Friday, July 30, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Kim Jong-hun publicly disgraced for North Korea’s World cup vanquish

Posted: 30 Jul 2010 07:20 AM PDT

Kim Jong Hun

Kim Jong Hun

The soccer team of North Korea and its coach Kim Jong-hun couldn't escape the open debate regarding their disgraceful exit from the World Cup this year. The North Korean football coach along with the whole team had to face much humiliation from the sports minister, Pak Myong-chol with 400 government officials and public outcry at People’s Palace of Culture.

The North Korean football coach had to face the ire of Kim Jong-un, the heir apparent of the Supreme leader Kim Jong-il, and was made to boot out of the Workers’ Party of Korea to become a builder.

The players too shared the embarrassment in July 2 debate for not succeeding in their" ideological struggle" in South Africa but were then made to blame the North Korean football coach Kim Jong-hun for their shameful exit which has been worst since its debut in 1966, as the team couldn't win a single group match and went on to face a huge 0-7 loss against Portugal.

Only two players Japanese-born Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, who took direct flights to Japan after the tournament, could escape the contempt. As reported by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, the past punishments for the defeated players and coaches have included prison sentences, it's not surprising that media believes the retribution for Kim Jong-hun and the team has been hardly arduous.

Though the live broadcasts of the shameful vanquishing of the country's team was completely banned, it was lifted only after the surprising struggle of 1-2 put up by the North Korean team against Brazil and the Portugal game became the first live one to be telecast on the state television. The north Korean football coach Kim Jong-hun and its players will have to deal with the humiliation for quite some time.

Jessica Ennis A Few Steps Away From Greatness

Posted: 30 Jul 2010 06:19 AM PDT

Jessica Ennis

Jessica Ennis

Crowd favorite, Jessica Ennis finished first in the European Athletics Championships. She jumped 1.89 mts to beat all her rivals in the heptathlon contest and managed to score 1093 pts.

Though the Ukranian Lyudmyla Yosypenko scored her season’s best 1.86 but even this did not prove enough for her. Ennis has now overtaken Nataliya Dobrynska, who is the present Olympic champion with a total overall 2225 points. At the end of the two events Ennis said “It’s a good start. I would like to have got a bit more out of both but they were solid performances.”. The 24 year old Ukranian was in the danger of being disqualified as two of her competitors made false starts before her.

She completed her hurdle in just 12.95 seconds. She was ahead of her competitors Germanys Oeser and the Belgian Aerts, who timed 13.37 and 13.38 and her predicted closest competitor, Russia’s Chernova could manage only 13.73 seconds. Jessica is on the verge of becoming the outstanding gold medal prospect of Britain for the next olympics which will be held in 2012 she is also on the verge of breaking the 10 year old British record of Denise Lewis who scored 6831 pts.

Magic Extend Pacts Of Coach Stan Van Gundy, GM Otis Smith

Posted: 30 Jul 2010 12:20 AM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

Orlando, FL, United States (AHN) – The Orlando Magic extended the contract of head coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith Wednesday, keeping the core intact for three more seasons.

The Magic decided to rest their championship bid in the hands of Smith and Van Gundy after extending their separate contracts through the 2012-2013 season.

Smith, whose current contract expires in 2011, locked in his GM post and added a new role as Magic president of basketball operations.

Meanwhile, Van Gundy will continue to handle the Magic on-court, as he tried to find success around franchise player Dwight Howard.

The Magic aims to bounce back from a disappointing Eastern Conference finals loss to Boston Celtics last May, but the road way back to title contention has become crowded after a wild offseason.

Smith previously said the Magic would not back down from a potentially powerhouse Miami Heat squad, which successfully retained Dwyane Wade and acquired Chris Bosh, and LeBron James from the free agency market.

Van Gundy is optimistic the Magic can topple the Heat and regained supremacy in a highly competitive southeast division.

After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals, the Magic slightly retooled their roster this offseason with the acquisition of outside sniper Quentin Richardson, backup guard Chris Duhon and matched the Chicago Bulls offer on J.J Redick.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Manchester United Topples MLS All-Stars Before Record Crowd

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Houston, TX, United States (AHN) – Federico Macheda scored the first two goals in the first half, as English Premiere League powerhouse Manchester United thumped the Major League Soccer All-Stars squad 5-2 Wednesday.

The Red Devils, not so impressive in their last two exhibition tilts against MLS opponents, showed world-class form with a dominating performance in front of record crowd of about 70,728 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Macheda, recognized with the Most Valuable Player award in the contest, put the English giants up the scoreboards less than 30 seconds into the game.

The Italian teen then gave United a 2-0 advantage just inside 12 minutes.

Brian Ching, star of the hometown Houston Dynamo, tried to fuel a rally by pulling a goal back in the 63rd, making it 2-1.

But United, one of the world’s preeminent soccer powers, had other plans.

Despite playing without several of its top players, United regained a two-goal advantage courtesy of a Darron Gibson free kick, before Tom Cleverley made 4-1 for the visitors.

Mexican international Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who was inserted by Sir Alex Ferguson in the 63rd, registered his first goal in a Red Devils uniform in the 83rd.

It gave the English club an insurmountable 5-1 lead before Dwayne De Rosario capped the scoring for the All-Star Team, which suffered its first loss in regulation under the current format.

The MLS team had been successful in five of its last six encounters against international competition, including a 1-0 triumph over former Premier League champions Chelsea in 2006.

Last year, the All-Stars lost to Everton in penalty kicks.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Tight End Gates Agrees With Chargers On Five-Year Extension

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 09:59 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

San Diego, CA, United States (AHN) – The San Diego Chargers took care of one of their core players Wednesday by agreeing to a five-year contract extension with Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

The extension, reportedly worth about $36.2 million, will keep Gates through the 2015 season.

It could be the biggest contract ever given to an NFL tight end.

Gates, 30, emerged from a rookie free agent in 2003 into one of the best players in the NFL at his position. He is a three-time All-Pro and has been named to the Pro Bowl six times.

In each of the last six seasons (2004-09), Gates, signed by the Chargers as an undrafted sportsman in 2003 after playing college basketball at Kent State University, led San Diego in catches.

Last season, he led the Chargers with 79 receptions for a career-best 1,157 yards, while playing in all 16 contests. He also scored eight touchdowns.

Gates has caught 479 passes for 6,233 yards and 59 TD in 109 career games with the Chargers.

It is still uncertain if Gates’ deal will pave the way to new pacts for disgruntled free agents Marcus McNeill, Vincent Jackson and Shawne Merriman.

Pro Bowl wide receiver McNeill and left tackle Jackson, who protects quarterback Philip Rivers’ blind side, were each tendered one-year deals at just more than $3 million. Both remained unsigned.

Linebacker Merriman also has not signed his tender reportedly worth about $3.2 million. He also has not indicated when he will report.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Cards Decking Competition In MLB TV Ratings

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

St. Louis, MO, United States (AHN) – The St. Louis Cardinals are gaining a significant boost from their followers this season, as they topped the survey for the highest local television ratings in MLB, multiple news publications reported Tuesday.

Based on the latest results, the Cardinals games on Fox Sports Midwest received a 9.70 average rating, which was 42 percent higher from last year.

The Cardinals are aiming to topple the Boston Red Sox, who have led the league in local television ratings for six years.

The Red Sox games on NESN plummeted sharply this season with a 6.25 average rating, 36 percent lower from last season’s survey-topping result.

The Cardinals, who currently lead the NL Central with a 55-44 record, have been a smash hit in the St. Louis area due to their high-powered offense, led by sluggers Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols.

Teams trailing the Cards are: the Minnesota Twins (7.85 on FS North), Philadelphia Phillies (7.20 on CSN Philadelphia), and Cincinnati Reds (6.52 on FS Ohio).

The marketing appeal of rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg also lifted the Washington Nationals slightly in the survey, beating the Los Angeles Angels (1.23 on FS Wes) and the Oakland Athletics (1.23 on CSN California) with a 1.34 average rating – 139 percent higher from last season – on MASN and MASN2.

The survey also indicated that every time Strasburg appears on the mound, the Nationals’ television rating increased from 1.34 to 4.4.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Haynesworth Reports, Meets With Redskins Coaches

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

Todd Callahan – AHN Sports Reporter

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Disgruntled defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth reported to Redskins camp Wednesday and met with head coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett at Redskins Park.

When asked by reporters, Shanahan did not give insight to how the conversation went or the future of the two-time Pro Bowler.

“Albert stopped by, and I had a little conversation with him,” Shanahan told Redskins.com. “He says he is in good shape and hopefully he is in good shape.”

The Redskins hold their first workouts of preseason training camp Thursday, but Haynesworth, who has yet to pass his physical, will not be participating with the team.

It won’t be the first time the club has taken the field without the 6-foot-6, 350-pound lineman.

In the second year of a seven-year, $100 million contract, Haynesworth refused to participate in offseason team workouts, including a mandatory minicamp last month.

The unflappable lineman was not happy with the team making the switch from a 4-3 formation, which he has played his entire career, to a 3-4 set.

Haynesworth, who had requested a trade through his agent, elected to work out on his own with a personal trainer rather that with the team.

Although Haynesworth, who would play nose tackle in the new scheme, had spoken with the coaches by phone the past few weeks, Wednesday was the first time they had met face-to-face.

His meeting with Haslett last more than an hour.

“He knows he’s behind, and we have to get him caught up,” said Haslett, who thought the meeting was productive. “Once he gets into it and once he sees what we’re doing, he’ll like it and I think he’ll flourish in it because he’s an athletic kid. We can put him in some spots where he can use his athleticism.”

While Haslett seemed confident the 29-year-old former Tennessee Volunteer would be playing for the Redskins this fall, Shanahan did not sound as optimistic.

“We’ll see. We’re going to give him every opportunity to show us what he can do,” Shanahan answered when asked about Haynesworth’s future. “He’s going to have to buy in and play [defense] the way we want it to be played.”

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Davydenko Reaches Umag Quarters; Pironkova Out In Istanbul

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Umag, Croatia (AHN) – Top-seeded Russian and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko and former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero secured quarterfinal slots after demolishing their respective opponents at the Croatia Open Wednesday.

Davydenko, currently No. 6 in the world, dumped Frenchman Stephane Robert, 6-1, 6-2. Davydenko will face No. 8 Juan Ignacio Cela of Argentina.

Fourth-seeded Spaniard Ferrero, last year’s runner-up to Davydenko, set a quarterfinal match with sixth-seeded Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov after battling back against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Also Wednesday, fourth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes and former top-10 star Richard Gasquet forged a quarterfinals clash after defeating their respective second-round assignments at the Swiss Open Gstaad in Switzerland.

Montanes, a two-time winner on the ATP World Tour this season, came back from a set down to defeat Austrian qualifier Andreas Haider-Maurer, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Seventh-seeded Frenchman Gasquet, the 2006 Gstaad titleholder, outlasted German Daniel Brands, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-0.

Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up Andreas Beck succumbed to Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 7-5, 6-4.

In Stanford, Ca., Australian top seed Samantha Stosur and No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland moved into the quarterfinals of the WTA Bank of the West Classic Wednesday.

French Open runner-up Stosur, who received an opening-round bye, rolled over American qualifier Christina McHale, 6-1, 7-5.

In the semis, Stosur will square off against Belgian seventh-seed Yanina Wickmayer, who ousted Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova Wednesday.

Radwanska also advanced after prevailing over Ukrainian qualifier Olga Savchuk.

At the Istanbul Cup, sixth-seeded German Andrea Petkovic escaped a tough test from Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova to advance, while unseeded defending Istanbul titlleholder Vera Dushevina also moved into the quarterfinals.

Petkovic outlasted her Russian opponent 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-3, while Dushevina demolished Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in three sets.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, a Wimbledon semifinalist, succumbed to Russian-born Aussie Anastasia Rodionova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

At the Farmers Classic Men’s tournament, Rainer Schuettler downed Robby Ginepri, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Missing NBA Vet Lorenzen Wright Reportedly Found Dead In Memphis

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – Thirteen-year NBA veteran Lorenzen Wright, missing since July 18, was reportedly found dead in a wooded area in the southeast side of Memphis, according to reports.

Loud gunshot blasts from several weapons were recorded on his cell phone the next day, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Wright, 34, left his ex-wife’s house at 2 am the previous night in a neighborhood police say is very safe and affluent.

Police assume he was picked up by someone, though no neighbors were able to identify any vehicles.

“There is nothing on his phone records, no bank transactions, his vehicles are still at his house in Smyrna,” Lt. Norm Dixon of the Collierville police said before Wright’s body was found. “It’s like he literally dropped off the face of the earth.”

Wright was reportedly having serious financial woes in his latter years, having homes in Memphis and Atlanta repossessed for a total of nearly $2.5 million.

Wright, drafted seventh overall by the Clippers in 1996, last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2008-09 season.

The Memphis, TN native averaged 8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 13 seasons with the Clippers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Kings and Cavs.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Scutaro`s Slam Helps Red Sox Sweep Angels

Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Anaheim, CA, United States (AHN) – Marco Scutaro hit a grand slam that shattered a tie in the eighth inning, helping the Boston Red Sox sweep a three-game set against the L.A. Angels with a 7-3 victory Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

It was the second career grand slam for Scutaro, who broke the deadlock after Kevin Youkilis tied it 3-3 for the Red Sox with a seventh-inning homer.

Boston drew first blood after Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall hammered solo blasts in the second for a 2-0 edge.

Josh Beckett (2-1), who was making his second start since returning from the disabled list, took his first win since April 10 after giving up three runs on five hits over seven frames.

Beckett, who had faced the Halos eight times, also issued a walk and struck out five for the Red Sox, who have won all seven contests against the Angels this season.

Fernando Rodney (4-1) took the loss after giving up Scutaro’s grand slam.

Meanwhile, Angels scheduled starter, Joel Piniero, was replaced before the game after the right-hander strained a muscle in his left side.

Piniero hurt himself while warming up for Wednesday’s start. He is expected to be out from six to eight weeks with an oblique strain.

The absence of Pineiro, who leads the team with 10 wins, is a major blow for the Angels, who are struggling in their bid for the AL West title.

The Angels have lost four in a row and seven of eight.

Scot Shields, who took Pineiro’s place, was charged with two runs over 1 2/3 innings.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
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