller had 14 for Memphis, which won its third straight.
Warriors 108 Mavericks 85: In Oakland, California, Jordan Crawford scored 19 points, Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the surging Golden State Warriors routed the Dallas Mavericks for their fifth straight win.
Klay Thompson added 14 points to help the Warriors go ahead by 24 points early in the fourth quarter and create more space behind them in the crowded Western Conference standings. Golden State (41-24) is sixth in the West, three games ahead of Dallas (38-27) and Memphis (37-26).
Former Warriors fan favorite Monta Ellis scored 15 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and six rebounds in a disappointing display by Dallas.
Kawhi Leonard added 16 for San Antonio, which won its seventh straight and 10th in its last 11. The Spurs (47-16) maintained their hold on the NBA’s best record, staying ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana, who both started play Tuesday a half-game behind the Spurs.
San Antonio jumped out to a big lead early, taking a 61-33 advantage into halftime, including 18 from Parker. That helped them improve to 24-6 on the road, the NBA’s best mark away from home.
D.J. Augustin led the Bulls with 24 points and Jimmy Butler had 23.
Pacers 94 Celtics 83: In Indianapolis, David West scored 24 points and Andrew Bynum grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in his Pacers debut, helping suddenly struggling Indiana pull away late for a win over Boston.
Indiana (47-17) ended its longest losing streak of the season at four. Paul George added 12 points as the Pacers extended their Eastern Conference lead to 1 1/2 games over two-time defending champion Miami in the East.
Boston (22-42) was led by Jared Sullinger with 17 points and Kris Humphries with 15 as its two-game winning streak ended.
Bynum played just 15 minutes but his first basket gave Indiana a 16-14 lead and the Pacers never trailed again.
Thunder 106 Rockets 98: In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 42 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Houston Rockets.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and got the best of nemesis Patrick Beverley. During last year’s playoffs, Beverley dived for the ball and ran into Westbrook’s right knee as a timeout was being called, causing the injury that ended Westbrook’s season and cost him about half of this season. It was their first meeting since the incident.
Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who had lost two straight.
Former Thunder guard James Harden scored 28 points.
Pistons 99 Kings 89: In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Josh Smith scored 24 points and Rodney Stuckey added 23 to lift the Detroit Pistons over the Sacramento Kings.
Andre Drummond added 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, outscoring DeMarcus Cousins in a matchup of two of the NBA’s top young big men. Cousins had 13 points and 14 rebounds but shot 5 of 15 from the field.
Detroit trailed 54-52 at halftime but outscored the Kings 20-11 in the third quarter.
Timberwolves 112 Bucks 101: In Minneapolis, Kevin Love had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and J.J. Barea broke out of a horrid shooting slump to score 19 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Milwaukee Bucks.
After going 5 for 25 in his previous three games, Barea hit 7 of 10 shots to help wake the sluggish Wolves up and Kevin Martin scored 26 points to help them finish a four-game homestand at 2-2.
Brandon Knight scored 21 points for the Bucks (13-51), who led at halftime and were looking for their first set of back-to-back victories this season. But after scoring 61 points in the first half and leading by 11 points in the second quarter, the Bucks were outscored 19-4 to start the fourth quarter.
Grizzlies 109 Trail Blazers 99: In Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol scored 19 points, Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies solidified their hold on the final Western Conference playoff spot with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mike Conley added 17 points and Courtney Lee finished with 16, including helping the Grizzlies extend their lead in the third quarter. Mike Miller had 14 for Memphis, which won its third straight.
Warriors 108 Mavericks 85: In Oakland, California, Jordan Crawford scored 19 points, Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the surging Golden State Warriors routed the Dallas Mavericks for their fifth straight win.
Klay Thompson added 14 points to help the Warriors go ahead by 24 points early in the fourth quarter and create more space behind them in the crowded Western Conference standings. Golden State (41-24) is sixth in the West, three games ahead of Dallas (38-27) and Memphis (37-26).
Former Warriors fan favorite Monta Ellis scored 15 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and six rebounds in a disappointing display by Dallas.
San Mig Coffee off to fast start, routs Globalport
San Mig Coffee needed just the first quarter to ditch its championship hangover and play the rest of Wednesday night’s game against Globalport looking fit and ready to win another title.
The Mixers shrugged off the rust quickly and let the entire PBA Commissioner’s Cup field know of their menacing form as San Mig tore Globalport apart in the final three periods for a 91-75 victory at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Ian Sangalang, one of the Game 7 heroes in the Mixers’ emotional Philippine Cup triumph over Rain or Shine less than three weeks ago, gave San Mig the spark it needed in the second quarter that left the Batang Pier dumbfounded.
The 6-foot-7 center out of San Sebastian, the second overall pick in the last Rookie Draft, scored 11 points coming off the bench and San Mig had 31 total points as a team as the Mixers erased a 16-20 first quarter deficit with ease and took a 47-43 halftime lead.
“I think we are a little different this time around,” San Mig coach Tim Cone explained after it was pointed out, that unlike the last Philippine Cup where they started 0-3 after winning the previous tournament, they were already sharp in their first game.
“I think the last (championship) hangover we had was because of injuries (to several players),” Cone said. “The key right now has been our second group. Hopefully, we could get into the playoffs with our second group.”
Sangalang went on to pace all San Mig shooters with 16 points in just nine field goal attempts and 23 minutes, and import James Mays had 15 and eight rebounds in just 32 as the second unit really made life easy for Cone’s superstars.
Evan Brock had 27 points and 28 rebounds for the Batang Pier, who went down in flames yet again after failing to give their hardworking import the support that he needs.
Considered as a loaded team with stars like Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot and a pair of high-scoring rookies in Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia, Globalport was an atrocious 34% from the field.
The Batang Pier didn’t make a single triple in 17 tries although they handily won the rebounding battle, 61-44.
Their third straight loss means that the Batang Pier would now have to start winning games – and win them in a string – as the tournament calls for a single round elimination with the last two teams getting the boot.
Qualifying as Nos. 7 and 8 also carries a distinct disadvantage as it would mean needing to beat the top two teams two straight times to stay alive.
Meanwhile, Meralco notched its first win earlier in the night after getting a balanced offensive from everyone in an 85-76 decision of defending champion Alaska in the first game.
Brian Butch, the Bolts’ 6-foot-10 import, drained six triples and Gary David was big in the fourth quarter as Meralco rose to 1-1 while dealing the Aces their second loss in three games.
“We did a good job of competing today despite out obvious shortage in players,” the eloquent Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters. “We were able to do the job because of defense. It was really our defense which spelled the difference.”
Alaska also looked to be in disarray for most of the night as Meralco set the tempo of the game.
Robert Dozier, last year’s Best Import, scored just 17 points and Calvin Abueva, last season’s top rookie, fouled out after just making one field goal, dramatizing how the Aces struggled throughout the game.
Butch finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds and three others tossed in twin digits for Gregorio, with David winding up with 12 points like Cliff Hodge. Reynel Hugnatan scattered 14.
The Mixers shrugged off the rust quickly and let the entire PBA Commissioner’s Cup field know of their menacing form as San Mig tore Globalport apart in the final three periods for a 91-75 victory at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Ian Sangalang, one of the Game 7 heroes in the Mixers’ emotional Philippine Cup triumph over Rain or Shine less than three weeks ago, gave San Mig the spark it needed in the second quarter that left the Batang Pier dumbfounded.
The 6-foot-7 center out of San Sebastian, the second overall pick in the last Rookie Draft, scored 11 points coming off the bench and San Mig had 31 total points as a team as the Mixers erased a 16-20 first quarter deficit with ease and took a 47-43 halftime lead.
“I think we are a little different this time around,” San Mig coach Tim Cone explained after it was pointed out, that unlike the last Philippine Cup where they started 0-3 after winning the previous tournament, they were already sharp in their first game.
“I think the last (championship) hangover we had was because of injuries (to several players),” Cone said. “The key right now has been our second group. Hopefully, we could get into the playoffs with our second group.”
Sangalang went on to pace all San Mig shooters with 16 points in just nine field goal attempts and 23 minutes, and import James Mays had 15 and eight rebounds in just 32 as the second unit really made life easy for Cone’s superstars.
Evan Brock had 27 points and 28 rebounds for the Batang Pier, who went down in flames yet again after failing to give their hardworking import the support that he needs.
Considered as a loaded team with stars like Jay Washington and Alex Cabagnot and a pair of high-scoring rookies in Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia, Globalport was an atrocious 34% from the field.
The Batang Pier didn’t make a single triple in 17 tries although they handily won the rebounding battle, 61-44.
Their third straight loss means that the Batang Pier would now have to start winning games – and win them in a string – as the tournament calls for a single round elimination with the last two teams getting the boot.
Qualifying as Nos. 7 and 8 also carries a distinct disadvantage as it would mean needing to beat the top two teams two straight times to stay alive.
Meanwhile, Meralco notched its first win earlier in the night after getting a balanced offensive from everyone in an 85-76 decision of defending champion Alaska in the first game.
Brian Butch, the Bolts’ 6-foot-10 import, drained six triples and Gary David was big in the fourth quarter as Meralco rose to 1-1 while dealing the Aces their second loss in three games.
“We did a good job of competing today despite out obvious shortage in players,” the eloquent Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters. “We were able to do the job because of defense. It was really our defense which spelled the difference.”
Alaska also looked to be in disarray for most of the night as Meralco set the tempo of the game.
Robert Dozier, last year’s Best Import, scored just 17 points and Calvin Abueva, last season’s top rookie, fouled out after just making one field goal, dramatizing how the Aces struggled throughout the game.
Butch finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds and three others tossed in twin digits for Gregorio, with David winding up with 12 points like Cliff Hodge. Reynel Hugnatan scattered 14.
Tendulkar in line to be voted cricketer of the generation
March 13:
Sachin Tendulkar is among the three greats to have emerged as the leading contenders for ESPNcricinfo's Cricketer of the Generation award, even as the Indian's longtime fierce rival from the West Indies Brian Lara missed out on a place in the final three.
Australian spin legend Shane Warne and the recently-retired South African great Jacques Kallis are the other two cricketers to feature in the final list.
The award, to be presented here tomorrow, will honour the most outstanding cricketer between the years 1993 and 2013. The occasion will also mark the 20th anniversary celebrations for the cricket website.
While Tendulkar has been the most successful batsman of his generation, having set innumerable records in both Tests and ODIs, no other bowler mesmerised world cricket the way Warne did, besides playing a role in reviving the art of legspin bowling.
As far as allrounders are concerned, Kallis, for his exploits over the past two decades, often drew comparison with the greatest of them all, Gary Sobers.
Lara, who still holds the record for the best individual score in Test cricket, and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in the traditional format, received nominations from a 50-member jury, comprising leading players, cricket writers and commentators, but didn't make the cut for a place in the final three.
Tendulkar ended his glorious 24-year international career last November, signing off with an elegant 74 against the West Indies in his final Test innings.
He rewrote some of the most coveted batting records, including those for most Test runs and Test hundreds, and for most ODI runs and ODI hundreds. The Mumbaikar is the only cricketer to score hundred international centuries.
Adored by fans across the cricketing world, the flamboyant Warne was the first bowler to 700 Test wickets.
Kallis was without doubt the best allrounder of his generation, having amassed over 10,000 runs each in Tests and ODIs. In addition, he took 577 international wickets with his pace bowling.
--PTi
UAE to host first stage of 2014 IPL:
UAE to host first stage of 2014 IPL:
NEW DELHI: The United Arab Emirates will host the first leg of this year’s Indian Premier League cricket (IPL), the organizers said on Wednesday.
The lucrative Twenty20 tournament this year clashes with the parliamentary election in the world’s biggest democracy.
A staggering 814 million Indians will be eligible to vote from April 7 in what would be the biggest election the world has ever seen.
Voting will be held in nine stages to May 12, and results are due to be announced on May 16.
With poll security being the Indian government’s priority, UAE would host at least 16 IPL matches from April 16-30, the Indian cricket board said in a statement without naming the venues.
Local media claimed Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah would host those matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approached the interior ministry for permission to host the May 1-12 matches in states where polling would be over, but has kept Bangladesh as a standby in case the government cannot provide security.
“BCCI will abide by the decision of the authorities in this regard. If it is not possible to play in India during this period, IPL matches will be held in Bangladesh,” the board said.
The last set of matches culminating in the June 1 final would be held in India, the board said, promising to share tournament schedules soon.
South Africa hosted the second IPL in 2009 when the cash-awash tournament clashed with the multi-phased election that year.
The Dubai-headquartered International Crickt Council (ICC) hailed the decision, saying IPL matches in UAE would raise the game’s profile in the Gulf nation which has qualified for this year’s World Twenty20 and next year’s 50-over World Cup.
ICC chief David Richardson called it “great news” and pledged the governing body’s support to the event.
“Recognizing the importance of the integrity of the competition, the ICC will provide its full support for the matches in the UAE, including through the provision of anti-corruption services,” Richardson said in a statement.
“It will also be a good opportunity for both the BCCI and the ICC to share knowledge and experience as we both strive to deliver memorable events to cricket fans around the world.”
Slagter tops stage, Thomas new Paris-Nice leader:The lucrative Twenty20 tournament this year clashes with the parliamentary election in the world’s biggest democracy.
A staggering 814 million Indians will be eligible to vote from April 7 in what would be the biggest election the world has ever seen.
Voting will be held in nine stages to May 12, and results are due to be announced on May 16.
With poll security being the Indian government’s priority, UAE would host at least 16 IPL matches from April 16-30, the Indian cricket board said in a statement without naming the venues.
Local media claimed Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah would host those matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approached the interior ministry for permission to host the May 1-12 matches in states where polling would be over, but has kept Bangladesh as a standby in case the government cannot provide security.
“BCCI will abide by the decision of the authorities in this regard. If it is not possible to play in India during this period, IPL matches will be held in Bangladesh,” the board said.
The last set of matches culminating in the June 1 final would be held in India, the board said, promising to share tournament schedules soon.
South Africa hosted the second IPL in 2009 when the cash-awash tournament clashed with the multi-phased election that year.
The Dubai-headquartered International Crickt Council (ICC) hailed the decision, saying IPL matches in UAE would raise the game’s profile in the Gulf nation which has qualified for this year’s World Twenty20 and next year’s 50-over World Cup.
ICC chief David Richardson called it “great news” and pledged the governing body’s support to the event.
“Recognizing the importance of the integrity of the competition, the ICC will provide its full support for the matches in the UAE, including through the provision of anti-corruption services,” Richardson said in a statement.
“It will also be a good opportunity for both the BCCI and the ICC to share knowledge and experience as we both strive to deliver memorable events to cricket fans around the world.”
BELLEVILLE, France: Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter won a sprint finish to win the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice on Wednesday but breakaway companion Geraint Thomas is the new overall leader.
Garmin’s Slagter edged out Britain’s Thomas in a sprint finish at the end of the 201.5km stage from Nevers to Belleville, with Dutchman Wilco Kelderman coming home third five seconds later.
“I thought I’d be in good shape for this stage, but not that good,” said a beaming Slagter.
“The aim is still the overall standings. It’s the first day where it moved, now there are four more.”
Sky’s Thomas now leads the overall standings by three seconds from previous leader John Degenkolb of Giant-Shimano, continuing the British team’s recent domination of this race.
Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 edition before going on to win the Tour de France while Richie Porte triumphed last year.
Porte would have led Sky this time around as well but was shifted over to the Tirreno-Adriatico race at the last moment when current Tour de France holder Chris Froome had to pull out of that race due to a bad back, meaning Thomas was promoted to team leader in the ‘Race to the sun’.
“It’s incredible, I didn’t know I’d be team leader until Friday, after Richie pulled out,” said a delighted Thomas.
“I trained really well but to be honest, I hadn’t planned on attacking on the final climb.
“I was even asking myself what I was doing there!
“Paris-Nice is a great fixture on the calendar after the big tours. Last Friday I’d have never dreamed of wearing the yellow jersey.”
The day began with a four-man breakaway featuring Italy’s Valerio Agnoli, Spaniard Jesus Herrada, Luxembourg’s Laurent Didier and Frenchman Perrig Quemeneur, but they were caught with 18km left.
Soon afterwards, former Tour Down Under winner Slagter made his move on the tough Mont Brouilly with Thomas eventually joining him on the technical, winding descent just after the summit.
The pair held off a disorganized 30-strong chase group — despite the best efforts of Giro d’Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali and Frenchman Romain Bardet — all the way to the finish while German Degenkolb dropped into the second chase group.
That proved crucial as he came home 18sec behind and lost his grip on the leader’s jersey.
Nibali now finds himself 19sec off the overall lead, alongsaide world champion Rui Costa, who struggled on the Brouilly climb but managed to hang on to the coat-tails of the 30-strong chase group.
The big loser of the day, though, was Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, who came home 57sec down, effectively seeing his overall hopes go up in smoke.
Thursday’s fifth stage is a hilly 153km from Creches-sur-Saone to Rive-de-Gier.
Cavendish takes Tirreno lead as Omega wins TTT
In San Vincenzo, Italy, British sprinter Mark Cavendish leads the Tirreno-Adriatico after his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team won a time trial to open the weeklong cycling race on Wednesday.
Omega clocked 20 minutes, 13 seconds over the 18.5-kilometer (11.5-mile) route from Donoratico to San Vincenzo.
It was an identical start from last year, when Cavendish also took the lead with an Omega win.
“I’m happy,” Cavendish said. “The team is stronger than last year.”
One of the greatest sprinters of all time, Cavendish has had a slow start to this season, with his only individual win coming in a stage of the Tour of Algarve last month.
Three-time time trial world champion Tony Martin was again the main engine behind Omega’s success, which should benefit Michal Kwiatkowski and Rigoberto Uran, who are aiming for the overall win.
Orica Greenedge finished second, 11 seconds behind, and Movistar — featuring Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana — was third, 18 seconds behind.
Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff Saxo placed fourth, 24 seconds behind. Sky, with Bradley Wiggins and Richie Porte, was sixth, 27 seconds behind.
Porte was added to Sky’s squad last week when Tour de France winner Chris Froome announced that he would sit out the race due to a back injury.
Players from five countries to display skills at JCF cricket tournament
Players from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia will see action in the TCF cricket tournament that begins at the Baghdadiya ground (opposite Madina Palace hotel) on March 21, organizers said. Sixteen teams are taking part in the event.
“This is the sixth edition of our tournament. We are happy to say that our tournaments in the past five years were highly successful,” said Anwar Sadath, president of Tellicherry Cricket Forum (TCF). Tariq Mishkhas, Malayalam News editor-in-chief, will open the event at 8:30 p.m.
This year the tournament’s trophy is named after the main sponsor Bupa powered by FSN (Faisal S. Al Naimi Est). Al-Abeer, Strike, Khind, Arcoma Crown and ABC Cargo are the other sponsors, the president said.
“TCF vision is to become one of the prime organizers of sports, particularly cricket, in the Middle East. We also want to educate the society on the importance of sports in maintaining good health,” Sadath told Arab News.
TCF also aims to create opportunities for talented youth to develop their skills. “We also bring expatriate communities of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh together under this tournament to have a bit of fun and excitement through the most popular game in the sub-continent,” said media chief Abdul Khader Mochery, adding that Yahya Sharief, a Saudi, is the captain of one team.
The tournament will be conducted on day/night basis. “There will be four pools of four teams; each team will play three matches in the first round and four top teams qualify for the semifinals,” said Secretary Mohammed Faseesh. Finals will be played on April 11.
Apart from Bupa winners and FSN runner-up trophies, various other prizes will be given to the players such as Man of the Matches award for all matches, Best batsman, Best bowler, Man of the series, Best Fielder, Best all-rounder, Fastest 50 along with “Spirit of the game” award for a team which shows their utmost sportsmen spirit and discipline.
There will be fun games and instant cricket quiz during the match breaks and winners will get Khind-sponsored gifts. Exciting prizes including air tickets and other bumper prizes will be given away to spectators, the media chief said.
Ghaith Al-Johani, senior manager media & activation, and Mohammed Hanno, senior manager finance from Bupa Arabia, Afsal Babu Adiraja, regional manager –FSN, Hamza Al-Haddar, divisional manager Arcoma Crown, Ismail Yamani, regional manager Khind and Abdul Aziz Vazhakkad Jeddah branch manager ABC Cargo attended a press conference held on the occasion.
More newcomers crowding the PGA Tour landscape
DORAL, Florida: The road to the Masters is just getting started, and already two players have combined to win five times on the PGA Tour.
They’re not Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
How many would have guessed Jimmy Walker (three wins) and Patrick Reed (two wins) when the wraparound season began in October?
Reed might have had his hand up.
In a moment of bravado on national television after he went wire to wire (with ties) to win the Cadillac Championship, the 23-year-old Reed said, “I’m one of the top five players in the world. I feel like I’ve proven myself.” He has won twice this season, three times dating to August.
Reed and Walker are the latest newcomers to winning on the strongest tour in golf. Harris English won in Mexico last November for his second PGA Tour title in six months. Jordan Spieth won in July, and he started this year by giving himself three chances to win.
It’s just another example that winning is getting hard, even for those who are used to winning a lot.
Each season seems to bring a new crop of younger players who have a lot of game and no fear. Russell Henley won the Sony Open in his debut as a PGA Tour member. Just over a year later, he overcame a two-shot lead playing with Rory McIlroy in the final group at the Honda Classic and won a four-hole playoff.
Scott Stallings won at Torrey Pines for his third PGA Tour win. He’s 28.
The last three winners of the World Golf Championships — Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Reed — are all in their 20s. Ten of the 17 winners this season are in their 20s. That includes 26-year-old Chesson Hadley, who won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday about the time Reed was beating the strongest field so far this year at Doral.
“Look at Russell Henley — he’s won twice,” Reed said. “Harris English has won twice, Jordan Spieth won once. Myself, I’ve won three times. It’s just one of those things that we’ve worked very hard — all of us — to get where we are. And it’s definitely shown what we are doing is working. To see the young guys coming out and playing and putting it to the veterans is always nice.”
Walker turned 35 in January, so it’s hard to consider him one of the younger players. Then again, injuries slowed the start of his career. And once he finally won at the Frys.com Open to kick off the new wraparound season, he has made it a habit. Over the weekend, Walker talked about new opportunities that have come his way following his three wins. He’s not interested in anything but playing good golf.
Now that he has tasted winning, his appetite is only growing.
Walker leads the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup standings. Johnson is No. 2 on both lists, while Reed is at No. 3 in the FedEx and No. 4 in the Ryder Cup. Five of the top nine players in the Ryder Cup standings were not on the last US team at Muirfield Village for the Presidents Cup.
Remember, it’s still only March. The first of four majors has yet to be played. Reed has never even played in a major.
He rubbed a few people the wrong way when he declared himself among the top five in the world (he’s actually No. 20). It showed what he thought about his game and that he’s not afraid to say it.
So if he’s top five, who are the other four?
“Tiger Woods, of course,” Reed said.
And that was as far as he got before he smiled and said, “You know, good question. I said top 5. I didn’t know where I was going to be in the top 5.”
He then went on to mention Masters champion Adam Scott (No. 2 in the world) and Mickelson (No. 5). He mentioned how impressed he was with Graeme McDowell, and having played Saturday with Johnson, he acknowledged how good he could be when he gets on a roll. And the list stopped there, right when it was starting to grow.
The ranking (determined over two years) has Henrik Stenson at No. 3, Day at No. 4, McIlroy at No. 6.
It was clear that “top five” was more figure of speech than an actual number. Anyone’s list of “top five” is likely to include as many as 10 players these days.
Years ago, Colin Montgomerie jokingly said that it was hard to win majors because Woods usually won two of them, Mickelson, Vijay Singh or Ernie Els won another and that left only one for everybody else each year.
Twenty-one players have won the last 24 majors. That would seem to make it even harder.
It’s getting that way for regular PGA Tour events, too.
Wigan sends Man City crashing in FA Cup repeat:
Players from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia will see action in the TCF cricket tournament that begins at the Baghdadiya ground (opposite Madina Palace hotel) on March 21, organizers said. Sixteen teams are taking part in the event.
“This is the sixth edition of our tournament. We are happy to say that our tournaments in the past five years were highly successful,” said Anwar Sadath, president of Tellicherry Cricket Forum (TCF). Tariq Mishkhas, Malayalam News editor-in-chief, will open the event at 8:30 p.m.
This year the tournament’s trophy is named after the main sponsor Bupa powered by FSN (Faisal S. Al Naimi Est). Al-Abeer, Strike, Khind, Arcoma Crown and ABC Cargo are the other sponsors, the president said.
“TCF vision is to become one of the prime organizers of sports, particularly cricket, in the Middle East. We also want to educate the society on the importance of sports in maintaining good health,” Sadath told Arab News.
TCF also aims to create opportunities for talented youth to develop their skills. “We also bring expatriate communities of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh together under this tournament to have a bit of fun and excitement through the most popular game in the sub-continent,” said media chief Abdul Khader Mochery, adding that Yahya Sharief, a Saudi, is the captain of one team.
The tournament will be conducted on day/night basis. “There will be four pools of four teams; each team will play three matches in the first round and four top teams qualify for the semifinals,” said Secretary Mohammed Faseesh. Finals will be played on April 11.
Apart from Bupa winners and FSN runner-up trophies, various other prizes will be given to the players such as Man of the Matches award for all matches, Best batsman, Best bowler, Man of the series, Best Fielder, Best all-rounder, Fastest 50 along with “Spirit of the game” award for a team which shows their utmost sportsmen spirit and discipline.
There will be fun games and instant cricket quiz during the match breaks and winners will get Khind-sponsored gifts. Exciting prizes including air tickets and other bumper prizes will be given away to spectators, the media chief said.
Ghaith Al-Johani, senior manager media & activation, and Mohammed Hanno, senior manager finance from Bupa Arabia, Afsal Babu Adiraja, regional manager –FSN, Hamza Al-Haddar, divisional manager Arcoma Crown, Ismail Yamani, regional manager Khind and Abdul Aziz Vazhakkad Jeddah branch manager ABC Cargo attended a press conference held on the occasion.
More newcomers crowding the PGA Tour landscape
DORAL, Florida: The road to the Masters is just getting started, and already two players have combined to win five times on the PGA Tour.
They’re not Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
How many would have guessed Jimmy Walker (three wins) and Patrick Reed (two wins) when the wraparound season began in October?
Reed might have had his hand up.
In a moment of bravado on national television after he went wire to wire (with ties) to win the Cadillac Championship, the 23-year-old Reed said, “I’m one of the top five players in the world. I feel like I’ve proven myself.” He has won twice this season, three times dating to August.
Reed and Walker are the latest newcomers to winning on the strongest tour in golf. Harris English won in Mexico last November for his second PGA Tour title in six months. Jordan Spieth won in July, and he started this year by giving himself three chances to win.
It’s just another example that winning is getting hard, even for those who are used to winning a lot.
Each season seems to bring a new crop of younger players who have a lot of game and no fear. Russell Henley won the Sony Open in his debut as a PGA Tour member. Just over a year later, he overcame a two-shot lead playing with Rory McIlroy in the final group at the Honda Classic and won a four-hole playoff.
Scott Stallings won at Torrey Pines for his third PGA Tour win. He’s 28.
The last three winners of the World Golf Championships — Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Reed — are all in their 20s. Ten of the 17 winners this season are in their 20s. That includes 26-year-old Chesson Hadley, who won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday about the time Reed was beating the strongest field so far this year at Doral.
“Look at Russell Henley — he’s won twice,” Reed said. “Harris English has won twice, Jordan Spieth won once. Myself, I’ve won three times. It’s just one of those things that we’ve worked very hard — all of us — to get where we are. And it’s definitely shown what we are doing is working. To see the young guys coming out and playing and putting it to the veterans is always nice.”
Walker turned 35 in January, so it’s hard to consider him one of the younger players. Then again, injuries slowed the start of his career. And once he finally won at the Frys.com Open to kick off the new wraparound season, he has made it a habit. Over the weekend, Walker talked about new opportunities that have come his way following his three wins. He’s not interested in anything but playing good golf.
Now that he has tasted winning, his appetite is only growing.
Walker leads the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup standings. Johnson is No. 2 on both lists, while Reed is at No. 3 in the FedEx and No. 4 in the Ryder Cup. Five of the top nine players in the Ryder Cup standings were not on the last US team at Muirfield Village for the Presidents Cup.
Remember, it’s still only March. The first of four majors has yet to be played. Reed has never even played in a major.
He rubbed a few people the wrong way when he declared himself among the top five in the world (he’s actually No. 20). It showed what he thought about his game and that he’s not afraid to say it.
So if he’s top five, who are the other four?
“Tiger Woods, of course,” Reed said.
And that was as far as he got before he smiled and said, “You know, good question. I said top 5. I didn’t know where I was going to be in the top 5.”
He then went on to mention Masters champion Adam Scott (No. 2 in the world) and Mickelson (No. 5). He mentioned how impressed he was with Graeme McDowell, and having played Saturday with Johnson, he acknowledged how good he could be when he gets on a roll. And the list stopped there, right when it was starting to grow.
The ranking (determined over two years) has Henrik Stenson at No. 3, Day at No. 4, McIlroy at No. 6.
It was clear that “top five” was more figure of speech than an actual number. Anyone’s list of “top five” is likely to include as many as 10 players these days.
Years ago, Colin Montgomerie jokingly said that it was hard to win majors because Woods usually won two of them, Mickelson, Vijay Singh or Ernie Els won another and that left only one for everybody else each year.
Twenty-one players have won the last 24 majors. That would seem to make it even harder.
It’s getting that way for regular PGA Tour events, too.
Wigan sends Man City crashing in FA Cup repeat:
LONDON: Second-tier Wigan Athletic stunned Manchester City in the FA Cup for the second season running with a shock 2-1 quarter-final victory at a disbelieving Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
City, newly crowned League Cup champions, were bidding to avenge their 1-0 defeat in last season’s final, but instead it was the holders — managed by former City striker Uwe Rosler — who advanced to a last-four date with Arsenal.
Jordi Gomez gave Wigan the lead with a 27th-minute penalty after Martin Demichelis fouled Marc Antoine-Fortune and James Perch made it 2-0 within seconds of kick-off in the second half.
Samir Nasri pulled a goal back for City with 22 minutes remaining, but the Championship side — relegated within days of last season’s final — withstood heavy pressure from the hosts to record another famous FA Cup win.
The Etihad was buoyant after City’s 3-1 win over Sunderland in last weekend’s League Cup final, but the home fans were silenced in the 27th minute when Wigan took the lead.
A neat turn took Fortune past Demichelis on the Wigan left and after the Argentine brought him down, Gomez sent goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon the wrong way from the penalty spot.
City’s frustration was evident, with Nasri booked for kicking the ball away, and Wigan extended their lead early in the second half when Perch stole in front of Gael Clichy to tuck in a low cross from James McArthur.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini reacted by sending on James Milner, David Silva and Edin Dzeko, and the latter came within a whisker of equalizing in the 64th minute with a header that hit the post.
The hosts continued to push, though, and four minutes later Nasri dragged them back into the tie with a left-foot shot from outside the box that skidded into the bottom-right corner.
City threw everything at Wigan in the closing stages, with Emmerson Boyce producing an extraordinary goal-line block to thwart Dzeko, but Wigan held on by the skin of their teeth.
Earlier, Hull City and giant-killers Sheffield United set up an unlikely semi-final showdown after coming through their respective quarterfinal ties.
Hull defeated Premier League rivals Sunderland 3-0 at the KC Stadium to reach the last four for the first time since 1930, while third-tier United overcame Charlton Athletic.
Hull’s Sone Aluko saw a first-half penalty saved by Sunderland goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, but three goals in nine minutes from Curtis Davies, David Meyler and Matty Fryatt in the second period gave the hosts victory.
“I’ve just seen the draw and it’s a great one,” said Hull manager Steve Bruce, who twice won the trophy as a player with Manchester United.
“Sheffield United have had a wonderful run and beaten every team put in front of them.
“But you have got to be honest — you want to avoid the big boys and I’m sure Sheffield United will be thinking the same having drawn us.” Sheffield United continued their remarkable journey in the FA Cup by upsetting second-tier Charlton 2-0 at Bramall Lane.
Managed by Nigel Clough, son of legendary former Nottingham Forest manager Brian, the Blades became the first team from the third tier to reach the last four since Wycombe Wanderers in 2001.
“I’m just delighted for everybody that we’re going to Wembley, especially the players,” Clough, whose late father never won the tournament, told BT Sport.
“To win nine games on the spin, they deserve an immense amount of credit. We hope to play a lot more big games like this in the future.” Having previously accounted for Premier League sides Fulham and Aston Villa, as well as second-tier Forest, the Blades prevailed thanks to quick-fire goals from Ryan Flynn and John Brayford mid-way through the second half.
Nadal survives; Federer, Murray through:
INDIAN WELLS: Top seed Rafa Nadal survived a scare from Radek Stepanek before winning his BNP Paribas Open second round match in three tight sets at Indian Wells on Saturday.
The Spaniard, in his first match as defending champion, was stretched to the limit before prevailing 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in night match that lasted two hours, 24 minutes in the California desert.
Nadal served eight double faults and was broken three times, but he also broke his Czech opponent three times, including twice in the final set.
The pivotal moment came in the sixth game of the third set, when Nadal fended off three break points to hold serve.
Earlier, Briton Andy Murray recorded his 300th hardcourt victory when he beat Stepanek’s compatriot Lukas Rosol in three sets.
Fifth seed Murray recovered from a slow start to beat his Czech opponent 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 as the top seeds took to the courts for the first time after receiving first round byes.
“I got broken three times in a row the end of the first set, beginning of the second,” Murray told reporters. “I just kind of kept going and found a way to win, which is always the most important thing.” Only five active players have won more tour-level hardcourt matches, headed by Roger Federer (575).
Seventh seed Federer dominated the first set but was taken to a tie-break in the second before prevailing 6-2, 7-6(5) against French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu, while Swiss compatriot and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka clinched a 6-3, 7-5 win over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt failed to notch his 600th career win when he was beaten by South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(5), 6-4.
The veteran Hewitt saved 10 of 11 break points but was unable to break the tall 17th seed’s powerful serve in the match.
There was high drama in another match as Colombian Alejandro Falla saved a match point at 5-2 down in the third set to beat Polish 18th seed Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5).
On the women’s side, top seed Li Na beat Chinese compatriot Zheng Jie 6-1, 7-5.
Australian Open champion Li notched six breaks as Zheng struggled on serve.
Defending champion Maria Sharapova made short work of her first match, beating German Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-4 in barely an hour.
Juventus on course for third Serie A title:
MILAN: Juventus remained firmly on course for a third straight Serie A title after beating Fiorentina 1-0 on Sunday to provisionally extend its lead at the top of the standings to 14 points.
Second-placed Roma has played two games less and travels later to Napoli, which trails its opponent by six points.
Kwadwo Asamoah scored a brilliant goal three minutes from halftime to give Juventus the lead.
Unlike the first match this season where Juventus squandered a two-goal lead against Fiorentina to lose 4-2 — its only league defeat this campaign — the Bianconeri held on to record its 14th home league victory. It has a perfect record at the Juventus Stadium this season.
Inter Milan is only a point behind fourth-placed Fiorentina after beating Torino 1-0. Parma, which has a game in hand, is a point further back following its 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona.
Lazio lost 1-0 at home to Atalanta in a match, which saw Antonio Candreva sent off for two bookings.
At the other end of the table, Livorno wasted a two-goal lead to lose a relegation battle 4-2 at Sampdoria.
Elsewhere, it was: Chievo 2, Genoa 1; and Bologna 0, Sassuolo 0.
It was the first of three matches in less than two weeks between Juventus and Fiorentina as they meet in the Europa League.
Asamoah gave Fiorentina warning of what was to come with a deflected volley which Neto did brilliantly to turn around for a corner with a desperate one-handed save.
The resulting corner eventually came back out to Asamoah but his low drive was just past the far post.
Juventus broke the deadlock when Asamoah cut in from the left and carved out space between four Fiorentina defenders before unleashing a stunning effort which took a slight deflection before going in off the inside of the far post.
Fiorentina thought it had leveled three minutes after the break but Modibo Diakite’s effort was ruled out for a tight offside decision.
Mario Gomez had a clear chance on the hour mark when he was left unmarked at the far post but the Germany striker, who is still not back to his best following five months out with injury, headed a cross wide.
Fiorentina was improving and went closest 11 minutes from time when substitute Ryder Matos headed off the crossbar shortly after coming off the bench.
Inter is sneaking up on Fiorentina after picking up only its third win in 2014 and stretching its unbeaten run to five.
Inter dominated and took a deserved lead in bizarre circumstances as Rodrigo Palacio appeared to be trying to nod Esteban Cambiasso’s cross back across the face of goal but it went in at the far post.
Parma and Verona were level on points at the start of the match and knew the victor would boost its hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.
Jonathan Biabiany got a decisive touch to deflect Massimo Gobbi’s snap shot into the net off the inside of the right post in the 20th.
Parma sealed the result in stoppage time as Antonio Cassano stole the ball off Verona goalkeeper Rafael and, although his curling shot crashed off the post, Ezequiel Schelotto was on hand to follow up.
Livorno appeared to be heading for all three points after a double from Ibrahima Mbaye had given it a two-goal lead at halftime.
However, Sampdoria was level eight minutes after the break.
First, Francesco Bardi pulled off a good save to parry Roberto Soriano’s effort but halftime substitute Nenad Krsticic bundled in the rebound and four minutes later Livorno defender Federico Ceccherini put the ball into his own net.
Stefano Okaka and Manolo Gabbiadini sealed the result.
Livorno is now two points off safety following Bologna’s draw against bottom club Sassuolo.
Chievo moved three points clear after a dramatic finale against Genoa.
Former Genoa striker Alberto Paloschi scored two penalties, one in the fifth minute and the winner in stoppage time, minutes after Alberto Gilardino had leveled for Genoa.
Lee regains All-England Open crown:
The world number one from Malaysia beat the titleholder from China 21-13, 21-18 — revenge for his loss to Chen in the final last year — for his third All-England trophy and then admitted he may not be back to try and win a fourth title.
The variety of the 31-year-old’s game was often mesmerising, and his focus was steely enough to resist determined second-game fight-backs by Chen from 4-10 to 9-10 and from 13-18 to 17-18 and to within the width of the net tape of getting to 18-all.
Lee, however, said he may not be back — not because he is retiring but because this tournament has underlined that preserving his body for another Olympic bid has become increasingly problematic.
“I didn’t know how well I would be able to play, but I feel very happy with what I did,” Lee said.
“I had this injury before I came here and I just relaxed because I think it maybe my last time.
“I think I did my best. Now I want to go home and talk with my coach (Rashid Sidek, a former All-England finalist) and go back to doing some rehab.”
Chen was gracious in defeat.
“He played some amazing points,” said Chen.
“I can accept winning or losing today.”
Earlier China won the women’s singles when Wang Shixian, the fourth-seeded former All-England champion, beat Li Xuerui, the top-seeded Olympic champion, 21-19, 21-18.
It was a match which never caught fire, though Wang did enough to suggest she possesses a wider range of strokes and tactics than when she won the title three years ago.
Li, who sometimes walked gingerly as if she was not in the best shape, led 19-17 in the first game and 14-13 in the second, but could not press her slight advantages home.
“It wasn’t too difficult playing a colleague because these days it happens in finals lot,” said Wang.
“I hope we will win more matches as a team.”
Yu Yang’s improbable rehabilitation continued in dramatic fashion also on Sunday as she and her women’s doubles partner Wang Xiaoli saved a match point to complete a successful defense of their All-England Open title.
Yu, who had said she was quitting after she and Wang were among those banned during the match-fixing scandal at the London Olympics, was again a bundle of renovated self-belief and forecourt energy as the top-seeded pair edged out their unseeded compatriots Ma Jin and Tang Yuanting 21-17, 18-21, 23-21.
“We really wanted to win again this year,” said Wang.
“We were quite scared about coming here because we were getting challenged by all the other players, but we managed to adjust and it was really just about playing to the right level.”
Indonesia regained the men’s doubles title after an interval of more than a decade when top-seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan followed their August capture of the world title with a 21-19, 21-19 win over Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.
The Japanese pair led 16-15 in the first game and repaired a three-point deficit in the second, and were not far from becoming their country’s first All-England champions since 1978.
China’s top-seeded mixed doubles pair of Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei was beaten 21-13, 21-17 by Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir, the titleholders from Indonesia.
It left China with just two titles, its smallest all-England haul for six years.
Sri Lanka waltzes to Asia Cup title:
DHAKA: Opener Lahiru Thirimanne hit a magnificent century to help Sri Lanka thump Pakistan by five wickets to regain the Asia Cup title in Dhaka on Saturday.
The left-hander notched 101 for his third one-day hundred to anchor Sri Lanka’s successful chase of a 261-run target in 46.2 overs for his country’s fifth Asia Cup title at Dhaka’s Shere Bangla stadium.
Thirimanne, who also scored a hundred in the tournament’s opening match against the same opponents, hit 13 boundaries during his 108-ball knock and steadied the chase during a solid 156-run third-wicket partnership with veteran team-mate Mahela Jayawardene, who made 75.
Pakistan’s main spin weapon Saeed Ajmal had broken through after Sri Lanka’s confident start of 56, dismissing Kusal Perera (42) and dangerman Kumar Sangakkara (nought) off successive deliveries.
Jayawardene, who had a poor run of scores with 13, nine, 14 and nought in the tournament, benefitted when wicket-keeper Umar Akmal dropped a regulation catch off Shahid Afridi.
Jayawardene, then 36, hit nine boundaries and a six before he holed out off paceman Mohammad Talha.
Sri Lanka also lost Ashan Prinyanjan (13) to Junaid Khan and Thirimanne to Ajmal but skipper Angelo Mathews (16 not out) hit the winning runs.
Thirimanne, who reached his hundred with a single off Khan, was finally bowled by Ajmal who finished with 3-26.
Sri Lanka had also won the Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008.
“We wanted to break the barrier between us and finals,” said Mathews of Sri Lanka’s failure to win the World Cup finals of 2007 and 2011 and the Twenty20 finals of 2009 and 2012.
“The credit goes to the whole team. It was a very good run chase and big victory not only for me but for the whole team,” said Mathews whose team won all the five matches in the event.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq blamed defeat on his side’s loss of early wickets.
“I think losing the first three wickets quickly put us under pressure and although we managed to reach 260, it was some 20-30 short,” said Misbah.
Pakistan, who decided to bat after winning the toss, were helped to 260-5 by a brilliant unbeaten 114 by Fawad Alam and a solid 65 by Misbah.
Alam’s knock helped Pakistan recover from early devastation caused by paceman Lasith Malinga, who took the first three wickets to force Pakistan on to the back foot, before he finished with 5-56.
Alam added an invaluable 122 for the fourth wicket with Misbah and then another 115 for the fifth wicket with Umar Akmal who made a 42-ball 59.
Alam, who returned to the team with a brilliant 74 against Bangladesh on Tuesday after a four-year absence, hit eight boundaries and three sixes off 134 balls.
Alam became the first left-handed Pakistan batsman, other than openers, to hit a one-day century. He hit paceman Thisara Perera over long-on for a six to reach his century off 126 balls.
Akmal hit seven boundaries to give impetus to the innings as Pakistan scored 101 in the last ten overs.
Earlier, Malinga rocked the innings with the wickets of Sharjeel Khan (eight), Ahmed Shehzad (five) and Mohammad Hafeez (three) in his incisive four-over spell, pushing Pakistan to 18-3 by the fifth over.
Misbah and Alam played steadily during their 122-run partnership and were lucky to survive some close chances.
Misbah was ruled not out on 19 by Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford when action replays suggested he edged Mathews to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.
Misbah hit three boundaries and two sixes during his solid 98-ball knock before Malinga returned for his second spell and had the Pakistan captain caught in the deep.
Five-times champions India, hosts Bangladesh and Afghanistan were the other teams in the competition.
SCOREBOARD
Pakistan innings:
S. Khan c Thisara b Malinga 8
A. Shehzad c Sangakkara b Malinga 5
M. Hafeez c Sangakkara b Malinga 3
Misbah-ul Haq c Perera b Malinga 65
F. Alam not out 114
U. Akmal c Priyanjan b Malinga 59
S. Afridi not out 0
Extras: 6
Total: (for 5 wkts; 50 overs) 260
Fall of wkts: 1-8, 2-17, 3-18, 4-140, 5-255.
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-56-5, Lakmal 10-2-41-0 (2w), Senanayake 9-0-54-0, Thisara 10-1-66-0 (2w), Mathews 7-1-23-0 (1w), de Silva 4-0-19-0.
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera st Akmal b Ajmal 42
L. Thirimanne b Ajmal 101
K. Sangakkara lbw Ajmal 0
M. Jayawardene c Sharjeel b Talha 75
A. Priyanjan c Akmal b Khan 13
A. Mathews not out 16
C. de Silva not out 6
Extras: 8
Total: (for 5 wkts; 46.2 overs) 261
Fall of wkts: 1-56, 2-56, 3-212, 4-233, 5-247.
Bowling: Hafeez 9-0-42-0 (1w), Gul 6-0-44-0 (1w), Khan 9-0-56-1, Ajmal 10-2-26-3 (3w), Talha 6.2-0-56-1(1nb), Afridi 6-0-35-0.
Huntelaar trick ends Schalke crisis; Bayern marches on
BERLIN: Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat trick and had a penalty saved as Schalke 04 bounced back from last week’s heavy defeats to ease past Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday and tighten their hold on fourth spot.
Leaders Bayern Munich’s unstoppable march toward the Bundesliga title continued with Thomas Mueller and Mario Mandzukic grabbing two goals each as the reigning champions demolished hosts VfL Wolfsburg 6-1 for a league record 16th consecutive victory.
Schalke, who had lost 6-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League and 5-1 to Bayern in the league last week, grabbed a two-goal cushion with Huntelaar tapping in from close range in the sixth minute and rifling in from 18 meters in the 28th.
He failed to get a first half hat trick when he chipped a weak penalty into the hands of keeper Koen Casteels but Chinedu Obasi did it better in the 55th, drilling in after a superb Kevin-Prince Boateng pass in the 55th.
Huntelaar, who had missed much of the season through injury, made amends for his earlier miss in the 79th as Schalke moved five points clear in fourth place, with Wolfsburg in fifth on 39.
Bayern extended their lead at the top to a staggering 23 points from second-placed Borussia Dortmund, storming past Wolfsburg in a dazzling second half.
Brazilian defender Naldo slid in to connect with a Kevin De Bruyne cross at the far post for a deserved Wolfsburg lead in the 17th minute before Xherdan Shaqiri levelled after a goalmouth scramble in the 26th with the goal initially awarded to Mueller.
Bayern needed an hour to peak with Mueller and Mario Mandzukic scoring twice and Franck Ribery on target as well in an explosive five-goal spell in 17 minutes.
Wolfsburg had managed to contain the Bavarians for about an hour before surrendering to their quick breaks.
Bayer Leverkusen failed to move past Dortmund into second place after drawing 1-1 at Hanover 96. Dortmund, who play Freiburg on Sunday, are a point ahead of them on 45.
VfB Stuttgart conceded a late equalizer in their relegation battle against Eintracht Braunschweig to draw 2-2 and hover above the relegation zone.
Augsburg continued their fine run with an 81st minute winner by Tobias Werner to edge past Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 and stay in sixth, on course for a European spot.
Arsenal into FA Cup semis; United wins in EPL
Arsenal into FA Cup semis; United wins in EPL
Arsenal beat Everton 4-1 at Emirates Stadium to become the first team through to the last four, with substitute Olivier Giroud scoring two of the hosts’ three goals in the final 22 minutes.
Sri Lanka begins as favorite in Asia Cup final:
Yet it was the display of Ozil that stood out, the Germany playmaker responding to criticism of his lackluster recent performances by scoring the opening goal in the seventh minute, setting up Giroud’s second and working tirelessly for the team.
“Physically he looked regenerated, with more power in his runs,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said, “and, as well, what I liked is he did a lot of dirty work for a player like him.” The other quarterfinal matches are on Sunday.
Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck scored for United at The Hawthorns to move the beleaguered champions up to sixth, provisionally nine points behind fourth-place Manchester City.
It will need an almost-flawless run-in for United to finish in the Champions League positions but the result at least will boost confidence that dropped to a season low after losing 2-0 at Olympiakos in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match 11 days ago.
“We were hurt after losing to Olympiakos and we wanted to come and show everyone we’re a good team,” Rooney said. “We played with great energy and we always looked a threat.” City, which plays defending champion Wigan in the FA Cup on Sunday in a repeat of the 2013 final, has two games in hand over United in the league.
Jones headed United in front in the 34th minute from Robin van Persie’s free kick and an unmarked Rooney nodded in Rafael’s cross in the 65th to virtually secure three points. Welbeck added a third in the 82nd as United climbed above Everton on goal difference.
In one of four other Premier League games later, Chelsea can extend its lead to seven points by beating Tottenham.
Arsenal has dropped off the pace in the Premier League title race by winning just one of its last four matches, and is unlikely to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League after a 2-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich in their first leg.
That means the FA Cup has become a priority for the Gunners, who are without a trophy since 2005, and it took the 61st-minute introduction of Giroud when the score was 1-1 to turn a tight contest against Everton.
The France striker, on for inexperienced and ineffective compatriot Yaya Sanogo, gave Arsenal more presence up front to allow the team’s attacking midfielders to shine.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was tripped by Gareth Barry for a penalty, which Mikel Arteta needed to convert twice — the first was ruled out for encroachment by Giroud, to give Arsenal a 68th-minute lead.
Giroud side-footed home Bacary Sagna’s cross from close range in the 83rd and, after another flowing move, Ozil supplied a center for Giroud to apply another simple finish two minutes later.
Ozil has been criticized by English media in recent weeks while some Germany supporters directed their ire at the playmaker during the midweek friendly win over Chile. But he was impressive here, slotting home neatly from Santi Cazorla’s pass to put Arsenal in front, only for Romelu Lukaku to equalize in the 32nd.
Everton youngster Ross Barkley squandered a great chance for the visitors in the 54th minute and it was all Arsenal after Giroud’s introduction.
“It was important for us to win today,” Wenger said, “on the psychological front.”
“Physically he looked regenerated, with more power in his runs,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said, “and, as well, what I liked is he did a lot of dirty work for a player like him.” The other quarterfinal matches are on Sunday.
Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck scored for United at The Hawthorns to move the beleaguered champions up to sixth, provisionally nine points behind fourth-place Manchester City.
It will need an almost-flawless run-in for United to finish in the Champions League positions but the result at least will boost confidence that dropped to a season low after losing 2-0 at Olympiakos in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match 11 days ago.
“We were hurt after losing to Olympiakos and we wanted to come and show everyone we’re a good team,” Rooney said. “We played with great energy and we always looked a threat.” City, which plays defending champion Wigan in the FA Cup on Sunday in a repeat of the 2013 final, has two games in hand over United in the league.
Jones headed United in front in the 34th minute from Robin van Persie’s free kick and an unmarked Rooney nodded in Rafael’s cross in the 65th to virtually secure three points. Welbeck added a third in the 82nd as United climbed above Everton on goal difference.
In one of four other Premier League games later, Chelsea can extend its lead to seven points by beating Tottenham.
Arsenal has dropped off the pace in the Premier League title race by winning just one of its last four matches, and is unlikely to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League after a 2-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich in their first leg.
That means the FA Cup has become a priority for the Gunners, who are without a trophy since 2005, and it took the 61st-minute introduction of Giroud when the score was 1-1 to turn a tight contest against Everton.
The France striker, on for inexperienced and ineffective compatriot Yaya Sanogo, gave Arsenal more presence up front to allow the team’s attacking midfielders to shine.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was tripped by Gareth Barry for a penalty, which Mikel Arteta needed to convert twice — the first was ruled out for encroachment by Giroud, to give Arsenal a 68th-minute lead.
Giroud side-footed home Bacary Sagna’s cross from close range in the 83rd and, after another flowing move, Ozil supplied a center for Giroud to apply another simple finish two minutes later.
Ozil has been criticized by English media in recent weeks while some Germany supporters directed their ire at the playmaker during the midweek friendly win over Chile. But he was impressive here, slotting home neatly from Santi Cazorla’s pass to put Arsenal in front, only for Romelu Lukaku to equalize in the 32nd.
Everton youngster Ross Barkley squandered a great chance for the visitors in the 54th minute and it was all Arsenal after Giroud’s introduction.
“It was important for us to win today,” Wenger said, “on the psychological front.”
Sri Lanka begins as favorite in Asia Cup final:
DHAKA: Rampaging Shahid Afridi and prolific Kumar Sangakkara have set the stage for a rousing contest when Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup one-day final in Dhaka on Saturday.
Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka have been the dominant team in the five-nation event with four straight victories in the league, including a 12-run win over Pakistan in the tournament opener on Feb. 25.
The charge was led by Sangakkara, the 36-year-old left-hander who has been in prime form during his team’s current tour of Bangladesh, which began with a bilateral series in January.
Sangakkara scored 75, 319 and 105 in two Test matches and 128 in the second one-day international to steer Sri Lanka to series wins in all three formats against the hosts.
The veteran has also played three match-winning innings in the Asia Cup, making 67 against Pakistan, 103 versus World Cup champions India and 76 against minnows Afghanistan.
He remains the leading scorer in the tournament with 248 runs despite falling cheaply for two in Thursday’s last league match against Bangladesh.
“It is great to have Sangakkara in such good form, but the others will also need to step up and rally around him if we are to win,” Mathews said.
“Pakistan have shown how tough a side they are to beat. But we have our plans and are confident of doing well if we execute them well.” Pakistan, the defending champions, bounced back after the loss against Sri Lanka to qualify for the final with three successive victories against Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh.
The mercurial Afridi fashioned two tense last-over wins, slamming an 18-ball 34 against India before making an astonishing 59 off 25 balls against Bangladesh.
Short boundaries at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium where even mis-hits land over the fence appear tailor-made for Afridi, and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq hoped for another power-packed display in the final.
“Afridi is our main player,” a grateful Misbah said. “The kind of form he is in and the kind of confidence he shows, it’s good for the Pakistan team.
“We just tell him to make sure he bats for at least 25-30 balls. If he does that he can score a 50. I’m really happy with the way he’s playing.” Pakistan Cricket Board official Zakir Khan said Afridi, Umar Gul, Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad were suffering from injury niggles, but he expected them to be fit for the final.
“Afridi has a hip strain and the others have minor niggles, but all of them have responded well to rest and treatment and should be available to play tomorrow,” Khan said in Dhaka on Friday.
Both teams boast of destructive bowling attacks with Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis the tournament’s joint leader with nine wickets and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal in second place with eight.
Sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who has taken six wickets, said Afridi’s explosive game-changing form did not worry him.
“I am more concerned about how I bowl,” Malinga said. “Afridi does not worry me and I don’t think they (Pakistan) are thinking too much about me either.”
Easy for Dibaba, Aman; Vlasic wobbles:
SOPOT, Poland: Fancied Ethiopian duo Genzebe Dibaba and Mohammed Aman both advanced to the finals of their respective events, but there was a scare for Blanka Vlasic at the World Indoor Championships on Friday.
Dibaba has been in electrifying form this season, breaking three world indoor records as she looks to add the 3000m crown to the 1500m indoor title she won two years ago in Istanbul.
At the opening session in Sopot’s Ergo Arena, the 23-year-old cruised through her heat, happy to sit near the back of the pack led alternately by Kenyan Irene Jelagat and Alia Saeed Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates.
Dibaba, sister of multi-world and Olympic medal winner Tirunesh, moved up the field effortlessly through the 2km mark and with three laps to go took the lead and upped the pace.
She finally clocked 8min 57.86sec, more than 40 seconds slower than the world record of 8:16.60 she set in Stockholm early last month.
“The race went very well,” Dibaba said. “I didn’t want to lead in the early laps, I only wanted to move up with five laps remaining and I executed my plan.
“I know I have a great time in this event and that gives me confidence... I don’t think I’ll have a hard time taking gold.” Dibaba will come up against Kenya’s reigning indoor 3000m champion, Hellen Obiri, and Bahrain’s Ethiopian-born two-time world 1500m champion Maryam Jamal in Sunday’s final.
Dibaba’s teammate Aman also advanced smoothly into the final of the men’s 800m.
Aman bolted past Spain’s Kevin Lopez at the bell and kicked home in 1:46.73 to win his heat and put him well on the way to defending the title he won in Istanbul as a junior.
“I’ll do my best to take my second gold at my second championships,” Aman said. “The race went great and I ran it as expected and the result was as I expected.” In-form South African Andre Olivier and Poland’s two-time European indoor champion Adam Kszczot both looked comfortable winning the remaining two heats, with only the winners sure to qualify.
A second Pole, Marcin Lewandowski, also made the final, but world outdoor silver medalist Nick Symmonds of the United States missed out.
There was a huge scare earlier for Croatia’s Vlasic, the former two-time outdoor and indoor world high jump champion missing the qualifying standard of 1.95m.
She eventually went through to the final with Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam in joint eighth place with a best of 1.92m and was eager to play down her morning session blip.
“My main and only aim was to qualify for the final,” the 30-year-old said. “I don’t know why, my leg fell asleep during the qualification.
“I only had two competitions before Sopot but I feel confident.” American Ashton Eaton took control of the heptathlon, on 2,012 points after a personal best 6.66sec in the 60m followed by a season’s best of 7.78m in the long jump.
It left Eaton, the current world and Olympic decathlon champion, defending indoor heptathlon champion, and world record holder in both the decathlon and heptathlon, just 48 points shy of his equivalent total during his world record.
His Canadian wife Brianne Theisen Eaton was also well placed in the women’s penathlon after two events, with the shot put, long jump and 800m to come in the gruelling one-day event.
Stepanek sets up Nadal clash at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, California: Top seed Rafa Nadal will open his Indian Wells title defense against Radek Stepanek after the Czech overcame a poor second set to beat Denis Istomin 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round on Thursday.
Stepanek, ranked 50th in the world, was broken only once and did not double fault but needed nearly two hours to defeat the Uzbek.
Also on Thursday, Lleyton Hewitt notched his 599th career win when he beat fellow Australian Matthew Ebden 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3.
Hewitt will try for his 600th career victory in a second round encounter against South African Kevin Anderson, who has been a losing finalist in his past two ATP events.
The top 32 seeds receive a bye to the second round, with the leading players making their first appearance over the weekend.
Serbian Novak Djokovic is the second seed, while Stanislas Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion from Switzerland, is third seed for the season’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
On the women’s side, the second round starts on Friday and among those in action will be second seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who hits the court against qualifier Heather Watson of Great Britain.
Third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will start her campaign against American Lauren Davis.
Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who lost last year’s final to Maria Sharapova, will play Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski.
Australian Open champion Li Na is the top women’s seed and meets compatriot Jie Zheng in the second round. Zheng outlasted Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) on Thursday.
Baltacha battling cancer
Former British No.1 Elena Baltacha has been diagnosed with liver cancer, the Scot said on Friday.
“I have recently been diagnosed with cancer of the liver. I’m currently undergoing treatment and fighting this illness with everything I have,” Baltacha, 30, said in a Lawn Tennis Association statement.
Baltacha, once ranked in the world’s top 50, announced her retirement from competitive tennis in November.
“Obviously this is a tough time for Bally, (husband) Nino and her family but she is a such a determined, upbeat person and everyone around her is staying positive as well,” Britain’s Federation Cup captain Judy Murray said.
“I know she’ll be really grateful for all the support that she’s getting.”
Barca boss voices concern over Messi’s healthBARCELONA: Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino has voiced his concern for star player Lionel Messi after the Argentine was seen vomiting during his country’s goalless draw with Romania on Wednesday.
Messi was also sick on the pitch recently in Barca’s 3-1 defeat at Real Sociedad and Martino admitted the player has visited specialists to try and resolve the problem.
“It is not a normal situation, but there is no alarm. He has been to see specialists but as yet they haven’t found a solution.
“The important thing is that it doesn’t affect him from doing his job. It is something that he has had for a while now.” Messi was just one of a number of Barca players away on international duty in midweek with Brazilian duo Neymar and Dani Alves only returning to training on Friday having represented their country against South Africa in Johannesburg.
And Martino lamented having such little time to prepare for the Catalans visit to relegation threatened Valladolid on Saturday.
Barca currently trail leaders Real Madrid by a point, but can take top spot for 24 hours with a win as Madrid are not in action until Levante visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
“It has been a short week. The majority of the players arrived back on Thursday and some not even till Friday.
“We have only been able to speak about the game for one day, but that should not be an excuse. We need to concentrate, play well and win.
“The game worries me because of what it means for our opponents. They are fighting in the bottom part of the table, but they have only lost two games at home. They are very strong at home.” Martino hinted that Neymar is likely to rested from the start having completed the 90 minutes against South Africa and with Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg against Manchester City in mind.
Gerard Pique is included in the squad for the first time in three games, though, as he has overcome a calf problem.
Five share lead; Woods struggles at weather hit WGC-Cadillac:
DORAL, Florida: American Harris English birdied his final hole in fading light to grab the clubhouse lead at the weather hit WGC-Cadillac Championship on Thursday with most of the field still on the course when play was suspended due to darkness.
English, who returned a three-under 69 on the revamped Blue Monster course was joined at the top of a crowded leaderboard with compatriots Hunter Mahan, Jason Dufner, Patrick Reed and Italian Francesco Molinari also on three-under, though they still have to complete their first rounds.
The redesigned course was put to an early test as a violent storm swept across south Florida drenching the Doral resort causing a two hour, 24 minute weather delay that allowed only six of the 68 players to complete their rounds.
English, who has four top 10 finishes in his last five PGA Tour starts, ended his day in spectacular style rolling a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-three ninth to complete an error free back nine.
“We were pretty much running to the tee on nine.” English told reporters. “Jonas (Blixt) had just birdied eight and he said he wanted to hit, and Brendon (De Jonge) and I were very happy with that.
“It was getting really dark, very quickly, but I wanted to finish the hole, because it really changes the way you approach the day, waking up and playing one hole at 8:00 in the morning and then waiting around for three or four hours for your tee time. (It) is tough to do.
“That way in the morning, we can have a normal day.” Dufner, who got his round off to a blazing start with four successive birdies from the 11th, missed a chance to hold the outright lead when his six-foot par putt on the seventh rolled past the cup to take a bogey with two holes still to play.
Mahan will have four holes to complete, Molinari five and Reed seven when first round action resumes on Friday.
Lurking one shot behind the leaders on two-under is a pack of seven golfers led by Australian world number two Adam Scott, who will have a chance replace Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings if he wins on Sunday.
While Woods struggled with his putter, Scott reeled off seven successive pars to open his round before picking up his first birdie at the eighth then draining in a 12-footer at the ninth.
Woods, who pulled out of the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday with a sore back, labored to two-over slumping off the course with a bogey at the 10th to leave him five behind the leaders and eight holes required to complete his round.
“Warmup was good and I felt good all day even through the delay,” said Woods, refusing to blame any of this troubles on back spasms. “I’m ready to go back out tomorrow and play well.
“Hopefully tomorrow I can get back out there in the morning, play well and work back to even par by the end of the first round. Then shoot a low one in the afternoon.” Rory McIlroy, looking to rebound from a final round back nine meltdown and playoff loss at the Honda Classic last Sunday, got his day off to a flying start with birdies on three of his opening four holes.
But after a bogey-birdie wobble at 14 and 15 the Northern Irishman suddenly lost his form finishing his first nine with back-to-back bogeys.
Another bogey at the fourth and the double major winner found himself among another large group at one-under with four to play.
“Of course I wanted to get a fast start,” said McIlroy. “I’m playing well and I’m comfortable with my game.
“So I wasn’t going to let one bad day last week sort of derail the good path that I’m on.
“I said I’d be happy with anything under par from this round and I’m still on course for that. I’m happy with the way I played and I’d like to get something in the 60s and I’d be happy with that.” Aside from Scott it was not a fantastic start for the Australian contingent with world number four Jason Day withdrawing due to a thumb injury.
Brett Rumford then carded an ugly 11 on his opening hole, the par five 10th, which was followed by two more bogeys to leave him last in the elite field at eight-over still with six holes to go.
Air21 off to auspicious start in PBA Commissioner’s Cup
MANILA: One thing was made perfectly clear on Air21 import Herve Lamizana in his first game on Philippine soil.
And it was made known to him in quite a hard way by coach Franz Pumaren.
“It’s a good thing that he stepped up for us in the second half,” Pumaren told reporters, minutes after an 83-78 victory over Globalport that gave the Express an auspicious PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I was brutally frank with him during the halftime break,” Pumaren said. “I told him that this is an import-flavored conference, and imports like him should dominate. I’m glad he responded.”
Lamizana, considered as one of the lesser lights in the current crop of reinforcements, scored just two points in the first two quarters before coming out of the halftime lull to prove himself and gift the Express with a win.
He scored 16 points in the third period and had the most crucial basket of the night that came at the final 1:22 mark as his tight reverse layup off a drive gave the Express a 79-78 lead which they never lost.
“You just don’t look at the performance of an import in the first half and then judge – though he was terrible,” Pumaren said when asked if his import’s first game performance would be enough to cement his place in the team.
“We play again on Saturday, against a very tough team in Talk 'N Text,” he said. “If he gets in shape fast, I’m sure he will be a very good import for us. But we still have to see.”
The Air21 defense also did its job as it held the Batang Pier scoreless in the final 1:38 when Evan Brock, their hard-working import, gave Globalport a 78-77 lead after a free throw off Asi Taulava.
In the second game, Talk 'N Text took command in the second quarter to beat Alaska, 85-72, making the Aces open up defense of their title on a sour note.
Ranidel de Ocampo fired 21 points to pace the Tropang Texters, with import Richard Howell shooting 15 while grabbing a night-high 30 rebounds.
Robert Dozier scattered 16 for the Aces.
Joseph Yeo scored 21 points, the 40-year-old Taulava finished with 14 and Mac Cardona accounted for 11 for the Express, who were eliminated in the Philippine Cup together with Meralco and are itching to make the playoffs this time.
Brock was a dominating presence for the Batang Pier, finishing with 28 points and 26 rebounds. Still, he couldn’t save Globalport from losing its first game under new head coach Pido Jarencio and with new all-star guard Alex Cabagnot.
Cabagnot, who was traded by San Miguel Beer for Sol Mercado three weeks before opening, struggled to shoot just four points in 41 minutes. He did have eight assists, though, but it was clear that he was still trying to feel his teammates the whole game.
The 6-foot Cabagnot was 0-for-4 from three-point range, with his last two misses coming inside the final 30 seconds.
Another star that struggled for Jarencio was Jay Washington, who had just nine points on nine attempts.
In the Philippine Cup, the 6-foot-7 forward tossed in an average of a shade over 19 points a night that went with 9.9 rebounds to make it as one of the five candidates for the Best Player of the Conference award won by Petron Blaze/San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo.
Chua was the only local to finish in twin digits for Jarencio with 10, with rookie Terrence Romeo, who has had a 34-point explosion in the Philippine Cup, shooting just three.
Wolverines blow away Illini 84-53 for Big Ten title:
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois: Michigan came to Champaign, Illinois, with a shot at sewing up its first outright Big Ten title since 1986.
One potential obstacle stood in the way: Illinois was riding a hot streak and had held four straight opponents under 50 points.
It turns out the Illini weren’t much of a problem.
Michigan (22-7, 14-3 Big Ten) buried Illinois with 16 3-pointers on the way to an 84-53 blowout Tuesday night.
Nik Stauskas scored 24 points, hitting a career-best seven 3 pointers. He said Michigan didn’t want to share the championship with anybody, something it did in 2012.
“We came with that mindset, this was our championship and we wanted to win it,” he said.
Dialed in or not, Michigan coach John Beilein said he didn’t see that kind of shooting performance coming against the Illini (17-13, 6-11).
“I haven’t seen that in practice even,” Beilein said. “We were really good today.”
Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 16 and Kendrick Nunn added 14.
No. 1 Florida 72 South Carolina 46: At Columbia, S.C.: Michael Frazier II set a Florida record with 11 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 37 points and help the Gators move a game from a perfect Southeastern Conference regular season.
Georgia Tech 67 No. 7 Syracuse 62: At Syracuse, N.Y.: Trae Golden scored 16 points, including six clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Georgia Tech stunned struggling Syracuse.
Georgetown 75 No. 13 Creighton 63: At Washington: D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and Georgetown frustrated Doug McDermott until late in the game, holding off a rally led by the nation’s leading scorer in a win over Creighton.
No. 25 Kentucky 55 Alabama 48: At Lexington, Kentucky: Julius Randle had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Kentucky rallied past Alabama to end a two-game losing streak.
Milwaukee 83 Detroit 73: At Rochester, Michigan: Jordan Aaron and Steve McWhorter combined to score 31 points to power Milwaukee past Detroit in a Horizon League tournament opener.
Women
No. 9 Baylor 70 Iowa State 54: At Ames, Iowa: Nina Davis scored 26 points to help Baylor clinch a share of the Big 12 title by beating Iowa State.
Nikki Moody had 17 points and Hallie Christofferson scored 14 for Iowa State (20-9, 9-9).
Abu Dhabi International Triathlon attracts 2,400 racers from 68 countries
ABU DHABI: Next week’s Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is marking its fifth anniversary with its first, completely sold out event. A lineup of 2,400 triathletes from 68 countries are due to converge on Abu Dhabi Corniche on March 15 making it one of the world’s 20 largest must-do triathlons.
“The huge demand for the event demonstrates a consistent rise in amateurs and elites looking for the ultimate triathlon challenge with 60 percent of racers registered from around the world and 40 percent from the UAE alone,” explained Faisal Al Sheikh, director, Events Bureau, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which presents the annual event.
“The number of keen triathletes flying in for the race from countries such as Russia, Portugal, the Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Finland continues to rise which is a positive indicator of the event’s success and growth on a global scale.”
The International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) successful bid two years ago for the inclusion of triathlon in the Arab Games 2015 was a significant step for the sport in the Middle East, offering an additional opportunity to showcase the sport internationally and promote it as a gateway to active lifestyles.
“We are hoping this event will inspire more adults and children in the region to engage in the sport and encourage the international community to travel to the Emirates,” added Al Sheikh.
This year the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon features first-time entries from as far afield as Algeria, China, Ethiopia, Iceland, Norway, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine and Vietnam.
The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon will again offer three different distances — long, short and sprint courses — for racers of all abilities. The short and sprint distances also offer the popular option of relay entry, allowing groups of colleagues, families and friends to tackle the event together.
Amateur athletes have the chance to compete alongside a world-class field of elite triathletes on the spectacular course, which starts with a swim in the crystal blue waters off Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, continues with the cycling stage across to Saadiyat and Yas islands, and concludes with a run out past the iconic Marina Mall breakwater. Star names including Olympic gold and bronze medallists the Brownlee brothers, defending champions Belgium’s Frederick Van Lierde and Australia’s Melissa Hauschildt, Spain’s Eneko Llanos and many more will be lining up to claim the prestigious title.
For those wanting to cheer on their children, friends and family members at the race there will be a Fans Village on the Corniche East Plaza, filled with action-packed activities, money-can’t-buy giveaways and tons of prizes to be won all day. In addition to all the race action, stilt walkers, Zumba instructors and Capoeira (Brazilian martial art) performers will be on hand throughout the day to entertain kids and adults alike.
Jamon-Busico captures OFBC Mixed Doubles title:
To kick off its special events of the 2014 season on top of the two leagues and monthlies the OFBC (Overseas Filipino Bowlers Club) gathered its members at Ice Land Bowling Center for the Mixed Doubles Bowling Championship recently.
In a day-long competition players enjoyed themselves out on the lanes in an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie. There were 21 pairs that battled for honors in eight games sudden death format, according to OCBC Commissioner Joel Nidoy.
The tandem of Rudy Jamon and Kristhea Mae Busico emerged champion after combining for total pinfalls with handicap of 2,929. It was a decisive victory for Jamon and Busico with the 1st runner-up pair of Robert Gamboa and Carms Lim finishing 16 pins adrift on 2,913.
The husband-and-wife team of Toto Lim and Vangie Lim edged out Jameel Gabrera and Margie Villasanta at 2nd runner-up by six pins 2,859 to 2,853.
Fourth runner-up was the Tom Langa-Shirley Sagmit pair who rolled 2,832 followed by Jun Ejanda-Sharmaine Patayan 2,823 and Nards Hassan-Sharmaine Patayan 2,800. Sharmaine was paired with two male bowlers and her score made to count for two teams after Hassan ended up without a partner and had to pick one in a draw since the female players were short by one to match the total number of male bowlers that turned out on the day.
Archie Alcantara and Fuly Primo finished 7th runner-up on 2,805, Benj Espinosa-Hyeth Ann Achai 8th runner-up 2,801 and Joel Nidoy-Farida de Guzman completed the first 10 winners eligible for a prize at 2,800.
The top five teams each received a cash prize and elegant gift from the sponsor Advanced Fabrics Co. Ltd. (SAAF). Cash prizes were awarded to the rest of the winners.
Nidoy thanked the sponsors, participants, OFBC members and officers for their support to the event.
The SAAF sponsorship was courtesy of Mounir Haddad, managing director; Don Moore, project manager; and Mohamed Hadidy and Juan Gouws, technical managers.
Another sponsor, Petro Rabigh Co., provided T-shirts, ball caps and car shades to the top 15 finishers thanks to Sales and Marketing Manager Adieb Jafari, Eyad M. Ajaj, corporate affairs manager; Salah Kathani, public affairs supervisor; Ammar Fadaq, Adnan A. Malki and Dante Macaraeg.
Resurgent Federer adds to Indian Wells buzz:
INDIAN WELLS, California: Roger Federer will seek to back up his Dubai title win on Saturday with a record fifth Indian Wells crown starting this week which if successful would be his 79th career title.
Federer, though, will face a top class field with defending champion Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the top seeds.
The $12 million ATP and WTA hardcourt event begins on Wednesday for the women — where Maria Sharapova is the defending champion — and Thursday for the men.
Federer won titles at Indian Wells from 2004-2006 and again in 2012 and showed top form in reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and taking his sixth Dubai crown which included beating Djokovic in the semi-finals and coming from behind to beat Tomas Berdych in the final.
“I think this is how you win your first title again after a while, and then hopefully from here on it’s easier, especially closing out,” Federer said.
“There is a lot of pressure. Sometimes I have been disappointed with my play when it really mattered. I was able to deliver when I had to. I was able to come up with the goods. It was one of those tournaments I kind of need this way right now.”
The 32-year-old Swiss star will have Stefan Edberg with him as coach, one of four former Indian Wells winners on hand to guide others, with Michael Chang helping Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Boris Becker working with Djokovic and Ivan Ljubicic coaching Canada’s Milos Raonic.
“It has just been nice spending time with him,” Federer said. “It’s clearly inspiring at this point just hearing him speak about the game.”
Federer battled nagging injuries much of last year but sees himself in a strong position to go far in events and add to his record total of 17 men’s Grand Slam titles, the most recent of them in 2012 at Wimbledon.
And based upon hard work in the off-season, Federer says he has a new spark of confidence.
“I feel I am in good enough shape at least now and that’s very encouraging,” he said.
“I feel my best tennis is around the corner. I’ve said that quite a few times, but I feel like this time it’s really the case. I wake up with zero pain. I’m excited playing tournaments. It’s a good start to the season.”
Nadal, who has 13 career Grand Slam titles, will try to match Federer as a four-time Indian Wells champion, having won in 2007 and 2009 as well as last year.
Djokovic, the 2008 and 2011 Indian Wells winner, will also be a contender, as will Berdych, Britain’s Andy Murray and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, in his first event since capturing his first Grand Slam crown by beating Nadal in the Melbourne final.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt, 33, could become only the third active player to crack the 600 match win mark, joining Federer and Nadal.
On the women’s side, Sharapova will be tested by 2012 Indian Wells winner Victoria Azarenka, 2011 winner Caroline Wozniacki and Australian Open champion Li Na of China.
Li hopes to replace the absent Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings.
“I want to be number one in the world,” Li said. “It’s a goal, the dream for all athletes. I will try as hard as I can.”
Williams has boycotted Indian Wells since 2001, when fans booed her as she won in a walkover against sister Venus.
Lindsay Davenport elected to Tennis Hall of Fame:
NEW YORK: Lindsay Davenport was in the middle of another major life milestone when she found out she had been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The three-time Grand Slam champion got the call when she was in a hospital about to give birth to her fourth child in early January. With daughter Haven nearly 2 months old now, Davenport can start to reflect on the honor.
“Growing up playing tennis, getting to the Hall of Fame was never even in my dreams,” she said on a conference call on Monday after the class of 2014 was announced. “It seemed a little bit too big for me.”
The 37-year-old Davenport is thrilled that at the enshrinement ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 12, her 6-year-old son Jagger will get to learn about the sport’s history. He plays tennis, too.
Davenport will be joined by five-time Paralympic medalist Chantal Vandierendonck of the Netherlands in the recent player category, coach Nick Bollettieri, executive Jane Brown Grimes and British broadcaster John Barrett in the contributor category.
Davenport won the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open and 1996 Olympic gold medal to go with three major doubles titles. The American held the world No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks in her career.
That first major championship, at her home Grand Slam event, always will be special.
“For any player who has ever played with insecurity, not sure where they’re supposed to be, how good they are, that really was a huge moment, not just in my career but for me personally,” Davenport said.
Bollettieri, now 82, has coached 10 players to the No. 1 ranking, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Boris Becker. In 1978, he founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school.
At a news conference in New York, Bollettieri acknowledged this was one of the few times in his life he felt at a loss for words.
“To be standing aside some of the players I’ve helped achieve what they are,” he said, “is a dream that even Nick Bollettieri can’t comprehend.”
Vandierendonck was a top Dutch player before she was injured in a car accident in 1983 and went on to become a pioneer in wheelchair tennis.
Brown Grimes is a former managing director of the Women’s Professional Tennis Council, now known as the WTA Tour Board; president of the US Tennis Association; and president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Barrett was the “Voice of Wimbledon” on the BBC from 1971-06. His wife, former top-ranked player Angela Mortimer Barrett, was inducted into the Hall in 1993. Agassi and Steffi Graf are the only other married couple in the Hall.
Davenport wishes she’d done a better job during her career of following Billie Jean King’s advice to “enjoy the process.” But she’s proud that she believes she always played the sport for the right reasons.
“You’re not great at something unless you love it,” she said.
The three-time Grand Slam champion got the call when she was in a hospital about to give birth to her fourth child in early January. With daughter Haven nearly 2 months old now, Davenport can start to reflect on the honor.
“Growing up playing tennis, getting to the Hall of Fame was never even in my dreams,” she said on a conference call on Monday after the class of 2014 was announced. “It seemed a little bit too big for me.”
The 37-year-old Davenport is thrilled that at the enshrinement ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 12, her 6-year-old son Jagger will get to learn about the sport’s history. He plays tennis, too.
Davenport will be joined by five-time Paralympic medalist Chantal Vandierendonck of the Netherlands in the recent player category, coach Nick Bollettieri, executive Jane Brown Grimes and British broadcaster John Barrett in the contributor category.
Davenport won the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open and 1996 Olympic gold medal to go with three major doubles titles. The American held the world No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks in her career.
That first major championship, at her home Grand Slam event, always will be special.
“For any player who has ever played with insecurity, not sure where they’re supposed to be, how good they are, that really was a huge moment, not just in my career but for me personally,” Davenport said.
Bollettieri, now 82, has coached 10 players to the No. 1 ranking, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Boris Becker. In 1978, he founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school.
At a news conference in New York, Bollettieri acknowledged this was one of the few times in his life he felt at a loss for words.
“To be standing aside some of the players I’ve helped achieve what they are,” he said, “is a dream that even Nick Bollettieri can’t comprehend.”
Vandierendonck was a top Dutch player before she was injured in a car accident in 1983 and went on to become a pioneer in wheelchair tennis.
Brown Grimes is a former managing director of the Women’s Professional Tennis Council, now known as the WTA Tour Board; president of the US Tennis Association; and president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Barrett was the “Voice of Wimbledon” on the BBC from 1971-06. His wife, former top-ranked player Angela Mortimer Barrett, was inducted into the Hall in 1993. Agassi and Steffi Graf are the only other married couple in the Hall.
Davenport wishes she’d done a better job during her career of following Billie Jean King’s advice to “enjoy the process.” But she’s proud that she believes she always played the sport for the right reasons.
“You’re not great at something unless you love it,” she said.
REPELLING EVIL WITH GOOD
March 05:
There are two important lessons to learn from the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him:
"A believing man (husband) should not hate a believing woman (wife): if he dislikes one character in her, he will like another one."
[Muslim]
[Muslim]
The first is: it gives guidance in the way to deal wives, relations, friends, colleagues and anyone with whom you have a relationship or association. It teaches that you have to prepare yourself to accept the fact that any person with whom you have one sort of relationship or another will definitely have imperfections, bad qualities or some character that you would not like. So if you find that in him, think of what is incumbent on you, or proper for you to do regarding maintaining the ties of relationship, and preserving the bond of love and affection between you.
Bring to mind his good qualities, and the importance the religion attaches to maintaining good social relations. By overlooking bad qualities, and bringing to mind the good ones, bonds of relationship and good companionship are maintained, and this is another source of harmony.
For more details please visit http://islamichub.net/2014/03/repelling-evil-with-good/
ZURICH: Players at the World Cup face FIFA disciplinary action for revealing any slogan or image on their undershirts.
Football’s rules-making panel modified the law, which previously related only to political and religious statements and advertising, and agreed on Saturday it will take effect on June 1.
The panel, known as the International Football Association Board (IFAB), said breaking the rule was not a yellow-card offense, though players can be disciplined by competition organizers.
“We think it’s the simplest rule for the image of the game to start from the basis that there is no room for slogans, images or alternative sponsor logos on the undershirt,” said IFAB member Alex Horne, general secretary of England’s Football Association.
At the 2010 World Cup final, Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal then took off his shirt to reveal a statement on his undershirt dedicated to a Spanish player who died that season. That act will now lead to a probable FIFA fine in addition to a yellow card for removing the shirt.
Also, the panel rejected UEFA’s proposal to remove red cards from the so-called “triple punishment” — penalty, sending off and suspension — for penalty-area fouls, which deny a goal-scoring opportunity.
IFAB’s new football and technical advisory panels will discuss the issue and oversee trials of rugby-type “sin-bins” where players are sidelined for several minutes for some yellow-card offenses.
IFAB approved head coverings for male and female players, and restated opposition to giving match officials access to video replay in decision-making.
The tougher rule on personal messages follows incidents this season when players including Didier Drogba of Galatasaray revealed tributes to Nelson Mandela on their undershirts.
Italy forward Mario Balotelli famously revealed “Why Always Me?” written on his undershirt in 2011 after scoring for his then-club Manchester City against crosstown rival Manchester United.
Still, the IFAB panel — comprising FIFA and the four British associations — agreed the England-proposed amendment would help avoid complications with statements having different meanings in different languages and cultures.
“It is better to say no and have a clean situation,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said at a briefing after the two-hour IFAB meeting.
The triple punishment rule will return yet again to the IFAB agenda at its 2015 meeting, after several failed attempts to modify it since being introduced after the 1990 World Cup to help eradicate cynical fouls by defenders and goalkeepers.
Scotland FA chief executive Stewart Regan said the panel wanted to avoid a “flip-flop” of reverting to the old rule which allowed defenders to avoid a red card for deliberately preventing a clear scoring chance.
A European proposal to experiment with sin-bins will continue in youth football, after UEFA President Michel Platini called for different ways to punish offenders who were already shown a yellow card.
Trials in England suggested a 10-minute period on the sidelines was too long, and prompted teams to be too defensive after losing a player.
“It did have some unforeseen consequences on the flow of the game,” Horne acknowledged.
The final consent for head coverings follows extra trials after a July 2012 decision to approve scarves worn by Islamic female players.
Valcke said Saturday’s decision extended to male players following a request from Sikh community leaders in Canada.
The IFAB meeting in July 2012 also approved use of goal-line technology, which will remain the only use of cameras to help referees make decisions. The issue of video replay was listed for preliminary talks on Saturday’s agenda.
“We can always discuss but the use of the video will not be in our game except in the goal-line technology,” Valcke said.
Federer trumps Berdych for Dubai title:
DUBAI: Roger Federer followed his best win in 18 months by taking his first title in nine months with a revenge victory over Tomas Berdych in Saturday’s final of the Dubai Open.
Federer came from behind to beat world number two Novak Djokovic on Friday.
Now he did the same against Berdych, the man who saved two match points against him in last year’s semi-finals, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to claim a sixth title in the UAE.
It was never a great final, for the error count was too high, but it became increasingly dramatic as the game’s best known player worked his way back into it against one of the sport’s most dangerous hitters.
Federer was a set and a break down and appeared to be out of it but managed to find some good returns at last, just as the match was slipping away, and broke back at once. Then his standard went up.
It extended Federer’s record of Dubai titles to six, and moved him above John McEnroe’s total of 77 titles into third place in the all-time title list.
Only Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors remain above the Swiss.
Most of all it helped the Grand Slam record-holder to maintain his belief that even at 32, he has another major in him.
“It’s the mental belief that you’re gonna win instead of losing — I think that’s what I got back right now,” said Federer, after lifting his first trophy since Halle in June last year.
While he had been brilliant in the second half of the match against Djokovic, Federer was more circumspect about the tennis which had got him over the line against Berdych.
“He should have brought it home,” Federer admitted. “I got a little lucky. I just fought well and I couldn’t be more happy with the outcome.
How had he escaped from peril in the second set? “I just stand on the baseline, try to hit a few good shots, hope Tomas doesn’t keep hitting big serves, and hope you get a little lucky,” he said.
“I was able to stay calm and once I got back on even terms I started to play better. I really enjoy playing against Tomas, who is a great player and has had a great streak.” This was a reference to Berdych’s 11 successive wins which is the longest streak of his career.
But he will be very disappointed to have lost three of his next five service games from 3-2 up in the second set, and again questions will be raised about the Czech’s mental capacity to make the best of his considerable talent.
Federer’s patchy start happened despite being donated an early break for a 2-1 lead by four successive driving errors from Berdych.
After it, he dropped serve twice without looking likely to make a break back.
Berdych’s first serve and a few of his forehand blows were delivered as fast as any in the game, but still Federer’s timing was nowhere near the sharpness it had been in the second half of his win 24 hours previously.
Early in the second set he stood with hands on hips, staring in frustration at another mistimed forehand, just when he needed to make a push to turn the match around.
Berdych began to make further serious progress by breaking Federer for a 3-2 lead, and had he consolidated that the match might have been over quickly.
Instead Federer found a bit of magic at last, breaking back with a thunderous forehand, holding with a delicate little half-volley drop shot, then holding to love with his best game of the match, and forcing Berdych to serve to save the set.
He couldn’t. Instead he produced his most inhibited game of the match, dropping serve to love, with Federer now rampaging around, launching great drives.
The third set saw Federer much more in the ascendant.
He nearly broke for 2-0, did break for 3-1, and further eroded Berdych’s self-belief with a tremendous recovery from 15-40 down on his serve, which got him to 5-2.
Berdych did well to save two match points on his own serve, which might briefly have reminded Federer of what happened last year.
However, the Swiss favorite was more solid in closing out his advantage than the Czech nearly man, and at the death there were no wobbles.
Dimitrov edges Murray
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov edged second seed Andy Murray in a semi-final clash at the Acapulco International that finished in the early hours of Saturday morning to set up a title showdown against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Wimbledon champion Murray won the opening set but the 22-year-old Dimitrov fought back to take the next two sets on tie-breaks to win 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) with the clock ticking past 2:30 a.m. local time.
The number four seed had never won a set in their three previous meetings and needed close to three hours to beat the 26-year-old Briton, who was trying to reach his first final since undergoing back surgery in September.
Murray, who suffered an early loss of serve in the final set, broke back with his opponent serving for the match at 5-4 but Dimitrov took control of the tie-break to close out the win.
World number 21 Anderson, who lost to Marin Cilic in the Delray Beach Open title match last Sunday, reached his second final in as many weeks with a hard-fought 6-1 5-7 6-4 win against Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the other semi-final.
Dolgopolov, ranked 38th in the world, was also bidding for his second consecutive final after he lost to Rafa Nadal in the Rio de Janeiro Open final last week.
Federer came from behind to beat world number two Novak Djokovic on Friday.
Now he did the same against Berdych, the man who saved two match points against him in last year’s semi-finals, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to claim a sixth title in the UAE.
It was never a great final, for the error count was too high, but it became increasingly dramatic as the game’s best known player worked his way back into it against one of the sport’s most dangerous hitters.
Federer was a set and a break down and appeared to be out of it but managed to find some good returns at last, just as the match was slipping away, and broke back at once. Then his standard went up.
It extended Federer’s record of Dubai titles to six, and moved him above John McEnroe’s total of 77 titles into third place in the all-time title list.
Only Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors remain above the Swiss.
Most of all it helped the Grand Slam record-holder to maintain his belief that even at 32, he has another major in him.
“It’s the mental belief that you’re gonna win instead of losing — I think that’s what I got back right now,” said Federer, after lifting his first trophy since Halle in June last year.
While he had been brilliant in the second half of the match against Djokovic, Federer was more circumspect about the tennis which had got him over the line against Berdych.
“He should have brought it home,” Federer admitted. “I got a little lucky. I just fought well and I couldn’t be more happy with the outcome.
How had he escaped from peril in the second set? “I just stand on the baseline, try to hit a few good shots, hope Tomas doesn’t keep hitting big serves, and hope you get a little lucky,” he said.
“I was able to stay calm and once I got back on even terms I started to play better. I really enjoy playing against Tomas, who is a great player and has had a great streak.” This was a reference to Berdych’s 11 successive wins which is the longest streak of his career.
But he will be very disappointed to have lost three of his next five service games from 3-2 up in the second set, and again questions will be raised about the Czech’s mental capacity to make the best of his considerable talent.
Federer’s patchy start happened despite being donated an early break for a 2-1 lead by four successive driving errors from Berdych.
After it, he dropped serve twice without looking likely to make a break back.
Berdych’s first serve and a few of his forehand blows were delivered as fast as any in the game, but still Federer’s timing was nowhere near the sharpness it had been in the second half of his win 24 hours previously.
Early in the second set he stood with hands on hips, staring in frustration at another mistimed forehand, just when he needed to make a push to turn the match around.
Berdych began to make further serious progress by breaking Federer for a 3-2 lead, and had he consolidated that the match might have been over quickly.
Instead Federer found a bit of magic at last, breaking back with a thunderous forehand, holding with a delicate little half-volley drop shot, then holding to love with his best game of the match, and forcing Berdych to serve to save the set.
He couldn’t. Instead he produced his most inhibited game of the match, dropping serve to love, with Federer now rampaging around, launching great drives.
The third set saw Federer much more in the ascendant.
He nearly broke for 2-0, did break for 3-1, and further eroded Berdych’s self-belief with a tremendous recovery from 15-40 down on his serve, which got him to 5-2.
Berdych did well to save two match points on his own serve, which might briefly have reminded Federer of what happened last year.
However, the Swiss favorite was more solid in closing out his advantage than the Czech nearly man, and at the death there were no wobbles.
Dimitrov edges Murray
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov edged second seed Andy Murray in a semi-final clash at the Acapulco International that finished in the early hours of Saturday morning to set up a title showdown against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Wimbledon champion Murray won the opening set but the 22-year-old Dimitrov fought back to take the next two sets on tie-breaks to win 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) with the clock ticking past 2:30 a.m. local time.
The number four seed had never won a set in their three previous meetings and needed close to three hours to beat the 26-year-old Briton, who was trying to reach his first final since undergoing back surgery in September.
Murray, who suffered an early loss of serve in the final set, broke back with his opponent serving for the match at 5-4 but Dimitrov took control of the tie-break to close out the win.
World number 21 Anderson, who lost to Marin Cilic in the Delray Beach Open title match last Sunday, reached his second final in as many weeks with a hard-fought 6-1 5-7 6-4 win against Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the other semi-final.
Dolgopolov, ranked 38th in the world, was also bidding for his second consecutive final after he lost to Rafa Nadal in the Rio de Janeiro Open final last week.
The 33-year-old English golfer, whose last title was the 2010 Irish Open, fired a 67 at The Els Club Copperleaf west of Highveld city Pretoria.
His see-saw front nine produced five birdies and two bogeys and he claimed another two birdies on the back nine of the 7,281-meter (7,964-yard) layout.
Fisher, a stroke ahead at the halfway stage of the 1.5 million euro ($2.1 million) event, carded a five-under-par 67 to give a 198 total for 54 holes.
Michael Hoey from Northern Ireland, who climbed into contention Friday with seven consecutive back-nine birdies, lies second after a mixed third trek over the longest European Tour course. Like Fisher, Hoey delivered a mix of birdies (six) and bogeys (three) in the second edition of the Tshwane Open, which South African Dawie van der Walt won last year.
Englishman Simon Dyson, who shared the opening-round lead, and Spaniard Carlos Del Moral lie third on 204, six shots adrift of Fisher.
Dyson could manage only a one-under 71 composed of three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars over a course designed by South African quadruple Major champion Ernie Els.
Del Moral, seeking his maiden European victory, also had a three birdie-two bogey round of 71 on a day when cloudy weather replaced a sunny opening half of the tournament.
A group of seven golfers on 205 — seven shots behind Fisher — includes Italian Edoardo Molinari (70) and Irishman Kevin Phelan (68).
Dortmund goes second as Leverkusen crashes again
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund built on their midweek Champions League victory over Zenit St. Petersburg by going second in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Nuremberg.
Jurgen Klopp’s side backed up Tuesday’s 4-2 last 16, first-leg win in Russia to leapfrog Bayer Leverkusen, who crashed 1-0 at home to Mainz, their fifth straight defeat and eighth loss in 10 games.
Dortmund’s Germany defender Mats Hummels celebrated his first game in four weeks after a foot injury by netting the opener at Borussia’s Westfalenstadion.
Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin fired in a free-kick and after Robert Lewandowski’s header was saved, Hummels tapped home the rebound with 51 minutes gone.
Poland star Lewandowski then scored his 15th league goal of the season by converting a superb pass from Henrikh Mkhitaryan on 64 minutes before the Armenia international netted his second goal in four days seven minutes from time.
Leverkusen’s dreadful form continued with their fourth straight home defeat as Mainz moved up to sixth with their fifth win in eight games.
Ex-Liverpool star Sami Hyypia is facing a crisis as his Leverkusen side last won on February 1 and were also routed 4-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting slammed home the winner past Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno on 37 minutes after being set up by Stefan Bell.
Run-away league leaders Bayern Munich can go 20 points clear if they beat Schalke 04 at home on Saturday night.
Fourth-placed Schalke face the toughest test imaginable as they look to bounce back from their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League.
A horrendous error by Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen cost Borussia Moenchengladbach their place in the top six following a 1-1 draw at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig.
Braunschweig gifted Gladbach a first-half lead when Iran goalkeeper Daniel Davari turned the ball into his own net with half an hour to go.
But Ter Stegen, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona next season, could only watch in horror as the ball spun into his own net after he failed to control a back pass from captain Filip Daems.
There was trouble before Werder Bremen’s 1-0 win over Hamburg in the north German derby as the visitors’ bus was pelted by Bremen fans, breaking a window.
Police used water cannons to separate rival fans outside Bremen’s Weser Stadion and eight supporters were arrested.
After enjoying a winning debut in last Saturday’s shock 3-0 win at home against Borussia Dortmund, which broke Hamburg’s eight-match losing streak, new coach Mirko Slomka suffered his first defeat as his side remain third from bottom.
Bremen grabbed an early winner when Austria midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic fired home after a spectacular back heel from teammate Aaron Hunt.
Hanover’s Senegal striker Mame Diouf scored his first goal for a month in his side’s 1-1 draw at Augsburg.
Jurgen Klopp’s side backed up Tuesday’s 4-2 last 16, first-leg win in Russia to leapfrog Bayer Leverkusen, who crashed 1-0 at home to Mainz, their fifth straight defeat and eighth loss in 10 games.
Dortmund’s Germany defender Mats Hummels celebrated his first game in four weeks after a foot injury by netting the opener at Borussia’s Westfalenstadion.
Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin fired in a free-kick and after Robert Lewandowski’s header was saved, Hummels tapped home the rebound with 51 minutes gone.
Poland star Lewandowski then scored his 15th league goal of the season by converting a superb pass from Henrikh Mkhitaryan on 64 minutes before the Armenia international netted his second goal in four days seven minutes from time.
Leverkusen’s dreadful form continued with their fourth straight home defeat as Mainz moved up to sixth with their fifth win in eight games.
Ex-Liverpool star Sami Hyypia is facing a crisis as his Leverkusen side last won on February 1 and were also routed 4-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting slammed home the winner past Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno on 37 minutes after being set up by Stefan Bell.
Run-away league leaders Bayern Munich can go 20 points clear if they beat Schalke 04 at home on Saturday night.
Fourth-placed Schalke face the toughest test imaginable as they look to bounce back from their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League.
A horrendous error by Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen cost Borussia Moenchengladbach their place in the top six following a 1-1 draw at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig.
Braunschweig gifted Gladbach a first-half lead when Iran goalkeeper Daniel Davari turned the ball into his own net with half an hour to go.
But Ter Stegen, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona next season, could only watch in horror as the ball spun into his own net after he failed to control a back pass from captain Filip Daems.
There was trouble before Werder Bremen’s 1-0 win over Hamburg in the north German derby as the visitors’ bus was pelted by Bremen fans, breaking a window.
Police used water cannons to separate rival fans outside Bremen’s Weser Stadion and eight supporters were arrested.
After enjoying a winning debut in last Saturday’s shock 3-0 win at home against Borussia Dortmund, which broke Hamburg’s eight-match losing streak, new coach Mirko Slomka suffered his first defeat as his side remain third from bottom.
Bremen grabbed an early winner when Austria midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic fired home after a spectacular back heel from teammate Aaron Hunt.
Hanover’s Senegal striker Mame Diouf scored his first goal for a month in his side’s 1-1 draw at Augsburg.
Webb maintains top spot in Singapore:
SINGAPORE: For all the talk of the youth movement in women’s golf, Karrie Webb showed on Friday that experienced players can still show up their younger competitors from time to time.
The 39-year-old Webb recovered from two bogeys on the back nine to card a 3-under 69 and open a two-stroke lead over 36-year-old Angela Stanford after the second round of the HSBC Women’s Champions.
Webb, who was at 9-under 135 overall, was quick to point out after her round that being older can have its advantages.
“Two old ducks, I guess,” she said about her and Stanford topping the leaderboard. “Did you ask any of the younger players if it’s hard to play against girls in their 30s? Because you always ask me the opposite question.” Stanford, the 2012 HSBC champion, also shot a 69, while Taiwan’s Teresa Lu was in third place at 6 under after a 70.
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall briefly pulled into a share of the lead with Webb on the back nine before two bogeys and a double bogey on her final three holes. She fell back to joint fourth at 4-under 140 with four others.
The US LPGA Tour’s latest teenage prodigy, 16-year-old Lydia Ko, was at 2-under 142, tied for 13th with 19-year-old Lexi Thompson and world No. 1 Inbee Park.
Webb, a seven-time major winner, has played some of her best golf in recent years this month. Two weeks ago, she captured her fifth Australian Open title in Melbourne, and now she holds the lead going into the weekend against a tough field in Singapore.
The Australian acknowledged that the younger players have forced her to step up her conditioning, something she does not enjoy.
“All these young players coming up are athletes,” Webb said. “For me, I’ve had to learn to get in the gym and do the work required.
“My workouts have just gradually increased so it wasn’t hard-core to start with, where I would have just hated it and never done it.” Webb was pushed by one of the younger upstarts on tour, Hedwall, for much of the round on Friday.
The Swede, who has never won a US LPGA title, sunk two long putts for back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 and had a chance to pull even on the ninth but missed her 10-foot birdie putt wide. Webb followed with an 8-foot birdie putt that caught the edge of the cup and curled in, giving her a two-stroke cushion again.
Then came her bogeys on the back nine, however, which re-opened the door for Hedwall. Instead of capitalizing, though, the Swede suddenly faltered.
Faced with a tough chip shot on a steeply sloped bunker next to the 18th green, Hedwall swung once at the ball and missed. Then she swung again, and missed again. She finally got on the green with her third shot and two-putted to save the double bogey.
“It was just a bad lie and I was trying too hard to get it close,” she said. “It was just one of those moments when you want to walk off the golf course.” Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, winner of last week’s LPGA Thailand, made seven birdies for a 5-under 67, tied for the low round of the day. She was joint fourth with Hedwall and three Americans: Morgan Pressel (69), Paula Creamer (73) and Danielle Kang (70).
World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 17, but made up for it on the 18th with a 40-foot putt for eagle. She was in a tie for ninth place at 3-under 141, a stroke ahead of Park.
Pettersen has a chance to overtake Park in the rankings this week if she wins and Park finishes no higher than equal third.
Defending champion Stacy Lewis, meanwhile, struggled for the second straight day. She shot an even-par 72 to be tied for 39th.
The 39-year-old Webb recovered from two bogeys on the back nine to card a 3-under 69 and open a two-stroke lead over 36-year-old Angela Stanford after the second round of the HSBC Women’s Champions.
Webb, who was at 9-under 135 overall, was quick to point out after her round that being older can have its advantages.
“Two old ducks, I guess,” she said about her and Stanford topping the leaderboard. “Did you ask any of the younger players if it’s hard to play against girls in their 30s? Because you always ask me the opposite question.” Stanford, the 2012 HSBC champion, also shot a 69, while Taiwan’s Teresa Lu was in third place at 6 under after a 70.
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall briefly pulled into a share of the lead with Webb on the back nine before two bogeys and a double bogey on her final three holes. She fell back to joint fourth at 4-under 140 with four others.
The US LPGA Tour’s latest teenage prodigy, 16-year-old Lydia Ko, was at 2-under 142, tied for 13th with 19-year-old Lexi Thompson and world No. 1 Inbee Park.
Webb, a seven-time major winner, has played some of her best golf in recent years this month. Two weeks ago, she captured her fifth Australian Open title in Melbourne, and now she holds the lead going into the weekend against a tough field in Singapore.
The Australian acknowledged that the younger players have forced her to step up her conditioning, something she does not enjoy.
“All these young players coming up are athletes,” Webb said. “For me, I’ve had to learn to get in the gym and do the work required.
“My workouts have just gradually increased so it wasn’t hard-core to start with, where I would have just hated it and never done it.” Webb was pushed by one of the younger upstarts on tour, Hedwall, for much of the round on Friday.
The Swede, who has never won a US LPGA title, sunk two long putts for back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 and had a chance to pull even on the ninth but missed her 10-foot birdie putt wide. Webb followed with an 8-foot birdie putt that caught the edge of the cup and curled in, giving her a two-stroke cushion again.
Then came her bogeys on the back nine, however, which re-opened the door for Hedwall. Instead of capitalizing, though, the Swede suddenly faltered.
Faced with a tough chip shot on a steeply sloped bunker next to the 18th green, Hedwall swung once at the ball and missed. Then she swung again, and missed again. She finally got on the green with her third shot and two-putted to save the double bogey.
“It was just a bad lie and I was trying too hard to get it close,” she said. “It was just one of those moments when you want to walk off the golf course.” Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, winner of last week’s LPGA Thailand, made seven birdies for a 5-under 67, tied for the low round of the day. She was joint fourth with Hedwall and three Americans: Morgan Pressel (69), Paula Creamer (73) and Danielle Kang (70).
World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 17, but made up for it on the 18th with a 40-foot putt for eagle. She was in a tie for ninth place at 3-under 141, a stroke ahead of Park.
Pettersen has a chance to overtake Park in the rankings this week if she wins and Park finishes no higher than equal third.
Defending champion Stacy Lewis, meanwhile, struggled for the second straight day. She shot an even-par 72 to be tied for 39th.
Federer shocker for Djokovic in Dubai:
DUBAI: Roger Federer rolled back the years to beat Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Dubai Championship on Friday, his first victory in four meetings with the world number two.
Federer, 32, rarely troubled the Serb in the first set and the pivotal moment came at 2-2 in the second when the Swiss saved a break point with a delicious backhand pass.
The 17-times grand slam champion went on to hold serve and then broke in a rain-interrupted game — the players leaving the court for only a few minutes — with a backhand bullet from the baseline.
Federer clinched the set with an ace before Djokovic, 26, double-faulted in the first game of the decider to gift his opponent a crucial early break.
Earlier, world No.6 Tomas Berdych continued his new-found run of good form when he reached the final for the second successive year.
Berdych had not won an ATP Tour title for 16 months until he won Rotterdam this month, but the 7-5, 7-5 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber, the seventh-seeded German was his 16th win in 17 matches.
Equally crucially Berdych was able to impose breaks of serve when it mattered most, at the end of each set, leaving his fluent but lighter-weight opponent with no chance to repair the damage.
“It feels absolutely great,” he said “I am pleased with today because it was a really tough win. It’s a pleasure getting to the final again here, a tournament which has such a strong field.
“My rhythm is much better than it was. It is important for me to be hitting the ball nicely and then my game really works.”
Kohlschreiber knew well the power Berdych can generate when allowed to, and volunteered before the match that he would aim to do something different to stop that. He had only ever prevailed once in their eight matches.
The plan involved dictating the patterns more, and trying to prevent Berdych from pushing him around. For almost a set, with his well-constructed orthodoxies, Kohlschreiber made it work effectively.
He was aided by Berdych’s labored start, double-faulting on the third point, and dropping his first service game. Nevertheless the German consolidated that break four times smartly.
Murray escapes
Andy Murray rallied from a set and a break down against Gilles Simon to advance to his first semi-final since he won last year’s Wimbledon title while top seed David Ferrer retired with a thigh strain at the Acapulco International on Thursday.
Second seed Murray twice fell behind in the second set but recovered both breaks immediately to eke out a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory and stretch a winning streak against his French opponent to 12 matches.
“In all the matches so far this week, I have not started very well,” the world number seven told reporters, conceding he did not know what was to blame for his tardy openings.
“I lost my first service game in every match and that has not helped because my opponents have gained confidence and played very good tennis.
“It’s not easy starting every match from behind. I managed to turn the game at the end of the second set, started to play a little bit better. I was making sure I was not making so many unforced errors,” the Scot added.
“I found a way to win the match even though I was feeling I was not playing my best tennis. I’m glad that I managed to do that.
“Maybe I just try and warm-up better, maybe practice a little bit closer to the matches.”
Murray’s semi-finals opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov, who needed two hours and 40 minutes to battle past Ernests Gulbis 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 in the final quarter-final match of the day on Cancha Central.
An injury to his left abductor muscle denied Ferrer a chance of registering a fifth straight final appearance.
The three-time champion won the first set 6-2 but was 4-2 down in the second when he retired against South African fifth seed Kevin Anderson, who moves on to face Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last four.
Federer, 32, rarely troubled the Serb in the first set and the pivotal moment came at 2-2 in the second when the Swiss saved a break point with a delicious backhand pass.
The 17-times grand slam champion went on to hold serve and then broke in a rain-interrupted game — the players leaving the court for only a few minutes — with a backhand bullet from the baseline.
Federer clinched the set with an ace before Djokovic, 26, double-faulted in the first game of the decider to gift his opponent a crucial early break.
Earlier, world No.6 Tomas Berdych continued his new-found run of good form when he reached the final for the second successive year.
Berdych had not won an ATP Tour title for 16 months until he won Rotterdam this month, but the 7-5, 7-5 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber, the seventh-seeded German was his 16th win in 17 matches.
Equally crucially Berdych was able to impose breaks of serve when it mattered most, at the end of each set, leaving his fluent but lighter-weight opponent with no chance to repair the damage.
“It feels absolutely great,” he said “I am pleased with today because it was a really tough win. It’s a pleasure getting to the final again here, a tournament which has such a strong field.
“My rhythm is much better than it was. It is important for me to be hitting the ball nicely and then my game really works.”
Kohlschreiber knew well the power Berdych can generate when allowed to, and volunteered before the match that he would aim to do something different to stop that. He had only ever prevailed once in their eight matches.
The plan involved dictating the patterns more, and trying to prevent Berdych from pushing him around. For almost a set, with his well-constructed orthodoxies, Kohlschreiber made it work effectively.
He was aided by Berdych’s labored start, double-faulting on the third point, and dropping his first service game. Nevertheless the German consolidated that break four times smartly.
Murray escapes
Andy Murray rallied from a set and a break down against Gilles Simon to advance to his first semi-final since he won last year’s Wimbledon title while top seed David Ferrer retired with a thigh strain at the Acapulco International on Thursday.
Second seed Murray twice fell behind in the second set but recovered both breaks immediately to eke out a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory and stretch a winning streak against his French opponent to 12 matches.
“In all the matches so far this week, I have not started very well,” the world number seven told reporters, conceding he did not know what was to blame for his tardy openings.
“I lost my first service game in every match and that has not helped because my opponents have gained confidence and played very good tennis.
“It’s not easy starting every match from behind. I managed to turn the game at the end of the second set, started to play a little bit better. I was making sure I was not making so many unforced errors,” the Scot added.
“I found a way to win the match even though I was feeling I was not playing my best tennis. I’m glad that I managed to do that.
“Maybe I just try and warm-up better, maybe practice a little bit closer to the matches.”
Murray’s semi-finals opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov, who needed two hours and 40 minutes to battle past Ernests Gulbis 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 in the final quarter-final match of the day on Cancha Central.
An injury to his left abductor muscle denied Ferrer a chance of registering a fifth straight final appearance.
The three-time champion won the first set 6-2 but was 4-2 down in the second when he retired against South African fifth seed Kevin Anderson, who moves on to face Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last four.
Pietersen takes swipe at ‘big cheese’ Prior:
LONDON: Kevin Pietersen lashed out at Matt Prior on Friday as the controversial batsman labelled his former England teammate a ‘big cheese’.
Pietersen, who has been axed by England after a turbulent Ashes tour, took his cheeky swipe in response to Prior’s suggestion the England dressing room would be a better place without their flamboyant star.
Prior had already been accused of having “stabbed (Pietersen) in the back” during the Ashes by journalist Piers Morgan, a friend of the South Africa-born batsman.
At the time, Sussex wicketkeeper Prior dismissed Morgan’s take on events, but on Thursday he was reported to have welcomed news that Pietersen would no longer be playing international cricket.
The tit-for-tat exchange appeared to hint at the simmering disharmony, which has reportedly existed within the England ranks.
According to reports, Prior made his comment about Pietersen at a question-and-answer session in Dubai, insisting England needed players with passion for the cause in their team.
Pietersen responded by mocking his old middle-order colleague’s recent form, labelling him ‘The Big Cheese’.
“Fewer Q&A’s, more Sussex nets methinks,” Pietersen wrote on Twitter.
Pietersen, whose international career was effectively ended by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision to “start the rebuilding process” without him on returning from Australia, then responded to a number of replies to his initial tweet.
One urged him to “be strong,” and Pietersen said: “I’m always strong! The Big Cheese won’t be happy in the Sussex nets...haha.” When another Twitter user suggested Pietersen’s initial comment was “why KP isn’t in the England set up any more,” the 33-year-old said: “neither is The Big Cheese Prior!” Former England spinner Graeme Swann, who quit the national team during the recent Ashes tour, joined the debate, suggesting both Prior and Pietersen would have been better served discussing their issues on the phone, instead of in public.
Swann told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think Matt’s been a bit naive doing a Q&A in Dubai...you’re never safe in these things. But Kevin has come back in a fairly childish way.
“I’m sure he (Pietersen) has still got his (Prior’s) mobile number and could have rung him. But public spats are the new thing.”
Pietersen, who has been axed by England after a turbulent Ashes tour, took his cheeky swipe in response to Prior’s suggestion the England dressing room would be a better place without their flamboyant star.
Prior had already been accused of having “stabbed (Pietersen) in the back” during the Ashes by journalist Piers Morgan, a friend of the South Africa-born batsman.
At the time, Sussex wicketkeeper Prior dismissed Morgan’s take on events, but on Thursday he was reported to have welcomed news that Pietersen would no longer be playing international cricket.
The tit-for-tat exchange appeared to hint at the simmering disharmony, which has reportedly existed within the England ranks.
According to reports, Prior made his comment about Pietersen at a question-and-answer session in Dubai, insisting England needed players with passion for the cause in their team.
Pietersen responded by mocking his old middle-order colleague’s recent form, labelling him ‘The Big Cheese’.
“Fewer Q&A’s, more Sussex nets methinks,” Pietersen wrote on Twitter.
Pietersen, whose international career was effectively ended by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision to “start the rebuilding process” without him on returning from Australia, then responded to a number of replies to his initial tweet.
One urged him to “be strong,” and Pietersen said: “I’m always strong! The Big Cheese won’t be happy in the Sussex nets...haha.” When another Twitter user suggested Pietersen’s initial comment was “why KP isn’t in the England set up any more,” the 33-year-old said: “neither is The Big Cheese Prior!” Former England spinner Graeme Swann, who quit the national team during the recent Ashes tour, joined the debate, suggesting both Prior and Pietersen would have been better served discussing their issues on the phone, instead of in public.
Swann told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think Matt’s been a bit naive doing a Q&A in Dubai...you’re never safe in these things. But Kevin has come back in a fairly childish way.
“I’m sure he (Pietersen) has still got his (Prior’s) mobile number and could have rung him. But public spats are the new thing.”
Masked James leads Heat past Knicks:
MIAMI: Miami’s LeBron James, clad in a face-covering black mask to protect a broken nose, scored 31 points to lead the Heat to a 108-82 blowout win over New York on Thursday.
The Heat maintained a yawning 12-1/2 game lead in the Southeast Division ahead of Washington, which had a triple-overtime road win against Atlantic Division leader Toronto.
James was clearly unencumbered by the mask, hitting 13 of 19 shots and topping 30 points for the fifth consecutive game.
Dwyane Wade added 23, shooting 10 of 13 from the field, for the Heat, which outscored New York 23-3 over the final 7:02 of the third and won its sixth straight game. Miami shot 61 percent, while the Knicks shot 37 percent.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points for New York, but none in the final 21:38. The Knicks won only two games in February.
Washington’s Trevor Ariza scored the go-ahead basket on a fast-break layup with 1:20 left in the third overtime to secure a 134-129 win at Toronto.
Marcin Gortat fouled out with 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who have won five straight.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points in 58 minutes for Toronto.
101, Bucks 96: Center Roy Hibbert scored a game-high 24 points and had 12 rebounds to power the Pacers to a hard-fought 101-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Pacers, who lead the Central Division by 13 games, rallied from a six-point deficit in the third quarter as forward Paul George added 18 points and a game-high six assists.
Guard Brandon Knight led the Bucks with 23 points.
Wizards 134, Raptors 129 (3 OT): Guard John Wall scored 31 points while center Marcin Gortat also scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors 134-129 in triple overtime.
Wall, who scored eight of his points in overtime, made a driving layup in the final minute of the third extra period to give the Wizards a four-point lead.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 34 points.
Nets 112, Nuggets 89: Forward Paul Pierce scored 18 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets raced out to a big lead early and never relented in a 112-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Guard Marcus Thornton scored 10 points in his second game since joining Brooklyn at the trade deadline last week. The Nets are 27-29 and within reach of Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Nets embarrassed the now-woeful Nuggets despite solid games from forward Kenneth Faried (14 points, eight rebounds) and guard Randy Foye (15 points).
Their efforts were not nearly enough to overcome Denver’s worst period of the season. The Nuggets were just 3-for-18 from the field in the first quarter and had as many points as turnovers, eight.
The Heat maintained a yawning 12-1/2 game lead in the Southeast Division ahead of Washington, which had a triple-overtime road win against Atlantic Division leader Toronto.
James was clearly unencumbered by the mask, hitting 13 of 19 shots and topping 30 points for the fifth consecutive game.
Dwyane Wade added 23, shooting 10 of 13 from the field, for the Heat, which outscored New York 23-3 over the final 7:02 of the third and won its sixth straight game. Miami shot 61 percent, while the Knicks shot 37 percent.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points for New York, but none in the final 21:38. The Knicks won only two games in February.
Washington’s Trevor Ariza scored the go-ahead basket on a fast-break layup with 1:20 left in the third overtime to secure a 134-129 win at Toronto.
Marcin Gortat fouled out with 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who have won five straight.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points in 58 minutes for Toronto.
101, Bucks 96: Center Roy Hibbert scored a game-high 24 points and had 12 rebounds to power the Pacers to a hard-fought 101-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Pacers, who lead the Central Division by 13 games, rallied from a six-point deficit in the third quarter as forward Paul George added 18 points and a game-high six assists.
Guard Brandon Knight led the Bucks with 23 points.
Wizards 134, Raptors 129 (3 OT): Guard John Wall scored 31 points while center Marcin Gortat also scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors 134-129 in triple overtime.
Wall, who scored eight of his points in overtime, made a driving layup in the final minute of the third extra period to give the Wizards a four-point lead.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 34 points.
Nets 112, Nuggets 89: Forward Paul Pierce scored 18 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets raced out to a big lead early and never relented in a 112-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Guard Marcus Thornton scored 10 points in his second game since joining Brooklyn at the trade deadline last week. The Nets are 27-29 and within reach of Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Nets embarrassed the now-woeful Nuggets despite solid games from forward Kenneth Faried (14 points, eight rebounds) and guard Randy Foye (15 points).
Their efforts were not nearly enough to overcome Denver’s worst period of the season. The Nuggets were just 3-for-18 from the field in the first quarter and had as many points as turnovers, eight.
FATULLAH: Kumar Sangakkara hit a brilliant 103 as Sri Lanka survived anxious moments to overcome India by two wickets in a thrilling last-over finish Friday, securing their second win in the Asia Cup.
The victory was set up by spinners Ajantha Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake, who shared seven wickets to restrict the reigning world champions to 264-9 in the day-night match in Fatullah.
But Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 216-7 in the 44th over when Thisara Perera helped Sangakkara add 42 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.
Left-handed Sangakkara, who hit 12 boundaries and a six in his 18th one-day century, fell in the penultimate over when just seven runs were needed for victory.
But Mendis and Perera saw Sri Lanka through with four deliveries to spare in a nail-biting finish, giving their team a second win after they beat Pakistan in the tournament opener.
India, who won against Bangladesh, must defeat arch rival Pakistan in Dhaka on Sunday to stay in contention for a place in the final.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 94 as India, sent in to bat, moved to 175-2 in 35 overs before losing five wickets for 40 runs to slide to 215-7.
Big hitting by the lower order, including two sixes by last man Mohammed Shami off Mendis, lifted India past the 250-run mark.
Mendis, who replaced seamer Suranga Lakmal for the match, justified his selection with four for 60, including the key scalps of Dhawan and stand-in captain Virat Kohli.
Off-spinner Senanayake finished with his best one-day figures of three for 41 as the Indians struggled against the turning ball on the slow wicket.
Kohli, leading India in the absence of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, put on 97 for the second wicket with Dhawan after Rohit Sharma had been trapped leg-before by Senanayake for 13.
Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne gave Sri Lanka a flying start with a 80-run partnership for the first wicket by the 18th over.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed both openers, trapping Thirimanne leg-before for 38 and then having Kusal Perera caught behind for 64.
India bounced back strongly when left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Mahela Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal with consecutive deliveries to reduce Sri Lanka to 148-4 in the 32nd over.
Seamer Mohammad Shami, who conceded 42 runs in his first six overs, returned for a spell and trapped skipper Angelo Mathews leg-before with his second ball.
Shami also had Senanayake caught at mid-wicket and Jadeja had Chaturanga de Silva leg-before as Sri Lanka slumped to 216-7.
Afghanistan will take on hosts Bangladesh in the next match in Fatullah on Saturday.
SCOREBOARD
India innings:
R. Sharma lbw Senanayake 13
S. Dhawan b Mendis 94
V. Kohli b Mendis 48
A. Rahane c Thirimanne b Senanayake 22
A. Rayudu c K. Perera b de Silva 18
D. Karthik c de Silva b Mendis 4
R. Jadeja not out 22
S. Binny lbw Senanayake 0
R. Ashwin b Malinga 18
B. Kumar st Sangakkara b Mendis 0
M. Shami not out 14
Extras: 11
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 264.
Fall of wkts: 1-33, 2-130, 3-175, 4-196, 5-200, 6-214, 7-215, 8-245, 9-247.
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-58-1 (w1), Mathews 3.2-1-9-0, Senanayake 10-0-41-3, T. Perera 6.4-0-40-0, Mendis 10-0-60-4 (w4), de Silva 10-0-51-1 (w1).
(Note: Mathews was injured after bowling two balls of his fourth over. Thisara Perera completed the over)
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera c Karthik b Ashwin 64
L. Thirimanne lbw Ashwin 38
K. Sangakkara c Ashwin b Shami 103
M. Jayawardene c Sharma b Jadeja 9
D. Chandimal b Jadeja 0
A. Mathews lbw Shami 6
S. Senanayake c Sharma b Shami 12
C. de Silva lbw b Jadeja 9
T. Perera not out 11
A. Mendis not out 5
Extras: 8
Total: (for 8 wkts, 49.2 overs) 265
Fall of wkts: 1-80, 2-134, 3-148, 4-148, 5-165, 6-183, 7-216, 8-258.
Bowling: Kumar 9.2-1-45-0, Shami 10-0-81-3, Ashwin 10-0-42-2, Binny 4-0-22-0, Jadeja 10-1-30-3 (w1), Rayadu 1-0-9-0, Sharma 5-0-29-0.
The victory was set up by spinners Ajantha Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake, who shared seven wickets to restrict the reigning world champions to 264-9 in the day-night match in Fatullah.
But Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 216-7 in the 44th over when Thisara Perera helped Sangakkara add 42 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.
Left-handed Sangakkara, who hit 12 boundaries and a six in his 18th one-day century, fell in the penultimate over when just seven runs were needed for victory.
But Mendis and Perera saw Sri Lanka through with four deliveries to spare in a nail-biting finish, giving their team a second win after they beat Pakistan in the tournament opener.
India, who won against Bangladesh, must defeat arch rival Pakistan in Dhaka on Sunday to stay in contention for a place in the final.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 94 as India, sent in to bat, moved to 175-2 in 35 overs before losing five wickets for 40 runs to slide to 215-7.
Big hitting by the lower order, including two sixes by last man Mohammed Shami off Mendis, lifted India past the 250-run mark.
Mendis, who replaced seamer Suranga Lakmal for the match, justified his selection with four for 60, including the key scalps of Dhawan and stand-in captain Virat Kohli.
Off-spinner Senanayake finished with his best one-day figures of three for 41 as the Indians struggled against the turning ball on the slow wicket.
Kohli, leading India in the absence of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, put on 97 for the second wicket with Dhawan after Rohit Sharma had been trapped leg-before by Senanayake for 13.
Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne gave Sri Lanka a flying start with a 80-run partnership for the first wicket by the 18th over.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed both openers, trapping Thirimanne leg-before for 38 and then having Kusal Perera caught behind for 64.
India bounced back strongly when left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Mahela Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal with consecutive deliveries to reduce Sri Lanka to 148-4 in the 32nd over.
Seamer Mohammad Shami, who conceded 42 runs in his first six overs, returned for a spell and trapped skipper Angelo Mathews leg-before with his second ball.
Shami also had Senanayake caught at mid-wicket and Jadeja had Chaturanga de Silva leg-before as Sri Lanka slumped to 216-7.
Afghanistan will take on hosts Bangladesh in the next match in Fatullah on Saturday.
SCOREBOARD
India innings:
R. Sharma lbw Senanayake 13
S. Dhawan b Mendis 94
V. Kohli b Mendis 48
A. Rahane c Thirimanne b Senanayake 22
A. Rayudu c K. Perera b de Silva 18
D. Karthik c de Silva b Mendis 4
R. Jadeja not out 22
S. Binny lbw Senanayake 0
R. Ashwin b Malinga 18
B. Kumar st Sangakkara b Mendis 0
M. Shami not out 14
Extras: 11
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 264.
Fall of wkts: 1-33, 2-130, 3-175, 4-196, 5-200, 6-214, 7-215, 8-245, 9-247.
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-58-1 (w1), Mathews 3.2-1-9-0, Senanayake 10-0-41-3, T. Perera 6.4-0-40-0, Mendis 10-0-60-4 (w4), de Silva 10-0-51-1 (w1).
(Note: Mathews was injured after bowling two balls of his fourth over. Thisara Perera completed the over)
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera c Karthik b Ashwin 64
L. Thirimanne lbw Ashwin 38
K. Sangakkara c Ashwin b Shami 103
M. Jayawardene c Sharma b Jadeja 9
D. Chandimal b Jadeja 0
A. Mathews lbw Shami 6
S. Senanayake c Sharma b Shami 12
C. de Silva lbw b Jadeja 9
T. Perera not out 11
A. Mendis not out 5
Extras: 8
Total: (for 8 wkts, 49.2 overs) 265
Fall of wkts: 1-80, 2-134, 3-148, 4-148, 5-165, 6-183, 7-216, 8-258.
Bowling: Kumar 9.2-1-45-0, Shami 10-0-81-3, Ashwin 10-0-42-2, Binny 4-0-22-0, Jadeja 10-1-30-3 (w1), Rayadu 1-0-9-0, Sharma 5-0-29-0.
Pairs & Spares Team of the Week anew in OFBC Morning League:
Pairs & Spares savored back-to-back Team of the Week victories when it took advantage playing against the bye team during the fifth session in the OFBC Friday Morning League Season 2 at the Ice Land Bowling Center here.
Bowling pressure-free, Pairs & Spares trotted out the top total win points of 27. Its total pinfalls of 2,601 was good for only 7 rank points though the automatic 20 win points clinched it for Pairs in the race for honors against RTJ Transient House.
RTJ, the only other team to win consecutive awards thus far in the tournament, finished on 26 points after an 18-2 victory over TFSJ Pin Crusher in a match that gave Rudy Jamon’s squad not only the top rank points of 8 off total pinfalls of 2,661but the lead as well.
D’ Luf’s Strikers hammered out a 16-4 win over Mixed Shots on total pinfalls of 2,552-2,37, rank points of 6-5 and total win points of 22-9.
The match between American Garden and Cyclone ended in a 10-10 draw on total pinfalls of 2,521-2,475, rank points of 4-3 and total win points of 14-13.
The day’s honors were spread out with Med Ramos of Cyclone claiming the men’s Bowler of the Week award on 584 and D’ Luf’s’ Farida De Guzman the ladies accolade on 575.
The underrated Pairs again came good to outperform the rest of the pack with the duo of Conrad Baltazar and Alona Antinero leading the way on 555 and 540. Akang Victorino’s effort of 518 proved valuable, while Ed Sardiña had 498 to go with the 115-109 by Mia Cedotes and 134 by team captain Jhun Estefano.
In grabbing back the lead RTJ drew big games from the trio of league commissioner Joel Nidoy 579, Jamon 545 and Kristhea Mae Busico 531. Richard Junio contributed 485, Ed Cordova 167-171 and Malou Nidoy 145.
Nards Hassan rolled three-game series of 567 to back up Farida at Luf’s with Cesar Pagtalunan on 491 as the other player to go the distance. Co-captain Danny Francisco tallied 107-148, Alexander Duma had 125-154 and Cromwell Marzo made 147.
Over at American Garden Shirley Sagmit was at the helm on 550 followed by Archie Alcantara 516, Christine Stone 513 and Robert Stone 450.
Besides Ramos the others that scored at Cyclone were Tom Langa 462, skipper Fatima Jintarat 435, Jack Jarin 135-148, Robert Gamboa 184-139 and Usman de Guzman 141-108.
Team standings after the 5th week:
1. RTJ Transient House 107.0 points 2. Cyclone 93.0 3. American Garden 92.5 4. TSFJ Pin Crusher 88.0 5. Pairs and Spares 70.5 6. Mixed Shots 67.0 7. D’ Luf’s Strikers 57.0 8. Bye 5.0
HSBC chief to Woods: Respect WGC-HSBC Champions:
SINGAPORE: HSBC's sponsorship chief has urged Tiger Woods to respect the bank's large investment by playing at this year's WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai instead of "meaningless... money-making opportunities".
Giles Morgan, HSBC's global head of sponsorship, said the bank had "had words" with the golf tours about impressing on players the importance of appearing at the sport's biggest events.
World No. 1 Woods has caused controversy by skipping the last two editions of the $8.5 million tournament, the richest seen in Asia, in favour of exhibition appearances in the region.
"I do think the tours — and I think the tours are working on this — should make sure that there is respect to the tournaments," Morgan said in an interview in Singapore.
"As opposed to playing in meaningless... money-making opportunities around the World Golf Championships (WGC)."
He added: "It's up to the tours to enforce the criteria to their membership. And we've expressed our position to the tours, which is that we know they can't enforce their players to play and that's fine, we understand that.
"But we do think that players need to be respectful of... these major events (which) are really at the top and the pinnacle and the lifeblood of the sport.
"If you've got sponsors investing that level of money, the players should respect the calendar."
Morgan was speaking on Tuesday ahead of this week's $1.4 million HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore, the bank's only other event in the Asia-Pacific region.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, played in November, is one of four World Golf Championships per year which rank only behind the majors in terms of prestige.
Over the last two years, Woods has opted for highly lucrative exhibition appearances in China and elsewhere instead of playing the Shanghai event.
"The World Golf Championship is an enormous event and we pay a major prize fund for that and we are absolutely not in the business of paying appearance fees on top of that," said Morgan.
He also ruled out an HSBC rescue for the troubled Singapore Open, which is without a title sponsor and facing a second straight year on the sidelines.
"I don't think so," he said. "We have enough golf tournaments around the world... Golf tournaments cost a lot of money to sponsor and we don't have bottomless pockets.
"So us having a north and south Asia men's Champions and women's Champions works very well for us."
And he said he expected Asia's golf schedule, currently split between two competing tours and crowded with events, to gain cohesion in the coming years.
"The trouble is when you have different tours and different administrations with different goals it means that you don't necessarily get a timetable that is entirely worked out," he said.
"I think things will settle because inevitably what will happen is that the cream rises to the top. The tournaments that succeed will create a timetable that will work.
"But at the moment there do seem to be a lot of events growing in Asia that haven't necessarily established themselves.
"And this is the moment that I suspect over the next three or four years you'll see an establishment and proper roots settling down of an Asian schedule... that will gain momentum and some structure."
Love, Timberwolves eclipse Suns:
PHOENIX: Minnesota center Kevin Love had 33 points, 13 rebounds and narrowly missed out on a second triple-double in a week with nine assists as the Timberwolves rallied from eight points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 110-101.
Love’s six straight games with 30 or more points extended his own franchise record. It was also his 11th straight double-double.
Rookie forward Shabazz Muhammad added a career-high 20 points and forward Corey Brewer had 18 for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in the last five games.
Markeiff Morris had 24 points off the bench to lead the Suns, who lost back-to-back home games after winning three straight coming out of the All-Star break.
Trail Blazers 100 Nuggets 95: Guard Damian Lillard tallied 31 points and nine assists, center Robin Lopez had 12 points and 10 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets.
Nicolas Batum had 16 points and hit a three-pointer with 42.5 seconds left to make it 97-90, and the Nuggets could not mount another rally.
Forward J.J. Hickson had a career-high 25 rebounds and 16 points and guard Randy Foye scored 17 points for Denver (25-31), who has dropped three in a row and eight of its last nine.
Lillard has stepped up his game in the absence of forward LaMarcus Aldridge for the Blazers (39-18).
The point guard is averaging 30 points and eight assists in four games without the team’s leading scorer.
Pacers 118 Lakers 98: Forward Paul George scored 20 points and guard George Hill added 14, leading the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The victory was the first for the Pacers (43-13) over the Lakers at home since 2008 and it was their NBA-best 27th win at home this season.
George, who this year became just the third All-Star Game starter in Pacers history, turned the third quarter into his own highlight video.
He scored 12 points in the quarter, had three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. George’s offensive punch turned a three-point Pacers halftime edge into a 21-point blowout.
Kent Bazemore scored a career-best 23 points for the Lakers (19-38) in just his second start.
Bulls 107 Hawks 103: Chicago guard Kirk Hinrich made 6-of-7 free throws in the final 43 seconds to give the Bulls a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Hinrich, who scored 14 points, made three free throws with 43.2 seconds remaining to put Chicago ahead for good. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Bulls, who won all three meetings with Atlanta this season.
Chicago (30-26) got 22 points from forward Mike Dunleavy and 20 points and 12 rebounds from center Joakim Noah.
Atlanta (26-30) was led by guard Jeff Teague, who had 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and guard Shelvin Mack with 17 points.
Raptors 99 Cavaliers 93: All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan fired in a game-high 33 points in the Toronto Raptors’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Raptors (32-25) won their third consecutive game, and second over the Cavs in the last five days.
The Cavs (22-36) have lost three in a row. Guard Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with 25 points and nine assists.
Wizards 115 Magic 106: John Wall scored 27 points and forward Trevor Ariza had 22 as the Washington Wizards downed the Orlando Magic for their season-high fourth straight victory.
Playing without injured forward Nene, the Wizards (29-28) had four starters score at least 21 points, including center Marcin Gortat, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and forward Maurice Harkless had 22 for the Magic (17-42)
Love’s six straight games with 30 or more points extended his own franchise record. It was also his 11th straight double-double.
Rookie forward Shabazz Muhammad added a career-high 20 points and forward Corey Brewer had 18 for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in the last five games.
Markeiff Morris had 24 points off the bench to lead the Suns, who lost back-to-back home games after winning three straight coming out of the All-Star break.
Trail Blazers 100 Nuggets 95: Guard Damian Lillard tallied 31 points and nine assists, center Robin Lopez had 12 points and 10 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets.
Nicolas Batum had 16 points and hit a three-pointer with 42.5 seconds left to make it 97-90, and the Nuggets could not mount another rally.
Forward J.J. Hickson had a career-high 25 rebounds and 16 points and guard Randy Foye scored 17 points for Denver (25-31), who has dropped three in a row and eight of its last nine.
Lillard has stepped up his game in the absence of forward LaMarcus Aldridge for the Blazers (39-18).
The point guard is averaging 30 points and eight assists in four games without the team’s leading scorer.
Pacers 118 Lakers 98: Forward Paul George scored 20 points and guard George Hill added 14, leading the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The victory was the first for the Pacers (43-13) over the Lakers at home since 2008 and it was their NBA-best 27th win at home this season.
George, who this year became just the third All-Star Game starter in Pacers history, turned the third quarter into his own highlight video.
He scored 12 points in the quarter, had three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. George’s offensive punch turned a three-point Pacers halftime edge into a 21-point blowout.
Kent Bazemore scored a career-best 23 points for the Lakers (19-38) in just his second start.
Bulls 107 Hawks 103: Chicago guard Kirk Hinrich made 6-of-7 free throws in the final 43 seconds to give the Bulls a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Hinrich, who scored 14 points, made three free throws with 43.2 seconds remaining to put Chicago ahead for good. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Bulls, who won all three meetings with Atlanta this season.
Chicago (30-26) got 22 points from forward Mike Dunleavy and 20 points and 12 rebounds from center Joakim Noah.
Atlanta (26-30) was led by guard Jeff Teague, who had 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and guard Shelvin Mack with 17 points.
Raptors 99 Cavaliers 93: All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan fired in a game-high 33 points in the Toronto Raptors’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Raptors (32-25) won their third consecutive game, and second over the Cavs in the last five days.
The Cavs (22-36) have lost three in a row. Guard Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with 25 points and nine assists.
Wizards 115 Magic 106: John Wall scored 27 points and forward Trevor Ariza had 22 as the Washington Wizards downed the Orlando Magic for their season-high fourth straight victory.
Playing without injured forward Nene, the Wizards (29-28) had four starters score at least 21 points, including center Marcin Gortat, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and forward Maurice Harkless had 22 for the Magic (17-42)
Clippers extend winning run by beating Pelicans:
NEW ORLEANS: The Los Angeles Clippers extended their impressive run of form with a 123-110 win at New Orleans on Monday, maintaining a three-game lead atop the NBA Pacific Division, thanks chiefly to Jamal Crawford’s 7 3-pointers.
The Clippers retained the three-game buffer ahead of Golden State, which put in a strong second-half defensive performance to win at Detroit, while the day’s other key game saw Dallas edge New York when Dirk Nowitzki’s buzzer-beater bounced off the rim then fell in.
Los Angeles’s Crawford had 24 points and picked up where he left off in Oklahoma City the previous day, when he made five 3-pointers and finished with 36 points in the impressive victory.
Chris Paul had 19 points and 13 assists for the Clippers in his latest return to New Orleans, and all five L.A. starters and two reserves scored in double figures.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.
Golden State beat Detroit for the sixth-straight time, winning 104-96.
Stephen Curry had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, while Klay Thompson scored 19 points for the Warriors, who were again without an ill David Lee but welcomed back Andrew Bogut from a shoulder injury.
Greg Monroe had 23 points for the Pistons, who were held to only 33 points in the second half after 63 in the first.
Golden State’s reserves outscored Detroit’s 42-15.
Dallas took a 110-108 win at New York, as Nowitzki’s 19-foot jumper hit the backboard, then the front of the rim, bounced up and then fell in as time expired.
Vince Carter scored 23 points and Monta Ellis had 22 for the Mavericks, who blew an eight-point lead in the final 90 seconds but still escaped with a victory.
Carmelo Anthony had 44 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost six of seven and are a season-worst 15 games below .500.
Milwaukee had seven players in double figures — led by O.J. Mayo’s seven 3-pointers and 25 points — in beating Philadelphia 130-110 and sending the 76ers to their 11th straight loss.
Utah ended a run of six-successive defeats at the hands of Boston by beating the Celtics 110-98, with Alec Burks scoring 21 points.
Raymond Felton of Knicks arrested on gun charges
Meantie, New York police say Knicks point guard Raymond Felton has been arrested on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Sgt. Thomas Antonetti says Felton turned himself in at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday and was questioned in the 20th Precinct in Manhattan, hours after his team lost at home to the Dallas Mavericks.
The sergeant says the charges don’t stem from him using the firearm in a menacing manner but from possessing a gun he wasn’t registered to have.
Antonetti says the 29-year-old is now under the purview of the court system and will face a hearing Tuesday. The charges include criminal possession of a weapon in the second, third and fourth degrees.
A Knicks spokesman did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday. It was not clear if Felton had an attorney.
The Clippers retained the three-game buffer ahead of Golden State, which put in a strong second-half defensive performance to win at Detroit, while the day’s other key game saw Dallas edge New York when Dirk Nowitzki’s buzzer-beater bounced off the rim then fell in.
Los Angeles’s Crawford had 24 points and picked up where he left off in Oklahoma City the previous day, when he made five 3-pointers and finished with 36 points in the impressive victory.
Chris Paul had 19 points and 13 assists for the Clippers in his latest return to New Orleans, and all five L.A. starters and two reserves scored in double figures.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.
Golden State beat Detroit for the sixth-straight time, winning 104-96.
Stephen Curry had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, while Klay Thompson scored 19 points for the Warriors, who were again without an ill David Lee but welcomed back Andrew Bogut from a shoulder injury.
Greg Monroe had 23 points for the Pistons, who were held to only 33 points in the second half after 63 in the first.
Golden State’s reserves outscored Detroit’s 42-15.
Dallas took a 110-108 win at New York, as Nowitzki’s 19-foot jumper hit the backboard, then the front of the rim, bounced up and then fell in as time expired.
Vince Carter scored 23 points and Monta Ellis had 22 for the Mavericks, who blew an eight-point lead in the final 90 seconds but still escaped with a victory.
Carmelo Anthony had 44 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost six of seven and are a season-worst 15 games below .500.
Milwaukee had seven players in double figures — led by O.J. Mayo’s seven 3-pointers and 25 points — in beating Philadelphia 130-110 and sending the 76ers to their 11th straight loss.
Utah ended a run of six-successive defeats at the hands of Boston by beating the Celtics 110-98, with Alec Burks scoring 21 points.
Raymond Felton of Knicks arrested on gun charges
Meantie, New York police say Knicks point guard Raymond Felton has been arrested on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Sgt. Thomas Antonetti says Felton turned himself in at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday and was questioned in the 20th Precinct in Manhattan, hours after his team lost at home to the Dallas Mavericks.
The sergeant says the charges don’t stem from him using the firearm in a menacing manner but from possessing a gun he wasn’t registered to have.
Antonetti says the 29-year-old is now under the purview of the court system and will face a hearing Tuesday. The charges include criminal possession of a weapon in the second, third and fourth degrees.
A Knicks spokesman did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday. It was not clear if Felton had an attorney.
Djokovic has it easy in Dubai:
DUBAI: Defending champion Novak Djokovic scored an easy 6-3, 6-3 first round win over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
Earlier, Juan Martin Del Potro was forced to retire with a left wrist injury.
The No.2 seed had been suffering with the injury before he arrived in Dubai, and he sought medical advice in the United States following his opening round loss at the Australian Open last month.
Although he broke to lead 2-0, Del Potro immediately dropped his own serve in the next game and after failing to convert three set points on his opponent’s serve at 6-5 he conceded the tiebreak 7-3.
“My wrist is hurting a lot and it was really tough to play today and I tried everything, but it’s very difficult play like in these conditions, you know, playing slices or I cannot be the player what I would like to be,” said Del Potro.
“It’s hurting all the time, it’s sometimes less and sometimes little more. But it’s hurting, and I have been in contact with my doctor all the time. He’s trying to keep me motivated to keep playing, but I know what it’s my limit playing on court. Today was enough. I have been doing a big effort to play this tournament, and it was not enough to play what I like to play.”
Devvarman realized after a few games that Del Potro was uncomfortable and exploited the situation.
“After starting the match, I realized that he wasn’t very comfortable hitting backhands obviously, and I tried to make him hit as many as I could, and he wasn’t really hitting over it, so I knew that he wasn’t happy,” said Devvarman. “I just tried to fight hard and tried my best to make things tough for him, make things easier for me.
“Obviously it’s unfortunate, you know, especially for a guy like him. I think he’s been playing really good tennis to be in the top 5, and I wish him nothing but the best and a good recovery.”
Earlier, Tomas Berdych claimed his 13th victory in his last 14 matches by beating qualifier Marius Copil 6-3, 6-4.
There was a 6-3, 6-4 win for sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny over Michal Przysiezny, Lukas Rosol beat Daniel Brands 7-6, 6-4 to set up a clash with eighth seed Dmitry Tursunov, and Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri saved five match points to claim an upset 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Igor Sijsling.
Syracuse ends skid after falling to No. 4 in poll:Earlier, Juan Martin Del Potro was forced to retire with a left wrist injury.
The No.2 seed had been suffering with the injury before he arrived in Dubai, and he sought medical advice in the United States following his opening round loss at the Australian Open last month.
Although he broke to lead 2-0, Del Potro immediately dropped his own serve in the next game and after failing to convert three set points on his opponent’s serve at 6-5 he conceded the tiebreak 7-3.
“My wrist is hurting a lot and it was really tough to play today and I tried everything, but it’s very difficult play like in these conditions, you know, playing slices or I cannot be the player what I would like to be,” said Del Potro.
“It’s hurting all the time, it’s sometimes less and sometimes little more. But it’s hurting, and I have been in contact with my doctor all the time. He’s trying to keep me motivated to keep playing, but I know what it’s my limit playing on court. Today was enough. I have been doing a big effort to play this tournament, and it was not enough to play what I like to play.”
Devvarman realized after a few games that Del Potro was uncomfortable and exploited the situation.
“After starting the match, I realized that he wasn’t very comfortable hitting backhands obviously, and I tried to make him hit as many as I could, and he wasn’t really hitting over it, so I knew that he wasn’t happy,” said Devvarman. “I just tried to fight hard and tried my best to make things tough for him, make things easier for me.
“Obviously it’s unfortunate, you know, especially for a guy like him. I think he’s been playing really good tennis to be in the top 5, and I wish him nothing but the best and a good recovery.”
Earlier, Tomas Berdych claimed his 13th victory in his last 14 matches by beating qualifier Marius Copil 6-3, 6-4.
There was a 6-3, 6-4 win for sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny over Michal Przysiezny, Lukas Rosol beat Daniel Brands 7-6, 6-4 to set up a clash with eighth seed Dmitry Tursunov, and Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri saved five match points to claim an upset 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Igor Sijsling.
COLLEGE PARK, Md: Syracuse blew most of a 12-point lead in the last eight minutes and used one final defensive stop to squeeze past Maryland, 57-55, on Monday night here, and end a two-game losing streak.
It was another close call for the Orange (26-2, 13-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who dropped to No. 4 in the latest AP poll.
Syracuse’s previous four games were decided by a total of 12 points. The Orange led, 49-37, with 7:54 left, but allowed Maryland to close to 56-55 with 47 seconds remaining.
After C.J. Fair missed a jumper for the Orange, Baye Moussa Keita blocked a driving layup by Nick Faust to keep Syracuse in front. Trevor Cooney was fouled and made one of two free throws with four seconds to go.
No. 5 Kansas 83, Oklahoma 75: At Lawrence, Kansas, Naadir Tharpe had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures, and the Jayhawks wrapped up a share of their 10th consecutive Big 12 championship.
Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2).
Oklahoma State 76 TCU 54: At Fort Worth, Texas, Marcus Smart scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half in his first road game since returning from a suspension for shoving a fan and Phil Forte matched his season high with 23 for Oklahoma State.
Wagner 67, Fairleigh Dickinson 64: At Teaneck, Latif Rivers scored 18 points and hit two late free throws to lift Wagner, which came back from a late seven-point deficit.
Fairleigh Dickinson (10-18, 6-8 NEC) was led by Scooter Gillette with 19 points and nine rebounds and Sidney Sanders Jr. had 15 points with nine assists.
Florida New NO. 1: The Florida Gators are taking their turn as the newest No. 1 in what coach Billy Donovan calls a revolving door atop the AP college basketball poll, their first time on top of the rankings since they repeated as national champions in 2007. The Gators (25-2) moved up one place Monday, replacing Syracuse. Wichita State (29-0) and Arizona (25-2) each moved up one place to second and third.
Portland St. 87 Eastern Washington 76: At Cheney, Washington, Kyle Richardson scored 22 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, and pulled in eight rebounds, pacing Portland State (13-12, 8-8 Big Sky) past Eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington (13-14, 8-8) shot 50.9 percent, but went just 4 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Hosts lead medals table as Games enter homestretch:
SOCHI, Russia: Russia leapt to the top of the medals table on Saturday with two more golds as the Sochi Olympics entered the final stretch, and the host nation said its first Winter Games had helped “break the ice” of skepticism toward it.
Organizers were confident they had achieved what they, and President Vladimir Putin, had set out to do — project Russia as a modern, tolerant country that had thrown off the shackles of its Soviet past.
The icing on the cake was home gold in the men’s snowboard parallel slalom and men’ biathlon relay, lifting Russia above Norway in the rankings with just three more titles to be decided on Sunday, the final day.
“The friendly faces, the warm Sochi sun and the glare of the Olympic gold have broken the ice of skepticism toward the new Russia,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, also Putin’s Olympics organizer.
“The Games have turned our country, its culture and the people into something that is a lot closer and more appealing and understandable for the rest of the world.”
The jury is still out over whether the world agrees, but Putin is likely to be generally pleased that the Games went smoothly, without security scares despite Islamist militant threats and only isolated expressions of dissent to his rule.
There have been problems, however.
On Saturday, the Ukraine National Olympic Committee said cross-country skier Marina Lisogor had failed a doping test, a day after a German and Italian athlete were thrown out of Sochi for taking banned substances.
Protest group Pussy Riot came to Sochi and drew attention to criticism of Russia’s human rights record, and the women’s figure skating competition was overshadowed by a judging scandal deemed to have favored the hosts over South Korea’s Kim Yuna.
Russia’s role in the crisis in neighboring Ukraine also came under scrutiny when a Ukrainian skier pulled out of the Games in protest against her government, and athletes from the team asked to wear black armbands to honor those killed in violent street protests.
But in general the thrills and spills on snow and ice have captured the imagination, and Saturday provided another action-packed day in Sochi and amidst the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains towering in the distance.
Russia wild for Wild
One of the most popular medals of the day was a second Sochi gold for Russian snowboarder Vic Wild in the men’s parallel slalom. In the women’s event, Austrian Julia Dujmovits won.
“Beyond believable,” said the 27-year-old Wild, who staged a remarkable second-run comeback in the semi-final.
“When I came to the Olympics and showed up, I had already won. To win the other day was the greatest feeling of my life. I can’t believe it.”
Wild has faced criticism in his native United States, having become a Russian citizen after marrying Alena Zavarzina, the women’s giant slalom bronze medallist in Sochi, in 2011.
“No matter what you do in your life, people are going to hate you,” he told a news conference. “If you’re good at something, people are going to hate you.”
Questions have also been raised about Russia’s short track speed skater Viktor Ahn, who has won three gold medals in Sochi for his adopted country, having won three for his native South Korea in 2006 as Ahn Hyun-soo.
“In Korea the fact that I changed citizenship has been widely discussed, and some articles I read make me feel uneasy,” Ahn told reporters on Saturday, speaking through a translator.
“The most important thing is ... that I perform for this country and I am happy that I managed to win medals for this country.”
On another day of glorious sunshine, Russia’s second gold came in the men’s biathlon relay.
There was joy for Norway in the women’s event, when “Iron Lady” Marit Bjoergen signed off with her third gold of the Games in the 30 km cross-country skiing, matching her haul in Vancouver.
Compatriot Therese Johaug took silver and Kristin Stoermer Steira, also Norwegian, claimed bronze in a rare clean sweep.
The flying Dutch men and women wrapped up the Sochi speed skating competition by cruising to both team pursuit titles.
The two golds, both won in Olympic record times, took the Dutch tally to eight out of a possible 12 at the Adler Arena, which included four medal sweeps in the 10 individual events.
It was a show of power like no other at a Winter Olympics.
The Soviet Union won six golds in the sport at the 1960 Games, while South Korea matched the half dozen in short track at the 2006 Turin Games.
In the day’s final title to be decided, Austria’s Mario Matt became the oldest winner of an Olympic Alpine skiing gold at 34 when he edged out team mate Marcel Hirscher in a thrilling slalom.
And in the men’s ice hockey bronze medal match, Finland trounced the United States 5-0
Chelsea grabs late victory, Arsenal and City triumph:
LONDON: John Terry grabbed a stoppage-time winner as leaders Chelsea showed their Premier League title mettle by snatching a 1-0 victory over Everton on Saturday having looked set to suffer another damaging blow.
The Chelsea captain strained every sinew to get a faint touch to a Frank Lampard free kick in the 93rd minute and keep his team a point clear of Arsenal who thrashed Sunderland 4-1 and three ahead of Manchester City who beat Stoke City 1-0.
After drawing their last league game against West Bromwich Albion and suffering a chastening FA Cup defeat to rivals Manchester City, Jose Mourinho’s side were looking for a morale-boosting return to form.
Yet they looked sluggish for most of the match and after finally sparking into life they came up against a stubborn Everton rearguard that only crumbled deep into added time.
West Brom’s Matej Vydra snatched an 86th-minute equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw against Fulham, denying the London club a win that would have moved them off the foot of the table.
Fulham stay a point behind Cardiff City whose sorry season hit a new low after a 4-0 home defeat by Hull City.
Hull are now six points clear of trouble and one point behind West Ham United who continued their recent resurgence with a 3-1 win over Southampton.
Bale rocket helps Real to Elche win
A fierce 30-yard drive from Gareth Bale helped give sluggish Real Madrid a 3-0 victory over Elche on Saturday and sent them three points clear of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Asier Illarramendi, who was in the side for the suspended Luka Modric, broke the deadlock with a shot that clipped off Manu del Moral and wrong-footed keeper Manu Herrera after 34 minutes.
Real were again without Cristiano Ronaldo as he missed the final game in his three-match ban and they lacked spark in front of goal against an Elche side who concentrated on defending solidly.
Karim Benzema forced Herrera into a save early on and he along with Angel Di Maria looked the most dangerous Real players but they still needed a slice of fortune with Illarramendi’s effort to give them the lead.
Real continued to lack intensity in the middle of the pitch. Bale was having a quiet game on the right wing but came to life with a powerful shot midway through the second half which went in off the crossbar.
With Elche’s resistance broken, substitute Isco slotted in the third with 10 minutes to go.
After a slow start to the season under coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real have now won 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions and lead the way at the top of the table on 63 points.
Barcelona return to La Liga action later against Real Sociedad after their Champions League first leg win at Manchester City on Tuesday. They have 60 points as do Atletico Madrid who face Osasuna on Sunday.
Hamburg ends seven-match losing run
Hamburg SV gave new coach Mirko Slomka a memorable debut as they ended a seven-match losing streak in the Bundesliga by beating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on Saturday.
Hakan Calhanoglu capped the day by scoring with an astonishing 40-meter free kick as Hamburg, the only ever-present team in the 51-year history of the league, moved out of the relegation zone.
Nuremberg, playing for almost an hour with 10 men after Per Nilsson was sent off, came from behind to beat bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 in a game of three missed penalties while Augsburg grabbed three late goals to win 4-2 at relegation-threatened Freiburg.
VfB Stuttgart’s misery continued when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Hertha Berlin, their seventh league defeat in a row, although they stayed ahead of Hamburg on goal difference.
Venus collars first title in 16 months:
DUBAI: Venus Williams, the seven times former Grand Slam champion, won the WTA Dubai Open on Saturday to silence some of the doubters who said she could never make a significant comeback at the age of 33.
Williams produced a magnificent performance by outplaying the tournament’s sensation, Alize Cornet, 6-3, 6-0 to earn her a first title in 16 months.
Williams only gained entry into the Dubai Open with a wild card after falling outside the top 40, yet completed five fine wins.
In doing so she avenged the defeat which the French player had inflicted on her sister Serena Williams in the semifinals, captured her first Premier level title since 2010, and ensured she would climb back into the world’s top 30.
Williams’ face was afterwards wreathed with enormous smiles, while Cornet twice dissolved into tears during the match, aware from an early stage that she was unlikely to find a way to halt one of the game’s most formidable attacker two nights in a row.
“It’s great to be back,” she said, referring to her capture of the Dubai title four years ago.
“I was expecting to be playing Serena, but Alize played an amazing game in the semis, so congratulations on that.
“I have continued being able to practise, and I have been getting healthier,” Williams went on, referring to the long term effects of the immune deficiency which has been threatening her career.
“It hasn’t been easy. I have to thank the tournament for a wild card, and my family and Serena for encouraging me. They all kept me up when I was down.”
Despite her consistent excellence, the first blow was Cornet’s.
Combining two great forehand drives, which dragged her opponent in different directions, she reached deuce on the Williams serve, and then immediately prospered from a double fault, perhaps induced by the return of serve pressure she created on the previous point.
Williams saved that break point, but conceded the next one with a moderate second serve, which Cornet thumped back hard and deep, forcing an error.
It gave Cornet a break, a lead of 2-1, and feeling that she was not out of place in this final.
But from that moment Williams, sensing the danger, raised her game, struck the ball better and, often roaring loudly, began to exert more dominance.
She broke back at once, with some help from Cornet who took a couple of risks too many in trying to maintain the initiative, and it propelled Williams to a run of four games which did much to alter the character of the contest.
Cornet bravely saved two set points in the eighth game, but Williams concluded it with a brilliant inside out backhand, which swung itself snugly into a small gap in Cornet’s forehand corner.
Williams began the second set by breaking serve for the third time in four attempts, even though Cornet produced the shot of the match, a running forehand sidespin passing shot which Nadal might have liked.
It was a brief interlude in the plot which saw Williams increasingly able to find telling blows while Cornet was forced to stretch and strain to contain.
Another break took Williams to 3-0, which she converted to 4-0, despite having to recover from 15-40. During also profited from an uncharacteristically prodigal miss by her opponent, causing Cornet’s eyes to fill with tears, and making her drop her racket.
It took several seconds for her to recover, but although she fought on bravely the momentum of Williams’ onslaught did not cease, and she finished the match with yet another flurry of fierce drives.
Cornet’s consolations were that she had achieved her first final on a hard court surface, and that she had managed four top 20 scalps, including a career best win to reach only her second Premier level final.
She is now very close to being back the top 20 for the first time in five years, a better player than she was then, and with every prospect of further progress.
With her sequence of five wins in this tournament Venus has remained ahead of sister Serena as the active player with the most WTA Tour wins (647 to Serena’s 641). Her dream of continuing till the Rio Olympics may yet be alive.
Williams produced a magnificent performance by outplaying the tournament’s sensation, Alize Cornet, 6-3, 6-0 to earn her a first title in 16 months.
Williams only gained entry into the Dubai Open with a wild card after falling outside the top 40, yet completed five fine wins.
In doing so she avenged the defeat which the French player had inflicted on her sister Serena Williams in the semifinals, captured her first Premier level title since 2010, and ensured she would climb back into the world’s top 30.
Williams’ face was afterwards wreathed with enormous smiles, while Cornet twice dissolved into tears during the match, aware from an early stage that she was unlikely to find a way to halt one of the game’s most formidable attacker two nights in a row.
“It’s great to be back,” she said, referring to her capture of the Dubai title four years ago.
“I was expecting to be playing Serena, but Alize played an amazing game in the semis, so congratulations on that.
“I have continued being able to practise, and I have been getting healthier,” Williams went on, referring to the long term effects of the immune deficiency which has been threatening her career.
“It hasn’t been easy. I have to thank the tournament for a wild card, and my family and Serena for encouraging me. They all kept me up when I was down.”
Despite her consistent excellence, the first blow was Cornet’s.
Combining two great forehand drives, which dragged her opponent in different directions, she reached deuce on the Williams serve, and then immediately prospered from a double fault, perhaps induced by the return of serve pressure she created on the previous point.
Williams saved that break point, but conceded the next one with a moderate second serve, which Cornet thumped back hard and deep, forcing an error.
It gave Cornet a break, a lead of 2-1, and feeling that she was not out of place in this final.
But from that moment Williams, sensing the danger, raised her game, struck the ball better and, often roaring loudly, began to exert more dominance.
She broke back at once, with some help from Cornet who took a couple of risks too many in trying to maintain the initiative, and it propelled Williams to a run of four games which did much to alter the character of the contest.
Cornet bravely saved two set points in the eighth game, but Williams concluded it with a brilliant inside out backhand, which swung itself snugly into a small gap in Cornet’s forehand corner.
Williams began the second set by breaking serve for the third time in four attempts, even though Cornet produced the shot of the match, a running forehand sidespin passing shot which Nadal might have liked.
It was a brief interlude in the plot which saw Williams increasingly able to find telling blows while Cornet was forced to stretch and strain to contain.
Another break took Williams to 3-0, which she converted to 4-0, despite having to recover from 15-40. During also profited from an uncharacteristically prodigal miss by her opponent, causing Cornet’s eyes to fill with tears, and making her drop her racket.
It took several seconds for her to recover, but although she fought on bravely the momentum of Williams’ onslaught did not cease, and she finished the match with yet another flurry of fierce drives.
Cornet’s consolations were that she had achieved her first final on a hard court surface, and that she had managed four top 20 scalps, including a career best win to reach only her second Premier level final.
She is now very close to being back the top 20 for the first time in five years, a better player than she was then, and with every prospect of further progress.
With her sequence of five wins in this tournament Venus has remained ahead of sister Serena as the active player with the most WTA Tour wins (647 to Serena’s 641). Her dream of continuing till the Rio Olympics may yet be alive.
Magic down Knicks in double OT:
ORLANDO: Rookie guard Victor Oladipo scored 30 points, made a career-high 14 assists and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 129-121 double-overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
Oladipo cored eight points in the second overtime, including two three-point plays that won the game.
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored 44 points and had 11 rebounds, scored all eight of his team's points in the second overtime.
The Magic missed a chance to win at the end of the first overtime when center Nikola Vucevic missed a short, heavily contested shot just before the buzzer sounded.
Vucevic missed the final shot, also heavily contested, at the end of regulation.
Raptors 98 Cavaliers 91: Terrence Ross scored 20 points as the Toronto Raptors snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' six-game winning streak.
Toronto improved to 30-25 for the season, while forward Luol Deng led the Cavaliers (22-34), whose win streak was their longest in nearly four years.
Bobcats 90 Pelicans 87: Center Al Jefferson scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Bobcats led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter but ultimately needed four free throws by guard Kemba Walker in the final 8.9 seconds to hang on after the Pelicans had stormed back to tie the score 84-84.
Mavericks 124 76ers 112: Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points as the Dallas Mavericks rolled past the depleted Philadelphia 76ers, who suffered their 10th successive loss.
The Sixers, who made five deals at Thursday's trade deadline, had nine players in uniform but used only eight as coach Brett Brown left newly acquired guard Eric Maynor out of the team.
Pistons 115 Hawks 107: Power forward Greg Monroe scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds, one of four Detroit players to post a double-double, as the Pistons beat the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks, already with four injured players on the roster, suffered a further blow by point guard Jeff Teague's left ankle sprain.
Grizzlies 102 Clippers 96: Power forward Zach Randolph scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies survived a parade of Los Angeles Clippers to the free-throw line.
The Clippers shot 43 free throws to 15 for Memphis, including 16 in the fourth quarter alone. Forward Blake Griffin finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
The Clippers, down 96-91 with 1:47 to play, scored their next five points from the foul line and closed to within two, at 98-96, with 1:05 left, but would not score again.
Bulls 117 Nuggets 89: Guard D.J. Augustin scored 22 points and rookie forward Tony Snell added a career-high 20 points as the Chicago Bulls rolled to a big victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Oladipo cored eight points in the second overtime, including two three-point plays that won the game.
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored 44 points and had 11 rebounds, scored all eight of his team's points in the second overtime.
The Magic missed a chance to win at the end of the first overtime when center Nikola Vucevic missed a short, heavily contested shot just before the buzzer sounded.
Vucevic missed the final shot, also heavily contested, at the end of regulation.
Raptors 98 Cavaliers 91: Terrence Ross scored 20 points as the Toronto Raptors snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' six-game winning streak.
Toronto improved to 30-25 for the season, while forward Luol Deng led the Cavaliers (22-34), whose win streak was their longest in nearly four years.
Bobcats 90 Pelicans 87: Center Al Jefferson scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Bobcats led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter but ultimately needed four free throws by guard Kemba Walker in the final 8.9 seconds to hang on after the Pelicans had stormed back to tie the score 84-84.
Mavericks 124 76ers 112: Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points as the Dallas Mavericks rolled past the depleted Philadelphia 76ers, who suffered their 10th successive loss.
The Sixers, who made five deals at Thursday's trade deadline, had nine players in uniform but used only eight as coach Brett Brown left newly acquired guard Eric Maynor out of the team.
Pistons 115 Hawks 107: Power forward Greg Monroe scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds, one of four Detroit players to post a double-double, as the Pistons beat the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks, already with four injured players on the roster, suffered a further blow by point guard Jeff Teague's left ankle sprain.
Grizzlies 102 Clippers 96: Power forward Zach Randolph scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies survived a parade of Los Angeles Clippers to the free-throw line.
The Clippers shot 43 free throws to 15 for Memphis, including 16 in the fourth quarter alone. Forward Blake Griffin finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
The Clippers, down 96-91 with 1:47 to play, scored their next five points from the foul line and closed to within two, at 98-96, with 1:05 left, but would not score again.
Bulls 117 Nuggets 89: Guard D.J. Augustin scored 22 points and rookie forward Tony Snell added a career-high 20 points as the Chicago Bulls rolled to a big victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Cornet stuns Serena to dash hopes of all-Williams final:
DUBAI: Alize Cornet of France scored a career-best victory and created a major upset in the process with victory over world No. 1 Serena Williams in the Dubai Open, which ended hopes of an all-Williams final.
Cornet, making her way back into the world’s top 20 after a long interval, won their semifinal 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier, Venus Williams reached only her second final in 16 months and with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Caroline Wozniacki, in which she dominated the former world No 1 from Denmark from start to finish with her heavier, and sometimes cleverly angled, driving.
But Cornet dashed hopes of the first all-Williams sisters final in more than four years as she played an almost impeccable match, full of solid serving and sturdy rallying.
She changed the mood of the match when she took advantage of Serena’a errors to break serve to 5-4 in the first set.
Cornet closed out the set without fuss, the pressure was suddenly on WIlliams, whose first tournament this was since injuring her back in last month’s Australian Open.
Cornet rode the momentum to break again, and although Serena pulled that back, she was increasingly tense, dropping serve again to go 3-4 down in strange circumstances.
First she put an uncharacteristic and inappropriate drop shot into the net and then she failed to run a ball down, wrongly thinking her serve had been out.
Cornet could not convert the four match points she had at 5-3, but got all her first serves in at 5-4 and pressed Serena into the errors which ended the match.
“It’s my best ever win but I haven’t realized it yet,” Cornet said. “I played a very good match. I didn’t even realize who I was playing and that’s the way I had to be.
“I forgot it was Serena on the other side, and just got on with my game.”
Amazing Maze strikes double gold:
SOCHI: Tina Maze struck double Olympic ski gold on Tuesday while the stark political realities of the Sochi Games were exposed by the arrests of members of the high-profile Pussy Riot punk group.
Maze bagged her second title after sharing the downhill gold by edging Austrian arch-rival Anna Fenninger by a hairsbreadth seven-hundredths of a second in the giant slalom.
In tricky weather conditions that included heavy snow, torrential rain and fog, the 30-year-old Slovenian clocked a combined total of 2min 36.87sec over the two runs in Rosa Khutor.
“This season’s plan was to show my best here. My focus in training was on the Olympic Games,” said Maze, who won two silvers, in super-G and giant slalom, at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany took bronze, a further 0.20sec adrift while famed violin virtuoso Vanessa Mae marked her Olympics debut with a 67th place finish, a massive 50.10sec behind Maze.
Down on the Black Sea coast, the political controversies that had once threatened to consume the showpiece event nudged back into the spotlight.
Two members of Russian group Pussy Riot who were released from prison late last year said they had both been arrested in downtown Sochi on charges of theft.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were arrested in the center of the host city over accusations of stealing from a local hotel but were freed later in the day.
The pair had been in Sochi for two days on a visit aimed at recording a new performance opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tolokonnikova wrote on her Twitter account that she and Alyokhina had been arrested, with several other people, and piled into a police van.
“When we were arrested, we were not performing any kind of action, we were just walking around Sochi,” she tweeted.
Away from the political tit-for-tat, it was business as usual at the Games with seven gold medals in total being decided.
Netherlands speed skater Jorrit Bergsma dumped more 10,000 meters heartache on compatriot Sven Kramer by taking an upset gold in a blistering Olympic record time on Tuesday as the Dutch swept another Adler Arena podium.
Bergsma clocked 12 minutes, 44.45 seconds for his 25 laps, smashing the previous mark by a huge 14 seconds and ending only three seconds shy of Kramer’s world record set seven years ago on the high-altitude oval in Salt Lake City.
Pre-race favorite Kramer cited “too many small injuries” after claiming silver, 4.57 seconds off Bergsma’s time, with compatriot Bob de Jong almost 23 seconds back from the winner.
South Korean defending champion Lee Seung-hoon was a distant fourth after starting fast alongside Kramer but fading badly.
The Dutch took their speed skating medal haul to 19 out of a possible 27 with their fourth sweep of the podium and fifth win from nine races in a show of dominance not seen before at a Winter Olympics. The three Olympic medals pushed them to 101 in the sport’s all-time list.
Bergsma, who took bronze in the 5,000m on the opening day of competition, was blown away by his upset victory.
“It is a fantastic feeling, I knew with my current shape I could do it, but these are the Olympic Games,” he told reporters after taking a congratulatory call from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
On the slopes of Rosa Khotur, Frenchman Pierre Vaultier emerged from the fog to win a thrilling men’s snowboard cross race, just two months after tearing ligaments in his knee.
The 26-year-old held off surprise package Russian Nikolay Olyunin to take gold.
Norway took gold and silver in the large hill Nordic combined, dealing best with rainy conditions in the 10km ski phase.
Joergen Graabak won gold with his compatriot Magnus Moan taking silver 0.6sec behind. Bronze went to Fabian Riessle of Germany.
South Korea regained the women’s short track 3,000m relay gold, four years after their Vancouver medal hopes were dashed by disqualification.
Shim Suk-Lee passed Li Jianrou heading into the final turn to give the Koreans Olympic gold for the fifth time in the past six Olympics. Defending champions China were disqualified.
Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen held off a desperate late charge from the fast-finishing Martin Fourcade of France to take gold in the men’s 15km biathlon mass start in a photo finish.
Svendsen slowed up as he raised his hands in victory just before crossing the line but he had apparently failed to notice Fourcade, who flung himself across the finish.
Both were given the same time of 42min 29.1sec but Svendsen was awarded the gold by a whisker on the photo. Fourcade was aiming for his third gold at Sochi after winning the pursuit and the individual. Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic took bronze.
Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, seeking a record 13th medal at Winter Olympic Games, will have to wait until the relays after coming in 22nd place.
Halep limps out; Wozniacki rallies in Dubai
DUBAI: Simona Halep was forced to retire with a right Achilles injury at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, handing a first round 6-1, 1-1 victory to Alize Cornet.
The world number nine, who came into Dubai immediately after claiming her seventh career title in Doha on Sunday, received treatment after Cornet had broken to lead 4-1.
There was initially little sign of the injury in some furiously-contested rallies, but as the match progressed Halep eventually lost some mobility and finally accepted that she was no longer able to compete effectively.
“I have an inflammation at my Achilles. So when I jump with my serve and when I stop at the rallies, I feel the pain,” said Halep. “I wanted to try, because I like to try to fight for my chance, but here I couldn’t. After one set I realized that it is dangerous to continue.” Former world number one and Dubai 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki battled back from losing the opening set to overcome 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Another former world number one and number five seed, Jelena Jankovic, had to fight hard to get past qualifier Maryna Zanevska, winning 6-4, 6-3.
“I worked really hard. It was not easy for my first match here,” said Jankovic. “I just came from Doha like one day ago, so it’s completely different. Playing there during the night it’s slower, and here it’s faster and the balls fly. It was quite windy out there, and I felt kind of like I couldn’t play my game totally, you know, play the lines.” “It is a great shame that we have lost Simona Halep from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of tournament owners and organizers Dubai Duty Free. “With her run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month and her triumph in Doha just two days ago, she is one of the most exciting young players on the WTA Tour.
“However, we were able to enjoy wins by former world number one and our 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki, who had a tremendous win over last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Sabine Lisicki, and Jelena Jankovic, a regular here and a finalist as long ago as 2005.” “There are few, if any, tournaments where the competition is so tough that a Wimbledon finalist can be defeated in the first round of a tournament, but that was the fate of Sabine Lisicki,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “We have also already lost a 2013 semi-finalist in Roberta Vinci, reflecting the fact that competition at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is stronger than ever.”
Martin next Hall of Fame CEO
Former top-five player Todd Martin has been selected as the next CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.
Martin achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 4. He was a finalist at the 1999 US Open and the 1994 Australian Open. He played on the US Davis Cup team from 1994 to 2002, and helped the US win the title in 1995. Martin won eight singles titles and four doubles titles.
“It is an honor to be charged with preserving the rich history of our sport and to celebrate the people who have created its greatest moments,” he said.
He will succeed Mark L. Stenning, who is stepping down in September after 35 years with the organization and 14 years as CEO.
Martin will begin working at the Hall of Fame as CEO-designate on April 1, with Stenning remaining as CEO through Sept. 5.
Saudi rally ace Al-Rajhi hopes to take the fight to Qataris in Doha event:
As competitors from across the Middle East and Europe make their final preparations for this weekend’s QMMF Qatar International Rally, round one of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, one man is preparing to take part in his fourth event in as many weeks.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi has begun a new season of motor sport action in superb style and is aiming to become the first Saudi driver ever to win the Qatar International Rally. Three weeks ago he steered his powerful Hummer to outright victory across the desert in the inaugural Rally Jeddah, before jetting off to Sweden to contest the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship on the snow and ice of northern Europe.
The Riyadh driver came within a whisker of winning the prestigious WRC 2 category for a second successive season and eventually finished fourth. He then headed east to the frozen wastelands of northern Russia and, on Sunday, he confirmed a stunning win in the Baja Russia Northern Forest ‘14 to take an early lead the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in an Overdrive Toyota Hilux.
“It’s been very hectic, very tiring and very exciting,” said Al-Rajhi. “Now we are back to the Middle East but this is going to be very difficult. The local drivers are quick here. It will not be easy to beat them on their home rally. This will be the third car I have driven in four weeks with a third co-driver. I hope that Michael (Orr) and I can be successful.”
Meanwhile, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, winner of the Qatar International Rally in 2012, had intended to use a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in this year’s event, but the Qatari has taken the decision to wheel out his Motortune-run Ford Fiesta RRC with family support.
Edith Weiss has been supporting Middle East rallying since the early 1990s and the German is the leading lady on the entry list at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX that she acquired recently from Gassner Motorsport, five-time winners of the German Rally Championship.
With support from the 1993 FIA Middle East rally champion Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani, Weiss and new co-driver Norma Sandawi will be hoping to achieve a top 10 finish.
“I have many fond memories of competing in Qatar and have taken part in the event for the last four years,” said Weiss. “I finished 10th overall with a Nissan Sunny GTi-R in 1997 and my first rally was way back in 1992 with a Toyota Celica, where I also finished 10th overall and met Sheikh Hamed for the first time.”
Turkey’s top female driver Burcu Cetinkaya has been forced to miss the opening round of the Middle East series but is present in Doha in a television media capacity. Nada Zaidan represents the host nation in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Wednesday there will be a meeting of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, while documentation will take place for all teams taking part in the QMMF Qatar International Rally after crews have completed their second day of reconnaissance.
The first Women in Motorsport seminar in the Middle East will start at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning with opening speeches by Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, president of the QMMF and FIA vice-president for sport for the MENA region, and Graham Stoker, the FIA deputy president for sport.
Further presentations will follow from the likes of the FIA’s Michèle Mouton, WIM vice-president Randa Nabulsi, MSA international training program director Susan Sanders, FIA WRC media delegate Hayley Gallagher and FIA commission manager Frédérique Trouve.
Ladies are attending the two-day seminar from all corners of the world and include Egypt’s Yara Shalaby, FIA WMC circuit project co-ordinator Cathy Muller Ehrlacher, Finland’s Tina Lehmonen, Mexico’s Jenny Bertin, former Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons, Moroccan representative Samira Bouhassoune and Keko Ihara of Japan.
Competitive action in the QMMF Qatar International Rally gets under way with a super special stage on the Doha Corniche from 6 p.m. on Thursday.
As NBA resumes, next Durant-James matchup nears:
NEW ORLEANS: LeBron James won’t assume the eventual date with Indiana that so many others expect.
He definitely has another one with Kevin Durant — in just a few days.
The NBA’s two best players went their separate ways after the East’s 163-155 victory over the West in Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, but only temporarily. They will be back on the same floor Thursday in Oklahoma City, perhaps even joined by Russell Westbrook.
Less than two months will remain in the regular season when play resumes Tuesday, with so much still to sort out in the loaded Western Conference.
Things seem so much simpler in the East, where a Miami-Indiana matchup in the Eastern Conference finals has seemed a certainty since the opening weeks of the season — except to James.
“This is more than a two-team race. There’s a lot of good teams in the Eastern Conference,” he said. “It’s been a slow start for us as a whole, but there’s so many good teams, you can’t just count on us and one other team. I respect every team we go against.”
Miami went into the break 2 1/2 games behind Indiana, with third-place Toronto having 10 more losses than the Heat. The Pacers lost Game 7 of the East finals in Miami last June, and they want home-court advantage if — when? — the teams meet again this spring.
The Heat are interested in it too, though only to a point.
“What matters more is that we’re healthy. We’re going to compete for first place of course, but we’re not going to make it this huge thing,” Chris Bosh said.
“We’re within striking distance, 2 1/2 back. We like our chances.”
The Thunder finally opened a little cushion atop the West with their strong finish to the first half, winning their final three games to take a four-game lead over injury-plagued San Antonio, the defending conference champion. Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland are all six games behind.
Durant is the NBA’s leading scorer and has a good chance to end James’ reign as the league’s MVP. The Thunder could get even stronger when Westbrook returns from knee surgery, perhaps even Thursday in their first game after the break.
Durant scored 38 points in the All-Star game and has been unstoppable even in games where there is defense, averaging 31.5 points. He had 33 in the Thunder’s 112-95 victory in Miami last month, but scoring is only part of what he’s done to help Oklahoma City to a league-best 43-12 record even with only 25 games from Westbrook.
“KD is a great player. He’s a great teammate. He does all the things that we have asked,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
“He doesn’t want to be just a scorer. He wants to be a playmaker, a defender and that’s what he’s done all season for us.”
The trade deadline also is Thursday. The Heat and Pacers have perhaps already made their moves with the signings of centers Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum, but other contenders may seek the opportunity to make a deal they feel could position themselves to end the Heat’s quest for a third straight championship.
The Pacers believe they can do it. Paul George isn’t far from the James-Durant level, and a title would help him inch even closer.
“I want to be one of the best players to ever play in this league and be the best player in this league,” George said, “so it’s just taking every day to get better, every year to get better, and you know, I’m going to be at the top at some point.”
So many others have a chance heading into the stretch run. The Clippers (Chris Paul and Blake Griffin), Rockets (Dwight Howard and James Harden) and Trail Blazers (LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard) all have All-Star duos, and don’t forget the Spurs, who were less than a half-minute from finishing off the Heat last June.
“We definitely have the tools, we definitely have the team,” Tony Parker said of his team, which has been playing without Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. “We’ll be in the mix as long as we stay healthy.”
Dutch delight after women skaters’ clean sweep:
SOCHI, Russia: Jorien ter Mors led a Dutch clean sweep in the women’s 1,500 meters speed skating on Sunday as the Netherlands’ medal tally shot up to 17, more than any other nation at the Winter Olympics in Russia.
Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud sped to gold in the men’s super-G alpine skiing and Czech Eva Samkova won the women’s snowboarding cross after yet more tumbles on the testing course where a Russian skier broke her back a day earlier.
Skicross racer Maria Komissarova, 23, was in a serious but stable condition after an operation lasting more than six hours on Saturday to insert a metal implant in her back.
Doctors said it would take three or four days to know how successful the surgery had been.
On the ninth day of medal competition, Sweden won their second cross-country relay gold when they prevailed in the men’s 4x10km event, ahead of Russia and France.
But many Russians’ thoughts were still on the ice hockey action of the previous day, when a late disallowed goal cost the host nation victory over arch-rivals the United States.
In a rare moment of political unity, supporters and opponents of President Vladimir Putin came together on Twitter to express their outrage after the Americans won in a shootout.
“The puck was in the goal. What an abomination. Cheating before the whole world! Disgusting!” wrote Alexei Pushkov, a senior pro-Putin member of parliament after the score was wiped out because the goal had been shifted from its mooring.
Prominent gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev, at odds with Putin over a law banning homosexual propaganda among minors that overshadowed the build-up to the Games, was left in shock: “There’s a huge scandal in the hockey tournament. The American referee didn’t allow the Russian goal. Damn!“
After pre-Games criticism over human rights and the estimated $50 billion cost of bringing the Olympics to Sochi, Putin can so far take satisfaction from an event where Russia has shown a friendly, welcoming face to the rest of the world and the sporting action has yielded plenty of drama.
In the speed skating, Ter Mors clocked an Olympic record of one minute, 53.51 seconds to take gold ahead of team mates Ireen Wust, the defending champion, and Lotte Van Beek. For good measure, another Dutchwoman, Marrit Leenstra, finished fourth.
It was a third speed skating medal sweep in Sochi for the orange-suited Dutch, after the men completed the feat in the 500 and 5,000m.
The United States’ wait for a first speed skating medal went on. Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe finished seventh and 14th in their old skinsuits after the team ditched their Olympic ‘Mach 39’ ones on Saturday in the hope of gaining extra speed.
On the Rosa Khutor piste in the Caucasus mountains, Jansrud secured Norway’s fourth successive Olympic men’s super-G win, while 36-year-old American Bode Miller tied for bronze with Canada’s Jan Hudec to become the oldest ever Alpine skiing medallist.
Miller’s team mate Andrew Weibrecht captured a surprise silver medal after starting 29th, with all the favorites gone.
“When Andrew came down he scared me,” laughed Jansrud. “It was a little too exciting. My legs were like jelly there for a second but I knew I had finished very strong.”
Czech snowboarder Samkova, sporting a fake moustache drawn on her top lip for good luck, avoided the rough and tumble of the pack in the thrilling cross event where racers go head to head down a twisty course full of bumps and jumps, jostling with their rivals to find the best line.
“It’s a lucky moustache. Today it’s in national colors,” she said of her facial adornment in red, white and blue.
Defending champion Maelle Ricker of Canada and 2006 silver medallist Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States were eliminated in the heats after taking tumbles on the Extreme Park course.
Dominique Maltais of Canada claimed silver to add to the bronze she won in Turin eight years ago, while French teenager Chloe Trespeuch was third.
Earlier, two more racers were stretchered off after bad falls — Norway’s Helene Olafsen with knee damage and American Jacqueline Hernandez with concussion, though neither of the injuries was serious.
After 55 of 98 events, the Dutch led the overall medals table with 17 — a remarkable achievement for a country of around 16.7 million people. All were for skating and five were golds — equal with Norway and Switzerland, and two behind Germany. Russia, Canada, the United States and Poland were on four golds each.
Halep stamps class in Qatar Open win:
DOHA: Simona Halep confirmed her status as the WTA’s tour’s rising star on Sunday as she collected the biggest prize of her career with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in the Qatar Open.
The 22-year-old seventh seed Romanian — who was winning her third WTA title — eased to victory over the 26-year-old sixth seeded German, to add her to other impressive conquests this week the second and fourth seeds, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani.
Once again the pace of Halep’s hitting, and her daring play, placed a more experienced and more highly rated opponent under such continuous pressure that she forced uncharacteristic errors.
Only briefly did she falter, at the start of the second set when she went 1-2 down, but she quickly regained the momentum. At the end the tenacious and usually consistent Kerber concluded the one-sided contest with a double fault.
“I never believed I could win the tournament when I came here,” said Halep, who reached the world’s top ten for the first time only last month.
“I had been competing indoors, but mentally I am very strong and I got the feel of the balls and the court here very well. I have to enjoy this now as the best moment of my life.”
She could hardly have made a better start. She broke Kerber’s serve at once, bulleting ground strokes with the same rifling speed and accuracy as in her conquest of Radwanska on Saturday, and bouncing around the court as though she owned it.
Halep consolidated with a comfortable hold of serve, advancing to 3-1. She even summoned the outrageous good fortune to counter a Kerber net cord with a net cord of her own, opening up the court for another of her many winners.
When Halep broke again and held again for 5-1 the match appeared to be heading for a rout. But Kerber knew that getting the first good strike into the rally was more than usually important against an opponent in such hot form and started to take more risks to do it.
It helped her get into it more. Kerber held serve with a struggle but then, with a break-back point for 3-5, unaccountably failed to put a ball away from right on top of the net.
Halep duly closed out the set and broke again at the start of the second, before her momentum subsided a little, allowing Kerber to break back.
However a telling phase followed in the fifth game, when Halep’s pounding rhythm restored itself and Kerber was obliged to take even greater risks.
Eventually, break point down again, she attempted a drop shot from so far back that Halep was able to make the kill with time for a thank you.
Halep held for 4-2, and for 5-3, still launching early and powerful attacks at the slightest opportunity, pressuring a frustrated Kerber into her uncharacteristic anti-climactic double fault.
And yet all might have been different. Few saw Halep’s opening encounter on an outside court in which she trailed 3-5 in the final set to Kaia Kanepi, the unseeded Estonian, before surviving in a frantic tie-break by seven points to five.
Kerber commented: “She played good the whole week.”
“As I said, I was actually not there at the beginning of the match, and she was up very fast. I was then trying to find my rhythm, and I couldn’t find it at the end.
“But I was trying to do everything, but she played better in the important moment and actually in the whole match. “
Halep is already the only woman player to win at least one title on hard, clay and grass courts, and has now won seven of her last eight matches against top ten players.
For the moment her reward is to climb just one place to world number nine. Few would now bet against her soon climbing again though, with Errani, Jelena Jankovic, and Petra Kvitova very much in her sights.
Arsenal ousts Liverpool to face Everton in FA Cup quarters:
LONDON: Arsenal sent Liverpool crashing out of the FA Cup, avenging last weekend’s rout at Anfield, when they beat Brendan Rodgers’s high-flyers 2-1 in a full-bloodied fifth round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Londoners, who lost 5-1 to Liverpool in the Premier League on Feb. 8, won with a 16th-minute goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a 47th-minute strike from Lukas Podolski before Steven Gerrard halved the arrears with a penalty on the hour.
Arsenal meet Everton in next month’s quarterfinals after they beat Swansea City 3-1 at Goodison Park where Roberto Martinez stayed on course to become the first manager to win the FA Cup in successive seasons with different teams.
He led Wigan Athletic to victory over Manchester City in last season’s final and those two sides will face each other again in the last eight after the draw was made on Sunday.
On Saturday, Manchester City beat league leaders Chelsea 2-0 while Wigan won 2-1 at Cardiff City.
Although Arsenal’s victory meant there would be no all- Merseyside clash in the quarter-finals, there could be another derby after League One Sheffield United ended the 16-match unbeaten run of Championship side Nottingham Forest with a 3-1 win at Bramall Lane.
United will face Sheffield Wednesday in the competition for the first time since they met in the 1993 semi-finals if the latter eventually beat Charlton Athletic in a tie that was postponed on Saturday because of bad weather.
The other last-eight clash is between Sunderland, who ousted Southampton 1-0 on Saturday, and Brighton and Hove Albion or Hull City who meet on Monday.
The quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of March 8/9.
Webb captures Women’s Australian Open for 5th time:
MELBOURNE: Karrie Webb won the Women’s Australian Open for the fifth time Sunday, shooting a 4-under 68 in the final round to beat Chella Choi by one stroke.
Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff.
Webb, who clinched her 40th LPGA title, finished at 12-under 276 overall. She previously won the Australian Open in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008.
“I got off to a great start and I just did a great job mentally today,” Webb said. “I can’t think of another time when I held myself together as well as that.”
The win marked a remarkable change of fortune for the No. 8-ranked Australian, who was disqualified from last week’s Australian Ladies Masters after signing an incorrect scorecard. She had been the defending champion at the event.
Webb started five shots off the lead Sunday, but made six birdies and only two bogeys as the other leading challengers struggled in a strong wind on the Victoria Golf Club course.
“I was happy to see the conditions were going to be a little tougher today,” Webb said. “I felt like that gave me a chance to make up some ground.”
Choi had played 14 holes and was at 11 under when Webb finished her round, leaving the Australian with an anxious wait to see whether her score would hold up. But the South Korean, who had two eagles and six birdies in her record-setting third round, couldn’t make a birdie on the back nine Sunday.
“When you’re on the course you feel like you have some control, but when you’re done you have no control and you just have to wait and see,” Webb said. “I actually thought once Chella had that putt on the last, I’ve played with her quite a bit and I was expecting that one to go in.”
Choi was trying to win her first LPGA title.
World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway faltered in her bid to take over the top ranking from South Korea’s Inbee Park. Pettersen, who started the day three shots off the pace in fourth place, needed to finish first or second to pass Park, but had three double bogeys in a final round 80 to drop back into a tie for 28th.
Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the world No. 4, was also unable to challenge Webb, struggling with her putt on the back nine and shooting a 73. She finished tied for third with American Paula Creamer (68) and Frenchwoman Karine Icher (71).
Seventeen-year-old Australian amateur Minjee Lee, the co-overnight leader, had seven bogeys and a double bogey in an error-filled final round of 78. She finished in a share of 11th place.
Lavillenie break’s Bubka pole-vault mark:
DONETSK, Ukraine: Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie broke Sergei Bubka’s 21-year-old indoor pole vault world record on Saturday at the same Donetsk meeting where the Ukrainian great set the old mark in 1993.
Lavillenie, the Olympic champion, vaulted 6.16 meters at his first attempt to improve the record by one centimeter and, to make the moment sweeter, Bubka was present to witness it and was among the first to congratulate him.
Lavillenie, or ‘Airlavallenie’ as his fans nickname him, put his head in his hands and ran round the auditorium celebrating.
Bubka, who still holds the outdoor world record of 6.14m set in 1994, told AFP that Lavillenie had begun a new chapter in the event.
“A new era in the sport has arrived,” said the 50-year-old, who has forged a new career in sports administration and is a prominent member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Today the winner is an Olympic champion, someone who already has tasted success several times.
“We were anticipating this happening and we are delighted that it happened here in Donetsk.
“I like this guy a lot.
“I am sure that it is not the last time he will do this and that other stunning successes await him.” Lavillenie, who subsequently made an unsuccessful attempt at 6.21m, revealed he had changed his pole in between the successful attempt at 6.01m and the record vault, something he had never done before.
“It was totally crazy. I wanted to do my best. It was incredible,” said the 27-year-old.
“I asked for 6.16m because it was the best place to break the record of Sergei Bubka, 21 years after he set the mark.
“I thought it was the best place to try as the best was there,” he added, referring to Bubka’s presence.
Lavillenie, who has yet to win the world outdoor title having garnered two bronzes in 2009 and 2011 and silver last year, had arrived in Donetsk in prime form having broken his own personal record twice last month.
Afghanistan stuns Australia in U19 World Cup:ABU DHABI: Qualifiers Afghanistan stunned Australia in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Monday, beating the three-time champions by 36 runs.
Afghanistan, who qualified for the tournament by winning the Asian Cricket Council's U19 Elite Cup, batted first after winning the toss and compiled a decent total of 253 before being bowled out in the last of their 50 overs.
In reply, Australia could only muster 217 before they were bowled out in exactly 48 overs.
It was Afghanistan's first win in the tournament after being losing their opening match to Bangladesh by 10 wickets on Saturday and they are now tied with Australia on two points in group B.
They next take on minnows Namibia on Wednesday while Australia, who have a better run rate, take on Bangladesh in a virtual knock-out encounter on the same day.
Afghanistan proud captain, Nasir Jamal, said: "I don't think many people expected us to defeat Australia but we did it and we did it convincingly.
"We hope the people at home are enjoying the victory as much as we are. We play for our country and our people and we love to make them happy and proud."
Afghanistan's innings was built around three half-centuries -- Mohammad Mujtaba's 75, which included five fours and two sixes, Ihsanullah's 63 and Hashmatullah Shaidi's 57.
After losing opener Usman Ghani with just two runs on the board, man-of-the-match Mujtaba added 126 runs for the second wicket with Ihsanullah. Shaidi then anchored the innings and was the ninth batsman to be dismissed in the 50th over.
In contrast, only four Australian batsmen managed to reach double figures and only James Bazley, who remained unbeaten on 54, converted it into anything substantial.
Right-arm pace bowler Abdullah Adil claimed four wickets while left-arm orthodox Sharafuddin Ashraf chipped in with three.
The fortunes of Australia's under-19 side contrast markedly with the senior XI, who followed up a 5-0 whitewash of Ashes rivals England with a convincing 281-run win in the first test against South Africa.
In another match played in Dubai Monday, defending champions India survived a mighty scare from Scotland.
Chasing a meager target of 88 after Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav claimed a hat-trick, India lost half their side for 22 before Sarfaraz Khan and Deepak Hooda saw them through.
BRIEF SCORES:
Afghanistan beat Australia by 36 runs
Afghanistan 253 all out in 49.2 overs (Mohammad Mujtaba 75, Ihsanullah 63, Hashmatullah Shaidi 57; Cameron Valente 3-59, James Bazley 3-69)
Australia 217 all out, 48 overs (James Bazley 54 not out, Jaron Morgan 47, Jake Doran 45, Damien Mortimer 43; Abdullah Adil 4-45 ; Sharafuddin Ashraf 3-55).
FIFA’s Valcke: Manaus World Cup stadium is fantastic:
MANAUS, Brazil: FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke on Sunday praised work on the controversial World Cup stadium being built deep in the Amazon rainforest in the city of Manaus.
The Amazonia Arena is one of the five stadiums planned for this year’s tournament that have not been completed.
“One year ago there were doubts over whether Manaus would be ready for the Cup,” Valcke said as he visited the riverside city located some 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) north-west of the capital Brasilia.
“We worked jointly with the organizing committee and the governments and we were successful. Today I can say that the project is one of the nicest, it is a fantastic project.”
Construction on the stadium is 97 percent done, and builders say it will be ready for delivery by early March.
Booming Brazil is gearing up to host the World Cup amid fears its infrastructure for playing and hosting are not ready for prime time, and amid public safety concerns.
The tournament starts in Sao Paulo on June 12, and ends on July 13.
On Friday a construction worker was killed in the Arena, the third fatal accident to hit the venue and the sixth worker killed in Brazil while building a World Cup stadium.
Once a thriving town during the rubber boom of the late 19th century, Manaus was a controversial choice for a new stadium in part because there is no top area club to attract fans after the World Cup.
Four first round World Cup games are scheduled to be played at the Amazonia Arena, including England-Italy on June 14.
That match will be “one of the most important games of the first round,” Valcke said. “This could be a final Cup game.”
The other first-round games to be played in Manaus are Cameroon-Croatia on June 18, the United States-Portugal on June 22, and Honduras-Switzerland on June 25.
Valcke, who is visiting World Cup sites across Brazil, will also visit Brasilia and Porto Alegre before traveling to the southern city of Florianopolis.
FIFA originally set a deadline of December 31 for all stadiums to be ready, but was forced to drop it with six venues still unfinished at that stage.
Valcke has already warned that another of Brazil’s 12 venues, Curitiba, faces being dropped from the World Cup if it cannot show by Tuesday that the venue, whose construction has been lagging behind schedule, is back on track.
The government is keen to cut down spending as far as possible given widespread public discontent at the multi-billion cost of staging the event and the 2016 Rio Games
No criminal wrongdoing in Schumacher ski accident:
PARIS: French investigators have ruled out any criminal wrongdoing in the debilitating ski accident of Formula One great Michael Schumacher, a state prosecutor said Monday.
Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy said “no infraction by anyone has been turned up” and the probe has been closed, his office said in a statement — responding to questions about whether the Meribel ski station in the French Alps or an equipment maker might have had some role in Schumacher’s injury.
The 45-year-old German auto racing legend suffered serious head injuries on Dec. 29 when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock off the side of a demarcated slope in Meribel. Schumacher has been treated at Grenoble University Hospital in southeastern France since then.
Quincy’s office said the rock that caused Schumacher to fall was 10.4 meters (34 feet) away from another rock upon which he hit his head — and each were more than 4 meters away from the edge of the red-level piste that he was on.
“The accident took place in an off-piste area,” the prosecutor’s statement said. “The signage, marking, staking and information provided about the edges of this slope adhere to French norms in place.”
For many fans, the biggest concern is about Schumacher’s health and recovery prospects — and doctors have started waking him from an induced coma. The most recent in a string of statements from his spokeswoman was released last week but declined to provide further details about his health, citing privacy concerns.
Experts have said it will likely be months before Schumacher’s prognosis becomes clear — and that lasting brain damage is a possibility.
Schumacher earned universal acclaim for his uncommon and sometimes ruthless driving talent, which led to a record 91 race wins. He retired from Formula One in 2012 after garnering an unmatched seven world titles. His accident happened on a family vacation in the Alps as Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son.
US melts Russian hopes:
SOCHI: There was no Russian revenge in the “Miracle on ice” rematch on Saturday as the United States triumphed 3-2 following a remarkable sudden-death shootout after the teams finished level at 2-2 after overtime in a thrilling Winter Olympics preliminary game.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin among the noisy, capacity crowd at the gleaming Bolshoy Ice Dome, T.J. Oshie scored in the eighth round of an incredible shootout to end an electric heavyweight clash.
The atmosphere was fantastic and though the game was never going to be able to stand comparison with 1980 Lake Placid Olympics when a group of American college players upset the former-Soviet Union’s ‘Big Red Machine’ it will remain long in the memory, not least for the nerve-shredding shoot-out.
“I did (feel pressure) a little bit, but then the puck hits your stick and you start skating,” said Oshie, who took six of the eight shootout chances for the Americans. “It’s just you and the goalie.
“I was fortunate enough to keep Sergei (Bobrovski) guessing and Quickie(American netminder Jonathan Quick)did his great job.” “My hands are a little tingling, my feet are tingling. It was pretty nerve-racking out there.
“We knew it would take 65 minutes and then some.” The marquee match of the preliminary delivered in full on everything it had promised; breathtaking pace, skill, intensity, great goaltending, some controversy and plenty of edge-of-your seat drama.
Everything except a win for the hosts.
“Everything is OK, nothing terrible has happened,” said Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk. “We played well and showed our character by equalising at the end and now we will be getting ready for the future.” “It’s only a preliminary game, everything will be decided in the semi-final and the final.” With the win the United States move to the top of the Group A standings with five points followed by Russia with four and Slovenia on three.
After a leisurely but uninspiring start to the Olympic tournament against minnows Slovenia, the full weight of the country’s gold medal expectations fell on the Russian team’s shoulders as the country turned its attention to a rematch decades in the making.
The Cold War tensions between the two world superpowers may have eased and the Soviet Union is no more but the hockey rivalry remains intact and, after 34 years, Russian players charged onto a gleaming sheet of ice to a thundering roar at the seething Bolshoy in pursuit of long-awaited revenge.
While no medals would be won or lost there was still enough political tension and sporting honor on the line to turn the preliminary round clash into the hottest ticket on a sunny Saturday by the Black Sea.
A scoreless opening period was played at lightning speed to a deafening soundtrack of cheers and jeers as the two teams showcased why ice hockey is one of the Winter Games marquee sports.
Pavel Datsyuk, one of just two players on the Russian roster alive when the Soviets lost in Lake Placid, scored twice in regulation while the United States got powerplay goals from Cam Fowler and Joe Pavelski to send the contest to overtime.
Both netminders needed to produce dazzling saves in the extra session to get the contest to a shootout, where Oshie too center stage.
Regarded as a shootout specialist, coach Dan Bylsma sent Oshie out to take six of the eight US chances, scoring on four.
All the more heartbreaking for the hosts was a disallowed goal in the closing minute of the third period that was waved off by referees American Brad Meier and Marcus Vinnerborg because the net was slightly off its moorings.
“I don’t know what happened there but it was definitely a goal,” said Alex Ovechkin. “Nobody touched the net but the goalie touched the net so that the net moved.
The referee had to see it. He should have given him (Quick) two minutes (penalty).”
Olympics: USA down Russia in shootout thriller:
With Russian President Vladimir Putin among the noisy, capacity crowd at the gleaming Bolshoy Ice Dome, T.J. Oshie scored in the eighth round of an incredible shootout to end an electric heavyweight clash.
The atmosphere was fantastic and though the game was never going to be able to stand comparison with 1980 Lake Placid Olympics when a group of American college players upset the former-Soviet Union’s ‘Big Red Machine’ it will remain long in the memory, not least for the nerve-shredding shoot-out.
“I did (feel pressure) a little bit, but then the puck hits your stick and you start skating,” said Oshie, who took six of the eight shootout chances for the Americans. “It’s just you and the goalie.
“I was fortunate enough to keep Sergei (Bobrovski) guessing and Quickie(American netminder Jonathan Quick)did his great job.” “My hands are a little tingling, my feet are tingling. It was pretty nerve-racking out there.
“We knew it would take 65 minutes and then some.” The marquee match of the preliminary delivered in full on everything it had promised; breathtaking pace, skill, intensity, great goaltending, some controversy and plenty of edge-of-your seat drama.
Everything except a win for the hosts.
“Everything is OK, nothing terrible has happened,” said Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk. “We played well and showed our character by equalising at the end and now we will be getting ready for the future.” “It’s only a preliminary game, everything will be decided in the semi-final and the final.” With the win the United States move to the top of the Group A standings with five points followed by Russia with four and Slovenia on three.
After a leisurely but uninspiring start to the Olympic tournament against minnows Slovenia, the full weight of the country’s gold medal expectations fell on the Russian team’s shoulders as the country turned its attention to a rematch decades in the making.
The Cold War tensions between the two world superpowers may have eased and the Soviet Union is no more but the hockey rivalry remains intact and, after 34 years, Russian players charged onto a gleaming sheet of ice to a thundering roar at the seething Bolshoy in pursuit of long-awaited revenge.
While no medals would be won or lost there was still enough political tension and sporting honor on the line to turn the preliminary round clash into the hottest ticket on a sunny Saturday by the Black Sea.
A scoreless opening period was played at lightning speed to a deafening soundtrack of cheers and jeers as the two teams showcased why ice hockey is one of the Winter Games marquee sports.
Pavel Datsyuk, one of just two players on the Russian roster alive when the Soviets lost in Lake Placid, scored twice in regulation while the United States got powerplay goals from Cam Fowler and Joe Pavelski to send the contest to overtime.
Both netminders needed to produce dazzling saves in the extra session to get the contest to a shootout, where Oshie too center stage.
Regarded as a shootout specialist, coach Dan Bylsma sent Oshie out to take six of the eight US chances, scoring on four.
All the more heartbreaking for the hosts was a disallowed goal in the closing minute of the third period that was waved off by referees American Brad Meier and Marcus Vinnerborg because the net was slightly off its moorings.
“I don’t know what happened there but it was definitely a goal,” said Alex Ovechkin. “Nobody touched the net but the goalie touched the net so that the net moved.
The referee had to see it. He should have given him (Quick) two minutes (penalty).”
Olympics: USA down Russia in shootout thriller:
SOCHI, Russia: T.J. Oshie scored the shootout winner as the United States defeated Russia 3-2 in a nail-biting Sochi Olympic hockey clash on Saturday in the latest chapter of the two giants’ historic rivalry.
Oshie took six of eight shots for the Americans in the shootout, firing it between the legs of Russian netminder Sergei Bobrovski on the final one to clinch the victory in the preliminary round game in dramatic fashion.
Oshie’s winner came moments after Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk had failed to score on what turned out to be his last shootout attempt.
“I guess every kid guy growing up wants to do the shootout and go out and mess around and practise it so tonight it paid off,” Oshie said.
Oshie scored on four of his six shootout shots as he went head to head with Russians Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, who took seven of their eight shootout tries between them.
“I think you are going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name after that display he put on,” said USA forward David Backes. “The kids will be out on the pond in Minnesota right now throwing it five hole (between his legs).”
Joe Pavelski and Cam Fowler scored powerplay goals for the Americans with both coming while Russian forward Alexander Radulov was sitting in the penalty box.
Pavel Datsyuk had two goals in regulation for the Russians, who desperately want to win an Olympic gold medal on home soil at the 2014 Games.
The Russia-USA preliminary round match brought back memories of the “Miracle on Ice” game at Lake Placid in 1980, when a USA team made up of college players and amateurs beat the Soviet Union, who had won four consecutive gold medals.
Even though the 1980 game was not for a gold medal it is regarded as one of the greatest hockey upsets ever.
It was another emotional and high intensity contest on Saturday in front of a crowd of 11,678 at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. The atmosphere inside the arena was electric as the raucous pro-Russian crowd chanted “Ru-ssia, Ru-ssia” and waved red, white and blue flags.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also in the building, sitting in the second level next to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
A USA-Russia game would not be complete without some controversy.
With the score tied 2-2 in the third period, the Russians appeared to score the winner with just under five minutes left, but referees Marcus Vinnerborg and Brad Meier disallowed the goal, apparently after Jonathan Quick knocked the net out of place with his skate.
“The net was off,” said Quick. “I am pretty sure if that is the rule and the net is off it (goal) doesn’t count.”
The USA have now won both their preliminary round matches after beating Slovakia 7-1 on Thursday.
The Russians drop to 1-1. They beat Slovenia 5-2 in their opener.
Russia and the USA have now met four times at the Olympic Games with the Americans holding the edge with two wins, a loss and a tie.
Russia beat the USA 5-4 the last time the teams played, at the Torino 2006 Games.
Oshie took six of eight shots for the Americans in the shootout, firing it between the legs of Russian netminder Sergei Bobrovski on the final one to clinch the victory in the preliminary round game in dramatic fashion.
Oshie’s winner came moments after Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk had failed to score on what turned out to be his last shootout attempt.
“I guess every kid guy growing up wants to do the shootout and go out and mess around and practise it so tonight it paid off,” Oshie said.
Oshie scored on four of his six shootout shots as he went head to head with Russians Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, who took seven of their eight shootout tries between them.
“I think you are going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name after that display he put on,” said USA forward David Backes. “The kids will be out on the pond in Minnesota right now throwing it five hole (between his legs).”
Joe Pavelski and Cam Fowler scored powerplay goals for the Americans with both coming while Russian forward Alexander Radulov was sitting in the penalty box.
Pavel Datsyuk had two goals in regulation for the Russians, who desperately want to win an Olympic gold medal on home soil at the 2014 Games.
The Russia-USA preliminary round match brought back memories of the “Miracle on Ice” game at Lake Placid in 1980, when a USA team made up of college players and amateurs beat the Soviet Union, who had won four consecutive gold medals.
Even though the 1980 game was not for a gold medal it is regarded as one of the greatest hockey upsets ever.
It was another emotional and high intensity contest on Saturday in front of a crowd of 11,678 at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. The atmosphere inside the arena was electric as the raucous pro-Russian crowd chanted “Ru-ssia, Ru-ssia” and waved red, white and blue flags.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also in the building, sitting in the second level next to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
A USA-Russia game would not be complete without some controversy.
With the score tied 2-2 in the third period, the Russians appeared to score the winner with just under five minutes left, but referees Marcus Vinnerborg and Brad Meier disallowed the goal, apparently after Jonathan Quick knocked the net out of place with his skate.
“The net was off,” said Quick. “I am pretty sure if that is the rule and the net is off it (goal) doesn’t count.”
The USA have now won both their preliminary round matches after beating Slovakia 7-1 on Thursday.
The Russians drop to 1-1. They beat Slovenia 5-2 in their opener.
Russia and the USA have now met four times at the Olympic Games with the Americans holding the edge with two wins, a loss and a tie.
Russia beat the USA 5-4 the last time the teams played, at the Torino 2006 Games.
Watson continues Cup heroics as Wigan shocks Cardiff:
LONDON: Ben Watson continued his love affair with the FA Cup as holders Wigan Athletic belied their second-tier status to upset Cardiff City 2-1 on Saturday.
And Sunderland punished Southampton for taking the competition too lightly.
Watson, who grabbed the winner when Wigan shocked Manchester City in last year's final, fired into the top corner after 40 minutes to put the Championship club into the quarter-finals.
Chris McCann had given Wigan, who dropped out of the top flight after their Wembley success, the lead after 18 minutes, before Cardiff, second bottom in the Premier League, leveled through Fraizer Campbell.
A stunning strike from Craig Gardner helped knockout specialists Sunderland book their spot in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Southampton.
Sunderland, who have already reached the League Cup final, again put their Premier League struggles to one side with Gardner thundering a second-half shot into the top corner from 25 meters.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino had to field questions about his team, however, after resting players despite being comfortably positioned in mid-table.
Premier League powerhouses Manchester City and Chelsea face each other in another fifth-round tie later on Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday's home game with Championship rivals Charlton Athletic was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.
On Sunday, Arsenal host Liverpool, Swansea City travel to Everton and Championship side Nottingham Forest visit third tier Sheffield United.
Championship club Brighton and Hove Albion entertain Hull City on Monday.
Atletico goes back on top
In Madrid, Atletico Madrid moved clear at the top of La Liga for a few hours at least as two goals inside the first four minutes guided them a 3-0 win over Valladolid.
Raul Garcia opened the scoring from a well-worked free-kick after three minutes before Diego Costa lofted in his 25th goal of the season 60 seconds later.
And Diego Godin rounded off the scoring when he headed home the third 17 minutes from time.
Atletico now lead Barcelona and Real Madrid by three points, but Barca can reclaim top spot when they host Rayo Vallecano later.
After three consecutive defeats in league and Cup it was imperative for Diego Simeone's men to get back to winning ways if they were to maintain their title challenge and they couldn't have made a better start.
Garcia fired home his 10th goal of the campaign from the edge of the area from Gabi's free kick.
Costa then doubled his side's advantage as he raced onto Koke's ball over the top and lobbed the ball over the advancing Diego Marino.
Atletico then eased off after their initial burst and Valladolid threatened to get back into the game at the start of the second-half when Javi Guerra volleyed just over.
Mario Suarez nearly made the game safe when he saw his header come back off the bar from Koke's corner.
However, Atletico did get a third goal from another corner 10 minutes later when Godin headed back across goal into the far corner to leave Martino stranded.
Simeone then had the luxury of replacing Koke and Arda Turan with one eye on their return to Champions League action away to AC Mila as David Villa made his return from injury, suggesting he may be fit to start at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Terpstra seals victory on Tour of Qatar:
DOHA: Dutch rider Niki Terpstra of the Omega Pharma team clinched overall victory on the Tour of Qatar on Friday as Frenchman Arnaud Demare won the concluding stage.
Demare, of the FDJ team, secured the sixth and final stage at Doha Corniche in a sprint finish after a 113.5 kilometer ride from Sealine Beach Resort.
Terpstra, who had been out in front since winning the opening stage, finished ahead of his teammate Tom Boonen, the Belgian who fell just short of winning the event for the fifth time.
Sri Lanka scores another last ball win over Bangladesh:
CHITTAGONG: Sachithra Senanakaye hit a boundary off the last ball as Sri Lanka secured a dramatic three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second Twenty20 match in Chittagong on Friday to win the series 2-0.
Having bowled the hosts out for a paltry 120, Sri Lanka stuttered in their reply to lose six wickets for 50 runs by the 12th over at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.
Veteran Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera rebuilt for the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 side with a 46-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
But when Sangakkara was snapped up at point off Rubel Hossain for 37, Sri Lanka still needed 25 to win off the last 20 balls. Senanayake helped Perera (35 not out) inch closer to the target and then sealed the exciting win by pulling medium-pacer Farhad Reza for a boundary off the final delivery of the match.
Sri Lanka had also clinched a last-ball win in the first match at the same venue on Wednesday, leaving the hosts heartbroken for the second time in three days.
The series served as a warm-up for the World Twenty20, which opens in Bangladesh on March 16.
Earlier, sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga grabbed three wickets and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and Senanayake chipped in with two wickets each to skittle Bangladesh in 19.5 overs.
Sabbir Rahman, a 22-year-old debutant, top-scored for Bangladesh with 26 before he was last man to be out. Anamul Haque made 24.
Left-handed Kusal Perera hit 21 of the 23-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan for Sri Lanka when he was leg-before trying to reverse sweep Shakib Al Hasan.
Dilshan was bowled by Arafat Sunny three balls later and Dinesh Chandimal fell leg-before to Mohammad Mahmudullah.
The hosts wrested the initiative as skipper Mashrafe Mortaza bowled Angelo Perera and had Angelo Mathews caught behind in one over to make it 46-5 at the half-way mark.
Nuwan Kulasekara ran himself out for two attempting a non-existant single, before Sangakkara and Thisara Perera joined hands to begin the rescue act.
Bangladesh’s batting never recovered after losing openers Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman in the first two overs.
Senanayake broke Bangladesh’s back with the wickets of Shakib (12) and Anamul in successive overs to reduce the hosts to 41-4 in the sixth.
It soon became 59-6 as Ajantha Mendis removed Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah was run out.
Sabbir and Mortaza, who hit 17 off 10 balls, took Bangladesh past the 100-run mark.
The two teams will begin a three-match one-day series in Dhaka on Monday.
SCOREBOARD
Bangladesh innings:
T. Iqbal c Mendis b Kulasekara 2
S. Rahman c Chandimal b Dilshan 1
A. Haque c K. Perera b Senanayake 24
S. Al Hasan c Kulasekara b Senanayake 12
N. Hossain c Chandimal b Mendis 8
S. Rahman c Kulasekara b Malinga 26
M. Mahmudullah run out 9
F. Reza c Chandimal b Kulasekara 9
M. Mortaza b Malinga 17
A. Sunny c Chandimal b Malinga 5
R. Hossain not out 0
Extras: 7
Total: (19.5 overs) 120
Fall of wkts: 1-3, 2-3, 3-35, 4-41, 5-47, 6-59, 7-80, 8-101, 9-120, 10-120.
Bowling: Dilshan 2-0-23-1, Kulasekara 4-0-32-2 (w1), Senanayake 4-0-11-2, Malinga 3.5-0-20-3 (w1), Mathews 2-0-9-0, Mendis 4-0-21-1 (w1).
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera lbw Shakib 21
T. Dilshan b Sunny 3
D. Chandimal lbw b Mahmudullah 3
K. Sangakkara c Tamim b Rubel 37
A. Perera b Mortaza 4
A. Mathews c Anamul b Mortaza 2
N. Kulasekara run out 2
T. Perera not out 35
S. Senanayake not out 12
Extras: 4
Total: (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 123
Fall of wkts: 1-23, 2-25, 3-32, 4-42, 5-46, 6-50, 7-96.
Bowling: Sunny 2-0-8-1, Mortaza 4-0-29-2, Rubel 4-0-34-1 (nb1), Shakib 2-0-8-1, Mahmudullah 4-0-16-1 (w1), Nasir 2-0-11-0 (w1), Reza 2-0-16-0
Kvitova blown away as Doha storm continues:
Gentleman, Redtag, Oger, Friendster win openers in OFBL Friday Morning event:
The OFBL (Overseas Filipino Basketball League) tore the wraps up off its 5th Conference Friday Morning Division basketball tournament at the weekend with 23 teams vying for honors at the Timeout Sports Academy gymnasium on Television Street, Ghulail District on the outskirts of Jeddah.
Highlighting the 7:30 a.m. opening ceremony presided by OFBL chairman and commissioner, Boy Teves and Rocky, was the traditional parade of teams.
Posting opening day victories were Gentleman, Redtag, Saudi Oger and Friendster.
Gentleman edged out Jeddah Lions 73-70 and Redtag blasted KAAU (King Abdul Aziz University) 90-71 in a pair of Group B games, while Oger trounced Zamil 71-50 in Group C and Friendster brought down Pattaya Restaurant 92-77 in Group A.
The first trophies to go up for grabs during the ceremony went to Jamjoom Pharma Best Muse, Zamil Offshore Best Uniform (Group C), AVK Wild Boys Best in Uniform and Best Muse (Group B), Pattaya Best in Uniform (Group A).
Gentlemen rallied from 23 points down in the first quarter against the Jeddah Lions who had enjoyed a fast start courtesy of Alodina, Dayrit and Salazar.
Gadiana top-scored for Gentlemen with 28 points followed by Dorado with 14 points.
Mendoza and Irwin each scored 16 points to pace sponsor team Redtag
Libril was hands down the one that figured prominently for Oger hitting five consecutive threes that opened the way for his team’s storming finish.
Mark Lagria and Figueroa delivered the big blows for Friendster.
Teves and Gil head the committee in charge of the tournament. Handling the tournament officiating is the Basketball Referees Group (BRG) of Lito Dela Cruz.
To run for four months the tournament is sponsored by Redtag, Art’s Cuisine and Al Zougbi Sports.
Harden lifts Rockets over Wizards:
HOUSTON: James Harden scored on a driving layup with 0.7 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets to a 113-112 win over the Washington Wizards.
Houston (36-17) heads into the All-Star Game break riding a seven-game winning streak thanks largely to Harden, who scored 35 points and added six rebounds and six assists.
Houston center Dwight Howard added 24 points and 16 rebounds with three blocked shots.
The Wizards (25-27) erased a 19-point second-half deficit and led 112-110 when guard John Wall (19 points, 14 assists) hit two free throws with four seconds left.
However, Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (32 points, 11 rebounds) fouled Harden before the ball was in play on the ensuring inbounds pass. Harden hit a free throw and Houston retained possession, leading to the winning score.
Mavericks 81 Pacers 73: Guard Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and visiting Dallas posted a win over the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers (40-12) suffered a rare home defeat, falling to 25-3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Mavericks (32-22) levelled their road record at 14-14, bouncing back from a blowout loss to the Bobcats in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while four Pacers scored in double figures, led by guard George Hill’s 14 points.
Spurs 104 Celtics 92: Tim Duncan scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, including eight straight for his team at one point in the fourth quarter, leading the Spurs to a victory over the Boston Celtics in the final game for each team before the All-Star break.
The veteran big man, who will be 38 in April, led the Spurs in the absence of point guard Tony Parker (rested), injured guard Manu Ginobili and forward Tiago Splitter.
The Celtics, who had won four of their last five coming in, got 16 points from point guard Rajon Rondo, while forward Kris Humphries came off the bench with 15 points and six rebounds.
Kings 106 Knicks 101 OT: The Sacramento Kings stopped a seven-game road losing streak, turning back the New York Knicks in overtime.
Sacramento (18-35) guard Jimmer Fredette scored a career-high 24 points, hitting six of eight three-pointers. Forward Rudy Gay added 20 points for the Kings.
Carmelo Anthony topped New York (20-32) with 36 points but the Knicks lost for the fifth time in their last six games. They finish the first half of the season in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Timberwolves 117 Nuggets 90: Kevin Love delivered a 32-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist game as the Minnesota Timberwolves ended a four-game losing streak and headed into the All-Star break on a positive note.
Minnesota (25-28) built a 34-point lead and thumped a Nuggets (24-27) team that lost four consecutive and six of their last eight games.
Wolves forward Corey Brewer added 22 points while reserve forward Jordan Hamilton led the hurting Nuggets with 16 off the bench.
Nets 105 Bobcats 89: Paul Pierce scored 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats. The Nets (24-26) used a 10-0 run to open the second half on their way to a 35-19 margin to pull away from a pesky Bobcats (23-30) team.
Coming into Wednesday, Bobcats center Al Jefferson had averaged 29 points per game and recorded 30 points in five of his last seven outings. He was held to just 12 in Brooklyn.
Grizzlies 86 Magic 81:Veteran forward Zack Randolph scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Rookie point guard Nick Calathes, who has replaced injured Mike Conley in the starting lineup, had 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Grizzlies (29-23).
The Magic (16-38) were led by center Nikola Vucevic, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Pelicans 102 Bucks 98: Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca set a season high with 16 points, and New Orleans beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ajinca stepped up big in the third after forward Anthony Davis picked up his fourth foul early in the quarter and headed to the bench.
The Bucks got within a point at the two-minute mark on a Nate Wolters three-pointer but could get no closer, losing for the fourth straight game despite a game-high 22 points and nine assists from Brandon Knight.
Raptors 104 Hawks 83: Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 31 points in the third quarter as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks for their second consecutive win.
The Raptors (28-24) improved to 9-2 at home since Jan. 1 while handing the Hawks (25-26) their fifth consecutive loss.
Guard Kyle Lowry added 16 points, 13 assists and six rebounds for the Raptors.
Cavaliers 93 Pistons 89: Power forward Tristan Thompson scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to a season-best four games with a triumph over the Detroit Pistons.
Point guard Kyrie Irving had 23 points for the Cavaliers (20-33), who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Pistons despite trailing most of the way.
With the Pistons (22-30) within one point in the closing minute, Irving drained a three-pointer with 27.2 seconds left to help seal it.
Heat 111 Warriors 110: LeBron James swished a three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Andre Iguodala with one-tenth of a second remaining, lifting the Miami Heat to a narrow victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The thrilling finishing capped a sequence in which the teams traded leads four times in the final 1:22 after Golden State rallied from a 21-point deficit earlier.
James just missed a triple-double, adding 13 rebounds and nine assists to his 36 points.
Curry finished with 29 points for the Warriors (31-22) while Miami (37-14) was playing for the second consecutive night without star shooting guard Dwyane Wade, who has been bothered by headaches.
Clippers 122 Trail Blazers 117: Blake Griffin scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Portland Trail Blazers in a Western Conference shootout.
Griffin connected on 13-of-21 field goals to lead the Clippers (37-18) to their third straight win and drop Portland (36-17) to its second loss in a row and six in its last eight.
Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and point guard Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists, while Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 25 points and point guard Damian Lillard added 21 points and five assists.
Jazz 105 76ers 100: Backup guard Alec Burks scored 26 points, including nine in a row in the final two minutes, to lead the Utah Jazz to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Burks hit six-of-10 shots and 13-of-14 free throws for his game-high scoring night as the Jazz won their season-high third game in a row.
This is the first time Utah (19-33) won more than two consecutive games all season.
Small forward Evan Turner scored 21 points for the 76ers (15-39), who dropped their eighth straight game heading into the All-Star break.
Liverpool closes in on title; Arsenal, United share spoils:
LONDON: Liverpool’s surge toward a first league title since 1990 continued on Wednesday when they beat Fulham 3-2 with a last-minute penalty while Arsenal’s challenge took a knock after a 0-0 home draw against Manchester United.
The most open Premier League championship race for years continued on a wild and windy night across Britain, leaving Chelsea top, just seven points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who chalked up a superb 4-0 win at Newcastle United.
The other match that survived the weather ended in a 1-1 draw between Stoke City and Swansea City at the Britannia Stadium, a result that left both sides mired in the equally tight battle to avoid the drop that has 11 teams in its grip.
The storms caused Manchester City’s game against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium and Everton’s match at Goodison Park against Crystal Palace to be postponed because of dangerously high winds.
After drawing 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, Chelsea lead the way with 57 points, one in front of Arsenal with 12 matches to play.
Manchester City are third on 54 with a game in hand on the top two, followed by Liverpool on 53 and Spurs on 50.
Everton, who also have a game in hand, are sixth on 45 points, three clear of United who have won just two of their last seven league matches.
The most dramatic game of the night was played at Craven Cottage where bottom-of-the-table Fulham, who forced a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, twice led against Liverpool who were heavily fancied to win following their 5-1 demolition of Arsenal on Saturday.
It was Fulham who took the lead when defender Kolo Toure, guilty of a terrible error that cost Liverpool victory at West Brom earlier this month, sliced the ball into his own net after eight minutes.
Daniel Sturridge equalized, scoring for the eighth successive match, four minutes before the break before Fulham stunned the visitors by going ahead again through Kieran Richardson.
Brendan Rodgers’s side equalized for a second time when Philippe Coutinho found the net from 20 meters in the 72nd minute.
Sascha Reither then brought down Sturridge in stoppage time and skipper Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot.
“Gerrard’s peerless in situations like that,” Rodgers told reporters. “He showed brilliant composure.
“We had to show the character in our team tonight coming from behind twice. This team has not just grown technically in the way of our work but we’re showing great characteristics mentally.”
Arsenal and United needed victories following their setbacks at the weekend but, despite chances at both ends, neither could find a goal.
United should have taken the lead in the second minute when former Gunner Robin van Persie, booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball, fired straight at goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after Mikel Arteta gave the ball away.
Laurent Koscielny’s bullet header was then cleared off the line by United’s Antonio Valencia in the second half while Arsenal should have had a penalty when Nemanja Vidic pushed Olivier Giroud off balance with an elbow in his back.
The home fans booed Arsenal, who face tough matches against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League in the next week, off at the end.
“It’s absolutely open for any of the leading teams now,” said manager Arsene Wenger.
Spurs are unlikely to win the title but they crushed a poor Newcastle team to record their sixth victory from their last seven away matches.
The Londoners have also won seven of the 10 league games they have played since Tim Sherwood succeeded Andre Villas-Boas as manager in December.
Emmanuel Adebayor, shunned by Villas-Boas, scored twice on Wednesday to take his tally to nine goals in 12 matches in all competitions since being recalled.
Paulinho was also on target while Nacer Chadli’s 88th-minute strike that curled past Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul was a contender for goal of the season.
Dhoni snubs media as India prepares for series decider:
And Sunderland punished Southampton for taking the competition too lightly.
Watson, who grabbed the winner when Wigan shocked Manchester City in last year's final, fired into the top corner after 40 minutes to put the Championship club into the quarter-finals.
Chris McCann had given Wigan, who dropped out of the top flight after their Wembley success, the lead after 18 minutes, before Cardiff, second bottom in the Premier League, leveled through Fraizer Campbell.
A stunning strike from Craig Gardner helped knockout specialists Sunderland book their spot in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Southampton.
Sunderland, who have already reached the League Cup final, again put their Premier League struggles to one side with Gardner thundering a second-half shot into the top corner from 25 meters.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino had to field questions about his team, however, after resting players despite being comfortably positioned in mid-table.
Premier League powerhouses Manchester City and Chelsea face each other in another fifth-round tie later on Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday's home game with Championship rivals Charlton Athletic was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.
On Sunday, Arsenal host Liverpool, Swansea City travel to Everton and Championship side Nottingham Forest visit third tier Sheffield United.
Championship club Brighton and Hove Albion entertain Hull City on Monday.
Atletico goes back on top
In Madrid, Atletico Madrid moved clear at the top of La Liga for a few hours at least as two goals inside the first four minutes guided them a 3-0 win over Valladolid.
Raul Garcia opened the scoring from a well-worked free-kick after three minutes before Diego Costa lofted in his 25th goal of the season 60 seconds later.
And Diego Godin rounded off the scoring when he headed home the third 17 minutes from time.
Atletico now lead Barcelona and Real Madrid by three points, but Barca can reclaim top spot when they host Rayo Vallecano later.
After three consecutive defeats in league and Cup it was imperative for Diego Simeone's men to get back to winning ways if they were to maintain their title challenge and they couldn't have made a better start.
Garcia fired home his 10th goal of the campaign from the edge of the area from Gabi's free kick.
Costa then doubled his side's advantage as he raced onto Koke's ball over the top and lobbed the ball over the advancing Diego Marino.
Atletico then eased off after their initial burst and Valladolid threatened to get back into the game at the start of the second-half when Javi Guerra volleyed just over.
Mario Suarez nearly made the game safe when he saw his header come back off the bar from Koke's corner.
However, Atletico did get a third goal from another corner 10 minutes later when Godin headed back across goal into the far corner to leave Martino stranded.
Simeone then had the luxury of replacing Koke and Arda Turan with one eye on their return to Champions League action away to AC Mila as David Villa made his return from injury, suggesting he may be fit to start at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Terpstra seals victory on Tour of Qatar:
DOHA: Dutch rider Niki Terpstra of the Omega Pharma team clinched overall victory on the Tour of Qatar on Friday as Frenchman Arnaud Demare won the concluding stage.
Demare, of the FDJ team, secured the sixth and final stage at Doha Corniche in a sprint finish after a 113.5 kilometer ride from Sealine Beach Resort.
Terpstra, who had been out in front since winning the opening stage, finished ahead of his teammate Tom Boonen, the Belgian who fell just short of winning the event for the fifth time.
Sri Lanka scores another last ball win over Bangladesh:
CHITTAGONG: Sachithra Senanakaye hit a boundary off the last ball as Sri Lanka secured a dramatic three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second Twenty20 match in Chittagong on Friday to win the series 2-0.
Having bowled the hosts out for a paltry 120, Sri Lanka stuttered in their reply to lose six wickets for 50 runs by the 12th over at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.
Veteran Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera rebuilt for the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 side with a 46-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
But when Sangakkara was snapped up at point off Rubel Hossain for 37, Sri Lanka still needed 25 to win off the last 20 balls. Senanayake helped Perera (35 not out) inch closer to the target and then sealed the exciting win by pulling medium-pacer Farhad Reza for a boundary off the final delivery of the match.
Sri Lanka had also clinched a last-ball win in the first match at the same venue on Wednesday, leaving the hosts heartbroken for the second time in three days.
The series served as a warm-up for the World Twenty20, which opens in Bangladesh on March 16.
Earlier, sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga grabbed three wickets and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and Senanayake chipped in with two wickets each to skittle Bangladesh in 19.5 overs.
Sabbir Rahman, a 22-year-old debutant, top-scored for Bangladesh with 26 before he was last man to be out. Anamul Haque made 24.
Left-handed Kusal Perera hit 21 of the 23-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan for Sri Lanka when he was leg-before trying to reverse sweep Shakib Al Hasan.
Dilshan was bowled by Arafat Sunny three balls later and Dinesh Chandimal fell leg-before to Mohammad Mahmudullah.
The hosts wrested the initiative as skipper Mashrafe Mortaza bowled Angelo Perera and had Angelo Mathews caught behind in one over to make it 46-5 at the half-way mark.
Nuwan Kulasekara ran himself out for two attempting a non-existant single, before Sangakkara and Thisara Perera joined hands to begin the rescue act.
Bangladesh’s batting never recovered after losing openers Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman in the first two overs.
Senanayake broke Bangladesh’s back with the wickets of Shakib (12) and Anamul in successive overs to reduce the hosts to 41-4 in the sixth.
It soon became 59-6 as Ajantha Mendis removed Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah was run out.
Sabbir and Mortaza, who hit 17 off 10 balls, took Bangladesh past the 100-run mark.
The two teams will begin a three-match one-day series in Dhaka on Monday.
SCOREBOARD
Bangladesh innings:
T. Iqbal c Mendis b Kulasekara 2
S. Rahman c Chandimal b Dilshan 1
A. Haque c K. Perera b Senanayake 24
S. Al Hasan c Kulasekara b Senanayake 12
N. Hossain c Chandimal b Mendis 8
S. Rahman c Kulasekara b Malinga 26
M. Mahmudullah run out 9
F. Reza c Chandimal b Kulasekara 9
M. Mortaza b Malinga 17
A. Sunny c Chandimal b Malinga 5
R. Hossain not out 0
Extras: 7
Total: (19.5 overs) 120
Fall of wkts: 1-3, 2-3, 3-35, 4-41, 5-47, 6-59, 7-80, 8-101, 9-120, 10-120.
Bowling: Dilshan 2-0-23-1, Kulasekara 4-0-32-2 (w1), Senanayake 4-0-11-2, Malinga 3.5-0-20-3 (w1), Mathews 2-0-9-0, Mendis 4-0-21-1 (w1).
Sri Lanka innings:
K. Perera lbw Shakib 21
T. Dilshan b Sunny 3
D. Chandimal lbw b Mahmudullah 3
K. Sangakkara c Tamim b Rubel 37
A. Perera b Mortaza 4
A. Mathews c Anamul b Mortaza 2
N. Kulasekara run out 2
T. Perera not out 35
S. Senanayake not out 12
Extras: 4
Total: (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 123
Fall of wkts: 1-23, 2-25, 3-32, 4-42, 5-46, 6-50, 7-96.
Bowling: Sunny 2-0-8-1, Mortaza 4-0-29-2, Rubel 4-0-34-1 (nb1), Shakib 2-0-8-1, Mahmudullah 4-0-16-1 (w1), Nasir 2-0-11-0 (w1), Reza 2-0-16-0
Kvitova blown away as Doha storm continues:
DOHA: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova became the latest to be blown away as a mighty storm of seeding upsets continued at the Qatar Open on Friday.
Ten seeds had failed to reach their allotted places when Kvitova, the number three, was outplayed in straight sets in the quarterfinals by Jelena Jankovic, whose recovery from a career-threatening plunge is continuing nicely.
Purely in tennis terms the result was barely a surprise, as the former world number one from Serbia had beaten the unpredictably talented Czech in their last meeting, late last year in Beijing.
But the emphasis of the 6-1, 6-3 victory was. Kvitova, who not so long ago was within two wins of becoming world No.1 herself was only briefly in the match at all.
That was when she started the second set by following a break of Jankovic’s serve with one of only two holds of serve she managed in the entire match, and reached 2-0 and then 3-1. That was the last game Kvitova won.
“I am very consistent and that is what I am trying to do against the top players,” said Jankovic.
“You have to be at the top of your game if you want to beat players like this.
“I have been working very hard,” continued the 29-year-old who has also been making steady progress in the doubles. “I practice hard and do a lot of stretching and I enjoy it.”
Kvitova by contrast looked jaded. Her footwork was sometimes slow and her focus appeared to vary, as evidenced by a sudden spell of brilliance in the final game as her survival instincts kicked in and four match points were saved.
She may have been affected by having played two very hard three-setters — with her friend Lucie Safarova, and with Venus Williams against whom she saved a match point — but the outcome could have ranking repercussions as she has winner’s points to defend next week in Dubai.
For Jankovic the victory was further confirmation that her 2013 recovery is continuing. Injuries caused her to fall to 34 in the rankings at one point and she spent much of 2012 outside the top 20.
She has rebuilt not only her body but her game, with a more forceful service. Now she has a semi-final with Angelique Kerber, the sixth seeded German, with a chance of climbing from her current ranking of eight.
Kerber’s progress came with almost embarrassing ease, by 6-0, 6-1 against the heroine of yesterday, Petra Cetkowska.
It lasted a mere 50 minutes and the Czech player seemed to have been drained by her efforts over two and three-quarter-hours in beating Li Na, the top-seeded Australian Open champion from China.
Del Potro beaten
In Rotterdam, Ernests Gulbis ended Juan Martin del Potro’s winning run when he beat the top seed 6-3, 6-4 in a quarterfinal upset at the Rotterdam World Tennis on Friday.
Gulbis, the world No. 24 from Latvia, will face third seed Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals after the Czech defeated Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz 6-7 (9/11), 6-2, 6-4 in a hard-fought victory which took nearly two-and-a-half hours.
In his last five tournaments as the top seed, defending champion Del Potro had won five titles and 23 straight matches.
Wimbledon winner Andy Murray was trying to maintain the honor of seeds as the No.2 faced former top 10 competitor Marin Cilic of Croatia in the quarter-finals.
German Philipp Kohlschreiber was playing the last surviving Dutchman in Igor Sijsling.
Gulbis, who can be brilliant or less than impressive depending on his mood, preyed upon Del Potro as the Argentine took treatment before the start of the second set on the left wrist which has been posing problems since last month in Australia.
Del Potro came to the match without much ability to hit a penetrating backhand as he plays with medical permission while trying to clear up his wrist problem.
Gulbis will be playing in his first semi-final at the event after advancing in 81 minutes with a dozen aces as he forced Del Potro to save seven of nine break points.
Ten seeds had failed to reach their allotted places when Kvitova, the number three, was outplayed in straight sets in the quarterfinals by Jelena Jankovic, whose recovery from a career-threatening plunge is continuing nicely.
Purely in tennis terms the result was barely a surprise, as the former world number one from Serbia had beaten the unpredictably talented Czech in their last meeting, late last year in Beijing.
But the emphasis of the 6-1, 6-3 victory was. Kvitova, who not so long ago was within two wins of becoming world No.1 herself was only briefly in the match at all.
That was when she started the second set by following a break of Jankovic’s serve with one of only two holds of serve she managed in the entire match, and reached 2-0 and then 3-1. That was the last game Kvitova won.
“I am very consistent and that is what I am trying to do against the top players,” said Jankovic.
“You have to be at the top of your game if you want to beat players like this.
“I have been working very hard,” continued the 29-year-old who has also been making steady progress in the doubles. “I practice hard and do a lot of stretching and I enjoy it.”
Kvitova by contrast looked jaded. Her footwork was sometimes slow and her focus appeared to vary, as evidenced by a sudden spell of brilliance in the final game as her survival instincts kicked in and four match points were saved.
She may have been affected by having played two very hard three-setters — with her friend Lucie Safarova, and with Venus Williams against whom she saved a match point — but the outcome could have ranking repercussions as she has winner’s points to defend next week in Dubai.
For Jankovic the victory was further confirmation that her 2013 recovery is continuing. Injuries caused her to fall to 34 in the rankings at one point and she spent much of 2012 outside the top 20.
She has rebuilt not only her body but her game, with a more forceful service. Now she has a semi-final with Angelique Kerber, the sixth seeded German, with a chance of climbing from her current ranking of eight.
Kerber’s progress came with almost embarrassing ease, by 6-0, 6-1 against the heroine of yesterday, Petra Cetkowska.
It lasted a mere 50 minutes and the Czech player seemed to have been drained by her efforts over two and three-quarter-hours in beating Li Na, the top-seeded Australian Open champion from China.
Del Potro beaten
In Rotterdam, Ernests Gulbis ended Juan Martin del Potro’s winning run when he beat the top seed 6-3, 6-4 in a quarterfinal upset at the Rotterdam World Tennis on Friday.
Gulbis, the world No. 24 from Latvia, will face third seed Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals after the Czech defeated Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz 6-7 (9/11), 6-2, 6-4 in a hard-fought victory which took nearly two-and-a-half hours.
In his last five tournaments as the top seed, defending champion Del Potro had won five titles and 23 straight matches.
Wimbledon winner Andy Murray was trying to maintain the honor of seeds as the No.2 faced former top 10 competitor Marin Cilic of Croatia in the quarter-finals.
German Philipp Kohlschreiber was playing the last surviving Dutchman in Igor Sijsling.
Gulbis, who can be brilliant or less than impressive depending on his mood, preyed upon Del Potro as the Argentine took treatment before the start of the second set on the left wrist which has been posing problems since last month in Australia.
Del Potro came to the match without much ability to hit a penetrating backhand as he plays with medical permission while trying to clear up his wrist problem.
Gulbis will be playing in his first semi-final at the event after advancing in 81 minutes with a dozen aces as he forced Del Potro to save seven of nine break points.
Gentleman, Redtag, Oger, Friendster win openers in OFBL Friday Morning event:
The OFBL (Overseas Filipino Basketball League) tore the wraps up off its 5th Conference Friday Morning Division basketball tournament at the weekend with 23 teams vying for honors at the Timeout Sports Academy gymnasium on Television Street, Ghulail District on the outskirts of Jeddah.
Highlighting the 7:30 a.m. opening ceremony presided by OFBL chairman and commissioner, Boy Teves and Rocky, was the traditional parade of teams.
Posting opening day victories were Gentleman, Redtag, Saudi Oger and Friendster.
Gentleman edged out Jeddah Lions 73-70 and Redtag blasted KAAU (King Abdul Aziz University) 90-71 in a pair of Group B games, while Oger trounced Zamil 71-50 in Group C and Friendster brought down Pattaya Restaurant 92-77 in Group A.
The first trophies to go up for grabs during the ceremony went to Jamjoom Pharma Best Muse, Zamil Offshore Best Uniform (Group C), AVK Wild Boys Best in Uniform and Best Muse (Group B), Pattaya Best in Uniform (Group A).
Gentlemen rallied from 23 points down in the first quarter against the Jeddah Lions who had enjoyed a fast start courtesy of Alodina, Dayrit and Salazar.
Gadiana top-scored for Gentlemen with 28 points followed by Dorado with 14 points.
Mendoza and Irwin each scored 16 points to pace sponsor team Redtag
Libril was hands down the one that figured prominently for Oger hitting five consecutive threes that opened the way for his team’s storming finish.
Mark Lagria and Figueroa delivered the big blows for Friendster.
Teves and Gil head the committee in charge of the tournament. Handling the tournament officiating is the Basketball Referees Group (BRG) of Lito Dela Cruz.
To run for four months the tournament is sponsored by Redtag, Art’s Cuisine and Al Zougbi Sports.
Harden lifts Rockets over Wizards:
HOUSTON: James Harden scored on a driving layup with 0.7 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets to a 113-112 win over the Washington Wizards.
Houston (36-17) heads into the All-Star Game break riding a seven-game winning streak thanks largely to Harden, who scored 35 points and added six rebounds and six assists.
Houston center Dwight Howard added 24 points and 16 rebounds with three blocked shots.
The Wizards (25-27) erased a 19-point second-half deficit and led 112-110 when guard John Wall (19 points, 14 assists) hit two free throws with four seconds left.
However, Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (32 points, 11 rebounds) fouled Harden before the ball was in play on the ensuring inbounds pass. Harden hit a free throw and Houston retained possession, leading to the winning score.
Mavericks 81 Pacers 73: Guard Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and visiting Dallas posted a win over the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers (40-12) suffered a rare home defeat, falling to 25-3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Mavericks (32-22) levelled their road record at 14-14, bouncing back from a blowout loss to the Bobcats in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while four Pacers scored in double figures, led by guard George Hill’s 14 points.
Spurs 104 Celtics 92: Tim Duncan scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, including eight straight for his team at one point in the fourth quarter, leading the Spurs to a victory over the Boston Celtics in the final game for each team before the All-Star break.
The veteran big man, who will be 38 in April, led the Spurs in the absence of point guard Tony Parker (rested), injured guard Manu Ginobili and forward Tiago Splitter.
The Celtics, who had won four of their last five coming in, got 16 points from point guard Rajon Rondo, while forward Kris Humphries came off the bench with 15 points and six rebounds.
Kings 106 Knicks 101 OT: The Sacramento Kings stopped a seven-game road losing streak, turning back the New York Knicks in overtime.
Sacramento (18-35) guard Jimmer Fredette scored a career-high 24 points, hitting six of eight three-pointers. Forward Rudy Gay added 20 points for the Kings.
Carmelo Anthony topped New York (20-32) with 36 points but the Knicks lost for the fifth time in their last six games. They finish the first half of the season in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Timberwolves 117 Nuggets 90: Kevin Love delivered a 32-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist game as the Minnesota Timberwolves ended a four-game losing streak and headed into the All-Star break on a positive note.
Minnesota (25-28) built a 34-point lead and thumped a Nuggets (24-27) team that lost four consecutive and six of their last eight games.
Wolves forward Corey Brewer added 22 points while reserve forward Jordan Hamilton led the hurting Nuggets with 16 off the bench.
Nets 105 Bobcats 89: Paul Pierce scored 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats. The Nets (24-26) used a 10-0 run to open the second half on their way to a 35-19 margin to pull away from a pesky Bobcats (23-30) team.
Coming into Wednesday, Bobcats center Al Jefferson had averaged 29 points per game and recorded 30 points in five of his last seven outings. He was held to just 12 in Brooklyn.
Grizzlies 86 Magic 81:Veteran forward Zack Randolph scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Rookie point guard Nick Calathes, who has replaced injured Mike Conley in the starting lineup, had 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Grizzlies (29-23).
The Magic (16-38) were led by center Nikola Vucevic, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Pelicans 102 Bucks 98: Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca set a season high with 16 points, and New Orleans beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ajinca stepped up big in the third after forward Anthony Davis picked up his fourth foul early in the quarter and headed to the bench.
The Bucks got within a point at the two-minute mark on a Nate Wolters three-pointer but could get no closer, losing for the fourth straight game despite a game-high 22 points and nine assists from Brandon Knight.
Raptors 104 Hawks 83: Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 31 points in the third quarter as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks for their second consecutive win.
The Raptors (28-24) improved to 9-2 at home since Jan. 1 while handing the Hawks (25-26) their fifth consecutive loss.
Guard Kyle Lowry added 16 points, 13 assists and six rebounds for the Raptors.
Cavaliers 93 Pistons 89: Power forward Tristan Thompson scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to a season-best four games with a triumph over the Detroit Pistons.
Point guard Kyrie Irving had 23 points for the Cavaliers (20-33), who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Pistons despite trailing most of the way.
With the Pistons (22-30) within one point in the closing minute, Irving drained a three-pointer with 27.2 seconds left to help seal it.
Heat 111 Warriors 110: LeBron James swished a three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Andre Iguodala with one-tenth of a second remaining, lifting the Miami Heat to a narrow victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The thrilling finishing capped a sequence in which the teams traded leads four times in the final 1:22 after Golden State rallied from a 21-point deficit earlier.
James just missed a triple-double, adding 13 rebounds and nine assists to his 36 points.
Curry finished with 29 points for the Warriors (31-22) while Miami (37-14) was playing for the second consecutive night without star shooting guard Dwyane Wade, who has been bothered by headaches.
Clippers 122 Trail Blazers 117: Blake Griffin scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Portland Trail Blazers in a Western Conference shootout.
Griffin connected on 13-of-21 field goals to lead the Clippers (37-18) to their third straight win and drop Portland (36-17) to its second loss in a row and six in its last eight.
Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and point guard Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists, while Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 25 points and point guard Damian Lillard added 21 points and five assists.
Jazz 105 76ers 100: Backup guard Alec Burks scored 26 points, including nine in a row in the final two minutes, to lead the Utah Jazz to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Burks hit six-of-10 shots and 13-of-14 free throws for his game-high scoring night as the Jazz won their season-high third game in a row.
This is the first time Utah (19-33) won more than two consecutive games all season.
Small forward Evan Turner scored 21 points for the 76ers (15-39), who dropped their eighth straight game heading into the All-Star break.
Liverpool closes in on title; Arsenal, United share spoils:
LONDON: Liverpool’s surge toward a first league title since 1990 continued on Wednesday when they beat Fulham 3-2 with a last-minute penalty while Arsenal’s challenge took a knock after a 0-0 home draw against Manchester United.
The most open Premier League championship race for years continued on a wild and windy night across Britain, leaving Chelsea top, just seven points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who chalked up a superb 4-0 win at Newcastle United.
The other match that survived the weather ended in a 1-1 draw between Stoke City and Swansea City at the Britannia Stadium, a result that left both sides mired in the equally tight battle to avoid the drop that has 11 teams in its grip.
The storms caused Manchester City’s game against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium and Everton’s match at Goodison Park against Crystal Palace to be postponed because of dangerously high winds.
After drawing 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, Chelsea lead the way with 57 points, one in front of Arsenal with 12 matches to play.
Manchester City are third on 54 with a game in hand on the top two, followed by Liverpool on 53 and Spurs on 50.
Everton, who also have a game in hand, are sixth on 45 points, three clear of United who have won just two of their last seven league matches.
The most dramatic game of the night was played at Craven Cottage where bottom-of-the-table Fulham, who forced a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, twice led against Liverpool who were heavily fancied to win following their 5-1 demolition of Arsenal on Saturday.
It was Fulham who took the lead when defender Kolo Toure, guilty of a terrible error that cost Liverpool victory at West Brom earlier this month, sliced the ball into his own net after eight minutes.
Daniel Sturridge equalized, scoring for the eighth successive match, four minutes before the break before Fulham stunned the visitors by going ahead again through Kieran Richardson.
Brendan Rodgers’s side equalized for a second time when Philippe Coutinho found the net from 20 meters in the 72nd minute.
Sascha Reither then brought down Sturridge in stoppage time and skipper Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot.
“Gerrard’s peerless in situations like that,” Rodgers told reporters. “He showed brilliant composure.
“We had to show the character in our team tonight coming from behind twice. This team has not just grown technically in the way of our work but we’re showing great characteristics mentally.”
Arsenal and United needed victories following their setbacks at the weekend but, despite chances at both ends, neither could find a goal.
United should have taken the lead in the second minute when former Gunner Robin van Persie, booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball, fired straight at goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after Mikel Arteta gave the ball away.
Laurent Koscielny’s bullet header was then cleared off the line by United’s Antonio Valencia in the second half while Arsenal should have had a penalty when Nemanja Vidic pushed Olivier Giroud off balance with an elbow in his back.
The home fans booed Arsenal, who face tough matches against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League in the next week, off at the end.
“It’s absolutely open for any of the leading teams now,” said manager Arsene Wenger.
Spurs are unlikely to win the title but they crushed a poor Newcastle team to record their sixth victory from their last seven away matches.
The Londoners have also won seven of the 10 league games they have played since Tim Sherwood succeeded Andre Villas-Boas as manager in December.
Emmanuel Adebayor, shunned by Villas-Boas, scored twice on Wednesday to take his tally to nine goals in 12 matches in all competitions since being recalled.
Paulinho was also on target while Nacer Chadli’s 88th-minute strike that curled past Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul was a contender for goal of the season.
Dhoni snubs media as India prepares for series decider:
WELLINGTON: India cricket officials shut down any questions about a fixing scandal ahead of the series deciding second Test against New Zealand with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni a no show for the traditional captain’s pre-match media conference on Thursday.
A committee set up by India’s apex court on Sunday found Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of the country’s cricket board chief and an official of the Chennai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), guilty of illegal betting during last season’s Twenty20 competition.
The scandal surfaced last year when former Test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other local cricketers were arrested on suspicion of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs.
With India 1-0 down and facing their first series loss to New Zealand since 2002, Dhoni, who plays for the IPL’s Chennai team, was expected to attend the news conference by the local and traveling Indian press contingent.
He was instead replaced by opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan for the team’s only media conference ahead of the match at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
A team official also refused to allow any questioning on matters other than the Test and when one reporter tried to ask how the team had prepared for the match with reports of the IPL scandal swirling in India, he refused to allow Dhawan to answer and shut down the conference shortly afterwards.
New Zealand won the first Test in Auckland by 40 runs last Sunday though Dhawan said his side had drawn confidence from their bowlers’ third innings performance and better batting in the fourth innings of the match.
Pacemen Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan ripped through New Zealand’s second innings, dismissing the hosts for 105 before India’s batsmen, led by Dhawan’s second Test century, had pushed them to the brink of a remarkable victory.
“The last Test match, we fought back really nicely and that second innings we batted really nicely,” Dhawan said.
“There are lots of positives to take from the last Test match, so it is helping build our confidence.
“We have got very good fast bowlers. Hopefully they can repeat that (performance) and get them out for a low score.
“We are confident and looking forward to the match.” New Zealand enter the match riding high, having won their previous three Tests, which started with an innings and 73-run rout of West Indies on a green Basin Reserve wicket last December.
“It looks bit greener than what we had against West Indies,” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said of the current wicket being prepared for the match.
“It looks a bit harder as well. Hopefully with a bit of pace and bounce and some sideways (movement) too.
“Although what worked for us best against West Indies was the ability to swing it in the air.
“Hopefully we will be able to generate that swing and that will be key for us.” New Zealand enter the match with two debutants in batsman Tom Latham and all-rounder Jimmy Neesham having started the last three Test matches with an unchanged lineup.
Latham has replaced Ross Taylor, who has been released due to the impending birth of his second child, while Neesham has replaced leg spinner Ish Sodhi because of the pitch conditions.
Neesham is more known for his batting than his bowling but with three front-line pace bowlers in Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, McCullum has the option of two medium-fast bowlers in Corey Anderson and Neesham and he said he wanted to attack no matter what the match situation.
McCullum has already said he would bowl if he won the toss, something he has been unable to do in six successive games against Dhoni, and the New Zealand captain jokingly believes he may call incorrectly again on Friday.
“Yeah it is likely to go against me,” a laughing McCullum said. “We would obviously look at bowling if we win the toss.
“We will play to our strengths and with a bit of luck we can generate some pace and bounce on this wicket.” Despite McCullum’s bad luck at the toss, New Zealand have managed to recover from horrendous starts in their first batting innings, battling back to post scores of 441, 349 and 503 in their last three matches.
“We have found ourselves in some precarious situations quite a bit this summer batting first and we have managed to come through it,” McCullum said.
“With Neesham at eight we have quite a bit of batting.”
Mobily introduces advanced connectivity
Mobily has launched its advanced connectivity services (ACS).
Marwan Al-Ahmadi, Mobily chief business officer, held a celebration to announce the launch in Riyadh, which was attended by key executives, IT and technical staff of private and governmental companies and agencies, in addition to key ICT solution providers.
Advanced connectivity services, designed for both government and the business sectors in the Kingdom, are based on Mobily Smart Network, which contains advanced fiber optics coverage and offers a range of optical transport services in accordance with safe, flexible and high reliability ranges.
The Advanced connectivity services provide a highly reliable solution for high speed data transfer up to 1 terabit/sec with high levels of security at a competitive cost. It also utilizes the latest technologies that minimize network downtime while providing a high degree of operational flexibility that enables the transfer of all types of mission-critical applications and data that require a reliable, secure, high speed and low latency world-class network infrastructure.
These services meet the needs of many sectors, including public sector, finance, health care, education and others as it adapts with the continuous exponential growth in the volume of data passing across Mobily’s secure and flexible high capacity networks.
ACS supports a wide range of customer applications such as high performance storage, large databases and data warehouses, storage backup systems and recovery systems, synchronous and asynchronous network-based storage requirements and includes many services such as Wavelength and Carrier Ethernet.
Mohammed Basafi, Mobily chief technical officer, FBN, fixed and broadband networks, stated that this service is a reflection of Mobily’s transformation plan to become a comprehensive IT services provider.
Omar Sayed, general director of Ciena in the Kingdom and sales manager of the operators in the Middle East, said: “We have services designed for meeting the Middle East demand.”
Petchems: SFC holds optimistic outlook:
A committee set up by India’s apex court on Sunday found Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of the country’s cricket board chief and an official of the Chennai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), guilty of illegal betting during last season’s Twenty20 competition.
The scandal surfaced last year when former Test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other local cricketers were arrested on suspicion of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs.
With India 1-0 down and facing their first series loss to New Zealand since 2002, Dhoni, who plays for the IPL’s Chennai team, was expected to attend the news conference by the local and traveling Indian press contingent.
He was instead replaced by opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan for the team’s only media conference ahead of the match at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
A team official also refused to allow any questioning on matters other than the Test and when one reporter tried to ask how the team had prepared for the match with reports of the IPL scandal swirling in India, he refused to allow Dhawan to answer and shut down the conference shortly afterwards.
New Zealand won the first Test in Auckland by 40 runs last Sunday though Dhawan said his side had drawn confidence from their bowlers’ third innings performance and better batting in the fourth innings of the match.
Pacemen Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan ripped through New Zealand’s second innings, dismissing the hosts for 105 before India’s batsmen, led by Dhawan’s second Test century, had pushed them to the brink of a remarkable victory.
“The last Test match, we fought back really nicely and that second innings we batted really nicely,” Dhawan said.
“There are lots of positives to take from the last Test match, so it is helping build our confidence.
“We have got very good fast bowlers. Hopefully they can repeat that (performance) and get them out for a low score.
“We are confident and looking forward to the match.” New Zealand enter the match riding high, having won their previous three Tests, which started with an innings and 73-run rout of West Indies on a green Basin Reserve wicket last December.
“It looks bit greener than what we had against West Indies,” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said of the current wicket being prepared for the match.
“It looks a bit harder as well. Hopefully with a bit of pace and bounce and some sideways (movement) too.
“Although what worked for us best against West Indies was the ability to swing it in the air.
“Hopefully we will be able to generate that swing and that will be key for us.” New Zealand enter the match with two debutants in batsman Tom Latham and all-rounder Jimmy Neesham having started the last three Test matches with an unchanged lineup.
Latham has replaced Ross Taylor, who has been released due to the impending birth of his second child, while Neesham has replaced leg spinner Ish Sodhi because of the pitch conditions.
Neesham is more known for his batting than his bowling but with three front-line pace bowlers in Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, McCullum has the option of two medium-fast bowlers in Corey Anderson and Neesham and he said he wanted to attack no matter what the match situation.
McCullum has already said he would bowl if he won the toss, something he has been unable to do in six successive games against Dhoni, and the New Zealand captain jokingly believes he may call incorrectly again on Friday.
“Yeah it is likely to go against me,” a laughing McCullum said. “We would obviously look at bowling if we win the toss.
“We will play to our strengths and with a bit of luck we can generate some pace and bounce on this wicket.” Despite McCullum’s bad luck at the toss, New Zealand have managed to recover from horrendous starts in their first batting innings, battling back to post scores of 441, 349 and 503 in their last three matches.
“We have found ourselves in some precarious situations quite a bit this summer batting first and we have managed to come through it,” McCullum said.
“With Neesham at eight we have quite a bit of batting.”
Mobily introduces advanced connectivity
Mobily has launched its advanced connectivity services (ACS).
Marwan Al-Ahmadi, Mobily chief business officer, held a celebration to announce the launch in Riyadh, which was attended by key executives, IT and technical staff of private and governmental companies and agencies, in addition to key ICT solution providers.
Advanced connectivity services, designed for both government and the business sectors in the Kingdom, are based on Mobily Smart Network, which contains advanced fiber optics coverage and offers a range of optical transport services in accordance with safe, flexible and high reliability ranges.The Advanced connectivity services provide a highly reliable solution for high speed data transfer up to 1 terabit/sec with high levels of security at a competitive cost. It also utilizes the latest technologies that minimize network downtime while providing a high degree of operational flexibility that enables the transfer of all types of mission-critical applications and data that require a reliable, secure, high speed and low latency world-class network infrastructure.
These services meet the needs of many sectors, including public sector, finance, health care, education and others as it adapts with the continuous exponential growth in the volume of data passing across Mobily’s secure and flexible high capacity networks.
ACS supports a wide range of customer applications such as high performance storage, large databases and data warehouses, storage backup systems and recovery systems, synchronous and asynchronous network-based storage requirements and includes many services such as Wavelength and Carrier Ethernet.
Mohammed Basafi, Mobily chief technical officer, FBN, fixed and broadband networks, stated that this service is a reflection of Mobily’s transformation plan to become a comprehensive IT services provider.
Omar Sayed, general director of Ciena in the Kingdom and sales manager of the operators in the Middle East, said: “We have services designed for meeting the Middle East demand.”
Petchems: SFC holds optimistic outlook:
Saudi Fransi Capital (SFC) initiated coverage of the Saudi petrochemical equities through a comprehensive and detailed report, in which equities of four petrochemical companies were covered.
Generally, the report describes that the sector has an optimistic outlook, is well positioned for global recovery and valuation of stocks is undemanding. The report also noted that the stocks of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (Yansab), Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) and Advanced Petrochemical Company (Advanced).
SIIG and Advanced have enough room for upside and set the target prices for SABIC at SR132, Yansab at SR82, SIIG at SR43.5 and Advanced at SR53.
SFC commended the sector for its strong position in the global commodity chemicals market along with its low cost of production, which leads to high profitability, cashflows and dividend yields, all of which are roughly double that of global peers.
Furthermore, the report highlighted that ongoing global recovery is likely to lead to higher product prices and higher earnings for Saudi petrochemical companies in 2014. All in all, SFC has an optimistic outlook for the sector.
The report covers the equities of SABIC, Yansab, SIIG and Advanced, and can be accessed on SFC's website.
Russian ice hockey mania sweeps Games, mild weather a worry:
SOCHI: Attention at the Winter Olympics turned on Tuesday to the men’s ice hockey competition even before a puck had been shot, as hosts Russia and fellow heavyweights Canada and the United States paraded before the world’s media.
For many fans the Winter Games do not properly begin until the sticks clatter on the men’s ice hockey rink, and that starts on Wednesday at the gleaming new venues of the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shayba Arena.
On the fourth day of competition at the Feb. 7-23 Olympics, most of the action was in the mountains, where warm weather left many competitors complaining about poor snow conditions. The high number of tumbles appeared to back them up.
The final training session for Wednesday’s women’s downhill was canceled due to the conditions, and ahead of the Nordic Combined competition on the same day, American Bill Demong said of the snow: “It’s not even slushy, it’s just mushy.
“No matter how many chemicals they use I anticipate the snow will get beaten down during the course of the race and I think it will be very tough,” he told reporters.
Temperatures are expected to rise to at least 15C (59 Fahrenheit) later this week.
Despite the gripes, the contests went ahead on Tuesday and American snowboarder Shaun White, one of the best-known faces in winter sport, will be vying to retain his halfpipe title.
The women ski jumpers will also be fighting for Olympic medals for the first time late on Tuesday after a long campaign for inclusion.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus gave her rivals no chance as she powered to an impressive victory in biathlon’s 10km pursuit, and South Korea’s Lee Sang-hwa successfully defended the women’s 500 meters speed skating title.
The first of eight medals to be decided on Tuesday went to teenager Dara Howell of Canada in the inaugural women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle.
Several skiers crashed out spectacularly, including Howell’s compatriot Yuki Tsubota, who suffered a suspected broken jaw when falling heavily on her second run of the final.
Howell paid tribute to freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died in a training accident in January 2012. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier banned athletes from wearing stickers in her memory.
“She was such an inspiration to me and everyone else in free skiing, I just think that she would be so proud and happy,” said Howell after her victory. “It’s truly an honor.” It was Canada’s fourth gold of the Games but they trailed in the overall table after Norway won both the men and women’s cross-country sprints.
Russia lingered in sixth position with a solitary gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
The hosts are desperate to improve on their woeful performance at the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver when just three gold medals left them ranked 11th.
When the figure skating team won gold in Sochi on Sunday there was a surge of excitement across the country and beyond. That would be nothing compared to the euphoria a men’s ice hockey gold would bring.
“I participated in four Olympic Games and I don’t remember such an interest in ice hockey players,” former goaltending great Vladislav Tretyak, now president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, told reporters.
In an ‘all-for-one, one-for-all’ show of unity, the entire ice hockey team showed up to face the media.
“It is a team sport and it’s up to the entire team to get the gold so that is why we are here together,” said Tretyak, who jointly lit the Olympic flame last week.
The American and Canadian teams had their first practice on Monday, but attention was already turning to Saturday’s mouth-watering clash between the United States and Russia.
That game will bring back memories of the “miracle on ice” at Lake Placid in 1980 when a US team made up of amateur and college players, stunned the dominant Soviets, who had won five of the previous six Olympic titles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his personal and political prestige on staging a successful Games, would dearly love a home victory in that game.
The Sochi Games have cost an estimated $51 billion, the most expensive Olympics ever, although that figure has been questioned and would anyway include long term infrastructure projects in the region.
The buildup to the Games was overshadowed by threats of militant violence, an international outcry over a contentious “anti-gay propaganda” law and allegations of widespread corruption and profligacy.
Once they got underway that hostility quickly evaporated, although a militant Islamist group urged followers to pray for an earthquake in Sochi during the Olympics to avenge Muslims who died there fighting “Russian infidels.”
The appeal was made by a local branch of the Caucasus Emirate, a group which is waging an insurgency for an Islamist state in Russia’s North Caucasus and which called on supporters last year to attack the Games.
“We know how the Russian infidels — those who we have been fighting for centuries in the Caucasus — have become arrogant and decided to hold the Satanic Games on the ground of the companions who brought Islam,” said the appeal.
“May Allah give the infidels in Sochi the last earthquake of their lives,” it said.
On a more positive note, the International Olympic Committee lifted a ban on the Indian Olympic Association, which was suspended when a corruption-tainted official was voted in as secretary general in 2012.
The decision switches on a multi-million-dollar pipeline of funds and stokes the giant nation’s sporting ambitions, after chronically under-achieving on every field of play bar the cricket pitch.
It also means that the three Indian athletes in Sochi who marched under the Olympic banner in the opening ceremony will carry their own flag at the closing event.
Fans want Mayweather-Khan matchup:
LOS ANGELES: The votes are in, and fight fans say Britain's Amir Khan should be American Floyd Mayweather's next opponent, according to an online poll conducted on Mayweather's website.
World Boxing Association welterweight champion Marcos Maidana had held a lead in the voting on Mayweather's mayweatherpromotions.com online poll, but when the voting ended on Sunday Khan had swept past him with 20,105 votes to 15,474 for Maidana.
Although unbeaten Mayweather had invited fans to choose between Khan and Maidana as his foe for a May 3 Las Vegas bout, it wasn't immediately clear if a Mayweather-Khan clash was indeed now a given.
At 45-0 with 26 knockouts, Mayweather is approaching the 46-0 career mark of retired Welsh star Joe Calzaghe and the iconic 49-0 mark of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
Mayweather beat Saul "Canelo" Alvarez last September in his most recent bout for the WBA and World Boxing Council light middleweight titles. He has a contract for four more fights in the next 2 1/2 years.
Khan, a former WBC and International Boxing Federation light-welterweight world champion, opted out of a December fight against Devon Alexander, fueling speculation that he would be Mayweather's next opponent.
He last fought in April of 2013 when he beat Julio Diaz.
Speights, Warriors hand Sixers another drubbing:
OAKLAND, California: Marreese Speights scored a career-high 32 points to hand his former team a near-record setback, leading the Golden State Warriors past the woeful Philadelphia 76ers 123-80 on Monday night.
Philadelphia, which lost 123-78 at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night in a game it trailed by 56 points in the third quarter, nearly matched the NBA mark for the largest total margin of defeat in consecutive games. The Detroit Pistons lost by 95 points combined in back-to-back games in November 1966, according to STATS.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 24 points for a rebuilding 76ers team that never put up much of a fight. The two-game stretch was the worst in nearly 20 years for the 76ers, who lost back-to-back games in April 1994 by a combined 93 points.
No other team in NBA history has lost two straight games by at least 40 points each. Philadelphia has now done it twice.
Speights finished 12-of-15 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, and Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists to help the Warriors go ahead by 49 in the fourth quarter.
Pistons 109 Spurs 100: In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Brandon Jennings scored 21 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the San Antonio Spurs in John Loyer’s first game as interim coach.
Detroit abruptly fired Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after only 50 games as coach, but although they’ve been unimpressive for the most part this season, the Pistons have played better lately. The comfortable win over the Spurs was Detroit’s fifth in seven games.
Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 20 points.
Rockets 107 Timberwolves 89: In Minneapolis, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and the surging Houston Rockets used a fourth-quarter push to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves for their sixth consecutive victory.
Chandler Parsons had 20 points and James Harden scored 19 for the Rockets, who have won six straight for the first time since taking seven in a row from Jan. 13-23, 2012.
Back after missing one game with a bruised left quadriceps, Kevin Love led Minnesota with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Budinger had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight and six of seven.
Pacers 119 Nuggets 80: In Indianapolis, David West scored 25 points and Roy Hibbert added 14 as the Indiana Pacers routed the short-handed Denver Nuggets.
Indiana snapped a five-game skid in the series, beating the Nuggets for the first time since a 31-point blowout in November 2010. The Pacers (40-11) still have the NBA’s best record, the league’s best home record (25-2) and now lead two-time defending champion Miami by four games in the Eastern Conference.
Wilson Chandler scored 17 points to lead the Nuggets (24-26), who have lost three straight. They played without several injured players, including Andre Miller, Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, Nate Robinson and Ty Lawson.
Raptors 108 Pelicans 101: In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 19 points and 12 assists, Patrick Patterson scored a season-high 22 and the Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
DeMar DeRozan also had 22 points, Terrence Ross added 14 and Tyler Hansbrough scored 12 for Toronto, which has won five consecutive meetings and seven of eight against New Orleans. The first-place Raptors moved three games ahead of Brooklyn in the Atlantic Division by winning for the ninth time in 11 home games.
Celtics 102 Bucks 86: In Milwaukee, Jeff Green scored 29 points and Kelly Olynyk added 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Milwaukee Bucks in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics used a 12-4 run to start the final quarter to break open what had been a tight game. Green had seven points during the spurt and 11 overall in the quarter, while Olynyk scored 10 after Boston entered the fourth clinging to a 70-68 lead.
Jared Sullinger added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Boston.
Brandon Knight had 22 points for Milwaukee, which also got 17 points from Gary Neal and 16 points from John Henson before he left late in the game with an ankle injury.
Terpstra stretches lead in Tour of Qatar:
LOSAIL, Qatar: Australia’s double world pursuit champion Michael Hepburn (Orica) won the Tour of Qatar’s third stage, a 10km time trial at the Losail motor circuit, ahead of Dutch rider Lars Bloom and Italy’s Danielle Benati, on Tuesday.
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma) of the Netherlands came in fifth to stretch his lead in the overall standings.
Going into the final two days’ racing, Terpstra is 21 seconds up on Belgium’s Jurgen Boelnadts with Bloom at 24sec and Tom Boonen, his main rival, 28sec behind.
“It’s a good scenario for Niki, he’s in a favorable position and all the more so as our team is in good form and is doing well at defending the jersey,” said Omega Pharma sporting director Wilfried Peeters.
In Tuesday’s race agianst the clock, Hepburn set off 12th of the 150 riders and posted a time of 13 minutes 28 seconds, which was never bettered.
The gold medalist in individual and team pursuit at the world track championships in Minsk last year denied Bloom by one second with Benati a further five seconds back.
“This Tour of Qatar didn’t start well for me with two punctures and a fall. But this morning I was feeling really good,” said the rider from Brisbane.
“I controlled my effort well to put a lot of power into the second part.” Favorite to prevail at the circuit, which is home to the Qatar motorcycling Grand Prix was Fabian Cancellara, who had to settle for fourth.
The Swiss Trek team rider said: “The last three kilometers were very hard, clearly I was missing some strength.
“But I’m not worried, this is my seventh day of racing on the trot and it’s normal when you’re in the middle of preparing to have off days.
“It’s in April that you have to be ready.” Wednesday’s fourth and penultimate stage is a 135km ride from Dukhan to Mesaeeid.
Maria’s masterclass; Bjoerndalen misses out:
Generally, the report describes that the sector has an optimistic outlook, is well positioned for global recovery and valuation of stocks is undemanding. The report also noted that the stocks of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (Yansab), Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) and Advanced Petrochemical Company (Advanced).
SIIG and Advanced have enough room for upside and set the target prices for SABIC at SR132, Yansab at SR82, SIIG at SR43.5 and Advanced at SR53.
SFC commended the sector for its strong position in the global commodity chemicals market along with its low cost of production, which leads to high profitability, cashflows and dividend yields, all of which are roughly double that of global peers.
Furthermore, the report highlighted that ongoing global recovery is likely to lead to higher product prices and higher earnings for Saudi petrochemical companies in 2014. All in all, SFC has an optimistic outlook for the sector.
The report covers the equities of SABIC, Yansab, SIIG and Advanced, and can be accessed on SFC's website.
Russian ice hockey mania sweeps Games, mild weather a worry:
SOCHI: Attention at the Winter Olympics turned on Tuesday to the men’s ice hockey competition even before a puck had been shot, as hosts Russia and fellow heavyweights Canada and the United States paraded before the world’s media.
For many fans the Winter Games do not properly begin until the sticks clatter on the men’s ice hockey rink, and that starts on Wednesday at the gleaming new venues of the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shayba Arena.
On the fourth day of competition at the Feb. 7-23 Olympics, most of the action was in the mountains, where warm weather left many competitors complaining about poor snow conditions. The high number of tumbles appeared to back them up.
The final training session for Wednesday’s women’s downhill was canceled due to the conditions, and ahead of the Nordic Combined competition on the same day, American Bill Demong said of the snow: “It’s not even slushy, it’s just mushy.
“No matter how many chemicals they use I anticipate the snow will get beaten down during the course of the race and I think it will be very tough,” he told reporters.
Temperatures are expected to rise to at least 15C (59 Fahrenheit) later this week.
Despite the gripes, the contests went ahead on Tuesday and American snowboarder Shaun White, one of the best-known faces in winter sport, will be vying to retain his halfpipe title.
The women ski jumpers will also be fighting for Olympic medals for the first time late on Tuesday after a long campaign for inclusion.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus gave her rivals no chance as she powered to an impressive victory in biathlon’s 10km pursuit, and South Korea’s Lee Sang-hwa successfully defended the women’s 500 meters speed skating title.
The first of eight medals to be decided on Tuesday went to teenager Dara Howell of Canada in the inaugural women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle.
Several skiers crashed out spectacularly, including Howell’s compatriot Yuki Tsubota, who suffered a suspected broken jaw when falling heavily on her second run of the final.
Howell paid tribute to freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died in a training accident in January 2012. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier banned athletes from wearing stickers in her memory.
“She was such an inspiration to me and everyone else in free skiing, I just think that she would be so proud and happy,” said Howell after her victory. “It’s truly an honor.” It was Canada’s fourth gold of the Games but they trailed in the overall table after Norway won both the men and women’s cross-country sprints.
Russia lingered in sixth position with a solitary gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
The hosts are desperate to improve on their woeful performance at the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver when just three gold medals left them ranked 11th.
When the figure skating team won gold in Sochi on Sunday there was a surge of excitement across the country and beyond. That would be nothing compared to the euphoria a men’s ice hockey gold would bring.
“I participated in four Olympic Games and I don’t remember such an interest in ice hockey players,” former goaltending great Vladislav Tretyak, now president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, told reporters.
In an ‘all-for-one, one-for-all’ show of unity, the entire ice hockey team showed up to face the media.
“It is a team sport and it’s up to the entire team to get the gold so that is why we are here together,” said Tretyak, who jointly lit the Olympic flame last week.
The American and Canadian teams had their first practice on Monday, but attention was already turning to Saturday’s mouth-watering clash between the United States and Russia.
That game will bring back memories of the “miracle on ice” at Lake Placid in 1980 when a US team made up of amateur and college players, stunned the dominant Soviets, who had won five of the previous six Olympic titles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his personal and political prestige on staging a successful Games, would dearly love a home victory in that game.
The Sochi Games have cost an estimated $51 billion, the most expensive Olympics ever, although that figure has been questioned and would anyway include long term infrastructure projects in the region.
The buildup to the Games was overshadowed by threats of militant violence, an international outcry over a contentious “anti-gay propaganda” law and allegations of widespread corruption and profligacy.
Once they got underway that hostility quickly evaporated, although a militant Islamist group urged followers to pray for an earthquake in Sochi during the Olympics to avenge Muslims who died there fighting “Russian infidels.”
The appeal was made by a local branch of the Caucasus Emirate, a group which is waging an insurgency for an Islamist state in Russia’s North Caucasus and which called on supporters last year to attack the Games.
“We know how the Russian infidels — those who we have been fighting for centuries in the Caucasus — have become arrogant and decided to hold the Satanic Games on the ground of the companions who brought Islam,” said the appeal.
“May Allah give the infidels in Sochi the last earthquake of their lives,” it said.
On a more positive note, the International Olympic Committee lifted a ban on the Indian Olympic Association, which was suspended when a corruption-tainted official was voted in as secretary general in 2012.
The decision switches on a multi-million-dollar pipeline of funds and stokes the giant nation’s sporting ambitions, after chronically under-achieving on every field of play bar the cricket pitch.
It also means that the three Indian athletes in Sochi who marched under the Olympic banner in the opening ceremony will carry their own flag at the closing event.
Fans want Mayweather-Khan matchup:
LOS ANGELES: The votes are in, and fight fans say Britain's Amir Khan should be American Floyd Mayweather's next opponent, according to an online poll conducted on Mayweather's website.
World Boxing Association welterweight champion Marcos Maidana had held a lead in the voting on Mayweather's mayweatherpromotions.com online poll, but when the voting ended on Sunday Khan had swept past him with 20,105 votes to 15,474 for Maidana.
Although unbeaten Mayweather had invited fans to choose between Khan and Maidana as his foe for a May 3 Las Vegas bout, it wasn't immediately clear if a Mayweather-Khan clash was indeed now a given.
At 45-0 with 26 knockouts, Mayweather is approaching the 46-0 career mark of retired Welsh star Joe Calzaghe and the iconic 49-0 mark of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
Mayweather beat Saul "Canelo" Alvarez last September in his most recent bout for the WBA and World Boxing Council light middleweight titles. He has a contract for four more fights in the next 2 1/2 years.
Khan, a former WBC and International Boxing Federation light-welterweight world champion, opted out of a December fight against Devon Alexander, fueling speculation that he would be Mayweather's next opponent.
He last fought in April of 2013 when he beat Julio Diaz.
Speights, Warriors hand Sixers another drubbing:
OAKLAND, California: Marreese Speights scored a career-high 32 points to hand his former team a near-record setback, leading the Golden State Warriors past the woeful Philadelphia 76ers 123-80 on Monday night.
Philadelphia, which lost 123-78 at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night in a game it trailed by 56 points in the third quarter, nearly matched the NBA mark for the largest total margin of defeat in consecutive games. The Detroit Pistons lost by 95 points combined in back-to-back games in November 1966, according to STATS.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 24 points for a rebuilding 76ers team that never put up much of a fight. The two-game stretch was the worst in nearly 20 years for the 76ers, who lost back-to-back games in April 1994 by a combined 93 points.
No other team in NBA history has lost two straight games by at least 40 points each. Philadelphia has now done it twice.
Speights finished 12-of-15 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, and Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists to help the Warriors go ahead by 49 in the fourth quarter.
Pistons 109 Spurs 100: In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Brandon Jennings scored 21 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the San Antonio Spurs in John Loyer’s first game as interim coach.
Detroit abruptly fired Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after only 50 games as coach, but although they’ve been unimpressive for the most part this season, the Pistons have played better lately. The comfortable win over the Spurs was Detroit’s fifth in seven games.
Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 20 points.
Rockets 107 Timberwolves 89: In Minneapolis, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and the surging Houston Rockets used a fourth-quarter push to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves for their sixth consecutive victory.
Chandler Parsons had 20 points and James Harden scored 19 for the Rockets, who have won six straight for the first time since taking seven in a row from Jan. 13-23, 2012.
Back after missing one game with a bruised left quadriceps, Kevin Love led Minnesota with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Budinger had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight and six of seven.
Pacers 119 Nuggets 80: In Indianapolis, David West scored 25 points and Roy Hibbert added 14 as the Indiana Pacers routed the short-handed Denver Nuggets.
Indiana snapped a five-game skid in the series, beating the Nuggets for the first time since a 31-point blowout in November 2010. The Pacers (40-11) still have the NBA’s best record, the league’s best home record (25-2) and now lead two-time defending champion Miami by four games in the Eastern Conference.
Wilson Chandler scored 17 points to lead the Nuggets (24-26), who have lost three straight. They played without several injured players, including Andre Miller, Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, Nate Robinson and Ty Lawson.
Raptors 108 Pelicans 101: In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 19 points and 12 assists, Patrick Patterson scored a season-high 22 and the Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
DeMar DeRozan also had 22 points, Terrence Ross added 14 and Tyler Hansbrough scored 12 for Toronto, which has won five consecutive meetings and seven of eight against New Orleans. The first-place Raptors moved three games ahead of Brooklyn in the Atlantic Division by winning for the ninth time in 11 home games.
Celtics 102 Bucks 86: In Milwaukee, Jeff Green scored 29 points and Kelly Olynyk added 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Milwaukee Bucks in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics used a 12-4 run to start the final quarter to break open what had been a tight game. Green had seven points during the spurt and 11 overall in the quarter, while Olynyk scored 10 after Boston entered the fourth clinging to a 70-68 lead.
Jared Sullinger added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Boston.
Brandon Knight had 22 points for Milwaukee, which also got 17 points from Gary Neal and 16 points from John Henson before he left late in the game with an ankle injury.
Terpstra stretches lead in Tour of Qatar:
LOSAIL, Qatar: Australia’s double world pursuit champion Michael Hepburn (Orica) won the Tour of Qatar’s third stage, a 10km time trial at the Losail motor circuit, ahead of Dutch rider Lars Bloom and Italy’s Danielle Benati, on Tuesday.
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma) of the Netherlands came in fifth to stretch his lead in the overall standings.
Going into the final two days’ racing, Terpstra is 21 seconds up on Belgium’s Jurgen Boelnadts with Bloom at 24sec and Tom Boonen, his main rival, 28sec behind.
“It’s a good scenario for Niki, he’s in a favorable position and all the more so as our team is in good form and is doing well at defending the jersey,” said Omega Pharma sporting director Wilfried Peeters.
In Tuesday’s race agianst the clock, Hepburn set off 12th of the 150 riders and posted a time of 13 minutes 28 seconds, which was never bettered.
The gold medalist in individual and team pursuit at the world track championships in Minsk last year denied Bloom by one second with Benati a further five seconds back.
“This Tour of Qatar didn’t start well for me with two punctures and a fall. But this morning I was feeling really good,” said the rider from Brisbane.
“I controlled my effort well to put a lot of power into the second part.” Favorite to prevail at the circuit, which is home to the Qatar motorcycling Grand Prix was Fabian Cancellara, who had to settle for fourth.
The Swiss Trek team rider said: “The last three kilometers were very hard, clearly I was missing some strength.
“But I’m not worried, this is my seventh day of racing on the trot and it’s normal when you’re in the middle of preparing to have off days.
“It’s in April that you have to be ready.” Wednesday’s fourth and penultimate stage is a 135km ride from Dukhan to Mesaeeid.
Maria’s masterclass; Bjoerndalen misses out:
SOCHI: Maria Hoefl-Riesch put on a skiing masterclass to defend her Olympic super-combined title Monday, but 40-year-old biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen saw his hopes of becoming the greatest ever winter Olympian stalled.
The 29-year-old Hoefl-Riesch, who also claimed the world title in 2013, posted a total time of 2min 34.62sec after one downhill and one slalom run on the tricky course high above the Games’ Sochi hub on the edge of the Black Sea.
She finished ahead of Austria’s Nicole Hosp at 0.40sec and US favorite Julia Mancuso, who made a key mistake halfway through the course to finish third at 0.53sec despite leading after the downhill.
Hoefl-Riesch had been fifth after the morning’s run, but put in a smooth performance in the slalom — her speciality — to take her third Olympic gold medal after combined and slalom wins in Vancouver in 2010.
“It was a big fight and it wasn’t easy because the snow was tough and bumpy. The hill was steep at the start, which I found especially difficult,” said Hoefl-Riesch.
“It didn’t feel great, but I skied fast enough. I was able to keep my skis going and didn’t break too much in the turns.” For Mancuso, it was a fourth Olympic medal — the joint-second most for an American woman at the Winter Games.
“To win another medal is just a dream come true,” said Mancuso.
“I dedicated this to my grandpa. He had always encouraged me, but he passed away a year ago. We had hoped he would make it to this Games, but it’s a great feeling that he has been watching from above.” Bjoerndalen, taking part in his sixth Games, had drawn level with compatriot Bjorn Daehlie when he clinched a 12th Olympic medal with gold in Saturday’s 10km sprint and he started the 12.5km pursuit on Monday as favorite.
But his hopes of a record 13th medal were agonizingly thwarted when he finished fourth, 1.7sec behind France’s Jean Guillaume Beatrix in third, after missing targets in the shooting stages.
World Cup leader Martin Fourcade took his first Olympic gold to give France their first title in Sochi after dominating the race from the mid-stage.
He finished in 33min 48.6sec, 14.1sec ahead of Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic who came in second for silver.
Despite his setback, Bjoerndalen is due to race in four more events in Sochi and remains on course to reach 13 medals.
Canada’s Charles Hamelin, wearing a high-tech spandex bodysuit, claimed his third Olympic gold when he won the men’s 1500m short track speed skating title.
Hamelin, 29, timed 2:14.985 to snatch the gold ahead of 17-year-old Han Tianyu of China, who took silver in 2:15.055.
Victor Ahn, 28, gave hosts Russia their first ever Olympic short track medal with bronze in 2:15.062.
It was a fifth Olympic medal for Ahn, formerly known as Ahn Hyun-Soo, who won gold in the 1000m, 1500m and 5000m relay for South Korea in 2006, before switching nationalities after failing to qualify for Vancouver.
Michel Mulder saw off a fierce challenge from his Dutch team-mates to win the 500m speed skating gold as the Netherlands swept the podium.
Mulder, 27, won with a combined time from his two races of 69.31sec, beating compatriot Jan Smeekens by just 0.01sec in a thrilling climax to the competition.
Ronald Mulder, the twin brother of Michel, took bronze in a time of 69.46sec.
The day’s last gold will be in men’s moguls in freestyle skiing, where Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, the 2013 world champion, and his compatriot Alex Bilodeau, who won gold in Vancouver, go head-to-head.
Li Na aims to build on Australian Open success:
The 29-year-old Hoefl-Riesch, who also claimed the world title in 2013, posted a total time of 2min 34.62sec after one downhill and one slalom run on the tricky course high above the Games’ Sochi hub on the edge of the Black Sea.
She finished ahead of Austria’s Nicole Hosp at 0.40sec and US favorite Julia Mancuso, who made a key mistake halfway through the course to finish third at 0.53sec despite leading after the downhill.
Hoefl-Riesch had been fifth after the morning’s run, but put in a smooth performance in the slalom — her speciality — to take her third Olympic gold medal after combined and slalom wins in Vancouver in 2010.
“It was a big fight and it wasn’t easy because the snow was tough and bumpy. The hill was steep at the start, which I found especially difficult,” said Hoefl-Riesch.
“It didn’t feel great, but I skied fast enough. I was able to keep my skis going and didn’t break too much in the turns.” For Mancuso, it was a fourth Olympic medal — the joint-second most for an American woman at the Winter Games.
“To win another medal is just a dream come true,” said Mancuso.
“I dedicated this to my grandpa. He had always encouraged me, but he passed away a year ago. We had hoped he would make it to this Games, but it’s a great feeling that he has been watching from above.” Bjoerndalen, taking part in his sixth Games, had drawn level with compatriot Bjorn Daehlie when he clinched a 12th Olympic medal with gold in Saturday’s 10km sprint and he started the 12.5km pursuit on Monday as favorite.
But his hopes of a record 13th medal were agonizingly thwarted when he finished fourth, 1.7sec behind France’s Jean Guillaume Beatrix in third, after missing targets in the shooting stages.
World Cup leader Martin Fourcade took his first Olympic gold to give France their first title in Sochi after dominating the race from the mid-stage.
He finished in 33min 48.6sec, 14.1sec ahead of Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic who came in second for silver.
Despite his setback, Bjoerndalen is due to race in four more events in Sochi and remains on course to reach 13 medals.
Canada’s Charles Hamelin, wearing a high-tech spandex bodysuit, claimed his third Olympic gold when he won the men’s 1500m short track speed skating title.
Hamelin, 29, timed 2:14.985 to snatch the gold ahead of 17-year-old Han Tianyu of China, who took silver in 2:15.055.
Victor Ahn, 28, gave hosts Russia their first ever Olympic short track medal with bronze in 2:15.062.
It was a fifth Olympic medal for Ahn, formerly known as Ahn Hyun-Soo, who won gold in the 1000m, 1500m and 5000m relay for South Korea in 2006, before switching nationalities after failing to qualify for Vancouver.
Michel Mulder saw off a fierce challenge from his Dutch team-mates to win the 500m speed skating gold as the Netherlands swept the podium.
Mulder, 27, won with a combined time from his two races of 69.31sec, beating compatriot Jan Smeekens by just 0.01sec in a thrilling climax to the competition.
Ronald Mulder, the twin brother of Michel, took bronze in a time of 69.46sec.
The day’s last gold will be in men’s moguls in freestyle skiing, where Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, the 2013 world champion, and his compatriot Alex Bilodeau, who won gold in Vancouver, go head-to-head.
Li Na aims to build on Australian Open success:
DOHA: Li Na, the Chinese star who won her second Grand Slam title last month and will earn a world number two ranking this week, believes the best is yet to come.
The 31-year-old has top seed status at this week’s Qatar Open, the $2,440,000 event which is her first since her Australian Open triumph two weeks ago.
“I don’t think this is the best moment of my career — the year is only just beginning. I can’t just say I did well in the first one,” Li insisted, referring to the Melbourne success.
“There’s another ten months in the year.
She added: “It’s only February, so I can’t say it’s the best yet. The future may be better. There are many more months in the year. I am confident I can still do well, so I want to prove what I can do.”
What makes Li feel confident of continuing to do well is that her feelings after winning the Australian Open are unlike those after winning her first Grand Slam title, at the French Open in Paris nearly three years ago.
“It feels much, much different,” she said. “It feels much better than my first big win. After Melbourne I was feeling not excited like the first one (Paris). That’s because I know what happens. I have been feeling much more relaxed.”
This different feeling has made possible a different, more informed approach which Li believes may produce her best tennis again in the future — and, with average luck, further big successes.
“After the second one (Grand Slam title) I started training hard straight away. Carlos (Rodriguez, her coach) helped me a lot to do that. I’m feeling much stronger when problems come up and I can be free of them. It makes my tennis life much easier.”
Li has also analyzed the benefits as well as the difficulties of reaching mature years, and thinks she can turn this knowledge to her advantage.
“When you turn 30 people say you are old. For me I was really happy because now I am healthy and feeling stronger than before.
“Age doesn’t mean anything. It’s a question of how you handle it, how you use it. With age you get so much more experience which you can use.
“I take care of myself better. You can see I never got injuries — except when I fell over! Otherwise I never got an injury.
“I have learned how to do things to avoid that. I have learned many things, for instance what I should eat and what I can’t eat. I don’t want to lose energy.
“I like spicy food but during a tournament I don’t eat that because it’s not always good for your stomach. I don’t really like pasta, but I actually will eat that because it gives more energy.”
Li will begin on Wednesday against either Francesca Schiavone, the Italian who is also a former French Open champion and similarly a 30-plus aged player, or Magdalena Rybarikova, a good all-court player from Slovakia who is pushing to get inside the top 30.
If she survives that, she could well face Sloane Stephens, the ambitious 20-year-old American who has already broken into the world’s top 20.
This may not be an easy start for Li and being tournament favorite can also be difficult. “I can feel pressure but I have to find a way to calm down,” she said.
“Even just coming here I was thinking ‘don’t think about it too much. Tennis is just a game, so don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself.”
Messi’s ‘pride’ restored: Martino:
The 31-year-old has top seed status at this week’s Qatar Open, the $2,440,000 event which is her first since her Australian Open triumph two weeks ago.
“I don’t think this is the best moment of my career — the year is only just beginning. I can’t just say I did well in the first one,” Li insisted, referring to the Melbourne success.
“There’s another ten months in the year.
She added: “It’s only February, so I can’t say it’s the best yet. The future may be better. There are many more months in the year. I am confident I can still do well, so I want to prove what I can do.”
What makes Li feel confident of continuing to do well is that her feelings after winning the Australian Open are unlike those after winning her first Grand Slam title, at the French Open in Paris nearly three years ago.
“It feels much, much different,” she said. “It feels much better than my first big win. After Melbourne I was feeling not excited like the first one (Paris). That’s because I know what happens. I have been feeling much more relaxed.”
This different feeling has made possible a different, more informed approach which Li believes may produce her best tennis again in the future — and, with average luck, further big successes.
“After the second one (Grand Slam title) I started training hard straight away. Carlos (Rodriguez, her coach) helped me a lot to do that. I’m feeling much stronger when problems come up and I can be free of them. It makes my tennis life much easier.”
Li has also analyzed the benefits as well as the difficulties of reaching mature years, and thinks she can turn this knowledge to her advantage.
“When you turn 30 people say you are old. For me I was really happy because now I am healthy and feeling stronger than before.
“Age doesn’t mean anything. It’s a question of how you handle it, how you use it. With age you get so much more experience which you can use.
“I take care of myself better. You can see I never got injuries — except when I fell over! Otherwise I never got an injury.
“I have learned how to do things to avoid that. I have learned many things, for instance what I should eat and what I can’t eat. I don’t want to lose energy.
“I like spicy food but during a tournament I don’t eat that because it’s not always good for your stomach. I don’t really like pasta, but I actually will eat that because it gives more energy.”
Li will begin on Wednesday against either Francesca Schiavone, the Italian who is also a former French Open champion and similarly a 30-plus aged player, or Magdalena Rybarikova, a good all-court player from Slovakia who is pushing to get inside the top 30.
If she survives that, she could well face Sloane Stephens, the ambitious 20-year-old American who has already broken into the world’s top 20.
This may not be an easy start for Li and being tournament favorite can also be difficult. “I can feel pressure but I have to find a way to calm down,” she said.
“Even just coming here I was thinking ‘don’t think about it too much. Tennis is just a game, so don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself.”
Messi’s ‘pride’ restored: Martino:
MADRID: Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said Lionel Messi had answered his critics in the best way possible as the Argentine scored his first two goals from open play in 10 league games as Barca won 4-1 at Sevilla on Sunday.
Sevilla had gone ahead early on under the torrential rain at the Sanchez Pizjuan, but Messi led his side’s revival as he firstly crossed for Alexis Sanchez to bundle home the equalizer before finishing off a fine counter-attack with a stunning half-volley just before half-time.
The four-time World Player of the Year doubled his tally for the evening with another sweet finish from Andres Iniesta’s pass 11 minutes after the break and Cesc Fabregas rounded off the scoring three minutes from time.
Messi had been questioned for his poor goalscoring form since returning from a hamstring injury at the start of the year, but Martino insisted it was only a matter of time before he returned to form in front of goal.
“I always say the same with respect to Leo. I never run the risk of going over the top with him.
“Those that do say something negative about him sometimes don’t realize what they are doing is affecting his pride and, when you do that to the best player in the world, this is what happens.” Victory moved Barca back to the top of La Liga on goal difference over Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid with all three sides tied on 57 points.
The Catalans had started the weekend off top spot for the first time in 59 league matches following a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Valencia last weekend.
And Martino is determined not to hand the advantage to their title rivals again in the 15 league games that remain.
“To have the opportunity to recover and regain the lead just a week after losing it is reassuring.
“We start again now and we will see which of the three teams make a mistake first. We hope it won’t be us again.” The game was also notable for Iniesta’s return to form.
The Spanish international hadn’t played 90 minutes since the 4-0 win over Elche on January 5, but was undoubtedly his side’s best performer in midfield as they recovered control after a difficult opening.
However, despite his own contribution, Iniesta was also keen to laud the difference made by Messi.
“Leo never goes missing, he is one of the few players in the world that in a few seconds or in a few meters can turn a game. He does it all the time and he did it again today,” he told Spanish TV station Canal Plus.
“It was important to win today and to return to the top of the table. We lost the leadership last week and it is good to return so quickly. The conditions weren’t the best but we managed to take the three points.
“The equality between all the teams is good for everyone. We will see what happens come the end of the season.”
Sevilla had gone ahead early on under the torrential rain at the Sanchez Pizjuan, but Messi led his side’s revival as he firstly crossed for Alexis Sanchez to bundle home the equalizer before finishing off a fine counter-attack with a stunning half-volley just before half-time.
The four-time World Player of the Year doubled his tally for the evening with another sweet finish from Andres Iniesta’s pass 11 minutes after the break and Cesc Fabregas rounded off the scoring three minutes from time.
Messi had been questioned for his poor goalscoring form since returning from a hamstring injury at the start of the year, but Martino insisted it was only a matter of time before he returned to form in front of goal.
“I always say the same with respect to Leo. I never run the risk of going over the top with him.
“Those that do say something negative about him sometimes don’t realize what they are doing is affecting his pride and, when you do that to the best player in the world, this is what happens.” Victory moved Barca back to the top of La Liga on goal difference over Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid with all three sides tied on 57 points.
The Catalans had started the weekend off top spot for the first time in 59 league matches following a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Valencia last weekend.
And Martino is determined not to hand the advantage to their title rivals again in the 15 league games that remain.
“To have the opportunity to recover and regain the lead just a week after losing it is reassuring.
“We start again now and we will see which of the three teams make a mistake first. We hope it won’t be us again.” The game was also notable for Iniesta’s return to form.
The Spanish international hadn’t played 90 minutes since the 4-0 win over Elche on January 5, but was undoubtedly his side’s best performer in midfield as they recovered control after a difficult opening.
However, despite his own contribution, Iniesta was also keen to laud the difference made by Messi.
“Leo never goes missing, he is one of the few players in the world that in a few seconds or in a few meters can turn a game. He does it all the time and he did it again today,” he told Spanish TV station Canal Plus.
“It was important to win today and to return to the top of the table. We lost the leadership last week and it is good to return so quickly. The conditions weren’t the best but we managed to take the three points.
“The equality between all the teams is good for everyone. We will see what happens come the end of the season.”
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