Top Rugby World Cup tip: Keep calm, trust the All Blacks

Keep calm, trust in the All Blacks and block all calls from Australia. That's the advice being given before this weekend's ultimate transtasman battle, the Rugby World Cup semifinal match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

Sports psychologist Jane Magnusson said it was understandable that some Kiwis would be feeling the heat because of cross-Tasman rivalry and the effects of an Australian upset.

"Usually it would be just another semifinal or rugby game," she said.

"But it probably does put it in a different psychological realm because it's against Australia."

Dr Magnusson, who is also a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland's Sport and Exercise Science Department, said it would be hard for Kiwis to handle losing to the Wallabies, but there was nothing more to do except back the team and trust in them.  Read More

Read more »

Sebastian Vettel secures back-to-back F1 world titles in Japan

Although Jenson Button claimed victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, the British driver's third win of the season was not enough to prevent Sebastian Vettel from taking his second world championship with a carefully driven third place that secured the single point needed to take the title. It marks the climax of an almost flawless season in which the champion has been dominant, taking 12 poles and winning nine of the 15 races, with four yet to be contested.

A clearly emotional Vettel, who finished behind Fernando Alonso for the final part of the race and had opted not to push too hard, climbed from his car and raised both arms and both fingers, rather than the usual single digit, in acknowledgement of the double. The massed ranks of Japanese fans showed their appreciation in return – they are used to toasting champions at Suzuka, the title has been decided here 11 times in 23 races.  More Read

Read more »

The bottom line is, they're the ultimate over-achievers

How did the Wallabies do it? How did they overcome having only 24 per cent of the territory and 44 per cent possession to keep the Springboks out? How did they make the World Cup semi-finals when they really had only one chance to score in last night's epic and memorable encounter?

How? Simple. Through sheer determination, courage, incredible will power and enormous belief. Australian rugby has a history, a reputation for getting so much out of so little, using every little bit of its limited resources to repeatedly overcome those who are overflowing in riches. It's happened time and time again when poor, undernourished Australian teams have beaten countries that have rugby as their prime winter outlet, rather than one of four football codes dividing the ranks. It's that Wallabies spirit that keeps them being such a fascinating beast, the ultimate over-achievers.  More

Read more »

Top seeds march on in Federal Cup tennis

ISLAMABAD – Top-seed Aqeel Khan and other seeded players Yasir Khan, Shahzad Khan, Hameed-ul-Haq, Asim Shafik and Sanaullah from Peshawar scored straight sets victories against their respective rivals in the 27th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championship here at the Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex on Wednesday.

In the Junior Under-18 singles, Ahmed Babar (Lahore) caused upset and eliminated second seed Usman Rafiq (Lahore) in a three set match. Ahmed hit a number of winners and won the final set by 6-0.

He will face Rizwan Ahmed in the quarterfinal who beat Akber Tiwana by 7-6, 7-6. All the other seeded players Abid, Saad Zafar, Faizan Khurram, Arham Attique, Mudassar, Kashan-ul-Haq, Rizwan Ahmed and Ahmed Babar qualified for the quarterfinals with out too much difficulty.   Read More
 

Read more »

Toby Flood has been handed a dramatic late call-up by England coach Martin Johnson to face France at centre

Flood is to start the match alongside fly-half Jonny Wilkinson at inside centre as a replacement for Mike Tindall in a bold move by England manager Martin Johnson as his side aim to book a place in the semi-finals for the third tournament in succession.

Tindall, who has been the centre of the off-field controversy that has marred England’s campaign, has sat out training so far this week as he recovers from a dead leg he sustained against Scotland and will not be risked against France.

Flood, who hasn’t started a match for England at inside centre since the 30-17 victory over Wales in the Six Nations at Twickenham in February 2010, came off the bench to play at 12 during the final World Cup warm-up match against Ireland in August and in the final pool victory over Scotland at Eden Park last Saturday. More Read

Read more »

Prosecutors say corruption rife in world cricket

The spot-fixing case involving three Pakistani cricketers is just one example of the "rampant corruption" sweeping through the game, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are accused of fixing parts of a test match during Pakistan's tour of England in 2010, an offense which carries a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment.

Speaking on the first full day of the trial in London's Southwark Crown Court, prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee said the "breathtaking" sums of money involved in the illegal betting market meant fixing was rife, especially in South Asia.  Continue

Read more »

Implement DRS on permanent basis: Aleem Dar

Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar has backed the use of the Decision Review System (DRS) and feels it should be used on a permanent basis to avoid hampering the performance of the umpires.

The DRS has drawn intense debate on its use with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) strongly opposed to its use. The technology has also been criticised for its high costs and limited scope.

The Indian team's recent tour to England has sparked the DRS debate particularly on the Hot Spot technology.  Read More

Read more »

ESPN Drops Hank Williams Jr.'s Monday Night Football Song Over Obama Remarks

Monday was not a good day for Hank Williams Jr.


The country singer, who performs the "are you ready for some football?" lead-in on ESPN's Monday Night Football, has been pulled from the program after comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler in an interview Monday morning.

Williams told Fox News news anchors on Fox & Friends that this summer's golf summit between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner was like "Hitler playing golf with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu." When asked to elaborate on his analogy, Williams called Obama and Vice President Joe Biden the enemy.   Read More

Read more »

Kallis, Steyn rested for ODI and T20 series vs Australia

Johannesburg: Premier batsman Hashim Amla will make his debut as national team captain both in the T20 and ODI formats when the Proteas start their series against visitors Australia next week.

All-rounder Jacques Kallis and pacer Dale Steyn have been left out of the side. Cricket South Africa`s (CSA) national selectors on Monday named the squads for both formats.

"With the ICC World Twenty20 less than a year away, we need to keep a solid core of experience around the side," commented CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson, "but at the same time we want to give younger players a run as well and this certainly applies in the case of Richard Levi and David Miller." More Read

Read more »

Wozniacki defends Li Na after surviving her own China scare

(CNN) -- Caroline Wozniacki survived a first round scare at the China Open Monday then defended French Open champion Li Na who has been the subject of fierce criticism for exiting at the same stage to a lowly-ranked opponent.

World No.1 Wozniacki looked to be heading the same way as she lost the first set to Czech Lucie Hradecka and wobbled in the decider, but pulled through 3-6 6-0 7-5.

There was no such fortune for Li Sunday as she went out in straight sets to Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu, a defeat that left a large and partisan home crowd in Beijing stunned.

Li has struggled since her grand slam triumph at Roland Garros in May but Wozniacki understands the weight of expectation.   More

Read more »

France Names Team to Play England in Quarterfinals of Rugby World Cup

France coach Marc Lievremont named the following team for the Oct. 8 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against England at Auckland’s Eden Park:

FRANCE: 1. Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2. William Servat, 3. Nicolas Mas, 4. Pascal Pape, 5. Lionel Nallet, 6.

Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 7. Julien Bonnaire, 8. Imanol Harinordoquy, 9. Dimitri Yachvili, 10. Morgan Parra, 11. Alexis Palisson, 12. Maxime Mermoz, 13. Aurelien Rougerie, 14. Vincent Clerc, 15. Maxime Medard.   Continue

Read more »

Pearson nominated for IAAF award

Australian sprint hurdler Sally Pearson has been shortlisted for the 2011 World Athlete of the Year award, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced on Monday.

World champion Pearson lost only one race all year, falling while leading the field in the last race of the season.
The men's list is predictably headed by Jamaican sprint kings Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.

Blake won the world championships 100m title in Daegu last month when his world record-holding compatriot was disqualified for a false start.

And the duo sprinted to landmark times at the Diamond League last month, Bolt running the fastest 100m this year and Blake the second fastest 200m in history.  More

Read more »

South Africa tour up with toughest: Clarke

Australian captain Michael Clarke has rated the upcoming tour of South Africa as tough a challenge as there is in world cricket.

The Australians will play two Twenty20, three one-day and two Test matches against South Africa starting in mid-October.

South Africa currently sits second in the world Test rankings, behind only England and two places above Australia.

"They are a very good team and they are ranked very high in all forms of the game," Clarke said.

"They have had a lot of success in their own country, so it's as tough a challenge as you face in world cricket, no doubt."   Read More

Read more »

Mohsin named interim Pak coach

KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket chiefs on Monday installed chief selector Mohsin Khan as the national team’s interim coach for the forthcoming ‘home’ series against Sri Lanka getting underway in Abu Dhabi later this month.

Mohsin, a former Pakistan Test opener, has been given the assignment after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) failed to find a replacement for Waqar Younis, who was forced to quit as national coach because of health issues last month.

“Mohsin Hasan Khan will be coach for the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka series only. PCB is in the process of appointing a full-time coach,” said a media release issued by the PCB on Monday.

Mohsin, 56, was confident that he will help instill self belief in the Pakistan team that will take on Sri Lanka after whitewashing Zimbabwe in an away series last month.   Read More

Read more »

Gayle plays havoc as RCB tastes first win

Chris Gayle exploded into life as Royal Challengers Bangalore did its net run rate no harm with a colossal 51-run defeat of Somerset here on Monday. 

Gayle made the most of the opponent's largesse in the field, his belligerent 86 (46b, 4x4, 8x6) and 70-run stand for the second-wicket with Virat Kohli helping the home side score 206 and record its first win of the tournament. Although Peter Trego 58 (38b, 4x4, 3x6) fought back valiantly, his side was overwhelmed by the target. 

Somerset was not about to roll over easily; Craig Kieswetter's ball-striking left little to chance and he took boundaries off S. Arvind and Dirk Nannes. As many as 38 runs had been scored off the opening four overs, with the first frowns visible on RCB faces. Captain Daniel Vettori then bowled himself, to immediate success. Kieswetter and Roelof van der Merwe were both held behind the wicket by K.B. Arun Karthik — the first a remarkably good effort, and the second a straight-forward top-edge to settle under.    Read More

Read more »

NFL will begin pinpointing the sounds of violence

Beginning on Sunday, some players will have microphones added to their pads.

 If pro football broadcasts sound a little different this season, that's no accident.

The NFL issued a memo to teams this week that, beginning Sunday, field-audio microphones will be used for all regular-season and playoff games.  Read More

Read more »

Alabama's march to BCS might get mired in a Swamp

Florida has gone from a preseason No. 22 in the AP poll to No. 12 after a 4-0 start. Shades of Auburn last year? The Gators get a chance to wade into the Tide on Saturday, then it's on to top-ranked LSU.   Read More

Read more »

Megabucks Anzhi planning raid on England for Capello, Lampard and Gerrard, confirms Carlos

Roberto Carlos has confirmed that mega-rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala are interested in appointing Fabio Capello as their manager, as revealed by Sportsmail earlier this month. 


Brazilian defender Carlos, 38, has been appointed a player-coach for Anzhi and immediately began talks with his bosses about transfer targets and who should take over as boss following the sacking of Gadzhi Gadzhiev. 


Billionaire Russian owner Suleyman Kerimov wants Capello to take over after leading  England at next summer's European Championship and Carlos said: 'I am having dinner with the president tonight and we'll speak about signings and coaches for next season.'    Read More

Read more »

NHL will look into fighting: Shanahan

New National Hockey League disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan told the CBC that the NHL may have to examine whether fighting has a place in the game.

Shanahan made the comments Thursday in an interview conducted for the next episode of Mansbridge One on One.  


"We're definitely very serious in making advancements in studying blows to the head, we have to also look at fighting," said Shanahan.

"What the final decision is, I can't tell you now, that's something we're obviously going to have to look at, but there's no way we would ever deny that it's not something we're looking at closely," he added.

Shanahan, whose official title is senior vice-president of player safety, received his new mandate in June. He replaced Colin Campbell, who served in the capacity for 13 years and remains with the NHL as a director of hockey operations.   Read More

Read more »

Paul Scholes understands Carlos Tevez's refusal to play

Paul Scholes says he understands why Manchester City's Carlos Tevez apparently refused to warm up against Bayern Munich.

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Scholes was unwilling to play in a League Cup tie in 2001, having been dropped for the previous game against Liverpool.
He stated what he did was "equally bad if not worse" than Tevez's situation.

"I know Carlos quite well. He's a player who wants to be playing," Scholes told BBC Radio 5 live.
"When he's a sub, it will be killing him.   Read More

Read more »