 |
| • Bilardo hits back at Maradona |
| BUENOS AIRES (Argentina): Carlos Bilardo, who has been accused by Diego Maradona of betrayal and working behind the scenes to have him dismissed as Argentina’s coach, says the former playing great was to blame for his own downfall. |
| |
| • Vaughan takes lead at Senior Open with 4-under 66 |
| SAMMAMISH, Washington: Bruce Vaughan took advantage of cool morning conditions with an opening-round 66 to take a two-shot lead in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open on Thursday.
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| |
| • Bartoli, Sharapova reach quarterfinals of Bank of the West |
| STANFORD, California: France's Marion Bartoli, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advanced to the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic on Thursday. |
| |
| • Murray, Lopez, Blake win 2nd-round matches in LA |
| LOS ANGELES: Andy Murray was forced to three sets in his Los Angeles debut, beating American qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday in a second-round match at the Farmers Classic. |
| |
| • Ex-NBA player Wright shot dead |
| MEMPHIS (Tennessee): Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, whose body was found in the woods outside Memphis, was shot to death and the case is being investigated as a homicide, police said Thursday. |
| |
| • Bolt thinks 9.4 in the 100 is possible |
| DENVER: Usain Bolt says that his biggest goal at the London Olympics in two years’ time will be simply to win the 100 meters gold medal again, even though he believes the distance can be run in a record breaking 9.4-second range. |
| |
| • Tseng, Hull set pace at Women’s British Open |
| SOUTHPORT (England): Taiwan’s Yani Tseng and Australian Katherine Hull posted four under 68s to lead by a stroke after the first round of the Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. |
| |
| • Liverpool, Juventus win Europa League qualifiers |
| LONDON (AP): Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus have begun their attempts to reach the second-tier Europa League with 2-0 victories. |
| |
| • German sprinter Sailer wins women's 100 at Euros |
| BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Veronica Sailer won the women's 100-meter dash by a neck on Thursday, while France continued its strong showing on the track as it took silver and bronze behind the German sprinter at the European Championships. |
| |
| • Mark Hughes set to sign three-year contract with Fulham |
| LONDON: Former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is set to be appointed as Fulham boss within the next 48 hours, according to reports in England. |
| |
| • Former champions Celtic, Ajax battling for survival |
| PARIS: Former European champions Celtic and Ajax were battling for Champions League survival on Wednesday after enduring nightmare starts to their qualifying campaigns. |
| |
| • Malaysia finally end medal drought in world youth meet |
| PETALING JAYA: Malaysia finally ended their medal drought in the World Youth Bowling Championships in Helsinki when Syimir Abdul Razak and Aris Ardilla Santosoh bagged the bronze in the boys’ doubles on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Fergie finds new kids to continue legacy |
| HOUSTON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has achieved astonishing success with young players in the past and his current squad show signs of being another golden generation. |
| |
| • Hammers furious at Spurs’ bid for Parker |
| LONDON: West Ham have accused Tottenham of trying to destabilise star midfielder Scott Parker. |
| |
| • Beckham may end his career at Upton Park |
| LONDON: David Beckham has promised to tell West Ham soon whether he will end his career at the club. |
| |
| • La Liga fire opening salvo against EPL in Asian turf war |
| SINGAPORE: Spain’s La Liga will change kick-off times and play a pre-season tournament in Asia in a bid to muscle in on the success of the English Premier League in the region. |
| |
| • Coach Laudrup writes to Platini over Mallorca exclusion |
| BARCELONA: Real Mallorca coach Michael Laudrup and his players and staff have written to UEFA president Michel Platini expressing “great frustration” with the decision to exclude the club from European competition this season. |
| |
| • Inter start title defence against Bologna |
| ROME: Serie A champions Inter Milan will begin the new season with a trip to Bologna, it was announced on Wednesday following the official draw for the 2010/2011 fixtures. |
| |
| • Friendly abandoned after fights |
| MILAN: A pre-season friendly between Sardinia’s Cagliari and Corsica’s Bastia was abandoned after 75 minutes on Wednesday after players repeatedly fought each other, the Italian side said in a statement. |
| |
| • Maradona says Argentina bosses betrayed him |
| BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona has accused Argentina football chief Julio Grondona of lying and team manager Carlos Bilardo of treason in a bitter attack on the two men he insists plotted his downfall. |
| |
| • Blanc: It’s Euro 2012 or bust |
| PARIS: France coach Laurent Blanc will quit if France fail to qualify for the 2012 European Championship. |
| |
| • Schalke hail signing of world-class striker Raul |
| BERLIN: Schalke 04 coach Felix Magath on Wednesday hailed the capture of veteran Spanish striker Raul (pic) as a significant boost to the German team’s chances in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. |
| |
| • Football Results |
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| |
| • Harimau Muda’s stint in Slovakia is off |
| PETALING JAYA: The Harimau Muda team’s dream of playing in the Slovakian National League (Division Two) has gone up in smoke. |
| |
| • Selangor promise a double treat for fans |
| PETALING JAYA: Defending champions Selangor want to kill two birds with one stone when they host Terengganu in the penultimate Super League match at the Shah Alam Stadium tomorrow. |
| |
| • Nicol gets her chance to avenge British Open defeat by Perry |
| SINGAPORE: Defending champion Nicol David will get a chance to avenge her British Open defeat by Madeline Perry in the semi-finals of the US$53,000 CIMB Singapore Women’s Masters squash championship at the Kallang Leisure Park here today. |
| |
| • Mohd Zulfahmi aims for eight more points |
| SEPANG: After completing the first half of the 125cc world motorcycling championship with two points, AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit rider Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin is now aiming for another eight points before the end of his debut season. |
| |
| • Macau Open: It’s up to Chong Wei |
| PETALING JAYA: World number one Lee Chong Wei made it to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event in the Macau Open yesterday but the other two Malaysian representatives fell by the wayside. |
| |
| • Shakirin game to make huge sacrifices for medal in Delhi |
| KUALA LUMPUR: National top male paddler Mohd Shakirin Ibrahim is about to make two big sacrifices. |
| |
| • Charlesworth: Day matches at Delhi Games crazy |
| SYDNEY: Australian men’s coach Ric Charlesworth said yesterday it was “crazy and disrespectful” for New Delhi Commonwealth Games organisers to schedule hockey matches during the heat of the day. |
| |
| • Paralympic athletes praised for their success despite adversity |
| KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Paralympic athletes for the Commonwealth Games in October received praise for their ability to overcome hardships in their bid to win honours for the country. |
| |
| • Hiratsuka and Tanihara planning all-out attack on Selangor Masters |
| PETALING JAYA: Japan’s rising sons Tetsuji Hiratsuka and Hideto Tanihara will launch a full frontal assault on the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters from Aug 4-7. |
| |
| • Jim Furyk out to break new ground with third win on US circuit |
| NEW YORK: Jim Furyk is usually one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour but this year he has happily traded surprising lapses in form for two victories on the US circuit. |
| |
| • Jiyai on top of the world as she chases second British Open title |
| SOUTHPORT (England): South Korea’s Shin Jiyai chases her second women’s British Open title on top of the world and on top of her game. |
| |
| • Woods seeks eighth victory at Firestone |
| ORLANDO (Florida): Tiger Woods, winless in his first seven PGA Tour starts this year, will defend his title at next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the world number one said on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Uninspired Baghdatis gets welcome boost |
| LOS ANGELES: Third-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis had low expectations for this week’s LA Open but gave himself a welcome boost by beating American wildcard Ryan Sweeting 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Stosur and Dementieva off to solid starts |
| STANFORD (California): Top seeds Samantha Stosur and Elena Dementieva made solid starts to their Stanford Classic campaigns with contrasting second-round victories on Wednesday. |
| |
| • IOC: Diver Pandelela must attend Youth Olympics from the first day |
| PETALING JAYA: Diver Pandelela Rinong’s appeal to attend only the later part of the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore from Aug 14-26 has been shot down by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday. |
| |
| • Lemaitre too fast |
| BARCELONA: Christophe Lemaitre underlined his standing as the fastest European with victory in an astonishing 100m final at the continent’s championships on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Kenya win gold at African meet |
| NAIROBI: Hosts Kenya won gold and bronze in the men’s 10,000m at the start of the African Athletics Championships on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Bolt to face off with Gay and Powell in Stockholm |
| STOCKHOLM: Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt and top sprint rivals Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell will meet for the first time this year in a 100m showdown at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting next week. |
| |
| • Tour winner Contador to leave Astana |
| MADRID: Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will leave Astana at the end of this season after he rejected the team’s offer to extend his contract, the Spaniard’s spokesman announced on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Prancing Horse back in business, says boss Montezemolo |
| ROME: Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo claimed on Wednesday that the team’s controversial one-two finish at the German Grand Prix proves the Italian giants are back in business. |
| |
| • Massa seeks reunion with people who saved his life at Hungaroring |
| BUDAPEST: Felipe Massa returns to the Hungaroring, where he suffered a high-speed horror crash 12 months ago, determined to stage an emotional reunion with the medical staff and marshals who saved his life. |
| |
| • F1 act to reduce risk of wheels breaking loose |
| BUDAPEST: Formula One will double the number of tethers on cars next season to reduce the danger from wheels bouncing away after crashes, McLaren engineering head Paddy Lowe said on Wednesday. |
| |
| • New 10-year deal for Monaco GP |
| LONDON: The future of the Monaco Grand Prix has been assured at least until 2020 after a new 10-year deal was agreed with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Wednesday. |
| |
| • Wallabies desperate to end seven-match losing streak to All Blacks |
| MELBOURNE: Australia stand to receive a World Cup progress report when they meet New Zealand in Melbourne tomorrow in a match that could also write the script for the remainder of the Tri-Nations tournament. |
| |
| • Tendulkar’s double ton leads India’s run feast |
| COLOMBO: Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar hit 203 and debutant Suresh Raina made 120 as India bettered Sri Lanka’s run-spree in the high-scoring second cricket Test yesterday. |
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| Updated: 19 minutes ago |
