Tuesday, 4 September 2012

All Deutsche for Rory in Boston

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Rory McIlroy's glorious late-summer surge continued as he shot a final round of 67 to win the prestigious Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

World number one McIlroy began the day in second spot, three shots behind South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, but his four-under-par round took him to 20-under-par, good enough to win by a shot.

Oosthuizen could only manage a level par round of 71 and, when his 12-foot birdie putt at the last went just right of the hole, victory was secure for USPGA champion McIlroy, whose third victory of the PGA Tour season moved him to the head of the FedEx Cup standings.

Tiger Woods finished third, a shot further back, after a closing 66 and his earnings of $544,000 made him the first man to reach $100 million in career prizemoney.

hil Mickelson closed with a 66 to finish fourth - his best finish since The Masters - alongside Dustin Johnson while Brandt Snedeker was a further shot back in sixth.

Both Johnson and Snedeker will hope that their fine displays will boost the chances of US Ryder Cup skipper Davis Love giving them a wildcard pick on Tuesday morning.
Made his move

McIlroy made his move with five birdies on the outward half to turn in four-under 32 and a further birdie at 12 put him three shots clear and seemingly in total control.

But 2010 Open champ Oosthuizen hit back with a birdie on 13 and narrowed the gap to a shot with another at 15.

The door looked wide open for the South African when McIlroy scrambled for bogey at 17 but, from the middle of the fairway, Oosthuizen dropped a shot too to stay one back.

He had another chance on 18 after McIlroy found rough off the tee but Oosthuizen's second leaked right and he couldn't get up and down to make the birdie he needed to force a play-off.

McIlroy had almost sealed the deal at 18 with a birdie putt that hung on the lip but, in the end, it didn't matter as Oosthuizen couldn't cash in.

A relieved McIlroy said: "That was more survival down those last few holes. I didn't finish it off the way I would have liked but I got there in the end so I'm very happy.

"It's my third victory of the year and great to get a victory in these play-offs. It sets me up in a great position going into the next two weeks."


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Monday, 3 September 2012

No Real Celebration by Cristiano


First Kaka wanted to leave, now Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo says he's "sad" at the Spanish club.

Ronaldo said he was upset with "people in the club" after scoring two goals to lead Madrid to a 3-0 win over Granada on Sunday.

The Portugal forward oddly chose not to celebrate his goals, remaining glum as his teammates and fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium erupted around him.

When asked why after the match, Ronaldo said: "I am sad and the club knows it, that's why I didn't celebrate the goals. The people in the club know why."

Ronaldo's comments have sparked rumors in the Spanish press that he is looking to leave Madrid.

The 27 year-old Ronaldo refused to elaborate on the reasons for his displeasure with the club that spent a record 80 million pounds to secure him from Manchester United in 2009.

"I'm not going to say anything else, people know why," he said.

Ronaldo's outburst compounds the ongoing saga of what to do with club president Florentino Perez's other star signing, Brazil midfielder Kaka, who sought a transfer this offseason after being reduced to a bench player at best.

Yet while Kaka has been practically forgotten by Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, Ronaldo is the key player for the Spanish champions who have set winning the Champions League as their goal for this season.

Ronaldo's double on Sunday took his tally with Madrid to 150 goals in just over three seasons. He set a club record of 46 Spanish league goals last season, second only to Barcelona forward Lionel Messi's league record of 50.

Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain said that he didn't know Ronaldo was unhappy.

"I see him as being fine. He scored two goals so I believe that he is happy," said Higuain. "My teammates and I all see him well."

Ronaldo, a former Ballon D'or, denied he was angry Barcelona's Andres Iniesta beat him for this year's players' award on Friday.

"It has nothing to do with it," he said. "Iniesta deserved it."


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Pistorius Pipped by Brazilian Oliveira


A month after his groundbreaking Olympic debut, Oscar Pistorius was reeling from a stunning upset Sunday in the London Paralympics.

The "Blade Runner" had never been beaten over 200 meters until Brazilian sprinter Alan Oliveira came storming down the home straight to win by 0.07 seconds and dethrone the icon of the Paralympics.

Pistorius later accused Oliveira of bending the rules.

Having won his own legal battle to compete wearing carbon-fiber blades alongside able-bodied rivals, Pistorius suggested that Oliveira ran with longer prosthetics than should be allowed.

Oliveira won in 21.45 seconds after overtaking Pistorius at the line at Olympic Stadium in front of a capacity 80,000-strong crowd.

"Not taking away from Alan's performance -- he's a great athlete -- but these guys are a lot taller and you can't compete (with the) stride length," Pistorius said in a broadcast interview. "You saw how far he came back. We aren't racing a fair race. I gave it my best. The IPC (International Paralympic Committee) have their regulations. The regulations (allow) that athletes can make themselves unbelievably high.

"We've tried to address the issue with them in the weeks up to this and it's just been falling on deaf ears."

For Pistorius, it is "ridiculous" that Oliveira could win after being eight meters adrift at the 100-meter mark.

"He's never run a 21-second race and I don't think he's a 21-second athlete," Pistorius said. "I've never lost a 200-meter race in my career."

Oliveira insisted he had not broken the rules, and expressed disappointment with Pistorius' criticism.

"He is a really great idol, and to listen to that coming from a really great athlete is really difficult," Oliveira said through a translator. "I don't know who he's picking a fight with, it's not with me."

Oliveira was backed by Paralympic leaders.

"There is a rule in place regarding the length of the blades, which is determined by a formula based on the height and dynamics of the athlete," the IPC said in a statement. "All athletes were measured today prior to competition by a classifier and all were approved for competition."

IPC officials met with Pistorius after the race.

"He wanted to voice his concerns and we listened to those concerns," said IPC spokesman Craig Spence, one of three people to meet with Pistorius. "The IPC will meet with Oscar at a later date to discuss his concerns once the emotion of tonight is out of the way."

The second half of Pistorius' year in London is not running to script.

At the start of last month, the South African reached the 400 semifinals and the 1,600 relay final. Competing at the Olympics was some achievement alone, though the medals were meant to come at the Paralympics.

He was hoping to go one better than the trio of golds he won in Beijing, but can still leave London with the same haul.

Next up is the 400 relay Wednesday before he tries to defends his titles in the 100 on Thursday and 400 on Saturday.


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City Player Arrested After Fatal Crash


Manchester City footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after two people died in a collision last night.

The 18-year-old was arrested after a silver Mercedes and a red Nissan Micra collided in north Manchester, leaving a 32-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman dead and two teenagers, believed to be 15 and 16, with serious head injuries. They remain at Salford Royal Hospital.

It is believed that Meppen-Walter was driving the Mercedes. The 32-year-old man was driving the Micra with the 37-year-old woman in the front passenger seat and the two teenagers in the back, Greater Manchester Police said.

A second man, aged 19, who was driving a grey Volkswagen Golf, was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Defender Meppen-Walter joined Manchester City in 2003. He has also played for England's U-17 side. He is currently out of action with a knee injury.

A spokesperson for Manchester City said: "This is a devastating tragedy for this family and also for the Greater Manchester community at large.

"Manchester City Football Club offers its heartfelt condolences to the family and all affected by the events of yesterday evening.

"The situation is subject to an extensive investigation by Greater Manchester Police and therefore we are unable to make specific comment on the incident itself at this time."


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Saturday, 1 September 2012

No Longer Special with Chemical Brothers


Tottenham's partnership with Real Madrid has got off to a rocky start after Andre Villas-Boas revealed he has not spoken to Jose Mourinho for a long time and does not even have his former mentor's phone number.

Tottenham announced on Monday that as part of the deal which saw Luka Modric move to the Bernabeu, a partnership had been agreed that would 'see the two clubs together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.'

Yet any co-operation between the two managers appears unlikely for now thanks to Villas-Boas' frosty relationship with Mourinho.

Villas-Boas was one of Mourinho's most trusted lieutenants during their time together at Chelsea and Inter Milan, but their relationship soured when the 34-year-old left the San Siro to take over lowly Portuguese side Acadimica de Coimbra in 2009.

'It's a club co-operation,' Villas-Boas said when asked about the partnership with Mourinho's side. 'I was working for Jose for five years but we haven't spoken for quite some time.'

When asked about the possibility that Spurs could benefit by loaning or buying up and coming players from the nine-time European champions, Villas Boas' response was not exactly encouraging.

'I haven't got his number,' he said.

Villas-Boas has taken a number of steps to thaw the relationship between the pair in recent times.

Mourinho was one of the people he paid tribute to after winning the Europa League with Porto in 2011 and spoke in glowing terms about his compatriot just last week, describing him as 'one of the best managers in the world.'

It is unclear whether Mourinho is willing to rebuild bridges with Villas-Boas for the sake of the partnership between the two clubs.

Now the transfer window has shut, Villas-Boas must turn his attention to Saturday's home game against Norwich.

The 34-year-old has brought two decent displays out of his new side, but Spurs have only taken one point from their clashes against Newcastle and West Brom.

The Portuguese admits he was frustrated to concede an injury-team equaliser against the Baggies last weekend, but is not overly concerned about his team's poor start.

'We wanted to start better,' Villas-Boas said.

'One point out of a possible six is something that disappoints us, but we played two excellent games against both teams.

'We have to improve on our concentration levels and take the games through with results that are more positive to us.'

The Canaries put a huge dent in Tottenham's Champions League ambitions last season when they won 2-1 at White Hart Lane in April.

The Norfolk side have struggled so far this season under new manager Chris Hughton, losing 5-0 to Fulham on the opening day of the season before claiming a 1-1 home draw against QPR last weekend.

Villas-Boas thinks Hughton's men will go in to tomorrow's game with confidence, however, after they registered their first win of the season against Scunthorpe in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

'It has been a difficult start for them,' Villas-Boas said.

'But the win in the League Cup is something that will inspire them and give them more confidence and they have strengthened by signing a good player - Alex Tettey, who I tried to sign for Porto.'

Villas-Boas could hand Dembele his debut and a knee injury to Younes Kaboul means Steven Caulker could get his first Barclays Premier League start for the club.




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