SFS FLASHBACKS: SPAIN 4 - ITALY 2 EURO (PENALTIES) 2008 QUARTER FINAL

Wabup Dialog dengan Manajemen Persibo

BOJONEGORO - Wakil Bupati Bojonegoro Setyo Hartono kemarin menggelar dialog bersama KONI serta manajemen dan pemain Persibo.

Dialog tersebut berlangsung di mess Persibo Jalan Untung Suropati. Jajaran pengurus KONI yang hadir antara lain M. Taufik (ketua), Sahari (sekretaris), dan Yarmanu (bendahara). Sementara manajemen Persibo hadir dipimpin manajernya, Taufik Risnendar. ''Saat ini semua transparan dan tidak ada yang ditutupi,'' kata Wabup Setyo Hartono.

Hal itulah, lanjut dia, yang menjadikan modal bagi pemkab mengajak pihak ketiga untuk ikut berpartisipasi dalam mendukung Persibo Bojonegoro.

Manajer Persibo Bojonegoro Taufik Risnendar menyatakan, pertemuan ini sangat bermakna sekali. Sebab, dengan dialog ini akan menjadikan segala sesuatu menjadi lebih terbuka. ''Kami berusah terbuka dan silahkan apa saja ditanyakan kepada kami. Sebab, kami ingin naik kasta ke Superliga tahun ini,'' tegasnya.

Sedangkan Ket! ua KONI Bojonegoro M Taufik menuturkan, saat ini pihaknya sedang berusaha mencarikan dana Persibo Bojonegoro. Menurut dia, ada beberapa persyaratan administrasi yang harus diselesaikan termasuk adanya Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Sementara itu, pelatih Persibo Sartono Anwar yang mewakili tim menjelaskan, saat ini meski belum mendapatkan gaji penuh namun pihaknya tetap komitmen untuk berprestasi. Dia mengapresiasi kerja keras manajemen yang selalu menalangi keuangan termasuk kas bon para pemain. ''Karena itu kami minta segera dicairkan agar kami bisa gajian dan tidak kas bon lagi,'' tuturnya. (ade)

USA overcomes Sweden

Two Abby Wambach goals, one in each half, led the U.S. to a key Group B victory over Sweden in the second game of the FIFA Women's World Cup in China.

U21s waste time and resources in England

Loaded with college stars, the U.S. under-21 women's national team crushed all three opponents on its trip to England, beating FA Women's Premier League teams Blackburn (2-0), Everton (6-2) and Leeds (5-0).

Stay home and play Washington Freedom instead.

USASA National Cup Finals Results

Women's Open Final
Sockers (IL) 0 - Dallas Roma (NTX) 1

Women's Amateur Final
Eclipse Select (I L) 1 - Hibernian Saints (WA) 0

Women's U23 Final
CUSC Cobras (IN) 2 - Real Colorado (CO) 3

Women's Over 30 Final
Houston Challengers (TXS) 2 - St. Louis S. C. (MO) 1

Two-time WPSL National Championship coach to lead Philly

The Philadelphia Independence is proud to announce the selection of Paul Riley as its Head Coach. Originally from Liverpool, England, Paul has a long and illustrious career coaching men's and women's youth, college, and minor league soccer, including two National Championships (2006 and 2009) with the WPSL Long Island Fury.

Lorenzo to HRC Honda next season???

Thursday, June 4th, 2009
According to solomoto.es about a month ago, there was a secret talk between Respol company with Lorenzo's management. When the rumor burst out, Repsol's Corporate Direction, Begoña Elices, stated they don't expect to lose Pedrosa but the situation is just not 'that good' to retain Pedro in Repsol Honda.

That was a shock news actually, maybe Repsol started to get tired because Pedrosa doesn't deliver the world champion until now.

Elices also stressed out that the contract between Repsol and HRC is not a priority now, the result is more important, this could means, if Pedrosa adn Honda doesn't deliver this season, Repsol may take two options:
1. Leave Honda and go to another team (which is very unlikely to happen very soon)
2. Sack Pedrosa and put Lorenzo in, as Elices admitted they ARE proposing it now to Lorenzo's management.

Interesting to wait... :)

Oscar for Schummie?

Michael Schumacher's agent, advisor and long-time friend Willie Webber, has told the Bunte magazine in Germany that a Hollywood producer is wanting to make a film about Schumacher's life story. Try as I may, I just cannot get enthusiastic about Michaels acting potential, and being such an intensely private person when it comes to his family and private life, I have to wonder just how much of the potential film will be based on actual fact, rather than 'creative licence'. The proposed name of the movie about his life story must have had the creative t! eam up all night, they are going to call it 'The Michael Schumacher Story'. If it happens, dont expect the film critics to rave, but it will be compulsive viewing to motorsport enthusiasts.

Bok recruits step into line

Peter de Villiers has silenced his critics and is reaping the rewards for putting faith in 'his' Bok picks. The new Bok coach didn't flinch when he called on Bolla Conradie and Adi Jacobs to start, despite both players only playing cameo roles for their Super 14 sides. They both stood out and played big roles in two of the tries in the Boks' 43-17 mauling of the Red Dragons.

Some other 'new' players - Andries Bekker, Luke Watson, Thonderai Chavanga and Conrad Jantjes - all slotted in very well. Bekker showed a little frustration in! the second half and made two glaring knock-ons under difficult circumstances. Chavanga knocked-on when he should've fielded an up and under and also come off his line to open the gap for Shane Williams to score. Jantjes was solid, but launched few counter attacks. Watson did almost everything right, winning the ball on the ground and showing skill with the ball in hand.

Brian Mujati is the one player that struggled in the scrums, but the heavier Welsh pack did scrum well and it's no secret that a new front row combination needs a bit of time to 'click'.

So de Villiers has created even more depth in his squad by 'blooding' some young players and reviving some Bok careers. Even more impressive is the skill level of some of the players who failed to make the match 22 this week, like Ricky Januarie, Ryan Kankowski, Frans Steyn, Tendai Mtawarira and BJ Botha. Many of them should get some game time this coming weekend.

I think there's a bright se! ason ahead and the Welsh, Italy, Argentina, Australia and New ! Zealand will face a powerful team that will just get stronger every week.

Hunter's Joy Ahead of Tour

On the eve of the Tour de France, South African cycling hero, Robert Hunter, has become a father for the first time. Hunter's daughter, Mandy, was born today, 3 July 2008. She was only due on the 19th, which is the anniversary of her dad's 2007 Stage 11 Tour win. Like the Barloworld rider, the young Hunter had to arrive earlier than the bunch.

"I am ecstatic. This is both the proudest and most humbling moment of my life," said the excited new father.

Medals table at the games

Here are latest medal standings at the Beijing Olympics, the top three has not changed China still in the lead with the Netherlands and Italy joining the top 10.

Gold Silver Bronze Total
China 46 15 22 83
United States 30 35 34 99
Great Britain 17 12 11 40
Russia 16 16 21 53
Australia 11 14 14 39
Germany 11 8 12 31
South Korea 10 10 6 26
Japan 9 6 9 24
Italy 7 7 9 23
Netherlands 6 5 4 15

Seve: Ryder Cup will be close

Ryder Cup hero and Laureus World Sports Academy member Severiano Ballesteros, writing exclusively for www.laureus.com, says he thinks the Ryder Cup at Valhalla will be a lot closer than people are expecting.

"My heart says Europe, but it will be close."

Seve was a giant as a player before taking on the captaincy at Valderrama in 1997 when Europe beat the Americans 14½ -13½. Read more for more of Seve's comments.

• On Nick Faldo: "At the height of his playing career he was very much a loner who got on with the business of winning. Now he must be the opposite and unite his team."

• On wild cards: "Many people were calling for Darren Clarke…by going for Poulter and Casey, Faldo showed he is his own man, prepared to make what he thought was the right, not just the most popular decision, which I think is a good sign."

• On US captain Paul Azinger: ! "He is playing mind games saying Europe are so strong…he is trying to make Europe over-confident, and that is a real danger."

• On Azinger's strength: "I had some clashes with him about gamesmanship and rules in 1989 and 1991. He showed then that he was as determined to win as I was."

• On Tiger Woods: "Whether Woods will be a loss to the US team has been the subject of much debate. I think losing the best player in the world can only be a disadvantage."

Cobras Fixtures - MTN Domestic Championship

The Nashua Cape Cobras kick-off the MTN Domestic Championship in Pretoria on Sunday. Here are all the season fixtures...

Nashua Cape Cobras Fixtures in the MTN Domestic Championship
(Home fixtures in blue)

November 2008

23 Nashua Titans v Nashua Cape Cobras, SuperSport Park, Centurion 10:00

28 Gestetner Diamond Eagles v Nashua Cape Cobras, OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein 16:15

December 2008

5 Chevrolet Warriors v Nashua Cape Cobras, Buffalo Park, East London 16:15

14 Nashua Cape Cobras v Nashua Dolphins, Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town 10:00

16 bizhub Highveld Lions v Nashua Cape Cobras, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom 10:00

21 Nashu! a Cape Cobras v Nashua Titans, Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town 10:00

26 Nashua Dolphins v Nashua Cape Cobras, Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban 16:15

28 Nashua Cape Cobras v Gestetner Diamond Eagles, Boland Park, Paarl 10:00

January 2009

2 Nashua Cape Cobras v Chevrolet Warriors, Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town 16:15

4 Nashua Cape Cobras v bizhub Highveld Lions, Boland Park, Paarl 10:00

9 Semi-final 1, TBA 16:15

10 Semi-final 1, (Reserve Day) 10:00

11 Semifinal 2, TBA 10:00

12 Semi-final 2, (Reserve Day) 16:15

16 Final, TBA 16:15

17 Final, (Reserve Day) 10:00

Arsenal await FA confirmation

The January transfer window in the English Premier League has closed but there was still some action taking place as Arsenal attempt to sign Russian superstar Andrei Arshavin.

Arsenal reportedly got the signature of Arshavin according to his club Zenit Saint Petersburg. The deal was said to be worth in the region of £12m.
The Russian passed a medical and agreed to personal terms but Arsenal was awaiting a decision from the FA to finalise Arshavin's paperwork.


Elsewhere, Robbie Keane re-signed for Tottenham after spending just six months at Liverpool.

His new coach Harry Redknapp said he was not sure why Keane did not have greater success while the Reds.

"Liverpool are such a strong side and going so well in the league and it was difficult for him to break into the team on a regular basis but he is back here now and he will be very important to us."

Meanwhile, Chelsea has brought in Inter! 's Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Quaresma on loan till the end of the season.

It is estimated that nearly £160m (which is around R2.3bn) was spent in the past month. This figure is higher from the amount which was about £149.2m.

Chennai look for second IPL win

The Chennai Super Kings will be with out Andrew Flintoff for the rest of their IPL campaign. The England all-rounder has returned home after he injured his knee.

Chennai have had inconsistent form in the competition so far and have only won one of their three games. However one player who has been performing is veteran Australian batman, Matthew Hayden. He is currently the tournaments' top scorer with 166 runs.



Team coach and former New Zealand Captain Stephen Fleming s! ays Hayden owes his form to his off the pitch hobby, surfing.

"He's been surfing really well and his surfing form has carried over to his batting form. A relaxed and an in form Matthew Hayden is very good company and is good for the side. It is an example of how you can have a different approach to cricket without battering yourself in the nets and he is also providing some good leadership."

On Saturday, Chennai face The Kolkata Knight Riders at Newlands. Fleming says they are good team on paper but now they need to translate that to the pitch.

"Dehli were certainly impressive on Thursday night and each team has got some real strength's so. We feel confident on paper we are a good side but our record in the competition so far suggests that we haven't quite got it right."

Ron Dennis steps down as McLaren unveil MP4-24

McLaren-Mercedes team boss Ron Dennis will step down from his role of team principal before the start of the 2009 season and turn the reigns over to the current CEO, Martin Whitmarsh as of March 1st. However, Dennis made it clear that he is not retiring, but will instead focus on other commitments related to the McLaren Group which involve the racing, automotive, marketing and electronics wings of McLaren in addition to McLaren's Applied Technologies. This is not a complete surprise as Dennis hinted that his role within McLaren might change in November.

Nevertheless, amidst this news of transition, McLaren unveiled their new challenger for the 2009 season, designated the MP4-24. Considering the rules package, this car looks very nice; and aesthetics is something McLaren were sure to consider in the design fundamentals of the MP4-24. During the launch, Dennis expressed that "the extensive rule changes require extensive amount of work. That requires ! the technologists in our organization, they are not just engineers but scientist with high qualifications, to go back to a plain piece of paper and conceptualizing what the fundamental requirement are for the regulations. It is there you can get it wrong because if you get it wrong no amount of development can sort it out. What you see in the MP4-24 is a car correctly conceptualized."

"At the same time you are trying to make a good looking car, that is a value we put high, if it looks good it goes good, so what you see is a tremendous outcome from a lot of people, it is a credit from not just the technologists but the other people, this is a fully running car that can run on a circuit tomorrow."

McLaren have usually been on the forefront of front wing aero development and it appears that the MP4-24 initial design reflects this. The overall design shows an evolution from the MP4-23 even with new the rules. McLaren have fully utilized their te! chnological resources as the car that was unveiled today was t! he 2nd o f the new 2009 cars. The first car is in Portugal ready to hit the track.

photo courtesy of McLaren: http://www.mclaren.com/

Benitez And Ferguson Both Facing FA Hearings

Rafa Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson face the wrath of an Football Association who do not see the funny side of the managers of Liverpool and Manchester United.

While many might have chuckled at Sir Alex questioning Alan Wiley's fitness, no one is laughing at the FA's headquarters.

And, while the spectacles joke of the Liverpool boss has badly backfired, the FA Commission are more likely to say "he should have gone to SpecSavers" when they hand out the punishment.

Benitez's case comes up on Tuesday morning, and the defence will be producing the audio and video evidence of how the Liverpool manager reached for his pocket and brought out his glasses for its case, when he was asked about the performance of referee Phil Dowd after the opening day of the season defeat by Spurs.

The FA chamber will resonate to the sound of laughter as the audio/video "evidence" shows the assembled med! ia laughing their heads off at the Benitez joke.

The FA, however, feel it was at the referees' expense, but in terms of being a personal attack, and unless the FA have a sense of humor, then Benitez is going to be fit with a fine, and maybe even a touch-line ban.

Next case on the agenda is Sir Alex. And, if Benitez gets away with just a fine, then Sir Alex will expect a degree of consistency, and would not take too kindly to a touch-line ban.

However, if the FA hit Benitez with a touch line ban for his glasses jibe at the ref, then Sir Alex can expect the same sort of treatment.

Sir Alex has apologized but retained his right to question the fitness levels of the ref, indeed referees in general as a point that might concern the game. No-one else, though, has raised it before, at least publicly.

While the Sir Alex "I'm sorry" official statement has not gone down well with the refs union, who are out for blood, it will not! be seen as more than "damage limitation" on behalf of the FA.!
The FA have given Sir Alex an extension to provide his written explanation as he is currently in New York, apparently property-hunting, having watched the Manchester City-Villa Premier League game in a sports bar.

The Sir Alex "sorry" statement was produced with the United boss still in New York, but it will cut little ice with the FA, when he returns this week to hand in his letter of explanation by Friday's extended deadline.

Charges are sure to follow and it will then be at Sir Alex's discretion whether he seeks a personal hearing.

Rafa - Aquilani Needs Time

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has urged Reds fans to give fit-again Alberto Aquilani time to adapt to English football.

Aquilani, who joined the Reds in the summer from Roma, made his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt on Wednesday night for the reserves as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery.

Pressure is on Aquilani's shoulders to help fill the void in Liverpool's side left by Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid.

But Benitez has called on the club's followers to be patient with the Italian as he tries to find his feet after a long spell out of action

"Alberto is intelligent, he likes f! ootball and he has been watching our games," said Benitez.

"He can see the pace is different here and the physical approach.

"There is a difference between what you see and how you play but when he gets out and feels the atmosphere here, it will be something special for him.

"When will he play? It depends on how he is physically.

"He has got very good levels of stamina but now he has to improve his sharpness. To get match fitness he needs to play games and what we have to do is analyse carefully which game is the best and how long he will play for.

"Always with a new player we talk about the problems they have settling down because the Premier League is very quick and it is more physical.

"So for a new player who has been injured, like Alberto, it will be even more difficult. It is a question of keeping him training and when he is fit, we have to support him.

"We will have to choose the right momen! ts to put him on the pitch. But he is learning all the time an! d we are looking forward to playing him."

Michael Owen Will Get Slaughtered By Liverpool Fans At Anfield, Warns Jamie Carragher

Tevez was stunned by the stick he endured on his first outing in Manchester City's colours at his former club.

And Jamie Carragher is predicting a similar unfriendly response for Owen from Liverpool fans when the former Kop idol heads back to Anfield on October 25 in a United shirt.

Carragher said: "Our fans are usually brilliant with former players but he might get a cool reception.

"You can understand the fans' point of view. He used to play for us and now he's at the big rivals, so of course there will be some reaction.!

"That's football and Michael will know that. He has a very strong character so stick doesn't bother him."

Carragher is still good pals with Owen and backs his decision to sign up for Liverpool's biggest rivals.

He added: "Michael's got his career to think about. He wants to get his name back up there.

"He wants to play Champions League football and get into the World Cup squad. The move gives him that opportunity."

Megan Fox is Supermodel of World

It is actress and supermodel world in Hollywood. Megan Fox its the name. Cute by smiling which sexy and coming up makes surprise and fascinates. Have career that is good, well established life and future which glamor.

Canucks dominate BC Junior list

By John Hopkins

HAMILTON, ON -- Canadian riders fill all but one of the 15 spots on the entry list for the KTM Junior Supercross at BC Place in Vancouver next weekend.

The Canadian Motorcycle Association has released the line-up for the event, which will be held on the Friday and Saturday in conjunction with the second round of the THQ World Supercross GP.

The complete line-up, with number, rider name and hometown is as follows:

1. Connor Eremko, Saskatoon, SK
2. Patrick Blakely, Lancaster Park, AB
3. Maxwell Creighton, Nanaimo, BC
4. Haylen Langelier, Yorkton, SK
5. Blaine Morrow, Richmond, BC
6. Joshua Reynolds, White Rock, BC
7. Dayna Franklin, Fort St. John, BC
8. Teagan Williams, Leduc, AB
9. Dylan Good, Prince George, BC
10. Hayden Ingino, Greeley, CO
11. Cody McGill, Delta, BC
12. James Armstrong, Brooks, AB
13. Tron Cathcart, Quesnel, BC
14. Alexander McKay, Whistler, BC
15. Trystan Hart, Invermere, BC

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Free parking in Toronto

From the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada

TORONTO, ON -- Toronto City Council passed a motion yesterday that will see free street parking for motorcycles and other improvements for motorcycles and motorized scooters in the City of Toronto.

The relevant parking by-laws will soon be amended to exempt motorcycles, as defined in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, from standard parking fees at all on-street parking meters or parking machines. Also, by-laws will soon be amended to allow motorcycles to park, where on-street parking is lawfully allowed, at an angle, but not more than sixty (60) degrees to the curb.

In addition, the Toronto Parking Authority (the 'TPA') will submit a report to the Works Committee detailing how the TPA could designate a small area at all of their indoor and outdoor 'Green P' lots where motorcycles may park for free. The City will also evaluate allowing scooters to park on ! sidewalks.

The Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada's (MCC's) general manager Peter Jacobs made a deputation to the Works Committee on Oct. 11 making a strong case in support of the motion, advanced by Toronto City Councillor Case Ootes (Ward 29 Toronto Danforth).

"The City is demonstrating real leadership on this issue," Jacobs said. "Motorcycles use less space on the road, less space in parking, consume less fuel and produce less emissions. With motorcycle and scooter sales increasing steadily, this decision clearly indicates the City is committed to reducing congestion and pollution. We will work to persuade other jurisdictions to follow Toronto's lead."

MCC is Canada's largest association representing motorcyclists' interests. Its membership comprises more than 200 clubs and represents over 70,000 riders from all across Canada.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Bikini babes

Bikini babes

This Week in Reds Baseball- May 4th

* This was the week for Reds Pitching. After only giving up one hit against Atlanta (although he walked quite a few) Edinson Volquez followed up that performance with giving up one hit while striking out 8 in 8 innings securing a 3-0 victory for the Reds Wednesday against Houston.


* Not to be outshined by Volquez' performance Johnny Cueto went out against Pittsburgh sunday and pitched 8 innings allowing 4 hits, 0 runs, 9 k's and 1 walk. Cueto improved to 2-1 on the season.

* The Reds had 13 wins in April, the most s! ince 2006.

* Down on the Farm, Homer Bailey seems to be finding a bit of a rhythm. This Saturday in Buffalo Bailey pitched a complete game shutout allowing 5 hits surrendering 1 walk while striking out 5.

*Reds return home this week with two games against division opponent Milwaukee and a big weekend series against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are currently in first place in the division, I don't think it is crucial to win this series but a sweep of the Cards would sure help if we are really going to make a run this year.

* Attendance for the most recent home-stand in Cincinnati left many scratching their heads. After getting almost 90,000 into the ballpark over the weekend series against Atlanta, they struggled to get fans in the seats during the week. Below is the breakdown of the attendance.
Friday vs Braves 30,606
Saturday vs Braves 33,015
Sunday vs Braves 29,327
Monday vs Astros 12,365
Tuesday vs Astros 9,87! 8
Wednesday vs Astros 12,681

NL Central Standings
Cardinals 17-8
Reds 13-11 (3.5)
Cubs 13-11 (3.5)
Brewers 13-12 (4)
Pirates 12-12 (4.5)
Astros 11-14 (6)

This Week's Schedule
Monday May 4 7:10PM at Florida
Tuesday May 5 7:10PM at Florida
Wednesday May 6 7:10PM Milwaukee
Thursday May 7 7:10PM Milwaukee
Friday May 8 7:10PM St. Louis
Saturday May 9 7:10PM St. Louis
Sunday May 10 1:10PM St. Louis

Reds Statistical Leaders
AVG- 0.363 Votto
HOME RUNS- 6 Bruce
RBI- 22 Votto
STEALS- 5 Taveras
ERA- 1.65 Cueto
WINS- 4 Arroyo
STRIKEOUTS- 29 Cueto
SAVES- 7 Cordero

University of Cincinnati Football

Get ready for College Football to start. The University of Cincinnati looks to build on last year's Big East Championship and BCS berth. Here are some recent interesting news and notes

* UC starts off the new season on national television Monday September 7th vs. Rutgers. Pretty big game to start the season opener on the road, against a conference rival, with 10 new starters on defense.

* Last years backup quarterback and previous Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones has been named the team's starting linebacker. That will be interesting.

* The University of Cincinnati and head coach Brian Kelly continue to surprise by announcing impressive non-conference opponents year after year. The team announced today that it will travel to Knoxville in 2011 to play at the University of Tennessee. Bold move by the Cats but one I respect. Brian Kelly has always stuck to his word about having no fear playing against top competition. (Take note Ohio S! tate."

"Our philosophy is to play the best possible out of conference schedule," UC head coach Brian Kelly said. "Tennessee's football tradition and geographic location make it a great matchup for us."

Celtics vs. Gators

-Keefe

Not exactly a dream match-up. This isn't Little Mac vs. Mike Tyson or Kristie Ally vs. gravity, but let's take a closer look at this fantasy game. It doesn't matter how unlikely the chances of a game like this ever happening, but fans always ask the question anyway. Could the USC teams from a couple years ago beat the Browns? What about the '96 Kentucky Wildcats over the expansion Grizzlies? When there are really bad teams in the NBA or NFL, people look to dominant college basketball and football teams and imagine what would happen. And with the Florida Gators just capturing back to back national titles, first team since 1992, what better team to consider?

After the Gators defeated Ohio State (84-75, in a game that would have been much worse if not for the best game of the season by Mr. Greg Oden) my cousin IMed me and said, "There was never any doubt, the Gators were just too dominant. They could beat the Celt! ics." I don't think he was joking. I didn't laugh. To me it doesn't matter how good a college team is, or how bad a professional team may be, I don't think it could happen. The hypothetical is brought up after nearly every season, and I've never bought in to it. The one team I throw in the ring, however, is the 2001 Miami Hurricanes football team. I didn't have to say football team did I? This squad went a perfect 12-0, and won the National Championship in January of 2002. I mean check out some of the names from this team: Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Vince Wilfork, Mike Rumph, Phillip Buchanon, Antrel Rolle, William Joseph, Jerome McDougle… on Defense! Just for fun here are some of their offense guys led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, Bryant "Mount" McKinnie, Andre Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, and a backfield that is just unreal: Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport and even Sweetness' kid Jarrett Payto! n. Wow. This team wouldn't have beaten the 1-15 Carolina Panth! ers from that year? Maybe I should have written about this team, got a little side tracked, back to the Gators and Celts.

For the sake of this let's say the Celtics have Pierce and Jefferson, even though they're both "hurt" right now, making way for an all out D-League lineup. The Celts' front office wants to win as much as that woman owner of the Indians from Major League. Other than playing the same sport these two teams don't have a whole lot in common. Boston lost a franchise record 18 straight games this season. Conversely, Florida rattled off 17 wins in a row, from the beginning of December to the end of February. The level of competition is clearly different, but the winning mentality certainly could carry over. Florida has just ran through two straight tournaments (SEC and NCAA) where each one was a must win. The Celtics are basically playing in must lose games. Kevin Pickney? Here's a breakdown of the lineups.

Florida has one of the best starting fives! in the history of college basketball. Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey in the backcourt, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, and Al Horford up front. Each guy has scored over 1,000 career points in Gainesville, and each guy averaged double figures this season. Balanced much? I could give you four guesses of who was the leading scorer on the team and you may not get it right. (It was Green… I was surprised too.) This group combines for 10 National Championships, 16 years of college basketball, and 3 years of playing together. The Celtics starting five… well five that usually start (They've had 13 different players start. 13? Some teams don't have 13 play, let alone start, and no Kevin Pickney is not one of them.) but we'll take Rondo, West, Pierce, Jefferson, and Perkins. They combine for a total of 0 Final 4 appearances, 8 years of college basketball (half of Florida's five), and they have played together for just this season. Some of these stats don't mean a whole lot, but what is clea! r is that Florida is very familiar with each other and used to! winning , whereas the Celtics… they haven't played a must win game in years, and only Pierce was on the team at the time.

And for the record, putting Paul Pierce's name in this is an insult. He's one of the 10 best players in the NBA, I'd argue anyone on that, and he's just on a bad team with no help. So in this "what if" game, Pierce is head and shoulders better than every other player on the court. I think we've learned about just how good Al Jefferson can be this season. The two best players in this game (Pierce and Jefferson) are on the Celtics. But what about the next 2? Or next 5? Well despite all the talk about the Gators having 3 lottery picks (Brewer, Noah, Horford), another potential first rounder (Green), and possibly two other players drafted (Humphrey and Richard), the talent still has to favor the pro team. Right?

Corey Brewer, one of four juniors on this lineup (all will be leaving school early, sorry no three peat Florida fans) I believe will be! the best pro of the group. (We will definitely be writing a lot about the NBA Draft this spring and summer.) Brewer was the only McDonald's All-American out of this great class. Known as primarily a great defensive player he teamed with three of the current Celtics on the 2004 East squad in the high school classic. (Jefferson, Rondo, Telfair.) Clearly he was less hyped than Telfair and Jefferson three years ago. Rondo opted out of college after two years of Kentucky, giving Brewer more college experience than all three of these guys put together. Can you get better in the pros? Of course you can, look at Jefferson doubling his totals from last year. (8-5 guy in his 2nd season to a 16-11 guy here in his 3rd.) You can also remain stagnant. (Telfair has his lowest point and assist numbers also in his 3rd year in the league.) Brewer without question improved in his three years since that McDonald's game. (His points per game increased each season.) So much so that now it looks! like he will be the highest pick out of this group of four. M! any say Brewer could be a top 5 pick, placing him well above: Telfair (13th pick), Jefferson (15th), and Rondo (21st). From what I've seen Brewer has improved more than both Telfair and Rondo. What does that all mean? Well these guys have been getting minutes for the C's. Telfair began the season as the starter (30 starts) and now Rondo has taken over (17 and counting), so the talent may not be far off between these two clubs.

We've seen the connection with some of these players, and the different routes they took to the NBA. Now let's look at the position battles.

Rajon Rondo vs. Taurean Green. You don't need to go too far to wonder how the point guards match up. An SEC rivalry, last year as sophomores, Green faced Rondo's Wildcats, twice. The first contest both played real well. Green cashed in with 29 points and 9 assists in a fifteen point Gator win, while Rondo countered with 22 points but had just 1 assist. They played a second time, another fifteen point! Gator win, and both had weaker games (Green: 7 pts, 1 ast, Rondo: 4 pts, 4 ast.) Based on these head-to-head numbers…
PG: EDGE- Gators

Delonte West vs. Ryan Humphrey. The two shooting guards, West has played a lot of point, but for this he's the two. Humphrey is projected as a 2nd rounder to undrafted, West was the 24th pick of the 1st round in 2004. This year's draft is loaded, but let's not get crazy. Humphrey can shoot with the best of them (45.9 3pt%), and I'm sure he has NBA range, but West has been in the league for three years now, averages more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, then Humphrey. Also he's a better defender. Still, don't leave Humphrey open.
SG: EDGE- Celtics

Paul Pierce vs. Corey Brewer. Both teams send out their best players at this position. I don't need to say much here, I've already said it all. Brewer will be solid, but Pierce is simply one of the best. Watch for this ! match up next season though, whatever team gets Brewer, should! match h im up on Pierce.
SF: EDGE- Celtics

Al Jefferson vs. Joakim Noah. Jefferson is a straight up double double guy now in the NBA, and Noah has a pony tail. Big Al could have been in the SEC playing Noah and Horford the last three years. Instead he's been battling the likes of Rasheed Wallace and Jermaine O'Neal every night. Noah has been getting comparisons to Anderson Varejao. Wow, Varejao! Nice to be compared with a guy who has started just 10 games in his career, averages fewer than 7 points per game, and was the 30th pick of the 2nd round. That's the 2nd round. Gross. I see him more like an Andrei Kirilenko waiting to happen, but still I don't think this is close.
PF: EDGE- Celtics

Kendrick Perkins vs. Al Horford. Horford will be a higher pick come draft time than Big Perk, who skipped college. I'm not sold on Horford even though the consensus seems to be he'll be a top 5 pick. He did improve his points and re! bounds in each year at Florida, but we've seen a lot of solid big men in college fizzle at the next level. (See: Chris Wilcox, Marcus Fizer, Hakim Warrick, Michael Sweetney, Raef LaFrentz, Chris Mihm…) Perk has been hurt a lot, but has banged with the biggest of the big.
C: EDGE- Push

Bench: the Gators basically only use two reserves, Chris Richard and Walter Hodge. Those guys were successful, but going up against the likes of Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Leon Powe, (not counting Wally and Tony Allen who are hurt.) Bottom line is the Gators have six guys who "might" be in the NBA, the Celtics have 12 who are, as well as Pinkney and Allen Ray.
BENCH: EDGE- Celtics

Coaching: Haha, I guess for Doc Rivers it should be "coaching." How about a career record of 272-305, and 8-14 in the playoffs? That's even better that I thought. Hello Kevin Durant. Billy Donovan won more postseason games THIS year t! han Doc has ever won. Apples and oranges I know. I'm not going! to say a whole lot, it's hard to compare coaches at these two levels (Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Tim Floyd), but Donovan does such a great job switching defenses and making his team play hard. Doc makes sure there are five guys on the floor.
COACH: EDGE- Gators

The Gators take the point guard and coaching honors. Sometimes that's all you need. After thinking about this, probably more than I should have, the Celtics win the game. It's sad, however, that such a topic is even considered regarding my favorite team. If Oden or Durant is not on the C's next year… maybe they'll let them compete for the Final 4.

-Rich Keefe

Who will win the Heisman?

The College Football season kicks off on Thursday. This Thursday. I can't believe it either. Not a great slate of games with only 1 Top 25 team in action as #23 Wake faces Baylor, with everyone else taking the field on Saturday. But it's still football. Before week 1 begins I have to weigh in with my top picks for the Heisman, getting on record now. Really the more predictions you make, the better your chances are of getting something right, right? So allow me to take a stab at it. Remember the Big 8? Well here are my Big 8 favorites to take home the statued stiff arm.

8. Matthew Stafford, Junior QB, Georgia
(2007: 2,523 passing yards, 19 TD, 10 INT, 2 rushing TD)
The QB on the #1 team, like it or not he'll be in the mix until he plays himself out of it. Georgia has a world beater schedule if you ever saw one featuring 6 preseason Top 25 teams. If Stafford and Moreno (below) can keep it up, they'll receive a ton of Heisman consideration at the end of the year. His numbers weren't pretty last year, but playing in the title game can make stats look much more impressive. Like plastic surgery.

7. Jeremy Maclin, Soph. WR, Missouri
(2007: 80 receptions, 1,055 receiving yards, 9 TD, 2,776 total yards, 16 total TD)
Easily one of the most entertaining players in college football. Whenever M! izzou is on TV this year be sure to watch. Maclin, and not QB ! Chase Da niel, is the Tigers' best chance at the Heisman. He does it all. He catches the ball, runs the ball, returns punts and kicks, he'll even throw it (1-2, INT last season.) Maybe he shouldn't throw it, but any time it's in his hand he has a chance for 6. Teams may just kick away from him this year, which would significantly hurt his stock, but Daniel and the Mizzou offense better find him even more opportunities to touch the ball this year.

6. Beanie Wells, Junior RB, Ohio State
(2007: 1,609 rushing yards, 16 TD, 5.9 avg.)
I am sick of everything Ohio State football. Troy Smith winning the Heisman, Ted Ginn getting picked way to high by the Dolphins, the Buckeyes getting blown out bad in BCS Championship games by anyone from the SEC. Enough. This guy is nasty though. Flip a coin between Wells and Moreno to decide the best RB in the country. Wells will try to join Archie Griffin and Eddie George as RBs from "the" Ohio State to win the Heisma! n, but if he really wants he may have to stay for his senior season… and that ain't happenin'.

5. Pat White, Senior QB, West Virginia
(2007: 1,724 passing yards, 14 TD, 4 INT, 66.7%, 1,335 rushing yards, 14 TD)
Head coach Rich Rodriguez and speedy RB Steve Slaton are gone, but White's Heisman hopes are still very much alive. He and Noel Devine will spearhead a West Virginia team that once again finds themselves in the preseason Top 10. The Mountaineers have a huge non-conference game against Auburn on ESPN Thursday night in October where he can grab some votes by putting up big numbers vs. an SEC defense. Last Big East Heisman winner? You have to go back to 1992 when Gino Torretta won it at UMiami.

4. Knowshon Moreno, Soph. RB, Georgia
(2007: 1,334 rushing yards, 14 TD, 5.4 avg.)
Moreno went over 100 yards on the ground every game he had 22+ carries. He racked up 196 vs. Troy and 188 vs. Florida wi! th 3 TDs in both games. The guy tore up the SEC as a freshmen ! reminisc ent of another former Bull Dog, (I believe that guy also did some bobsled work.) Moreno's team starts the season ranked #1 and he's been on a number of magazine covers, so the hype is certainly there. On the flip side, since 2000 only one RB has won the award. If Darren McFadden can't win it, it's going to be tough for any RB let alone Moreno.

3. Michael Crabtree, Soph. WR, Texas Tech
(2007: 134 receptions, 1,962 receiving yards, 22 TD)
Look at those freshmen year numbers. Comical. If Crabtree can somehow better those freakish totals he must be a finalist. Desmond Howard and Tim Brown are the only WRs to win the Heisman trophy, and both men were exceptional return specialists as well. It's certainly an up hill struggle for Crabtree, but I'll be rooting for him all year. What would it take? 150+ catches, 2,000+ yards, and 25+ TDs? That's a great college career, let alone season, and you know what, he could do it. Michael Crabtree for Heis! man!

2. Tim Tebow, Junior QB, Florida
(2007: 3,286 passing yards, 32 TD, 6 INT, 895 rushing yards, 23 TD)
As we all know, Tebow is trying to join Archie Griffin as the only back-to-back/ 2 time Heisman trophy winner. In just his sophomore season he compiled an astonishing 55 total touchdowns for the Gators. Unreal. He's the hands down obvious pick to capture the award again, and that's why I can't pick him. I'm not going to predict an injury, but with the ball in his hands so often and the hits he takes against SEC defenses I think its going to be extremely difficult to repeat. Key games against Miami, Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, and Florida State will attempt to derail Tebow's chances.

1. Graham Harrell, Senior QB, Texas Tech
(2007: 5,705 passing yards, 48 TD, 14 INT, 71.8%, 4 rushing TD)
If you like stats, and I do, then you can't ignore the boys from Texas Tech. I was a fan of Colt Brennan the past ! 2 seasons out in Hawaii, where his competition (or lack there ! of) hurt him, but for Harrell? You can say system all you want, but he's putting up XBOX numbers in the Big 12. How about 46-67, 646 yds, 5 TD-0 INT in a loss to OK State last year? In a loss? They had 4 of them last year, and will certainly need to cut that down to have a chance for a Red Raider to hoist the trophy. He and my true favorite Crabtree will split votes, but Bush and Leinart seemed to do ok with that same problem. Much like my inquiry with Crabtree, what will it take for Harrell? 6,000 passing yards? 50+ TD passes? 75% completions?

Three of Texas Tech's last 5 games are against Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. If they can finish the year with 1 or 2 losses I would have to think Harrell will get serious attention. Home games versus Eastern Washington, SMU, and UMass. The scoreboard guy is going to be busy, we could even see some records fall.

Well there's my Heisman picks. Looks like I'll have a close eye on Texas Tech all season. Who do you li! ke this year? (Besides Tebow)

-Keefe

George Brett classics

Anyone and everyone has most likely seen the George Brett video where he went psychotic on a home plate umpire over a pine tar incident. While playing the Yankees, Brett hit a homerun to give the Royals a 5-4 lead in the ninth. Yankees manager Billy Martin challenged that pine tar on Brett's bat went too high up the barrel and violated MLB rules; the homerun was reversed and that led to a classic moment in MLB history. If you haven't seen it, a) you've been living under a rock and b) check it out below:



As good as that is, I saw a video a longtime back and my b! uddy Kevin reminded me of it a few days ago. He called me practically in tears, and for good reason. Enjoy the following video in which Brett discusses shitting himself:



You gotta love him at the end. "Who's the pitchers in this game?"

Absolute classic. Also reminded me of the video from Cky3 of Raab himself taking a dump while running. And yes, it was on YouTube:



Which also brought me to an on-air blooper for a weatherman during his portion of the newscast. He doesn't actually soil himself during the forecast, but just watch the guy as he tries to battle through it. You can tell he's pinching his cheeks to the fullest and the fact that he didn't make it on camera for the first half of it tells you he was really trying to work up the courage to even walk. Gotta love when he actually reaches down to his stomach; at that point it was only a matter of time before he threw in the towel...



Happy Memorial Day.

-Bess

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (11-5-09)

A pair of big free fight weekends coming up here in November. This Saturday CBS will be showing their Strikeforce event featuring the #1 Heavyweight in the world Fedor vs. the #10 Heavyweight (according to The Sports Brief) Brett Rogers. Also on the card Jakes Shields fights Jason "Mayhem" Miller at middleweight and Gegard Mousasi battles Sokoju. (You'll find 3 out of those 4 names below.)

And then a week from Saturday you get UFC 105 from Manchester, England, Live and Free... (well tape delayed and free) on Spike TV. Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera at Light Heavyweight is the headliner, but it also features Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy, and Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang.

These rankings are sure to change after those two cards are complete, but let's take a look at where we stand right now.

MMA RANKINGS

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Josh Barnett

4. Frank Mir

5. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

6. Randy Couture

7. Cain Velasquez

8. Shane Carwin

9. Alistair O! vereem

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Cheik Kongo, Gabe Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Heath Herring

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Quentin "Rampage" Jackson

3. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

4. Anderson Silva

5. Rashad Evans

6. Forrest Griffin!

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Luiz Cane

9. Thiago Silva

10. Babalu Sobral

Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Brandon Vera, Antonio Rogerio Noguirea, Tito Ortiz

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Jorge Santiago

7. Yoshihiro Akiyama

8. Chael Sonnen

9. Yushin Okami

10. Demian Maia

Michael Bisping, Jason! "Mayhem " Miller, Denis Kang, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

< span style="font-family:georgia;">6. Mike Swick

7. Paul Daley

8. Martin Kampmann

9. Matt Hughes

10. Paulo Thiago

Marius Zaromskis, Jay Hieron, Nick Thompson, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego S anchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitoaka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson

-Besse & Keefe

White Sox suffer vital loss

Minnesota all but put the Chicago White Sox out of the play-off picture with a 8-6 win.

The victory kept the Twins within reach of the Tigers in the American League Central.

Nick Punto had three RBIs and scored two runs for the Twins and Brian Duensing improved to 5-0 as a starter.

Jermaine Dye hit two homers as the White Sox went down to a fourth straight defeat.

Detroit clinched its three-game set in Cleveland as the Tigers beat the Indians 11-3.

A two-homer, four-RBI night from Carlos Guillen sealed it for Detroit, who had a four-run first inning off Justin Masterson. Miguel Cabrera added a two-run home run in the fourth.

The New York Yankees celebrated their play-off spot by rounding out a series win with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The Bombers got key two-out hits from Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera as the Angels were held to two runs by AJ Burnett.

The Boston Red Sox moved to within five wins off the play-offs as they beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2.

Josh Beckett starred for the Sox as the Royals only scored two runs on 12 hits off his pitching.

A homer from Travis Snider showed up a good night at the plate for the Toronto Blues Jays who finished off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-3 win.

Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie had a rough time as he surrendered six runs as seven of the Blue Jays' nine starters had hits.

BJ Upton had a game-winni! ng two-run single in the eighth as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the! Seattle Mariners 5-4.

Five runs in the fourth inning for the Oakland Athletics were not quite enough as the Texas Rangers won 9-8.

Philadelphia saw their National League East title hopes held up as the Florida Marlins scored twice in the ninth inning.

Brett Carroll's walk-off RBI single sealed the win after Jorge Cantu's RBI single had tied the game.

Joey Votto led the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, collecting two doubles and scoring three times.

Reds' Homer Bailey pitched six strong innings, giving up just two runs on four hits, and collected his sixth win of the year.

Prince Fielder hit his 42nd homer of the season, a two-run shot, and Jody Gerut added a solo shot as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2.

Jeff Samardzija, making only his second Major League start, homered for his first career hit for the Cubs as rookie pitcher Chris Narveson continued to reward the Brewers, going a career-high ! five and two thirds innings.

Bud Norris pitched six scoreless frames as the Houston Astros ended their losing streak at nine games with a 3-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals.

John Smoltz had thrown six solid innings for the Cardinals but Carlos Lee drove in two runs for the Astros.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 6-3 as Will Venable drove in four runs to end help the Padres' three-game series in Colorado.

The Atlanta Braves were too strong for the New York Mets as they closed out the series finale 5-2.

The San Francisco Giants were 5-2 winners against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Scotland shocks India in squash

The ninth-seeded Indian team was stunned 0-3 by Scotland in the qualifying event of the World Team Squash C'ships in Denmark.

Seeded outside the top 16, Scotland featured players ranked much below the Indians but Ritwik Bhattacharya, Gaurav Nandrajog and Harinder Pal Sandhu lost their pool openers before staging a comeback.

The defeat to Scotland means India must now beat tournament favourites Italy to have a chance of finishing second in the pool and getting into the top 16 playoffs, which w! ould ensure them an easier draw and valuable ranking points.

As many as 28 nations are competing in the qualifying event divided into seven groups which will finally produce a team order from 1-28.

Scotland went into the tie led by Alan Clyne, the world number 83 from Edinburgh, who beat Ritwik -- ranked 18 places higher -- 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 at the Squash Center Denmark.

The relatively unknown side sealed victory when unheralded Chris Small from Dunfermline beat world number 205 Gaurav Nandrajog 11-8, 11-9, 11-5.

The Scots completed a whitewash when world number 132 Stuart Crawford beat world number 145 Harinder Pal Sandhu from Chennai 12-10, 11-4, 11-6.

However, India bounced back strongly later by beating outsiders Venezuela 3-0.

Ritwik beat Juan Pablo Rothie 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 in 23 minutes, while Nandrajog outplayed Gabriel Teran 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 in 16 minutes.

Harinder Pal Sandhu made it 3-0 by getting past Juan Pablo Sanc! hez 11-5, 11-3, 11-1 in just 18 minutes.

Cobras win after security scare

Henry Davids smashed an unbeaten half-century as the Cape Cobras eased to an eight-wicket victory over the Victoria Bushrangers.

The start of the second-round match was delayed by close to two hours due to a security scare, but play eventually got under way with the match reduced to 17 overs.

Useful contributions from Andrew McDonald (29), Cameron White (24) and Aiden Blizzard (22) helped Victoria reach a decent 125 for five, but the Cobras' reply was emphatic.

Opening batsman Derek Brand (29 off 15) got his side off to a flying start and Davids made easy work of the chase, clobbering seven fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 69 as the Cobras coasted to victory with an over to spare.

The result ended the Royal Challengers Bangalore's hopes of going through to the semi-final.

Hours before the start of the match at the M Chinnaswamy! Stadium, a player from Jammu and Kashmir's under-22 team was ! question ed by Bangalore City police after security devices suggested the presence of explosive material in a bag in his room.

The Jammu and Kashmir team have been in Bangalore for a domestic tournament and staying on the stadium premises.

Police later decided there was no cause for concern, and Bangalore City police announced the man had been released without charge and the match would go ahead.

M R Pujar, the Additional Commissioner for Police, Law and Order and Security, said: "Following a regulation security sweep of M Chinnaswamy Stadium this morning, police were called to investigate a suspicious bag.

"A young man was taken for questioning by police but he has subsequently been released without charge.

"Police and security experts have checked the stadium twice, as well as the suspicious bag, but nothing of concern has been found. As a r! esult, the stadium has been given the all-clear for tonight's matches to proceed."

Spectators were allowed in after being searched, while the teams were initially asked to remain at their respective hotels.

Cobras captain Andrew Puttick appeared confused at the toss and was unsure of his team at that point - top order batsman Herschelle Gibbs eventually pulled out due to the security scare - but it was Victoria who were rattled when the game began.

Monde Zondeki gave the South African side an excellent start by removing both openers - Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge - for ducks in his first over with the new ball.

Blizzard cracked four boundaries as he injected some momentum into Victoria's innings, but Rory Kleinveldt snared the batsman in his second over to leave the Australian side reeling at 28 for three.

Victoria managed 31 from the powerplay - reduced to five overs - and when David Hussey (19), who shared a 31-run stand with skipper White, was snared by JP Duminy, the Cobras had all the advantage.

White, however, found good support from McDonald, the two reviving the innings with a 35-run stand for the fifth wicket.

They were considerably aided by a wayward Duminy, who conceded 31 from his next two overs, while Kleinveldt was cracked for consecutive boundaries by Mathew Wade (18 not out) to leak 12 from his third - the 15th of the innings.

McDonald's hitting at the ! end helped Victoria finish with a decent score.

The Cobras then lost Puttick cheaply, but Brand got his side off to a flyer with an array of attacking shots.

He smacked Harwood for a six and two fours in the bowler's second over and followed up with consecutive boundaries off Peter Siddle.

Brand was run out by Clint McKay, but the Cobras cantered along with Davids and Duminy ticking along nicely.

Davids reduced the required rate to less than a run a ball with sixes in consecutive overs from Jon Holland, survived two dropped catches - by McDonald on 37 and Blizzard on 47 - and brought up his half-century off 41 deliveries with a single off Siddle.

He brought up victory with a boundary off Harwood.

Click here for SCORECARD

Qatar League Review

Seven-time Qatar league champions Al Rayyan registered their second win in this year's Qatar league following their 2-1 win against Al Ahli in round five of the league on Friday.

Al Rayyan climbed to fifth with eight points, just two points behind leaders Al Sadd and Al Gharafa while Al Ahli suffered their third defeat this season and remained in ninth.

Al Rayyan opened the scoring after only 15 minutes when their Australian striker Daniel Allsopp scored with a pow! erful shot.

It was 2-0 on 34 minutes when Guinean midfielder Daniel Goma doubled the advantage for Al Rayyan after firing a shot from 35 yards out before Al Ahli pulled a goal back in the first minute of stoppage time through Brazilian Julio Cesar.

The other game on the night between Umm Salal and Al Arabi was postponed due to Umm Salal's commitments in the AFC Champions League semi-finals against Korean outfit Pohang Steelers.

The round will be concluded on Saturday when Al Wakra host Al Sadd while Qatar SC meet defending champions Al Gharafa.

Serena wins as sister struggles

There were mixed fortunes for the Williams sisters on the opening day of the Sony Ericsson Championship in Doha.

Second seed Serena was made to work hard for her win, eventually beating number three seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (8/6) 7-5 in an even contest.

The American broke four times during a match which lasted almost two hours, while her Russian opponent had three breaks of serve with four double faults proving crucial to the final score.

Defending champ! ion Venus is competing alongside her sister in the Maroon Group, but fell to fifth seed Elena Dementieva 3-6 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 in her opening contest.

It was Dementieva's first win over Venus in five years and the Russian, who had lost the opening set and was trailing 3-1 in the second set before clawing her way back, was thrilled to halt a six-match losing streak against her American opponent.

"I was trying to fight for every point. I was trying to stay positive," Dementieva said. "It was very important to come back and win the tie-break.

"I think she was a little disappointed in the beginning of the third set and gave me a little bit of an advantage, and I was able to finish the match."

Williams had nothing but praise for Dementieva's fighting spirit.

"She really stayed in there. She did really well," Williams said.

"I just didn't put enough balls in the court. It was a tough loss."

In the White Group, Victoria Azarenka made sh! ort work of Jelena Jankovic on her debut in Doha.

The B! elorussi an raced to a 6-2 6-3 win over her Serbian opponent in one hour 22 minutes in the opening match of the tournament, which features the top eight players in the world.

Azarenka broke twice in the first set and three times in the second to pave the way for victory.

"I had a good game plan today and followed it well," Azarenka said.

"I was also rested. I didn't play the last few weeks so I had everything to give here."

Russian Dinara Safina, the world number one, and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki are also in the White Group.

The top two players from each group advance to the semi-finals.

West Ham United 2 Aston Villa 1

The Premier League game between West Ham United and Aston Villa at Upton Park on Wednesday Nov 4 2009.

A roller-coaster game. A roller-coaster season. And utter pandemonium at the end. If West Ham carry on like this, nerves will be shredded by Christmas.

Zavon Hines's late, late goal, a cool dink over Brad Friedel after constant pressure had 10-man Aston Villa slumped to the ground and manager Martin O'Neill with his hands on his knees.! And it was enough to finally lift West Ham out of the relegation places. A turning point? Surely.

There was also a, to say the least, quixotic performance by referee Steve Bennett, who dismissed Habib Beye late on, which had its influence also. In the claret and blue derby it was West Ham on top but Villa felt aggrieved.

Two hamstring injuries in the first half-hour had appeared to leave West Ham, well, hamstrung. Both Herita Ilunga and Carlton Cole, key performers, pulled up quickly after chasing over-hit passes – with an audible groan from the home supporters as each player struggled. With the latter injury there could be implications for England – with the forthcoming Brazil friendly – although it may have just been a strain.

None of that matters to West Ham. They certainly cannot afford to! lose Cole and his departure appeared to hand the initiativ! e to Vil la who had been caught a little by the home side's bristling start. Zola had, for the first time, lost his temper with his players following the draw at Sunderland last weekend and a defensive reshuffle indicated where he felt the fault was attributable.

In came Manuel Da Costa, for James Tomkins, and the young Portuguese defender started confidently – reacting sharply to John Carew – while West Ham were encouraged by a blistering run from Cole and Jack Collison's even quicker feet as he carved space. Mark Noble then combined with Collison to draw an alert save from Brad Friedel.

But that stop was quickly eclipsed by a remarkable reaction from Rob Green who tipped over Stiliyan Petrov's fierce half-volley from the edge of the area, from a half-cleared corner, which, even then, clipped off Matthew Upson.

It was some save from the England goalkeeper. Moments later and Green was in action again with a more routine t! ip over from Gabriel Agbonlahor's rising drive as Villa's obvious attacking menace quickly grew. It continued.

Play was switched and Ashley Young whipped in a cross which Agbonlahor guided over with a header.

It appeared ominous for West Ham but, on half-time, Cole's replacement Zavon Hines collected Franco's pass and bore down on goal.

He appeared to lose possession, under Habib Beye's challenge, with Friedel collecting the ball but to Villa's fury referee Steve Bennett awarded a penalty. Noble swept it high into the net. Two Villa players were cautioned for protesting while manager Martin O'Neill angrily marched onto the pitch at half-time.

It was a fortunate break for West Ham – Hines even appeared offside – with, perhaps, Bennett influenced by an earlier penalty claim.

Soon after the restart Villa had their own penalty with Da Costa punished for climbing over James Collins. Ashley Young struck ! it low and confidently but Green produced another remarkabl! e save t o turn it away for a corner.

But then he was beaten. Young atoned. He cut inside from the left and struck a superb, curling shot, with Green perhaps flat-footed, which arced around the goalkeeper and into the net.

What a maelstrom of emotions Green had quickly gone through. It forced West Ham back. Villa, with Emile Heskey also withdrawn, were rampant, winning corner after corner. Finally it abated and, in a home attack, Julien

Faubert's cross was deflected, narrowly away from the onrushing Scott Parker while Da Costa then shot over with Valon Behrami well-placed.

And so suddenly it was West Ham who were threatening with Hines stealing the ball away from Richard Dunne only for his drive to clear the goal. The

England under-21 international threatened again – but this time he dragged his shot wide before, finally, he beat Friedel.

Football spread betting

by Harry

Football has now become the most bet on sport in the world. This is basically down to the excitement and action it brings which has given rise to it's popularity in almost every, if not all countries across the globe.
When they think of betting, most people think of traditional fixed odds betting where you bet your stake on the odds given for a particular market and then your winnings are calculate from the stake multiplied by these odds.

For example, if Manchester United are listed to win against Everton at 1.5 to 1, then for every £1 you bet you will get £1.5 back. Manchester United are favourites here with Everton listed at 5.5 to 1 for the win. Because United are favourites the odds are low and you don't get much back if they win.

Spread betting acts to make each site of the market more equal. When you spread bet you will see a set of two numbers like this: SELL 60 - 65 BUY. You are basically betting on if you think you thin! k the actual result will fall higher or lower than this 'spread'. For every point/unit the actual result move away from the spread number that you bet on you will win your stake multiplied by the amount the spread moves.

We can use an example with football spread betting. For a football match you might see a spread for total goals in a match like this: SELL 2.8 - 3 BUY.

If you think there will be more than 3 goals in the match then you should BUY. Lets say £10 per goal for this example.

If the match then finishes with 5 goals you would have won £20.

Here are the calculations: 5 goals - 3 that you bought at = 2 goals. 2 goals multiplied by £10 per goal = £20 profit.

If the match only finished with 1 goal then you would lose £20

Here are the calculations: 1 goal - 3 that you bought at = -2 goals -2 goals multiplied by £10 per goal = -£20

If you thought before the match that there would be less than ! 3 goals, the you would have selected SELL at 2.8. The same cal! culation s apply to work out the winnings/loses.

About the Author
We specialise in football spread betting and are here to help as much as possible.