Rooney wonder goal sinks Man City

 FootballMan Utd   2 - 1   Man CityWayne Rooney's spectacular late winner put Manchester United's Premier League title assault back on course and left Manchester City devastated at Old Trafford. David Silva's deflected equaliser put Roberto Mancini's side in sight of a point after Nani's first-half goal gave United a slender...

Gayle wants to dominate the World Cup

Chris Gayle on Thursday announced that his ultimate goal is to get his hands on the World Cup trophy. The big left-hander, rated as one of the most destructive batsmen of all time, said he has a desire to become a world champions and bring back glory to West Indies cricket during the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. "I'm looking forward to the tournament and the dream...

Smith targets CWC title before bowing out as SA ODI captain

Graeme Smith hopes to bow out as South Africa's one-day captain by winning the World Cup for the first time. The Proteas have never won the tournament and have gained a reputation for choking at the crucial moment, but Smith said his team is confident ahead of the start of the Feb. 19-April 2 event in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "It will be an exciting and tense...

Deion's election represents style and substance

Nfl DALLAS -- As slam-dunk selections to the Pro Football Hall of Fame go, maybe this one would be a little easier if the style didn't often get in the way of the substance. Long ago, Deion Sanders' identity stopped consisting of a person and became a persona. And let's face it: The Hall has never really done personas very well. Admission is supposed to be based solely on...

Vick named Comeback POY

 Nfl Michael Vick took a most unusual path to The Associated Press' 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award he received Saturday night. In the 12-year history of the honor, no player has returned from jail to earn it. After missing two seasons serving a federal sentence for dogfighting, then spending most of the previous year as a seldom-used backup in Philadelphia, Vick was back at his best in 2010. Taking over as starter in Week 2 after...

Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal

Football Newcastle produced a stunning comeback from 4-0 down to earn a draw that shocked title hopefuls Arsenal. Theo Walcott scored after 44 seconds before a Johan Djourou header and a strike from Robin van Persie put Arsenal 3-0 ahead inside 10 minutes. Van Persie headed Arsenal's fourth but Abou Diaby saw red after the break for pushing Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan. Barton...

Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Man Utd

Football Below-par Manchester United fell to a first league defeat of the season as bottom-of-the-table Wolves proved they are not certainties for relegation. United led after three minutes as Nani drilled home inside the near post after turning George Elokobi inside-out. But Elokobi headed in soon after with United's defence sleeping, Matt Jarvis executing a short-corner...

West Indies field against second-string Sri Lanka

 CricketToss West Indies chose to field v Sri LankaDarren Sammy won the toss at the SSC and chose to field under overcast skies in the final ODI of the series.Having confirmed that they can not lose the series, Sri Lanka chose to rest their first-choice bowling attack. Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan and Nuwan Kulasekara made way for Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis and Thisara Perera.West Indies too made changes to their...

Australia bat first in search of 6-1

Cricket Australia will bat first in the final international of the summer as two depleted sides take the field at Perth. Brett Lee misses out for Australia while England have made three changes after injuries to Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan. Liam Plunkett, who flew in from the Caribbean just for this match, plays in place of Chris Woakes and Steve Davies replaces Morgan...

Butt out for 10 years, Asif 7 and Amir 5

 Cricket Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been banned for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively after an ICC tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing stemming from the Lord's Test against England last year. The sanctions against Butt and Asif have five and two years suspended, which means that the trio cannot play any official, sanctioned cricket, international...

Amir lawyer 'surprised' at CPS timing

 Cricket12.48pm As we wait for further developments, it is worth pondering over one issue that has dogged the spot-fixing scandal from the very start: how to proceed in a case where alleged breaches of a sporting code - the ICC's anti-corruption code in this case - may involve breaches of a country's law, in this case UK criminal law. In the very early days of the case,...

Steelers' Pouncey unable to play in Super Bowl; Smith out, too

 Nfl The guessing game is over for two key Pittsburgh Steelers. Center Maurkice Pouncey and defensive end Aaron Smith have been declared out for Super Bowl XLV. Smith, sidelined since Oct. 24 because of a torn triceps, never came close to playing again in the final days before the Super Bowl matchup with the Green Bay Packers. But the Steelers held out faint hope that...

Rams QB Bradford picked as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

 Nfl DALLAS -- Top draft choice, top rookie. St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford won The Associated Press 2010 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award Friday. The first overall selection in last year's draft, Bradford guided the Rams from the embarrassment of a 1-15 record to a 7-9 mark. In the weak NFC West, that was good enough to contend for the division title;...

The Blake debate -- rookie or not? -- bubbles to the surface

Nba The debate begins. Blake Griffin played in summer league and most of the exhibition schedule before being injured prior to the 2009-10 opener, and so one head coach flatly said he does not consider the Clippers All-Star power forward a first-year player and would not vote for him for Rookie of the Year. Another head coach, though saying Blake Superior tops his...

No cheap shot here: If D-Wade isn't MVP of his own team ...

 Nba There is no conspiracy afoot in the NBA to deny Dwyane Wade the recognition and acclaim he is properly due or to thwart his hard work toward what conceivably, someday, might be his first Most Valuable Player Award. But if there were, Dwight Howard surely would be a co-conspirator.Howard's hard foul of a fully airborne Wade at the rim Thursday night, in the third...

Pressure cooker clash a challenge for hothead Diouf

Football El Hadji Diouf is not known for his self-control, which makes you wonder - or worry - about how Rangers' new signing is going to react to his first Old Firm clash on Sunday. With next-to-no-time to settle in following his last-minute loan deal, a man often dubbed the 'most hated man in British football' is about to be catapulted into the most acrimonious fixture...

Torres was worth £70m - Benitez

FootballFormer Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has revealed a £70m deal for Fernando Torres was mooted last year, and that he would like to manage the club again.Striker Torres joined Chelsea on Monday for a British record fee of about £50m, but he had been valued even higher."I think last year we were talking about £70m," Benitez said in an interview for the BBC's Football...

Johnson happy to 'win ugly'

Manager Martin Johnson believes there is plenty to improve on after England opened their Six Nations campaign with a first win over Wales in Cardiff since 2003.Wing Chris Ashton scored a try in either half of 27-16 victory. Man of the match Toby Flood added 13 points with the boot and replacement Jonny Wilkinson kicked a late penalty.Wales launched a spirited fightback from...

New Zealand cruise to Sevens glory

New Zealand won the third round of the 2009 IRB World Sevens Series after beating England 29-14 at the Westpac Stadium.The United States sealed the first of the trophies at the Wellington round of the IRB Sevens with a 19-12 win over France in a hard-fought encounter in the Shield final.Tonga were unable to trouble the scorers as the succumbed 19-0 to a well-drilled Kenyan...