BARCELONA: Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull was quickest on the first day of Formula One's penultimate testing session before the start of the new season.
DUBAI: Kenyan Mary Keitany smashed the women's world half marathon record by 35 seconds in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, on Friday.
DHAKA: India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar is heading into a record sixth World Cup, still looking for an elusive title victory to cap his outstanding career.
NEW DELHI: Rafael Cabrera-Bello was glad he had kept a spare driver handy when he carded a three-under-par 69 in the second round to take the clubhouse lead at the Avantha Masters on Friday.
TAMPA, Florida: Pavel Datsyuk scored twice, and Danny Cleary had a goal and two assists as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Thursday.
LAOAG CITY: From the words Ginebra coach Jong Uichico declared before the Kings met Meralco for the opening game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night, it was as if he was bracing for the worst.
DENVER: Last summer LeBron James gave us “The Decision.”
NEW DELHI: The Cricket World Cup hits the subcontinent on Saturday with an unabashedly biased format favoring marquee teams like India, which seeks to salvage the country's reputation as a capable host of major sporting events.
DHAKA: Three Pakistani cricketers including pace bowler Shoaib Akthar were taken for a random dope test ahead of the ICC cricket World Cup, a team official said on Thursday.
BRUSSELS: European Union countries can keep all World Cup and European Championship games on free-to-air television after a high court challenge by FIFA and UEFA failed.
LONDON: Gennaro Gattuso could face a sizable ban for his headbutt on Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Joe Jordan after UEFA said on Wednesday it was opening a disciplinary case against the AC Milan captain.
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Stuart Broad took 5-37 on his return from injury as England struggled to a 16-run victory over Canada in its first World Cup warmup match on Wednesday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio: William Buford scored 23 points and Aaron Craft had a hand in two critical plays down the stretch to lead No. 2 Ohio State to a 71-61 win over Michigan State on Tuesday night.
INDIANAPOLIS : Dwyane Wade equaled a club record for most points in a first half with 31, and finished with 41 overall to help the Miami Heat defeat the Indiana Pacers 110-103 on Tuesday night.
WASHINGTON: Both sides in the NFL’s labor talks are trying to spread the word by putting their positions in writing, and everyone’s getting in on the act — from Hall of Fame players Jack Youngblood and Bruce Smith, to Commissioner Roger Goodell, to mayors of league cities.
NEW YORK: Shane Mosley believes he’s doing Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s “dirty work” by facing Manny Pacquiao, and he has no intention of losing to the popular Filipino champion.
CHENNAI: New Zealand has an ideal opportunity to lift its confidence before the World Cup in Wednesday's warmup against co-host India, coach John Wright said on Tuesday.
DUBAI: Petra Kvitova lost in the first round of the Dubai Championships on Tuesday, falling to Ayumi Morita 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) only two days after beating Kim Clijsters to win a tournament in France.
DENVER: Jarome Iginla scored twice and the Calgary Flames routed the deflated Colorado Avalanche 9-1 Monday night.
LONDON: Mark your calendars now.
CHENNAI: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday backtracked on his comments that the Indian team are "not ready" in the lead-up to the World Cup due to the jam-packed calendar.
JEDDAH: All roads lead to Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday when host Al-Hilal and Jeddah-based Al-Ahli face off in a potentially explosive match in the Crown Prince Cup quarterfinal.
WASHINGTON: The NFL has filed an unfair labor practice charge against its players’ union with the National Labor Relations Board.
PRESS MESA, Arizona: Carlos Marmol, once a catcher in the minors, has been rewarded for his expertise as a closer.
CLEARWATER, Florida: Cliff Lee didn’t hesitate, raising his hand right away when a reporter asked which of the Philadelphia Phillies’ aces is the best hitter.
ISLAMABAD: The three Pakistan cricketers banned by the ICC for spot-fixing have been sacked by their team, National Bank of Pakistan.
KARACHI: Pakistan hopes to make the most of two warm-up matches in Dhaka starting from Tuesday (today) before kicking off their World Cup campaign with a game against Kenya in Hambontota (Sri Lanka) on Feb. 23.
GENOA, Italy: Injured Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica is to remain in intensive care until after an operation on his elbow on Wednesday.
BANGALORE: The International Cricket Council has cleared Calcutta's Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to be used for three World Cup matches as scheduled.
PEBBLE BEACH, California: Too bad D.A. Points can’t have Bill Murray play alongside him at every tournament.
PAMPLONA: Osasuna fired coach Jose Antonio Camacho on Monday after the Spanish club's latest loss left it in the relegation zone.
KARACHI: Pakistan are hoping to make the most of two warm-up matches in Dhaka starting from Tuesday (today) before kicking off their World Cup campaign with a game against Kenya in Hambontota (Sri Lanka) on Feb. 23.
CORAL GABLES, Florida: Nolan Smith scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, Seth Curry added 16 and No. 5 Duke extended its Atlantic Coast Conference lead by holding off Miami 81-71 on Sunday night.
BOLTON: Daniel Sturridge maintained his current hot streak as the Bolton striker sealed a 2-0 win over Everton at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.
RIYADH: Scottish golfer Alan Reid handled the tough playing conditions halfway through the round better than most of the single-digit handicap players to win the Best Gross title on Friday in the Lurpak February Monthly Open golf tournament at the Riyadh Golf Club.
DUBLIN: Defending champion France fed off sloppy errors from Ireland to claim a 25-22 win in Dublin on Sunday and join England on maximum points from two games in the Six Nations.
PATTAYA, Thailand: Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova clinched her first title in almost four years by trouncing Italian Sara Errani 6-0 6-2 in an anti-climactic Pattaya Open final on Sunday.
PARIS: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic stunned Kim Clijsters 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Open Gaz de France on Sunday to win her third career title.
BANGALORE: A four-wicket haul from spinner Piyush Chawla sparked an Australian batting collapse as India won their World Cup warm-up match by 38 runs on Sunday.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia: Mikael Samuelsson scored two goals just 2:40 apart in the second period, Alex Burrows added his second into an empty net, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday night.
ATLANTA: Stephen Jackson hit a last-second jumper over two Atlanta defenders and the Charlotte Bobcats rallied after trailing by 22 points to beat the Hawks 88-86 on Saturday night.
DUESSELDORF, Germany: Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery wreaked havoc in their first joint appearance this season helping the champions crush Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday. Both players have had to battle injuries, with Robben missing the first half of the season, but they were in scintillating form with the Dutchman scoring twice and setting up another and the Frenchman creating two goals.
PARIS: New world No.1 Kim Clijsters produced a patchy display to overcome Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 7-5 in the Paris Open on Saturday and set up a final with fourth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova.
NEW YORK: Two weeks before a potential lockout, the NFL and its players’ union are asking for help in their stalled negotiations. Both sides agreed Thursday to mediation as they discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent US government agency, will oversee talks in Washington beginning Friday.
NEW DELHI: The World Cup's tournament director dismissed a report on Friday that Mumbai's stadium, which is set to host the final, does not comply with fire safety regulations. Press Trust of India reported that two fire officials made a visit Wednesday to the city's Wankhede Stadium.
DHAKA: India takes on Bangladesh in the 2011 World Cup opener on Saturday with a chance to exact revenge for a shock loss in the previous edition four years ago. Bangladesh ensured India's early exit in the first round of the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is determined to avoid any repeat on the subcontinent.
CHICAGO: Derrick Rose grabbed the microphone and thanked the fans for making him Chicago’s first All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1998. Then he went out and showed why they made a wise decision.
DHAKA: Bangladeshis cast aside their usual docile and reserved image on Thursday and proudly displayed their sporting passion at the gala opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup later in the capital.
MUMBAI: We are already into action and on the threshold of fierce competition. It is time as good as any to take the mind off cricket in the middle to count the blessings that will have a great impact on the organization of the mega event and the fortunes of the players.
LONDON: Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal and AS Roma's miserable run continued with a 3-2 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League last-16 first-round matches on Wednesday.
CLEVELAND: Looking nothing like two-time defending NBA champions, the Lakers dropped their third straight game, a stunning 104-99 loss Wednesday to the Cleveland Cavaliers - the league's worst team, which avenged a 55-point embarrassment against Los Angeles last month.
COLUMBUS, Ohio: Jarret Stoll had the only goal in the shootout, leading Los Angeles past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Wednesday to extend the Kings' points streak to 10 games.
CHICAGO: Lance Armstrong is retiring again — this time for good. Almost a month after finishing 65th in his last competitive race in Australia, and nearly six years removed from the last of an unprecedented seven straight Tour de France titles.
DUBAI: Grand Slam winners Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova won their second-round matches at the Dubai Championships on Wednesday, setting up their first clash since an epic match at the Australian Open.
TAMPA, Florida: Kimmo Timonen scored in the seventh round of a shootout as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Tuesday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
CHENNAI: Indian batting, led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's power hitting, forced New Zealand into submission by piling on a massive total and earned the co-hosts an easy 117-run win in the warmup game on Wednesday.
NEWARK, New Jersey: Ilya Kovalchuk scored for the fourth straight game and Johan Hedberg made 15 saves to give the streaking New Jersey Devils a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers in the NHL on Friday.
LONDON: Three-time winner Liverpool was fortunate to leave Sparta Prague with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 match, but fellow former champions Ajax, FC Porto and CSKA Moscow emerged with away wins on Thursday. Kenny Dalglish's first European match in charge of the Reds was a dull affair, which Sparta shaded, with Leonard Kweuke and Kamil Vacek coming close for the hosts in the second half.
