DOHA: Indian football's most famous player says he is not done with international football just yet. Bhaichung Bhutia, the 34-year-old striker and captain, was absent for the team's first two losses at the Asian Cup due to a calf injury.
WELLINGTON: Pakistan dismissed New Zealand for 293 in its second innings of the second Test Tuesday and will chase 274 on the final day to win the match and the series. Umar Gul took 4-61 and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman claimed 3-119 for Pakistan.
ABU DHABI: Maria Olazabal has been appointed Europe's captain for the 2012 Ryder Cup in Madinahh, near Chicago, officials said on Tuesday.
SYDNEY: Mike Hussey was included in the final Australia squad for the World Cup on Tuesday despite undergoing surgery for a hamstring injury, while his brother David has earned a first call-up for cricket's showpiece event.
BOSTON: Zdeno Chara had his first career three-goal game and Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for his seventh shutout to lift the Boston Bruins to a 7-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
LOS ANGELES: Blake Griffin had a career-high 47 points and 14 rebounds for his 27th consecutive double-double as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-107 on Monday.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan excluded three-time World Cup batsman Mohammad Yousuf from its 15-man squad for next month's tournament and also delayed naming a captain on Tuesday.
RIYADH: A fine all round performance by skipper Abid Hussain enabled Novotel Al Anoud Hotel, Riyadh, get the better of Sheraton Hotel, Riyadh, by seven runs in a thrilling final to win the 10th Inter Hotel Cricket Tournament, organized by Sheraton Hotel Riyadh, which was held recently.
MUMBAI: India will gamble on the fitness of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Praveen Kumar after the four injured players were included in the final 15-member squad on Monday for next month's World Cup.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will soon appoint an international coach to train its national team, the newly appointed head of the Youth Welfare Presidency, Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, announced on Monday.
MELBOURNE: Roger Federer fired up the Australian Open with a blistering start to his title defense on Monday, bringing some welcome warmth to an unseasonably cool Melbourne Park on opening day.
FOXBOROUGH: The New York Jets backed up their tough talk with a stunning performance to shock the top-seeded New England Patriots 28-21 Sunday and advance to the AFC Championship.
MANILA: A tight game with a hostile crowd as backdrop was just another day at the office for San Miguel.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand will look to bat the first session of the fourth day of the second Test against Pakistan on Tuesday and then reassess as to how to approach the rest of the game as they attempt to level the series, pace bowler Chris Martin said on Monday.
ANAHEIM:Teemu Selanne scored two goals as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 Sunday.
LOS ANGELES: Eric Gordon scored 30 points and Blake Griffin added 18 with 15 rebounds Sunday as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Lakers 99-92 to snap their cross-town rivals' seven-game NBA winning streak.
BARCELONA: Barcelona extended its unbeaten run to a club-record 28 games on Sunday, strolling to a 4-1 win over Malaga to open up a four-point lead in the Spanish league after second-place Real Madrid drew 1-1 at last-place Almeria.
DOHA, Qatar: Saudi Arabia’s coach believes a win over Japan on Monday will “restore pride” to the Asian powerhouse, but the team’s fans might not be convinced. Whatever happens in the final group game against another of the region’s traditional heavyweights, the three-time winners and three-time runners-up of the Asian Cup will be going home humiliated. “We are sorry to our fans and to the media and to those concerned,” coach Nassir Al-Johar said Sunday.
BOSTON: Jordan Staal scored in the third period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Boston 3-2 Saturday and avoid another collapse against the Bruins.
MELBOURNE: Roger Federer launches the defense of his Australian Open title on Monday looking to continue his recent purple patch of form against Slovakian Lukas Lacko.
Volkswagen's driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, right, and co-driver Timo Gottschalk, from Germany, holding up trophies, celebrate as they pose for pictures during the 2011 Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally podium ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday. Al-Attiyah claimed his first Dakar Rally title and Spanish rider Marc Coma won the race for the third time on his motorbike as the two-week trek wrapped up on Saturday. (AP Photo)
DOHA: Uzbekistan grabbed the point they needed with a 2-2 draw against China and hosts Qatar thrashed Kuwait 3-0 as both booked places in the Asian Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
LONDON: Manchester United survived the second-half sending-off of right back Rafael to hold Tottenham to a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane on Sunday and remain unbeaten in the Premier League.
MILAN: Late goals from Lazio, Juventus and AS Roma kept the trio on the tail of Serie A leaders AC Milan on Sunday.
MELBOURNE: Former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt defeated an ailing Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-3 to win the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Saturday and take a timely shot of confidence into next week's Australian Open.
JOHANNESBURG: India beat South Africa by one run in the second one-day international at the Wanderers, Johannesburg on Saturday. During the game, India's Sachin Tendulkar played his 444th one-day international.
DOHA: Despite a 2-5 whipping against Bahrain, India's chief football coach Bob Houghton praised the side's indomitable spirit and said the Asian Cup experience will boost the game's profile in the country. In a high scoring match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Friday night, Ismaeel Abdulatif scored four times as Bahrain.
BARADERO, Argentina: Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar claimed his first Dakar Rally title and Spanish rider Marc Coma won the world's toughest rally for the third time on his motorbike.
FRANKFURT: Bayern Munich wasted a chance to pull within a point of second place in the Bundesliga on Saturday by conceding a late goal in a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg in a match, which saw the return of one star and an injury to another.
LONDON: A sparkling two-goal display by Carlos Tevez overshadowed a promising debut by Edin Dzeko as Manchester City claimed a nervy 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to go top of the Premier League on Saturday.
MANILA: Talk 'N Text got the job done, and in an unforgiving manner at that. The Tropang Texters, used the first chance of nailing a title series slot in the PBA.
WASHINGTON: Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo made 25 saves to stretch his unbeaten streak in regulation games to a career-high 12 as the Canucks beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in the NHL on Friday.
SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs handed the reeling Dallas Mavericks their fourth straight NBA loss, 101-89 on Friday.
WELLINGTON: Pakistan wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal took five catches as New Zealand's top order failed to capitalize on sound starts and battled to 246 for six at the close of play on the first day of the second Test at a windswept Basin Reserve on Saturday.
DOHA: Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation, has said the 2022 World Cup hosts will resist efforts to reschedule the tournament in the winter. "We submitted a bid suggesting we are going to be ready in June and July. And we said we are going to face all the challenges and we are going to meet all the requirements,"
MANAMA: With just a fortnight to go, the Kingdom of Bahrain's latest addition to its growing international events portfolio looks set for a great start as the eyes of the world and the people of Bahrain focus on the prestigious new Volvo Golf Champions.
DOHA: The Asian Football Confederation fined Kuwait $1, 000 for allowing an unauthorized photographer from its football federation into the team's dressing room at an Asian Cup match.
MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal, improving each day after catching a cold, will begin his quest for a “Rafa Slam” with a first-round match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil at the Australian Open.
ISLAMABAD: Top ICC official David Richardson says Pakistan needs to convince player associations around the world that it is safe to host international cricket again.
NEW DELHI: Cricket World Cup organizers believe they are close to overcoming lags in construction at two Indian venues, including the site of the final in Mumbai.
DOHA: Iran's charismatic coach Afshin Ghotbi believes there are only two things in life that can make the world a better place — love and football.
As a self-described "global citizen" he is in a perfect position to judge.
DOHA: The Asian Football Confederation insisted Friday it is comfortable with attendance numbers after a week of Asian Cup matches, despite several played in near-empty stadiums.
MADRID: Real Madrid are on the look out for a striker to help them through to the end of the season, club director general Jorge Valdano told Spanish television on Thursday.
MELBOURNE: Former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt defeated Russia's Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 7-6 at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Friday to set up a final showdown with 12th-ranked Frenchman Gael Monfils for the invitational title.
AUCKLAND: Top seed David Ferrer will meet former world No. 3 David Nalbandian in the final of the Auckland Open after they both advanced with easy semi-final victories on Friday.
SYDNEY: Gilles Simon and Viktor Troicki will renew Franco-Serbian rivalry in the final of the Sydney International after comfortable semi-final victories at the Olympic tennis center on Friday.
MELBOURNE: Australia ended England's record eight-match winning streak on Friday with a four-run victory in the second Twenty20 international which was again decided on the final ball.
MANAMA: With just a fortnight to go, the Kingdom of Bahrain's latest addition to its growing international events portfolio looks set for a great start as the eyes of the world and the people of Bahrain focus on the prestigious new Volvo Golf Champions.
NEW YORK: The Vancouver Canucks suffered their first regulation-time defeat in 18 games, beaten 1-0 by the New York Rangers in the NHL on Thursday.
LONDON: Arsenal conceded a late goal to lose 1-0 at second-tier club Ipswich in the League Cup semifinals on Wednesday, and Liverpool went down 2-1 at Blackpool in the Premier League.
NEW ORLEANS: The New Orleans Hornets held off Orlando 92-89 in overtime on Wednesday, snapping the Magic's nine-game NBA winning streak.
LAUSANNE: The IOC and FIFA should hold “sensible discussions” to avoid a clash between the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Cup if the Qatar tournament is switched from the summer to winter months, IOC President Jacques Rogge said Thursday.
DOHA: After a bitter election battle, the newest FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan says it is time to put aside rivalries and work to unite Asian football.
SYDNEY: Kim Clijsters came through a major test of her early season form to reach the Sydney International final with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad continued to top the Saudi Basketball Federation League table when they scored a comfortable 84-64 win over Masera in week seven. Masera fought well but was gunned down by Ittihad from beyond the three-point mark.
MANILA: For the first time in this series, San Miguel coach Ato Agustin is finally talking with confidence.
RIYADH: As part of a major effort to promote friendship and camaraderie, Lufthansa and British Midland International (bmi) have joined hands together to host the "Super 8 Cricket League," a cricket extravaganza exclusively for the travel agencies that opens here on Friday with great fanfare. Though, the tradition was started two years ago by bmi, this year the league has a new format and more participants with added enthusiasm visible among them.
TAMPA, Florida: Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson again kept Washington at bay to give the Lightning a 3-0 win Wednesday, moving clear of the Capitals atop the NHL's Southeast Division.
DOHA: Syria is quickly becoming the darling of the Asian Cup, and the team can add to that status with a victory over Japan on Thursday.
DOHA: New Saudi Arabia coach Naser Al-Johar expects his team to come back strong when it faces Jordan on Thursday in its second Group B match at the Asian Cup.
PORTLAND, Oregon: The New York Knicks picked up a 12th road win of the season - already bettering last season's total - by beating the Portland Trailblazers 100-86 in the NBA on Tuesday.
DOHA: Shinji Okazaki scored a hat trick and Ryoichi Maeda struck twice to give Japan a 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on Monday and a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup.
DOHA: Jordan came back from a goal down to beat Syria 2-1 Monday to qualify for the Asian Cup quarterfinals and deny Syria its first trip to the knockout stage.
JOHANNESBURG: Sachin Tendulkar flew home from the one-day series in South Africa with a hamstring injury on Sunday, handing India a World Cup worry with just a month to go until cricket's limited-overs showpiece.
DOHA: Iran qualified for the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup after a well-taken goal from Karim Ansari Fard gave them a 1-0 win over a dour North Korea side at the Qatar Sports Club on Saturday.
SYDNEY: France's Gilles Simon showed the class that once made him a world number six to beat Serbian Viktor Troicki 7-5, 7-6 in an enthralling final of the Sydney International on Saturday. The 26-year-old Simon looked backed to his hustling best after a knee injury.
AUCKLAND: Top-seeded David Ferrer signaled his threat for next week's Australian Open and claimed his second Heineken Open title with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Argentina's David Nalbandian in Saturday's final. The Spaniard, ranked No. 7 in the world, added to the title he won in 2007 when he eclipsed the former world No 3, Nalbandian in just 68 minutes.
JEDDAH: Prince Nawaf bin Faisal has been appointed head of the Youth Welfare Presidency, replacing Prince Sultan bin Fahd, the Royal Court announced Saturday.
DOHA: Australia and South Korea showed why they are tipped to meet in the final of the Asian Cup in just over two weeks when they fought out a classy 1-1 draw in their second Group C match on Friday.
MADRID: A bizarre last-minute goal from Mesut Ozil wrapped up a 3-1 comeback win for Real Madrid at home to city rivals Atletico Madrid on Thursday, giving them a healthy advantage in their King's Cup quarterfinal.
SYDNEY: China's Li Na staged a remarkable comeback from 5-0 down in the first set to upset Australian Open favorite Kim Clijsters 7-6, 6-3 in the final of the Sydney International on Friday.
DOHA: Striker Ismaeel Abdulatif scored four goals as Bahrain overcame India 5-2 at the Al Sadd Stadium on Friday to end the Bhangra Boys's interest in the Asian Cup. Bahrain now needs to beat Australia in their final Group C match to qualify for the quarterfinals. Australia and South Korea lead the group on four points after their 1-1 draw at the Al Gharafa Stadium, with Bahrain third on three and India without a point.
OKLAHOMA CITY: Kevin Durant scored 36 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder fought off the Orlando Magic for a 125-124 win Thursday and their fourth straight NBA victory.
JEDDAH: Saudi fans expressed disappointment at the sad and embarrassing exit of their national team from the Asian Cup after they lost 1-0 to Jordan in Doha on Thursday.
DOHA, Qatar: A 10-man Japan beat Syria 2-1 to stay unbeaten at the Asian Cup on Thursday. Japan moved to the top of Group B on goals scored. It and Jordan each has four points, one more than Syria. Only the top two advance to the quarterfinals.
MADRID: Lionel Messi celebrated his second straight Ballon d’Or award by scoring a hat trick Wednesday in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Real Betis in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, the Spanish champions’ 27th match unbeaten to equal a club record.
JEDDAH: Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of Arab News, inaugurated the third TCF cricket tournament at Baghdadiya Ground here Thursday. He commended the close cooperation among the Keralite community and their organizing abilities. “The Keralites are a good example for other expatriate communities in the Kingdom,” he said.
NYON, Switzerland: FIFA Vice President Michel Platini wants Qatar to share 2022 World Cup hosting duties with its Gulf neighbors.
ADELAIDE: Chris Woakes struck the winning runs off the last ball to lift England to a dramatic one-wicket victory over Australia in a Twenty20 international on Wednesday.
DOHA, Qatar: Yousef Ahmed scored twice to give Qatar a 2-0 win over China on Wednesday and boost the host nation’s chances of advancing to the knockout round of the Asian Cup.
RIO DE JANEIRO: Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has signed a four-year contract with Flamengo in a bid to revive his flagging career and win a place in Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad.
DOHA: Tim Cahill scored twice as Australia began their assault on the Asian Cup title by outclassing India 4-0 in a one-sided Group C opening match at the Al Sadd Stadium on Monday. The top-ranked team in the competition were barely troubled by the bottom-ranked side with Harry Kewell and Brett Holman also scoring as Australia dominated from start to finish.
ZURICH: Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi won FIFA's Ballon d'Or award on Monday as the world's best player of 2010.
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Lakers shut down the high-energy New York Knicks to power to their fourth straight victory in a 109-87 triumph on Sunday.
DOHA: Australia reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bahrain on Tuesday.
DOHA: South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup on Tuesday, beating India 4-1 after two goals from Ji Dong-won to finish second in Group C.
