Latest Sports Buzz

---

• India vs Australia: Kohli led India brigade wins the 2nd ODI against Australia
• La Russa To Return As Cards Skipper In 2011
• NFL Considering Harsh Sanctions For Dangerous Hits
• Jerry Brown Supporters Looking For A Little `Magic` In Governor Race
• Multiple Probes Take Charge Of CWG`s Trail Of Corruption
• Live: Aus vs India – 25 Overs: Australia Trying to Improve After Initial Jerks
• NL Championship Heading Towards Interesting Series
• [Video] Live Aus vs India: Purely Newcomers Business
• India vs Australia Live Score: Dhoni Wishes His Young Colleagues to Succeed against the Australians
• 2014 FIFA World Cup: Brazil Pressurized to Pace up Preparations

India vs Australia: Kohli led India brigade wins the 2nd ODI against Australia Posted: 20 Oct 2010 10:48 AM PDT The Indian cricket team played a well calculated game where they reserved the crucial wickets for the second half of the challenging chase. They caught hold of 117 runs for the loss of their talented opening batsmen after which Indians required some crucial 173 runs from the coming 25 overs of the match. [Full Scorecard] Due to the assault of Australian bowler Mckay, the Indians lost their opening pair early in the form of M vijay and shikhar Dhawan when the latter was out for duck on the very second ball and then later M vijay followed him to the pavilion when he was caught by the keeper. India was at a trembling state of 35 runs with 2 wickets lost from about 8.2 overs. But then this was not all Australia's game, the Indian no 3 and no 4 batsmen, the talented virat kohli together with experienced yuvraj singh took Indian proceedings forward with intense care, patience step by step. They did a perfect job which got the team to its final victory by 5 wickets. Both yuvraj and Kohli took small steps playing one and twos and rotating the strike. But since the asking run rate was very high they are played big shots so that there was no pressure on the team. Their performance was just bombastic where young kohli took Starc for a magical four and then took on Hastings for successive square boundaries flicking his bat in the air. Yuvraj joined the party too and whiplashed the already hit Hastings over the midwicket. He did not stop there next took, on Starc directly to the straight boundary after which he battered Hauritz for one more four. It was truly a magnificent performance by the young brigade.

La Russa To Return As Cards Skipper In 2011 Posted: 20 Oct 2010 04:56 AM PDT Share Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor St. Louis, MO, United States (AHN) – Tony La Russa will return for a 16th season as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager after signing a new one-year deal with a mutual option for 2011, the club announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal with La Russa were not disclosed. La Russa, 66, has managed the Cardinals for 15 seasons, guiding the Redbirds to more than 1,300 wins, seven division titles, two NL pennants and the 2006 World Series title. The recipient of the Manager of the Year Award on four different occasions, La Russa returns with a franchise record 1,318 managerial wins. He is also ranks third on the all-time managerial wins list with 2638 victories for the White Sox (1979-1986), Athletics (1986-1995) and Cardinals (1996-present). He also steered the A’s to championship in 1989, making him one of only two men to manage a World Series winner in both leagues. In 2004, La Russa become the sixth manager in history to capture pennants with both American and National league teams. This season, the Cardinals finished with an 86-76 record, five games behind the NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds. La Russa is expected to address the media Tuesday. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

NFL Considering Harsh Sanctions For Dangerous Hits Posted: 20 Oct 2010 04:56 AM PDT Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor NY, NY, United States (AHN) – In the wake of numerous violent hits Sunday, the National Football League is reportedly considering harsh sanctions against players for dangerous blows to the head, including fines and suspensions. According to multiple reports, the official announcement regarding helmet-to-helmet hits, which will also affect first-time offenders, is expected to be made Wednesday. It will be effective beginning with Sunday’s contests. According to Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, all questionable hits will evaluated on a case-to-case basis. “A higher level of discipline is needed. If we look at plays that were previously fined, going forward that play can get you fined and suspended,” said Anderson as reported by USA Today.com. Vicious helmet-to-helmet hits marred Week 6 action. Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson were among several players who made hits arguably by launching themselves in the air and using their helmet as guided missiles this past week. Robinson not only knocked out Eagles’ DeSean Jackson out of their game and left Jackson concussed, he also suffered the same injury himself from the horrifying collision. Jackson is not expected to see action in Week 7. Ravens tight end Todd Heap also took a vicious hit from Meriweather. Also Sunday, Harrison knocked Browns receivers Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi out of their contest following separate hits. According to reports, Harrison’s hit on Cribbs was allowable as Cribbs was a ball carrier and was not defenseless, while the hit on Massaquoi is under review because Massaquoi was defenseless. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Jerry Brown Supporters Looking For A Little `Magic` In Governor Race Posted: 20 Oct 2010 04:56 AM PDT Share John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent Los Angeles, CA, United States (AHN) – Earvin “Magic” Johnson came through in the clutch many times in his NBA career, now supporters of Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial campaign hopes he can come up big one more time. A union-backed group is hoping to boost Brown’s bid for governor in California by using Johnson in ads for Brown as the campaign enters the home stretch. In a radio spot aimed at African-American voters, Magic is featured with a message saying that Brown’s election is vital to California. Johnson tells prospective voters that Brown is the choice so the state would have a governor who will “work with President Obama to protect the services that are so important to our community.” Obama has up-and-down numbers throughout the country depending on the location but he remains very popular in California. In a recent Field Poll, Obama had a popularity rating of near 60 percent in California and a Pew Research Center poll had the President’s approval rating at 88 percent among African-American voters. Johnson threw his support behind Brown with a subtle reminder of his basketball background. “Let’s face it. These are tough times and we need a governor who knows how to get our state back on track,” Johnson says in the ad. “Join me in throwing one down for Jerry Brown.” Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Multiple Probes Take Charge Of CWG`s Trail Of Corruption Posted: 20 Oct 2010 04:56 AM PDT AHN News Staff New Delhi, India (AHN) – To clear the murky trail of corruption left behind by the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi recently, India’s corruption watchdog, the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department and the Central Bureau of Investigation have launched a multi-pronged probe into allegations of corrupt practices. On Monday, the Directorate lodged a case against officials involved in preparations for the Games, charging them with violating the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act. The CBI began a separate probe into complaints of corruption against businessmen related to Games preparations. At the same time, tax department officials also conducted raids at 25 different locations, including the premises owned by businessman Sudhanshu Mittal, a political heavyweight. More than 200 income tax officials zeroed in on various premises in Delhi as well as Chandigarh and Ludhiana cities of Punjab state, probing contracts worth billions of dollars awarded to four business consortiums, each having a separate foreign entity. The contracts were awarded for construction and other works for the sports event. Mittal, who is under the tax department’s scanner for financial irregularities, is considered to be close to the former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rajnath Singh, as well as deceased BJP general secretary, Pramod Mahajan. In February Mittal took over as director of the company, which was awarded contracts for the CWG outlays by the CWG Organizing Committee (OC). Meanwhile, BJP trained its guns on the Prime Minister’s Officer (PMO) and its present occupant, Manmohan Singh, claiming that it is the responsibility of the PMO to answer the allegations of corruption in CWG. BJP president Nitin Gadkari cited the fact that the expenditure plan for the Games was approved by the Union Cabinet, headed by Singh, therefore only a Parliamentary probe into the scam would bring forth the truth. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Live: Aus vs India – 25 Overs: Australia Trying to Improve After Initial Jerks Posted: 20 Oct 2010 04:04 AM PDT Michael Clarke Australia reached 50 runs in 14.3 overs with two wickets down. Captain Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey were trying to cover up the initial double loss and to pace up the score. The batting average that was at one moment of time was swinging around 2.7 had reached to a better scale of 3.4 though not good in terms of an ODI and that too when Australia is batting. At that moment of time Ashish Nehra's bowling figure was superb with 5 overs, 1 maiden, only 9 runs given and two wickets taken and that too of both the openers – Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine. Shaun Marsh was clean bowled in the fourth over of the game by Ashish Nehra. Paine was caught at mid on by Vinay Kumar again on the bowling of Nehra. That was India's eighth over and Nehra's fourth. Hussey started playing aggressively in the beginning, whereas Clarke is was trying to settle down first and picking only lose balls. In 22 overs Australia was at 83 with 3.77 average. Both Clarke and Hussey are playing wisely to ensure that they don't gift any further wicket to India. Clarke at that moment of time was at 36 in 59 balls with 3 fours and Hussey was at 33 in 42 balls with 4 fours. By the end of 20 overs Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had tried five bowlers – Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh. India after first two initial blows to Australia has not been able to strike again. Clarke and Hussey are heading steadily towards their individual half centuries. At the end of 24 overs Australia was at 91 for two wickets with slightly improved batting average of 3.8. Both the batsmen have not been able to play openly so far and Indian bowlers have been consistently miserable in giving runs. Australia at the end of 25 overs is 94 for two wickets with Michael at 39 and Hussey at 37. Watch The Game Live Click Like To Watch it Like it To Watch it

NL Championship Heading Towards Interesting Series Posted: 20 Oct 2010 02:31 AM PDT NL Championship series has reached to an interesting turn with San Francisco Giants winning over Philadelphia Phillies in the latest encounter on Tuesday with a 3-nil lead.With that win San Francisco Giants have an edge over the Philadelphia Phillies with 2-1 lead in the series. Cody Ross can be treated as the key agent for this win as he hit an RBI single in the fourth innings of the game when it was heading for a tie with no score from either side. Debutant Aubrey Huff soon after had single to add on to it. Cody Ross has been performing well now for quite some time. In their best of seven series against Philadelphia Phillies, Giants are now in a stronger position with still two more games are to follow. Philadelphia Phillies has been two time NL champion and were counted as a stronger side in the beginning as compared to their rivals Francisco Giants. In the presence of almost 43,000 crazy spectators in AT&T Park, which was almost full, it was mix of excitement and curiosity throughout. Bruce Bochy, the manager of Francisco Giants decided to shuffle his line up this time which produced useful results. A start in the centre was earned in the beginning by Aaron Rowand. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night. Charlie Manuel, the Philadelphia Phillies manager is hopeful of Phillies hitting back and equal with San Francisco Giants. It is to be seen whether in this fourth game whether Philadelphia Phillies will equal with 2-2 or the San Francisco take a further lead to take 3-1 thereby making their position stronger.

[Video] Live Aus vs India: Purely Newcomers Business Posted: 20 Oct 2010 12:52 AM PDT The 3 ODI ongoing series between Australia and India has been reduced to 2 ODIs as the first ODI was washed off by rain early this week in Kochi. The first ODI was called off without playing a single ball. The second ODI today at Vishakhapatnam (or Vizag) is a day night match. From both the teams many of the key players have been rested to give a chance to newcomers to prepare a future team for forthcoming world cup. The further inclusion of the newcomers will purely depend on their individual performance in these two ODIs. The last ODI is to be played at Goa on coming Sunday. Though Vizag weather is also doubtful and is expected to produce some hiccups but otherwise both the teams are ready to go to demonstrate their substantial strengths with the insertion of newcomers. Some newcomers included in India team have not been consistently productive as per their recent performance. All rounder Ravindra Jadeja for instance has not been good with either bat or ball. In bowling he has a bad average of 41.5 and in batting only 31.5. His strike rate too as per ODI standards is low at 77 though with ball his economy rate has been good at around 5. Indian captain Mahender Singh Dhoni will be closely observing Jadeja's performance in these two ODIs and is expecting a lot from him in both batting and bowling. If compared with Yusuf Pathan, Jadeja appears to be a better choice out of the two. If Jadeja's performance is compared with the other newcomer R Ashwin, later appears to be better in bowling arena having lower economy rate. But on the other hand Jadeja has an edge over Ashwin in batting. It is still unclear who out of Ashwin, Jadeja and Yusuf will be the optimum choice for the World Cup. Australia's newcomer debutant Mitchell Starc may replace Doug Bollinger in today's game. Though his bowling is not polished so far but he is able to bounce ball more than Mitchell Johnson. Shaun Marsh may be included in today's ODI from Australia as opener batsman. If he is not sent to open the bat for middle order, he will have a tough fight with Callum Ferguson where later is a much better choice for Australia. David Warner from Australia and Ashish Nehra from India will have to prove their mettle in these two ODIs to keep their chances intact for future series and World Cup. Saurabh Tiwary and Shikhar Dhawan also may get to play from India side today and Goa ODI. Vizag cricket ground is relatively new and has so far hosted only two ODIs in past. Dhoni played a beautiful innings of 148 runs in 123 balls here against Pakistan in one of the earlier ODIs Watch The Game Live Click Like To Watch it Like it To Watch it

India vs Australia Live Score: Dhoni Wishes His Young Colleagues to Succeed against the Australians Posted: 20 Oct 2010 12:31 AM PDT Indian captain, M S Dhoni is very eager to unleash the young talent in his squad on the formidable Australians. He supported the decision to give the younger players on his team to prove their mettle and rest the experienced members for the upcoming one day series against the lately vulnerable Australian side. Of course the more obvious reason would be the intent to have his best players in perfect fitness and form for the world cup which is the most awaited event in cricket in February next year. This time the world cup would be a joint effort by India, Sri-Lanka and Bangladesh. Being the joint hosts, India is expected to do well given their recent climb in the ranks. “In last few series, we have not played with our strongest side and rested most players. Maybe injuries were a bit more concern, we are a bit cautious,” said Dhoni. “We don’t want our big players to get injured before a tournament especially when it’s happening in India. Hopeful everyone will get fit and for World Cup.” In the absence of noted players who are regulars in the side like Sachin and Sehwag for instance, young Shikhar Dhawan is getting saddled up for a dream debut in international cricket against the mighty Australians who until recently were labelled an infallible side. Dhoni holds Dhawan's game and his gradual progress in high esteem having played with Dhawan during 2005 for the Challengers trophy. He has closely monitored his developments and is sure that given an opportunity, Dhawan would surely prove to be an amazing player. “Both of us scored in the Challengers in Mumbai. I got a chance to establish myself in the national team,” Dhoni said. “There has been ups and downs in his [Shikhar] career but he has been quite consitent. As an opener it’s quite tough, as you have Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir all at the same level. It’s good that he got a chance finally. Hope he scores and the bench will become stronger.” It would be a good learning experience for the rookies and a tutorial on handling pressure which would be immense given the drubbing Australians had to face by the Indians in the recently concluded tests. Well Dhoni has all the vistas open to him for his experimentation but unfortunately the same can't be true for his counterpart, Michael Clarke who played dismally in the tests against India scoring a miserable 35 in a total of 4 innings to be handed down a 2-0 defeat. Michael Clarke is in all sorts of trouble and the pressure to perform is undeniable but he refuses to acknowledge the same perhaps for his own sanity. “My performance in the Test series wasn’t good enough so I deserved that criticism and I am very disappointed about that,” he said. “I am not at all under pressure. Everybody is entitled to voice their opinion. I can’t change that. I’m training very hard as possibly as I can. I’m really excited about these two one-day games. My main priority is to win the two ODIs. We are really excited about the bright weather, hope it continues tomorrow.” Additionally there is also the nagging injury of Doug Bollinger to address. He got a chance to rest courtesy the washed out match but it is still undecided whether he would be declared fit to be included in the side. “He is going well, though he has not done enough bowling. It’s an important day for him today; he will have to bowl at the nets. Physio is happy with his improvement. But we need to make sure he bowls 10 overs for us tomorrow; otherwise I don’t think it’s worth a risk.”

2014 FIFA World Cup: Brazil Pressurized to Pace up Preparations Posted: 20 Oct 2010 12:12 AM PDT The 20th FIFA World Cup in 2014 is being hosted by Brazil in June-July. Brazil is going to host FIFA for the second time and will become the fifth nation in the world to host FIFA twice. In 1950 also Brazil hosted the FIFA world cup. The other countries who have so far hosted FIFA World Cup twice are Italy, Germany, France and Mexico. It is the first time that for the two consecutive FIFA World Cup have been organized outside Europe as this year the 2010 FIFA World Cup was organized in South Africa. Reports are not too satisfactory so far about the preparations in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The pace at which the infrastructure like stadia and airports are being constructed is quite slow and need to be paced up with immediate effect. Many of the existing stadia in Brazil are being refurbished to enhance the seating capacity thereby to accommodate more number of people. The experts are still hopeful that in spite of the slow progress, it will be a grand show in Brazil.Brazil was ousted in quarter final of 2010 FIFA held in SA. After the selection of Brazil to host 2014 FIFA world cup almost 2 and a half years back, the FIFA Committee general secretary Jerome Valcke has expressed his deep concern over the progress of the developments in Brazil and is worried about the similar concerns faced in South Africa around the start of 2010 FIFA world cup not to be repeated there in Brazil. Based on the reports being sent to him regularly about the developments in Brazil, he says it is alarmingly delayed on many fronts. Many of the deadlines have been crossed and the new deadlines should be carefully decided. The situation worsens further as there are presidential elections this year in Brazil which will further dampen the situation. The twelve projects running parallel are being inspected closely by Brazilian Administration. Russia and UK are strong contenders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

You are subscribed to email updates from LSB To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610