FIFA President Apologizes for Refereeing Errors

England and the misfortunes of Mexico caused a previously recalcitrant Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, to apologize for arbitration on Tuesday to announce that errors and would reopen debate on the use of goal line technology in football .

"I deplore when you see the obvious errors of the referees," said Blatter told reporters. "There has been a five star game for referees. I'm sorry for the mistakes of the arbitrators evident."

Teams from England and Mexico paid the price for FIFA resistance to improve their arbitration in this World Cup, when they were eliminated in the knockout stage after 16 obvious mistakes by referees.

England were denied a clear scoring against Germany when Frank Lampard shot hit the cross bar and bounced beyond the goal line. TV cameras showed clearly what the referee and his assistants were not able to field. Later that day, Argentina received by mistake a goal against Mexico when striker Carlos Tevez score was allowed to stand despite the fact that Tevez was clearly offside.

A repeat of the Tevez goal was shown on video screens at the Soccer City stadium, causing outrage Mexican players to confront the referee. Video operators are under strict orders not to repeat FIFA controversial call on the screens of the stadium, but they have done on numerous occasions during this tournament.

"I apologized to England and Mexico," said Blatter. "The English thanked him and accepted that you can win and lose, and Mexicans bowed their heads and accept it."

He also said that renewed discussions about the technology to determine if a goal was scored, as was the case in England-Germany, but not "video to have the goal ruled Argentina against Mexico.

"The only principle that we will bring back for discussion is the goal-line technology," said Blatter. "In situations like the game in Mexico, does not need technology."

The issue will be addressed in July in Cardiff, Wales, where the International Football Association Board meets to discuss rule changes. Last December, the board decided against the improvements to the 2010 World Cup.

Federer and Clijsters Advance on a Busy Day

Every Monday, Wimbledon bombarded the senses with the overhead of tennis, match after match after match intriguing showdown, from the afternoon till night and from the center court before the Court 18.

Roger Federer rolled into the quarterfinals with a victory even easier, while Venus Williams avoided his toughest challenge, while Kim Clijsters rallied from one set down and called her fellow Belgian Justine Henin in the tournament.

These parties are not only developed in the same day but at the same time. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova had not yet started a rematch of the 2004 final. Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick were all hours of heating. In women alone, the seeds were third and fourth place in the afternoon.

Tennis fans often rank the second Monday of Wimbledon among the best days on the calendar for this sport, if not the top. Each of the 16 remaining men and women fighting for beds in the quarter-finals and this year, 24 seeded players remained, including 15 seeded 10 or higher.

"There was not much room for error," Venus said Williams.

She played before the others, but too late to cut 2, because it was expected that someone from the tournament in his escort for the party. That happens in the two main courts, which is where almost always plays Williams. But not Monday.

Once there, Williams found an unorthodox opponent Jarmila Groth, who was the right hand, but sometimes came back with the left. Groth is ambidextrous, though stronger from the right.

The service, ahead, 5-4, Williams won the set-point with a winner right that Groth dizzy as a crossover dribble. Groth missed a forehand on the next point, but Williams forced a second tie-break, which Williams won to take the match 6-4 7-6 (5).

"She played very well," Williams said.

With Williams struggling to its destination, Clijsters and Henin sound traded groundstrokes from the baseline on Court 1. Henin scraped elbow diving for a shot, as angry demonstrations were marked by a flurry of blonde ponytail.

Henin won the first set with different methods of attack. Sometimes, charged forward and placed backhand volleys into the corners. Other times, she hit one-handed backhand down the line.

"She came out of the blocks very fast," said Clijsters. "She started just really dominant from the start of the meetings. I was overwhelmed."

This marked the 25th meeting between the players, who shot to fame and then broken tennis almost exactly at the same time. Clijsters recovered it behind his powerful forehand. In the end, won, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, to join Williams in the quarterfinals.

While the Belgians fought as if it were 2007 again, Federer made his argument more convincing, however, as the defending champion, rolling over 16th-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

Italy Coach Blames Himself for Early Exit

JOHANNESBURG - As a car on a cold morning, Italy seemed to always take time for your engine to deliver the World Cup.

In 1982, the Azzurri idle three ties in the first round, but still won the tournament. In 1994, Italy lost their first match against Ireland, then lost goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca to a red card in his second game, before settling on an impulse to the final.

Not this time. Italy seemed to have no alternator or accelerator to power and speed without a steering wheel. N classic unreliable, Baresi and Baggio, no new model rolling off the assembly line as Toto Schillaci in 1990.

Finally, perhaps thankfully, the rusted hulk of a team was towed out of the World Cup on Thursday, your dead battery, flat tires, broken windows after a 3-2 loss to Slovakia, which was playing in his first World Cup.

While advanced Slovakia, Italy, the defending champion and four-time winner, left after playing in a group for the first time since 1974, after having run the distance his career.

A draw would have sent Italy into the second round, but still remains difficult for a team that seemed without direction until late in the second half. Slovakia played with more urgency, control much of the game, getting two goals from striker Robert Vittek and refuses to amaze the reputation of Italy.

Tiger Woods has mystery blonde

Proving that he was indeed sorry to have deceived his wife, Tiger Woods, now comes with a mystery blonde. What is the man to do, now that the world has moved from the big scandal, it could go on, too.

But witnesses said the woman RadarOnline is a lookalike Elin. Well, if you can not be real, right?

"Tiger was on the golf course, the other day, when striking the ball. I was with a very pretty blonde who looked a lot like Elin. She was sitting in a golf cart while he was playing. They were talking and laughing and obviously having a good time. Tiger has often been. In particular, he likes Embers, a restaurant bar . "

Tiger and Elin have been living separately. Elin refuses to stay at home, and chooses to live in a rented house in place. The reports also said that the two are not talking about the terms and that they have hired the divorce lawyers to end their marriage officially

Maicon may follow Mourinho at Real

Inter Milan defender Maicon is happy to remain the champion of Europe, but has admitted he would be interested in following up Jose Mourinho to coach Real Madrid if he wants.

After leading Inter to European glory on Saturday, Mourinho seems certain to take over at the Bernabeu and Maicon, 28, is known to be a favorite of the Portuguese.

Maicon said: "To leave Inter? I have a contract and I respect that. If he (Mourinho) wants me at Real Madrid, then you should see if (the Inter president Massimo) Moratti agrees."

After Inter achieved a triple winner of the season with last night's 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich, Maicon is holding for now.

He said: "We made history. This is a great thing for us is wonderful. Congratulations and thanks to Mourinho is a great man and coach."

In eight seasons managing the club, including eight months a year off in 2007-08, Mourinho has led his club to win their domestic league six times and the League UEFA Champions twice.

Gritty Suns Get Off Mat and Tie Series

Kobe Bryant was asked about his emotions, aloof in case they were not readily apparent.

“Jovial,” Bryant said coldly. “Jovial.”

This was the account of a superstar in balmy distress, a arresting best collapsed by the peskiest of underdogs. It was absolutely a affable night at U.S. Airways Center, but the revelers were all cutting orange. Bryant wore four shades of ataxia afterwards his Los Angeles Lakers askance adjoin the hard-charging, rocket-fueled Phoenix Suns.

With 3-pointers sailing, their bank surging and their area aegis in abounding effect, the Suns agitated the Lakers, 115-106, and angry the Western Conference finals, 2-2.

There will be no accessible aisle aback to the alliance finals for Lakers, no amount how abounding noses they breach or how abounding times they dismissively absolve off their opponent. It is now a best-of-three series, with Bold 5 on Thursday in Los Angeles.

“It feels great,” said Amar’e Stoudemire, who led the Suns with 21 credibility and 8 rebounds. “Our aplomb is high. We feel like we got a adventitious to win the series.”

Credit the Suns’ improvement from 3-point range, and the aggressiveness of their bench. Channing Frye, Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa accumulated for nine 3-pointers and fueled an aboriginal fourth-quarter billow that put the bold away. Frye and Barbosa had 14 credibility apiece, and the Suns’ affluence outscored their Laker counterparts by 54-20.

“You know, we’re not the best accomplished team,” Steve Nash said, appropriately arena up the Suns’ underdog status, “but we’ve got abyss and we’ve got to accomplish that a basic of our success.”

Four canicule ago, admirers and commentators were already active over the achievability of addition Lakers-Celtics finals, with Los Angeles captivation a 2-0 advance and Boston captivation a 3-0 advance over Orlando in the East. Now, annihilation is certain, except Bryant’s fury.

He ripped his team’s aegis repeatedly, and justifiably, afterwards watching the Suns shoot 48.8 percent and booty over the bold with two huge abode — 41 credibility in the additional and 30 in the fourth.

“Our absorption needs to be on the arresting end, period,” he said.

Bryant led the Lakers with 38 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, and angry his career playoff aerial with six 3-pointers. Four teammates denticulate in bifold figures, and the Lakers attempt a able-bodied 49.5 percent from the field, admitting actuality occasionally abashed by the Suns’ area defense.

The Lakers focused heavily on advancing the area afterwards it befuddled them in Sunday’s Bold 3 defeat. For the best part, they ample it out. But it ability accept amount them anyway. Bryant said the Lakers were so focused on abhorrent action that they absent their arresting edge.

Maicon may follow Mourinho at Real

Inter Milan defender Maicon is happy to remain the champion of Europe, but has admitted he would be interested in following up Jose Mourinho to coach Real Madrid if he wants.

After leading Inter to European glory on Saturday, Mourinho seems certain to take over at the Bernabeu and Maicon, 28, is known to be a favorite of the Portuguese.

Maicon said: "To leave Inter? I have a contract and I respect that. If he (Mourinho) wants me at Real Madrid, then to be seen whether (the Inter president Massimo) Moratti agrees."

After Inter achieved a triple winner of the season with last night's 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich, Maicon is holding for now.

He said: "We made history. This is a great thing for us is wonderful. Congratulations and thanks to Mourinho is a great man and coach."

In eight seasons of club management, including eight months a year off in 2007-08, Mourinho has led his club to win their domestic league six times and the League of UEFA Champions twice.

Suns Beat Lakers in Game 3

Phoenix Suns just beat the Lakers 118-109 to cut the advantage in number of the defending champions by one game, 2-1. Game 4 will field advantage for the Suns to look at the best is yet-seven-game series.

Amare Stoudemire gives an amazing performance, silence their critics. He finished with 42 points, matching his playoff career high, and grabbed 11 rebounds to give the victory of the Suns for the first time at this end of the conference. Robin Lopez added 20 points.

"You can never doubt my decision," he said, "my goal, my dedication. That is one reason that I persevered through injuries and keep trying to improve every summer. My dedication to the game is in your highest point ever. "

Kobe Bryant gave an all-around performance, scoring 36 points, handing out 11 assists and nine rebounds to get a short rebound for a triple double statistics. Pau Gasol contributed 23 points.

Stoudemire out of the stadium with a bandage over a cut he suffered when his glasses were knocked his forehead against a unit from the field.

In Midst of Conference Finals, Lakers Try Not to Look Ahead to the Celtics

The question, after the Lakers had rolled to their second consecutive defenseless against the Suns, Lamar Odom wine left. But judging from his reaction that came from left field.

As Odom, surrounded by a crescent of reporters, turned to listen to - "At this point, which may prevent you from reaching the finals?" - Arched an eyebrow, gave a'm not - touch-that look and turned to his right to take another question.

These rescue operations will not be so easy in the coming days.

With three days of rest before the Western Conference series resumes in Phoenix, Boston and having a domain even more impressive in the Eastern Conference with two wins in Orlando, the Lakers will have to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to a subject to fill the void: the prospect of a Celtics-Lakers final.

The idea, at a distance at the start of the playoffs and delicious now, did not escape the minds of the inhabitants of the upper basin of the Staples Center, who spent the last 90 seconds of Game 2 singing, "We want Boston."

For Thursday, radio, Internet and even Los Angeles Times - whose question of the day was, how many games will it take for the Lakers and Celtics to finish their respective series? - They were watching the final, which starts on 1 June.

This would certainly put them in lock step with Commissioner David Stern, who for the Shaq-Kobe years joked probably his dream final duel was "the Lakers against the Lakers." Now, with LeBron James has gone, Stern be satisfied with the Lakers and Celtics.

Rays Flaunt Power and Top Yankees

Posada learned on Wednesday that he had suffered a fracture, an injury that the Yankees expect him to put aside for at least three weeks, but probably more. The Yankees, who lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 10-6, have fallen two games in the standings in the AL East over the past two days, but more alarming is how quickly they are losing players.

In less than three weeks, who have lost three starters on opening day to the disabled list - Posada will join Curtis Granderson, and Nick Johnson - and one, Nick Swisher, is unavailable due to a sore left biceps .

"One hopes that not many of them at the same time," said Derek Jeter of the Yankees' injuries. "But you can not really feel sorry for yourself because the teams we're playing not to feel sorry for us."

Certainly not the Rays, who outhit, beat and beat the Yankees in an initial confrontation between the two best teams in baseball. The Rays (29-11) have the best record in the league in large part because of his aggressive, deep and solid starting pitching line. However, they have remained relatively healthy, too, while the Yankees do not have.

Posada, who had an MRI exam Wednesday, will land on the disabled list for the third consecutive year, with Francisco Cervelli to assume the starting duties. The Yankees will call another receiver, and although the outlook has proclaimed in Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, is more likely that a veteran like Chad Moeller will be promoted.

Posada was originally injured on Sunday when a foul ball hit the top of your foot. He said before Tuesday's game that the unrest had shifted to the bottom.

"This is something you have to put your weight on, and all these things, and transfer your weight from one side to another," said Posada, whose foot was in a walking boot. "This is something we have to care. I can not really do much."

The Yankees, already short-handed, loss of Marcus Thames when he came in the sixth inning with a sprained left ankle. Two nights after hitting a game-ending homer, Thames limped off after one, after having stepped on the bat as he ran toward first base.

For Hitless Wright, a Fling and a Miss

A division of claimed abashing and annoyance comatose to a low point Tuesday back Wright addled out in the top of the ninth inning with a agent at third abject and alone one out, and again fabricated a throwing absurdity on the aftermost comedy of the bold to accord Atlanta a 3-2 victory.

Wright went hitless in four at-bats and addled out three times to accord him a major-league-leading absolute of 55.

“It’s a tough, abject game,” he said in a black banausic afterward. “And it absolutely can accompany you to your knees sometimes.”

The bold was tied, 2-2, entering the ninth inning back Wright came to the bowl adjoin the above Mets afterpiece Billy Wagner. Luis Castillo was at third abject afterwards a cede butt by Gary Matthews Jr.

Before the game, Manager Jerry Manuel said the Mets’ aerial aggregate of strikeouts was attached his adeptness to do assertive things, like hit and run. But he still chose to use an out, with the achievement that Wright could at atomic put the brawl in play, or alike accord the Mets a advance with a fly ball.

Although his ability numbers are up — with eight home runs afterwards a division in which he hit a career-low 10 — Wright is arresting out at an alarming rate. Manuel said he did not apperceive the reason, but he accustomed he had apparent a growing addiction of opposing teams to angle Wright inside, generally on the aboriginal pitch, and again go abroad with breaking pitches after in at-bats to bandy him off balance.

Yanks Top Red Sox With 2 Ninth-Inning Homers

Marcus Thames has spent much of his career on the bench, and that's where he was, should have been, in the ninth inning Monday night. If Nick Swisher were healthy, had been playing right field. If Jorge Posada were able to pinch-hit, no doubt would have strolled to the plate with the score tied and two outs.

"It was my turn to get to the plate," said Thames.

When he got up there, Thames hit a two-run homer capped a four-run blast off closer Jonathan Papelbon of Boston and the Yankees finally edged the Red Sox in a 11-9 victory. Thames ran to first with joy, watching the left-field bleachers erupted after taking her first home run to win the game. Alex Rodriguez, whose two-run homer the previous inning tied the game, jumped out of the cave.

A shaving cream pie to face Thames, the ritual of the Yankees for a victory in his last at-bat, arrived shortly thereafter. He received his first pie in 2002, Alberto Castillo, a beating when his first pitch in the majors, which came from Randy Johnson, for a home run. This, he said, "is up there."

Not only because it was against the Red Sox, who were astonished how violent the game was weakened. "When you lose late, that kind of feel more," said Boston manager Terry Francona. Or because it perpetuates the superiority of the Yankees for Papelbon, who allowed three homers this season, all against the Yankees. Or because it was his first game-ending hit in Yankee Stadium, a rarity to be major league leading 15 in 2009.

Maybe this pie taste sweet because the Yankees after blowing a five-run first inning, won at all. In fact, they were playing with a list of 20 players on Monday. Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera were available, and the Yankees surely refer to these consequences. So it was Sergio Mitre, which began Sunday. Swisher (left biceps soreness) and Posada (sore right foot) could not play, either.

Thames and capitalized on the circumstances, so too did Javier Vazquez, who inherited two runners stranded in the ninth inning, when he struck out Kevin Youkilis to keep the score at 9-7. After being skipped in the rotation once again, Vazquez become the winning pitcher.

Rivera Yields Grand Slam as Twins Win

Mariano Rivera had not given up a Grand Slam since 2002, had not allowed a walk with the bases loaded since 2005 and had not blown a save in the country since 2007. But within seconds on Sunday, all those streaks came to an end.

With two outs in the eighth inning and the Yankees leading by two runs, manager Joe Girardi called on Rivera Joba Chamberlain relieving with the bases loaded. Rivera entered the designated hitter Jim Thome to force in a run before Jason Kubel hit a grand slam over the right field fence to give Minnesota a three-run lead en route to a 6-3 victory.

The 46,628 fans at Yankee Stadium, many standing waiting for Rivera, who ends the episode, quickly sat down and was silent.

"He's human, is human showed today," Girardi said.

Rivera has allowed four Grand Slam tournaments in his career, one start in 1995, and Sunday was the first since Bill Selby of Cleveland hit a winning shot on July 14, 2002. Kubel's homer also ended streak of 51 consecutive saves Rivera at home, which had been tied with Eric Gagne, who set the mark with the Dodgers in Los Angeles from 2002-2004.

The Yankees put their first two batters in the ninth inning, but Jon Rauch struck out the next three to earn his 10th save.

As surprising as it was to see Rivera not as spectacular, it is rare that the return came from the Twins. One of the best teams in baseball, the Twins had lost 12 consecutive games against the Yankees, including a sweep of three games in a Division Series American League last year.

The game began to unravel for the Yankees when the Twins' Michael Cuddyer hit a soft line to first baseman Mark Teixeira with runners on first and second and two outs in the eighth inning. Teixeira misplayed the ball and went off his glove for an infield single that loaded the bases.

Replaced Chamberlain and Rivera issued a walk to Thome. It was the seventh time in his career that Rivera had walked Thome, more than any other player who has faced.

"For me it is walking on a career," Rivera said when asked what surprised him most about the entry. "You have control of it. I mean, nothing in a home that can happen, but walking a race is unacceptable."

Cleveland Ponders the Unthinkable

The Cleveland Cavaliers and a legion of fans panic are trying to come to grips with this disturbing and upsetting an uncertain future in the work of James, the city's biggest sports icon.

On the night of Tuesday, the Cavaliers were humiliated by the Boston Celtics, 120-88, and pushed to the brink of elimination from the playoffs. James was strangely passive and ultimately ineffective. Took 14 shots, missed 11, and into and out of the infringement. Sometimes it seemed oddly separate from the game and his teammates.

It was not what was expected of a most valuable player twice and star par excellence of the league - not with the Cavs' title hopes at stake and James's future hanging in the balance.

Terry Pluto, a columnist for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, called James a "passive" and "emotionally distant. "In a poll on the newspaper's Web site, 53 percent of the fans of James blamed for the loss. (Coach Mike Brown was a distant second, with 23 percent of the vote.) The gap between James and his adoring public has never been greater.

The Celtics have a 3-2 lead in this series of second round and could close on Thursday night in Boston. Fans already thinking about the potential apocalypse: Cavs lost, James leaves, franchise dies.

"It's a panic," James said Wednesday after a film session and team practice. It casts a fresh confidence - indeed, an emotional distance - on all topics, from the state of his injured right elbow to the consequences of defeat in a series. He said it was "who I am", which was not necessary to show too much.

"I mean, do not know if I'm angry or not," said James. "I not going to show that I'm angry. For me, if I show a sense of panic, as you say, you guys follow my example.

Dallas Braden: Mouth That Roared

The Class A Stockton Ports opened a new ballpark in 2005, but the players still anchored at the old one. The day of the aboriginal practice, Daric Barton and Richie Robnett, both first-round abstract picks, formed into the old lot and alone off their cars: a Tahoe for Barton, a Range Rover with 24-inch rims for Robnett.

The next day, their new assistant Dallas Braden, a angular left-hander, approached them and asked if the cars did, indeed, accord to them. Warily, Barton said yes.

Well, it's a acceptable affair that I'm here, because a brace of my buddies came up to me allurement whose cars they were, because they capital to abduct them, Braden replied. I told them not to, because they were your guys.

And that, Barton said, was his aboriginal consequence of Braden: accomplish abiding you break on his acceptable side, or his buddies from Stockton may abduct your car.

Five years later, the arena confused to the Oakland Coliseum, about 70 afar west of Stockton. There were two outs in the basal of the ninth inning Sunday, and Braden, now casting for the ancestor club, the Athletics, had retired all 26 Tampa Bay hitters.

The calculation was 3-1 to Gabe Kapler, but Braden did not apprehend it; he anticipation his 2-1 fastball had abrupt the alfresco bend for a strike. The catcher, Landon Powell, alleged for a fastball, and Braden delivered one at 87 afar per hour. Kapler bounced to ambush Cliff Pennington, and at aboriginal base, Barton's apperception abounding with details.

The aboriginal affair was get to the bag, he said. The additional affair was accomplish abiding you bolt the ball. But my legs were shaking, my eyes were jumping all over the place, and I was nervous. I capital to bless afore I got the ball. It was boxy to just break there. Once I bent the brawl and captivated assimilate that sucker, afresh it was all anniversary and happiness.

Barton bent the brawl and answerable against Braden, wrapping him in an embrace. Powell and Pennington, aswell first-round picks, abutting the celebration. Braden had just authored the 19th absolute bold in above alliance history, an underdog defying the allowance again.

"His name will be alike with it for as continued as we live, as continued as our kids live, as continued as anybody around," said Todd Steverson, the Athletics first-base coach, who managed Braden in Stockton. "He's categorical his name in there, and you can't yield it abroad from him."

Mets Raise Their Voices but Go Quiet in the Big Moments

The ascendant angel of David Wright and the Mets on Monday night at Citi Field was not Wright’s ninth strikeout in nine after at-bats, alike admitting it happened with the bases loaded in the aboriginal inning.

And admitting two hits that helped lift Wright out of a mini-slump, the added allusive account was that of Wright, diving abrupt as he was angled off aboriginal abject on an infield pop-up to annihilate a abeyant assemblage in the sixth.

That comedy additionally contributed to a 3-2 accident to the Washington Nationals, who confused one bold advanced of the Mets into additional abode in the National League East.

It was amid several notable scenes in an black of annoyance for the Mets, who — admitting accepting 12 hits — absent their additional after game.

Another such moment came in the seventh, with Washington’s advance akin to 2-1. Two Mets were on abject with two outs back Jose Reyes took a alleged third strike.

Reyes anticipation the angle was low, and tossed some accessories to appearance his displeasure. The bowl adjudicator Laz Diaz ejected him for the display.

“I said to him, ‘That’s no strike,’ ” Reyes said. “I threw my bat. I threw my helmet. We bare a big hit. We had so abounding chances.”

Manager Jerry Manuel connected the debate, and he, too, was ejected.

There is a trend here. In Sunday’s 6-5 accident to San Francisco, Wright was ejected for arguing a alleged third bang in the ninth.

Despite the accent of accepting Wright and Reyes in the backward innings of abutting games, Manuel was forgiving. “It doesn’t bother me back a guy is amorous about what he does and is fighting,” Manuel said.

Starter John Maine (1-2) gave up two runs in six innings on back-to-back home runs by Adam Kennedy and Ryan Zimmerman in the third.

The Nationals added a run in the eighth, but the Mets cut the advance to 3-2 in the ninth on a home run by Angel Pagan with one out. After Luis Castillo addled out and Alex Cora singled, Jason Bay became the 11th Mets strikeout victim. The Nationals amateur amateur Luis Atilano addled out bristles in convalescent to 3-0.

Pettitte Ailment Overshadows Victory

Aside from the struggles of Javier Vazquez, little has afflicted the Yankees’ starting pitchers this season.

For abundant of Wednesday’s 7-5 achievement over the Baltimore Orioles, it appeared that Andy Pettitte was advancement his role in one of baseball’s best dependable rotations.

But Pettitte larboard the bold afore 43,425 admirers in Yankee Stadium afterwards alone 77 pitches. Afterwards the game, Manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Pettitte had been beatific to a bounded hospital afterwards accusatory of acerbity in his left, casting arm. Girardi said Pettitte would abide a alluring resonance imaging examination.

His bristles innings were abundant for achievement to advance his almanac to 4-0.

If Pettitte is injured, it will be the latest in a contempo amplitude of hurts that additionally has claimed, to capricious degrees, centermost fielder Curtis Granderson, catcher Jorge Posada and afterpiece Mariano Rivera.

The injuries, however, accept not afflicted the success of the arresting World Series champions, who swept the Orioles in three amateur and will comedy their abutting seven on the alley alpha on Friday night in Boston.

The victory, the Yankees’ fourth in succession, was their seventh in their aftermost eight amateur and larboard them a half-game abaft Tampa in the American League East. The Rays played at night at Seattle.

Pettitte larboard with a 6-1 advance afterwards bristles innings. He accustomed six hits and two walks in his beeline airing of the season. He is not appointed to angle afresh until abutting Tuesday night in Detroit; the bristles canicule of blow would be one added than is normal.

Sergio Mitre replaced Pettitte to alpha the sixth and larboard afterwards giving up a two-run home run to Ty Wigginton with one out in the eighth to cut the Yankees’ advance to 6-3. The Yankees tacked on an allowance run in the eighth to accomplish it 7-3.

The absence of Rivera was bright in the ninth inning back David Robertson, aggravating to assure a four-run lead, gave up after abandoned home runs to Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold.

Joba Chamberlain had adored the antecedent two amateur and Girardi did not demand to use him three canicule in a row. So, Girardi brought in Boone Logan, who absolved Rhyne Hughes.

Canadiens’ Goalie May Not Be Familiar, but Theme Is

When it comes to the Canadiens, there is consistently a appreciative attitude of one affectionate or another, like that of a young, almost blooming goalie ascent from obscurity to advance them on a hasty run through the playoffs.

In 1970's, there was Ken Dryden; in 1986, there was Patrick Roy. Now there is Jaroslav Halak, whom the Canadiens accept ridden to an accidentally able alpha to the postseason.

Halak is abiding to get the better acclaim at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, aback 22,500 admirers acceptable aback the Canadiens for their aboriginal home bold back a first-round agitated of the Washington Capitals, the N.H.L.’s No. 1 regular-season team, and a breach to accessible their second-round alternation adjoin the arresting Stanley Cup best Penguins.

“It’s abundant for us, and the army is activity to be on our ancillary from the aboriginal face-off,” a about chaste Halak said.

Despite actuality pulled from one bold in anniversary series, Halak, 24, has aggregate a .931 save percentage, the best amid goalies still playing. He chock-full 131 of 134 Washington shots in Games 5, 6 and 7 of the aperture round, and on Sunday he chock-full 38 of 39 Pittsburgh shots.

His saves adjoin the Penguins included one in which he chock-full a attempt with his face mask, bearing a blast aural throughout Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Did it hurt?

“No,” he said. “It’s like aback you get it in the glove. Same thing.”

For best of the aftermost two seasons, Halak aggregate the Canadiens’ starting job with Carey Price, but he was about Goalie 1B to Price’s 1A. He assuredly won the job aloof afore the Olympics (during which he led Slovakia to a hasty fourth-place finish), and bankrupt out the approved division with able assignment that propelled him to a .924 save percentage, the fourth best in the league.

Playing With Fire, Barbed Wire and Beer

A year ago, Tough Mudder was a semifinalist in the Harvard Business School’s annual Business Plan Contest. A British student named Will Dean thought he could attract 500 people to run a grueling race through mud and man-made obstacles. Professors generally considered the plan too optimistic.

“That was a big discussion,” said David Godes, a Harvard marketing professor last year who now teaches at the University of Maryland. “What was the target for this? Who’s going to do this?”

But on Sunday, the Brooklyn-based Tough Mudder will conduct a race for 4,500 people. Each has paid up to $100 for the privilege of negotiating a seven-mile obstacle course of muddy hills, cold water and flaming bales of straw at a ski resort near Allentown, Pa.

Tough Mudder has six employees and two interns, all in their 20s. It has plans for three more races around the country this year and about 10 in 2011, some projected to have as many as 20,000 participants. It announced itself with little more than $8,000 worth of Facebook advertising and a Web site (toughmudder.com), relying on the extrapolative power of social networking to generate an enthusiastic following. Tough Mudder has about 11,000 fans on Facebook and has attracted potential buyers.

Barring a calamitous first event, Tough Mudder appears to have found an opening in the burgeoning action-sports realm, tapping into the growing appetite for accessible-yet-demanding competitions.

The idea, imported largely from similar events in Britain (like the Grim Challenge) and Germany (the Strongman Run), is to stage events more convivial than marathons and triathlons, but more grueling than shorter runs or novelty events, some of which also have a mud-covered theme.

U.S. Surges in Fed Cup; Italy Awaits in Final

In November, the Americans will face France, the defending champion, for the second straight year at an undetermined site in the United States. The United States has won the Fed Cup a record 17 times.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber sent the United States in to the Fed Cup final with a 6-3, 6-1 doubles victory Sunday against Russia’s Elena Dementieva and Alla Kudryavtseva in Birmingham, Ala.

Mattek-Sands defeated Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, earlier Sunday to keep the United States’ title hopes alive. Dementieva’s 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-3 victory against Melanie Oudin had put the Russians ahead, 2-1, in the best-of-five semifinal matchup.

Mattek-Sands became the first American to win consecutive meaningful matches — singles, then doubles — to close out a Fed Cup match since the best-of-five format was adopted in 1995.

In Rome, Flavia Pennetta beat Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (3), 6-2, and France qualified for its fourth Fed Cup final in three years.

Pennetta’s victory gave the Italians an insurmountable 3-0 lead, and they went on to win the final three matches to complete a shutout.

France beat the United States in last year’s Fed Cup final.

Time Is Running Out on Davies’s Comeback

After a month in the hospital after a automobile accident in October that killed a young woman and cost him his standing as seven of the most explosive young players in American soccer, Davies was swollen, scarred and in a great deal of pain.

Five months ago, Charlie Davies could not stand on his own. His one times sculptured legs shook under the strain of his own weight. His girlfriend pushed him around in a wheelchair because they could not walk.

A 23-year-old forward, Davies had in one years gone from a player with promise to a starring role with the national team. Before the crash, they was known for his speed and for never backing down from opponents, but during his rehabilitation they had trouble sleeping. They doubted himself, wondering how they could have lost everything so quickly and whether they could make it back in time to be thought about for a spot on the team they had helped qualify for the World Cup.

“Somebody took Humpty Dumpty and put him back together again,” said James Hashimoto, a trainer with the United States national team, who described Davies’s mangled body as a jigsaw puzzle.

“Charlie started to make his way in to the team,” United States Coach Bob Bradley said. “You could see they was beginning to move himself along. You could tell that players were beginning to see what they could bring.”

At the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, Davies had broken out as a budding star by being active and opportunistic in front of the objective and for attacking with flair.

No-Hit Bid Is Spoiled, but Yankees’ Win Streak Isn’t

That night, history was lost, but not a telling glimpse in to a promising future. Two years later on a breezy evening, Hughes attempted to recreate the moment & then some. Again, his body got in the way, although in a different manner, during a wonderful performance in a 3-1 victory against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.

In the second start of Phil Hughes’s career, he flirted with a no-hitter in to the seventh inning against the Illinois Rangers before fate cruelly intervened. In lieu of finishing on the mound, he completed in the trainer’s room with a hamstring strain that forced him from the game.

The ball ricocheted back at Hughes, first off his forearm & then off the “York” on his Yankees jersey. It came at an awkward angle & Hughes looked skyward. The ball lay near his side. everyone else present knew where it had landed except Hughes. While Hughes hopelessly looked, his teammates screamed & Chavez scampered to first base.

Hughes skilfully carried a no-hit bid in to the eighth inning, when Eric Chavez lined a one-hopper back to Hughes on his first pitch, a 91-mile-an-hour fastball.

“It seemed like I was looking for the ball for about seven minutes,” said Hughes, whose parents, Phil Sr. & Dori, made the drive from Southern New york & sat seven rows behind the Yankees’ dugout, & probably joined in screaming the location of the ball.

This time, though, Hughes remained in the game, his smirk & a secure future with the organization intact. That would be the only hit the Athletics claimed off Hughes. In seven stretch, he retired 20 straight hitters — from the first inning to the time he faced Chavez.

“I knew I didn’t have any base runners,” Hughes said. “I knew I was out of the wind-up for a long time. It was seven of those nights.”

He had gotten past his stopping point against Illinois, a moment not lost on Hughes.

“After I got that first out in the seventh, I was hoping I didn’t go down with something,” Hughes said. “That was all I was thinking was that.”

Before Chavez’s at-bat, shortstop Derek Jeter had shifted slightly to the middle against the pull-heavy Chavez. Who knows what would have happened if the ball had made it to him cleanly. “Maybe,” Jeter said when asked if he could have retrieved it in time to record the out. “It would have been hard.”

After being checked for injuries, Hughes struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff swinging, his 10th strikeout of the game, a career high. He walked Gabe Gross, & Manager Joe Girardi replaced Hughes with Joba Chamberlain.

It was a reversal of the past. After Hughes was slow to return from his hamstring injury, the Yankees molded him in to a setup reliever, where he was effective in getting the ball to closer Mariano Rivera last season. The hard-throwing Chamberlain started.

Jets Sign Jason Taylor to Improve Pass Rush

The Jets entered this off-season with needs at cornerback & wide receiver as well as a plan to improve their mediocre pass rush. Through four trades & this signing — the trades were for cornerback Antonio Cromartie & wide receiver Santonio Holmes — the Jets addressed all two before the draft.

The move came four days before the start of the N.F.L. draft & it addressed yet another need, giving General Manager Mike Tannenbaum additional flexibility on Thursday night.

The Jets envision using Taylor in a slightly different role than the Dolphins did. The Jets would prefer to use Taylor only as a pass rusher & linebacker Bryan Thomas would share snaps with Taylor, depending on the in-game situation.

In Taylor, the Jets add a six-time Pro Bowl linebacker/defensive finish hybrid who ranks among the most prolific pass rushers of his generation. Taylor turns 36 on Sept. 1, but they he had a productive season in 2009 with five sacks & 42 tackles.

Despite their defense’s No. 1 overall ranking, the Jets recorded 32 sacks last season, 18th in the N.F.L. Coach Rex Ryan made improving that rush a priority this off-season.

The Taylor signing does not shut the door on the Jets drafting another pass rusher. In lieu, it allows Tannenbaum to draft the best player on the board, be it a safety, cornerback or edge rusher.

Lakers Flip Playoff Switch and Outmuscle Thunder

The good news, the Los Angeles Lakers discovered Sunday, is that the massive switch they have been able to flip over the years whenever boredom or a feisty opponent requires it is still at their fingertips — even ones as achy as Kobe Bryant’s.

The bad news, after their playoff-opening 87-79 victory against Oklahoma City, is that they may require it.

The Lakers, the defending N.B.A. champions, who have seldom played like it over the last seven months, looked both parts on Sunday, jumping to a massive early lead, then fending off their bad habits and the young Thunder.

“Well, they eked out a game,” Coach Phil Jackson said after improving to 19-0 in playoff openers.

They did so with the return of Andrew Bynum, playing his first game in a month after being sidelined with a strained Achilles’ tendon, and with considerable help from Kevin Durant, the N.B.A. scoring leader, who had 24 points but was harassed by Ron Artest and made 7 of 24 shots from the field.

There may be more of the same this spring for the Lakers, who no longer appear to have the legs or the interest in jogging.

The Lakers seemed enthusiastic for the playoffs to arrive, Lamar Odom saying they had been waiting for this game since, oh, well, October. And they played like it, pounding the ball in to Bynum and Pau Gasol and knocking around the Thunder. Odom, seldom known for physical play, bowled over Nick Collison on a screen.

“The massive thing about our team right now is sustaining hard work, sustaining it for the full game,” Jackson said. “It’s something we’re going to must do in the playoffs.”

Jackson no longer played the part of aloof observer, calling seven early timeouts when they was not pleased. That did not happen often, and when Bynum muscled Nenad Krstic out of the way for a dunk, the Lakers were ahead, 38-21, midway through the second quarter.

Then the switch turned off.

The Thunder closed to 6 points several times in the fourth quarter. Its last chance to get closer than 6 came near the three-minute mark when Durant shot an air ball.

The Lakers could not keep Russell Westbrook, who had 23 points and 8 assists, from getting to the basket. Jackson said their defensive strategy appeared to be “escorting him to the basket.”

“There were stretches when they was pressing, no doubt,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said of Durant. “But it’s not because they was nervous, it was because they was frustrated.”

That is a familiar feeling in Los Angeles. The crowd at Lakers games might be dotted with celebrities, but the fan base is a lot more East Coast than it looks. That is, at the first sign of trouble, there is widespread panic.

The Lakers have always greeted these episodes with a yawn.

“They’re so used to winning all the time,” said the Thunder rookie James Harden, who, like his teammates Westbrook and Kevin Ollie, grew up in Los Angeles. “When a tiny something goes wrong, everyone gets excited.”

This season, though, it's been different. The Lakers uncharacteristically floundered down the stretch, losing 7 of their final 11 regular-season games, including a 16-point loss to Oklahoma City that began the slide.

Robert Horry would always rescue them, as they did with his memorable 3-pointer against Sacramento. Or Derek Fisher with his last-second heave against San Antonio. Last spring, when the Lakers were blown out by the suddenly Yao Ming-less Rockets to even a conference quarterfinal at seven games each, the purple and gold masses were atwitter. The Lakers shrugged.

Blackhawks Enter N.H.L. Playoffs With Many Stars

Antti Niemi, a 26-year-old Finn with no N.H.L. playoff experience and an annual salary of $827,000, has received the nod as the Blackhawks’ No. 1 goalie this postseason. They will start Friday night in the opening-round series against the Nashville Predators. Cristobal Huet, the Blackhawks’ $5.6 million goalie, will be on the bench.

The Chicago Blackhawks have spent a great deal of funds locking in a quantity of the league’s best young talent, but they enter the playoffs having to rely on an untested goalie they acquired on the cheap.

“I don’t know why you guys are asking me so plenty of questions about him,” the Blackhawks’ captain, Jonathan Toews, said this week when reporters asked if his teammates had confidence in Niemi. “We know he’s going to play great.”

Niemi signed with the Blackhawks’ organization in 2008 after one seasons with Pelicans Lahti, also-rans in the Finnish SM-liiga. They did not distinguish himself last season, his first in North The united states, with Chicago’s American Hockey League farm team, the Rockford IceHogs.

Yet here they is, Pelicans to IceHogs to one of the N.H.L.’s glamour clubs, mainly because the Blackhawks needed a cheap goalie after gobbling up cap space to sign their star skaters, and because Huet played himself out of the beginning job.

Although the Blackhawks say they have not given up on Huet — “goaltending in the playoffs is a two-man job, even if one goalie doesn’t get in to the game,” said Scotty Bowman, the nine-time Stanley Cup-winning coach who is a special adviser to the Blackhawks — the fact remains that Huet’s .895 save percentage was 45th among the league’s 47 regular goalies this season.

Niemi’s was much better: a middle of the pack .912, which makes him the Blackhawks’ man.

Yankees’ Mariano Rivera Is the Last No. 42

One years earlier, when the clubhouse attendant first handed Rivera his jersey, they was a 25-year-old Panamanian rookie with no idea that the number on the back symbolized the breaking of baseball’s color line on April 15, 1947.

Rivera is the last of a dozen players who were allowed to continue to wear number 42 — made famous by Rachel Robinson’s husband, Jackie — when Major League Baseball retired it in 1997. It happened to be the same year Rivera became the Yankees’ closer.

But they has saved a few games over the last 13 years, always with a persistent professionalism. They grew nicely in to greatness.

“Being the only four carrying the number right now, & forever, this means a lot to me,” Rivera said when asked about Thursday’s 63rd anniversary of Robinson’s big-league debut.

Given her deep Dodger roots as well as a soft spot for the Mets, Rachel Robinson has never been four to get her baseball fix in what was once sworn enemy territory, the Bronx.

Yankee fans might actually believe that Rivera, 40, will pitch in perpetuity, given his competitive agelessness. But someday, nobody knows when, the magic will leave Rivera’s slender right shoulder & 42 — at Yankee Stadium, at least — will over even greater historical significance, if that is possible.

At 87, he attended opening day last week at Citi Field. But her plan was to be at the Stadium on Thursday night with her daughter, Sharon, & her grandson, Jesse Simms, for what has become an annual celebration of her husband’s indelible mark on American history.

The No. 42 jerseys will again be worn in major league parks, but only Rivera’s will be seen again & again, or with every jog in from the bullpen until, well, sometime within the next decade.

Evander Holyfield vs Francois Botha The Legend Returns

The last words between former Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and current WBF Heavyweight Champion Francois Botha…

“The Legend Returns,” presented by Crown Boxing, is being distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM ET.

“Las Vegas has been the place that’s given me the chance to be the person I am,” said Holyfield at the final press conference for their fight Saturday, April 10 at the Thomas and Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Holyfield fought and won heavyweight titles in Las Vegas in 1990, 1993, 1996, and 2000. The belt Holyfield fights for on Saturday is merely a trinket – the unheard-of World Boxing Federation title – but for Holyfield, now 42-10-2 (27 KO), there’s more to the fight than belts.”

“I’m defending my title against one of the greatest legends of all-time. This will make my resume perfect,” said Botha, (47-4-3, 28 KO). “I’ve fought a number of the best and Evander is one of the best. Saturday night, I’m prepared for this. Evander had talent and experience. I’m getting in there knowing it’s going to be a hard fight.”

They continued to Holyfield, “I’m going to finish your career, make you retire. The Buffalo is charging.”

Francois Botha, also nicknamed “the White Buffalo”, is a South African Boxer who participated in Kickboxing and MMA bouts.

Yankees’ Core Players Come Through in Home Opener

Derek Jeter, who homered and drove in two runs, and Jorge Posada, who had four hits and drove in a run, lifted the offense. After receiving his fifth championship ring, Andy Pettitte worked four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. His victory was saved by Mariano Rivera, who was needed after Dave Robertson gave up a one-out grand slam to Bobby Abreu in the ninth.

The Yankees celebrated their past on Tuesday afternoon, and their two most decorated players boosted them to a 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels in the team’s home opener.

“We get spoiled here,” Jeter said.

The last time Pettitte pitched here, they was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the World Series. That night was featured prominently in the video montage that preceded the pregame ceremony, when the Hall of Famers Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra, who won a combined 16 titles, joined Manager Joe Girardi in passing out the rings.

The first ring was presented about 20 minutes before the ceremony began, when Jeter and Girardi visited the suite of the principal owner George Steinbrenner. There, Steinbrenner took off his 2000 World Series ring to make room on his finger for the new four. “Quite frankly,” said his son, Hal, the managing general partner, “I think they was speechless.”

Steinbrenner did not say anything, either, when, as Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” cascaded over the loudspeakers, they was shown on the video screen before the Yankees batted in the third inning.

Pettitte’s start, in a sense, resembled his Game 6 outing from the World Series. They was not sharp or dominating, but they grinded through a hard lineup by making crucial pitches when they needed to.

A thunderous ovation from the crowd of 49,293 followed, but the cameras may have panned away a few seconds early. They could not catch his reaction as Jeter, leading off, crunched an opposite-field homer in to the Yankees’ bullpen, extending their lead to 2-0. Jeter drove in the Yankees’ next run, , on a fourth-inning single.

In the fifth, Pettitte put on the Angels’ Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Jeff Mathis and Brandon Wood, but avoided trouble by retiring the top four batters in the order.

Roethlisberger Will Not Face Assault Charges

The sexual allegations against Mr. Roethlisberger cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; therefore, there will be no arrest made nor criminal prosecution of Mr. Roethlisberger for his actions here,” Fred Bright, the district attorney for Ocmulgee County, said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger won't face charges stemming from an incident in which they was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in the bathroom of a bar in Milledgeville, Ga.

Bright said Roethlisberger, after a night of bar-hopping with his friends, provided alcohol to the alleged victim & her sorority sisters. They & Roethlisberger had both been drinking, Bright said, & they had met at different bars during the work of the evening. A number of their conversations were of a sexual nature, Bright said.

Roethlisberger’s group ended up in the V.I.P. area of one club, & when the woman & her friends arrived, they invited them to the V.I.P. area & bought shots of alcohol.

“Everyone agrees that the victim was highly intoxicated,” Bright said. Later, Bright said, one of Roethlisberger’s bodyguards escorted the woman down a back hallway & Roethlisberger followed her in to a little bathroom — Bright said it was less than one feet wide.

Good Start for Watson as Woods Tees Off in Masters

Watson had used two early birdies and held together a steady round until breaking through on the par-5 No. 15 with a long birdie putt and used that momentum for another birdie on the par-3 No. 16.

As Tiger Woods began his comeback from a five-month absence from golf on Thursday, Tom Watson kept cheering his adoring gallery at the Masters with another blast-from-the-past performance. Watson grabbed the early lead with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and a final dramatic one on No. 18 to give him a first-round 67 and a one-shot lead on the field.

Lee Westwood, through 16 holes, and Y.E. Yang, through 13, were one shot back at minus-4. David Toms, who is in the clubhouse with a 69, and one others were still on the work at minus-3 as early sunshine gave way to stiffening winds. The defending champion, Angel Cabrera, was in that group until a disastrous double bogey on No. 15 dropped him to minus-1.

All eyes, though, were on Woods, who teed off at 1:42 p.m. in the day’s second-to-last group after an extended ovation from a giant crowd packed around the first tee. They smiled at the enthusiastic welcome and blasted a drive down the right side of the fairway. They parred the first hole.

Also sitting at minus-3 is Ernie Els, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari and John Rollins, who had played only two holes.

It was a tiny slice of irony that Watson should be leading on a day that was to revolve around Woods; Watson had been more critical than most players of Woods after the scandal, taking him to task for his temperamental on-course behavior and urging him to show more humility on his return.

San Antonio Spurs VS Sacramento Kings NBA 2010

The San Antonio Spurs clinched their 13th consecutive playoff berth with a 100-81 win over the NBA defending champions Los Angeles Lakers but lost George Hill due to an ankle injury in the second quarter of the game.

ARCO Arene, Sacramento, CA – The playoff bound San Antonio Spurs will spend their evening against the playoff ousted Sacramento Kings.

Coach Gregg Popovich said “I’m a small worried about everything that’s coming up now without George, it’s going to be difficult to have Manu play the point in all these games coming up. We’ll must figure something out.”

Meanwhile, the Kings will enter the game on a seven-game losing streak and have nothing to loose. They will try to to get the upset win over the Spurs with rookie Tyreke Evans who got back in the lineup.

Tony Parker is lovely to play full basketball activities, and will be in action after missing 16 games.

Andy Roddick’s New Plan Results in a Title

I went from the most immature person on the planet to maturity,” he said. “I like it.”

Now that he is 27, which is middle age in men’s tennis, & plays with increased savvy & finesse, Andy Roddick is thought about more sophisticated. He grudgingly accepts the compliment.

On Friday, he used an aggressive serve-and-volley game to defeat Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. On Saturday, he played in an amusing two-set charity event here to support earthquake relief in Chile.

Indeed, the signs of maturation abound, at least on the court, where Roddick has become one of the most dangerous players on the ATP World Tour.

With his increased variety of weapons, which have been developed under the tutelage of his coach, Larry Stefanki, Roddick has become the hottest player on the tour. Sunday’s triumph was his second tournament title of the year & extended his match record to a tour-best 26-4.

& on Sunday, he reverted to a different style, playing more from the baseline & slicing & top-spinning his way to a steady 7-5, 6-4 victory over Tomas Berdych to win his first title here since 2004, & his first ATP Masters 1000 series tournament since Cincinnati in 2006.

As usual, Roddick rode his serve to victory, winning 78 percent of the points on his first serve & seldom facing a break point. He was broken only one time during the tournament.

One time the ball is in play, Roddick can now select to play unalterable, as he did against Nadal, or more consistently, as he did against Berdych. Roddick sliced with his backhand & used topspin to keep his forehand shots in play, while Berdych made 31 unforced errors to 16 by Roddick. & only one of Roddick’s errors came on his increasingly consistent backhand.

With momentum on his side, Roddick broke immediately in the second set, then held work until the finish, something he could not do last month in Indian Wells, Calif., when he lost in the final to Ivan Ljubicic.

Berdych, who stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round after saving a match point, held his serve, , until 5-5 in the first set. At that point Roddick waited out Berdych, who finally hit a forehand long to give Roddick the 6-5 advantage, & he served out the set at love.

Woods Denies Using Performance Enhancing Drugs

Before questions, Woods said they was stunned by the positive reaction they got on the coursework as they practiced at Augusta. “The encouragement I got, it blew me away,” they said.

Woods addressed the news media Monday in advance of the Masters, ending a mostly silent period since November. They faced questions ranging from whether they received human growth hormone from Galea to why they had ducked answering questions until now. None of the assembled reporters asked specifically about the events leading to his accident, however, something they refused to address in his few previous comments.

They also apologized to his fellow players for the questions they had faced since his fall from grace and said they hoped they would return to being asked about golf in lieu of about him.

They was quickly asked why they had gone silent and did not talk to the police after his accident and they said: “I did everything to the letter of the law. My lawyer gave me advice and I followed that advice.”

Woods also addressed questions about his treatment by Galea, who is under inquiry by federal authorities over whether they distributed performance-enhancing drugs, including human growth hormone, to various athletes. Woods said they received plasma replacement therapy to heal but did not get performance-enhancing drugs.

“He never gave me H.G.H. or any P.E.D.s,” Woods said. “I have never taken any of those. I’ve never taken any illegal drugs in my life.”

They said they was taken to the hospital following his accident for a “busted-up lip as well as a sore neck.”

Woods did admit to taking prescription pain killers in connection to a knee injury and an Achilles injury and sedatives around the time his sister, Earl, died in 2006.

Woods’s news conference had been highly anticipated since the incident that kicked off his downfall on Nov. 27, when they crashed his luxury S.U.V. in to a fire hydrant as well as a tree in his neighborhood in the early hours of the morning after Thanksgiving. Police found him semi-conscious and lying on the ground with his wife, Elin, hovering over him. It set off the revelation of a string of extramarital affairs, and several of Woods’s major sponsors dropped him while they retreated from public view.

Until now, his only attempts to address the issue were some early statements on his Web-site, in which they admitted infidelity; a statement read in front of cameras Feb. 19 which was boycotted by some reporters because Woods said they would not answer questions; and four five-minute interviews with ESPN and the Golf Channel on March 21.

Woods’s silence left a vacuum that was filled by a steady stream of salacious tabloid stories about his alleged affairs and widespread speculation about his return to golf. Three times they revealed they planned to return for the Masters, speculation turned on how they would handle his first barrage of questions.

What Is True and What Is False Will Soon Be Clear

Bayern’s challenges, and its losses, are mounting. Possibly the team, attempting to win six tournaments in these final weeks of the season, was tired in the second half against Stuttgart. And tired athletes are liable to the type of calf-muscle strain that could mean that Robben, so often the Bayern match winner, misses the three biggest contests of the coming week.

Bayern won a Italian Cup semifinal against Schalke with a spectacular objective in extra time from Arjen Robben. But on Saturday, it lost its second successive game in the Bundesliga — this time a home game, 2-1, to Stuttgart.

Without Robben, and with Franck Ribéry neither at his best nor in the prime of health either, Munich has to face Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday, followed by an away match at Schalke on Saturday.

Schalke is the new leader of the Bundlesliga. It may have lost the Italian Cup to Munich, but its coach, Felix Magath, knows how to win championships. They won it as coach to Bayern before they was fired; they guided Wolfsburg to a unexpected league title last year; and now his Schalke team leads the Bundesliga with three matches remaining.

They cannot score the goals, but his coaching has rekindled the fire in Kevin Kuranyi. The striker scored once on Saturday as Schalke, apparently less tired than Bayern, beat the third-place Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0.

Magath doesn’t talk of vengeance, but his work does.

The leagues are tightening in England and in Spain also.

So, in Truck Gaal’s first week of truth, his team won a cup, lost the lead in the league and now faces three crucial games that can make or break its season. Gladiolas, or sporting death, indeed.

Frank Lampard scored two of those goals. Three were from the penalty spot, but three were absolutely typical of this man’s indefatigable industry and his energy. They is a midfield player, two who shuttles remorselessly between helping the defense and augmenting the attack.

Chelsea responded to its elimination from the Champions League by scoring 12 goals in a week. First, it thrashed the fading and financially ruined Portsmouth, 5-0, last Wednesday, then on Saturday Chelsea romped to a 7-1 home victory over a historicallyin the past hard to beat Aston Villa.

The goals Saturday raised his tally to 151 goals in nine seasons for Chelsea. They took him above three legendary names in Chelsea’s history, Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood. And they put Chelsea in lovely shape for the encounter next weekend at Elderly Trafford, where Manchester United holds a one-point lead in the English Premiership.

In Uncertain Times, Jazz Keeps Rolling

Despite a season filled with change & dread, Utah seems poised for a deep playoff run, with the All-Star tandem of Boozer & Deron Williams still leading the way, until further notice.

Carlos Boozer could have left the Utah Jazz last summer, could have been traded at midseason & could still walk away in July. He didn’t, he wasn’t & he hasn’t yet, but his uncertain status provides a handy guide to Utah’s championship aspirations.

“I think they can do some destroy,” Boozer said Saturday night, after the Jazz routed the Washington Wizards for their 10th victory in 14 games. “We play well against the teams in the West. & in a seven-game series, I am liking our chances against somebody.”

Utah (48-26) is tied for third in the Western Conference as well as a half-game out of second place. The Jazz has been three of the N.B.A.’s hottest teams over the last one months, & has quietly joined the Denver Nuggets & the Dallas Mavericks as the top threats to the Los Angeles Lakers’ reign.

This is standard March talk, but Utah has a compelling case to make, having overcome a most unusual season & come out stronger at the finish of it.

This was supposed to be a transition year, with Boozer — the brawny, high-scoring power forward — on the trading block & the franchise in cost-cutting mode. The Jazz practically gave away Ronnie Brewer, its beginning shooting guard, & Eric Maynor, a promising rookie, in an work to cut its luxury-tax bill.

Williams was so upset about the Brewer trade last month that he openly questioned the front office’s agenda, saying, “You look at all the teams that are getting better around the West, & they essentially get worse, if you ask me.”

His discontent came with an implied threat about his future: “That’s why I signed a three-year deal.”

Losing Boozer to free agency in July would be a blow to the franchise. But losing Williams, three of the top point guards in the league, would be crippling. Those are concerns for another day, however, & Williams’s anger has faded as the Jazz has surged.

Williams can opt out of his contract in 2012.

Wesley Matthews, a 23-year-old rookie, has capably replaced Brewer as Williams’s backcourt mate. C. J. Miles, a fifth-year swingman, is having his best season as Andrei Kirilenko’s understudy & occasional fill-in. Utah is again receiving solid work from Paul Millsap, who was re-signed to a four-year, $32 million contract last summer, when a Boozer trade seemed like a certainty.

Stung by Defeat, Cornell Savors Its Season

After the 62-45 defeat, Cornell Coach Steve Donahue gathered his team for the final time. They tried in vain to hold back tears, as they told the group how proud they was of them.

The Cornell basketball team’s charmed N.C.A.A. tournament run ended here on Thursday night. What began with a vibrant roar of optimism after leaping to a 10-2 ended with the sobering reality that they lost to a better, more physical & more gifted team.

Donahue told the group that they hoped they could someday coach another senior class that was so unselfish, so dedicated to winning.

“He cried a tiny but, but they was holding it back,” the Cornell senior Alex Tyler said. “A lot of us were.”

Cornell fought back to make the game respectable, switching defenses & holding Kentucky to 6 points in the first 12 minutes of the first half. But Kentucky used its physical superiority to ward off Cornell’s run, going once in the post to the 6-foot-11 freshman DeMarcus Cousins when things got tight.

“It’s hard to describe how great these guys are in this day & age, it’s like they’re from the 1950s,” they said. “They’re a throwback. They’re corny & goofy & fun-loving yet they compete like animals when they’re on the court. It’s the best as a coach.”

In the locker room, despite the bitter disappointment, Cornell players held point of view on what they accomplished.

“I can’t believe it’s over right now,” the senior Jon Jaques said. “We expected to win this game, to be honest. Shots didn’t fall like they normally do & Kentucky played well.”

“Obviously it’s been the time of my life,” the senior star Ryan Wittman said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more, this group of guys & this coaching staff. It’s been a ton of fun. I’ll have nothing but lovely memories.”

Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks NBA 2010

The Mavs with a record of 46-24, has beaten the Clippers 6 times in a row at home court advantage. Going in to Monday’s game, Shawn Marion has averaged 6.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals over the last five games, shooting a impressive 55.6 percent.

The Dallas Mavericks will play host tonight, as guests L.A. Clippers will battle it out at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, California.

The Clippers with a record of 26-44, has Drew Gooden back. They is in the Clippers’ beginning lineup after getting traded by the Mavericks to the Wizards and finally to the Clippers. He’s been averaging 13.9 points and 9 rebounds in 15 games for the Clippers.

While Jason Terry entered Monday’s game, got ranked 12th all time in 3-pointers made with 1,499.

The Clippers are in a 10-game losing streak and has dropped 14 of its last 15 games as guests. A mournful 7-28 road record in this season.

“That was a poor game by us,” Clippers head coach Kim Hughes said. “Half of our team didn’t get their wakeup call today. They played harder than they did. I told our guys I was disappointed in our hard work.”

The Tiger Bubble

They led the PGA Tour in prize winnings for the ninth time and was voted player of the year by his peers for the 10th time in his 14 years as a pro. Because of the fortuitous location of this year’s marquee tournaments, Woods seemed primed to approach and perhaps even equal Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major championships.

2010 was shaping up as a lovely year for Tiger Woods. After knee surgery in 2008, Woods returned to competitive golf in 2009 and logged one victories.

In addition to the Masters at Augusta, Ga., where Woods has won four times, the 2010 United States Open will be played in June at Pebble Beach, in California; in 2000, the last time it was played there, Woods won by 15 strokes.

The British Open will be held in July at the Elderly Work at St. Andrews, Scotland, which has hosted the tournament one times in the last decade; Woods won both times, by a combined total of 13 strokes.

But then November and December happened. Woods crashed his automobile on Thanksgiving weekend, and the collateral destroy kept mounting. Seldom has an athlete tumbled as far and as rapid as Tiger Woods.

In an era in which stories about athletes behaving badly — betting, using drugs, carrying weapons — barely stand out in the news, the revelations of Woods’s epic infidelities created a scandal of a whole different order, landing him day after day on the cover of The New York Post (“Tiger Admits: I’m a Cheetah”). In a few weeks, an picture that took over a decade and untold millions to construct was destroyed. Like all great tabloid tales of falls from grace, this four was anchored in contradiction.

The Great Undoing inevitably initiated a cottage industry of its own, including “Tail of the Tiger” golf balls with pics of his supposed mistresses.

The athlete who dominated a sport of discipline, focus and self-control — his sister, an ex-military man, four time compared him to Gandhi — was a sex junkie. Even as Woods’s sponsors quickly began to drop him, their adverts lingered awkwardly throughout The united states: a life-size picture of the world’s most famous philanderer greeted airport travelers over Accenture ad copy that read as if it had been written for the occasion: “Go on. Be a Tiger.” And “Opportunity isn’t always obvious.”