MOTORSPG

Having the riders lined up on the grid for a MotoGP race in the middle of the desert, under floodlights, only for it to get postponed just seconds before the start due to torrential rain has to be about as unlucky and unlikely as it gets.

Unsurprisingly, the genius that is Valentino Rossi summed up the mood in the paddock on Sunday night perfectly when he said (and I am toning this down significantly): "It's like being alone with a girl only for your mother to walk in at the crucial moment!"
Thankfully the rain abated in time for Monday night's restart and we were all able to resume position and finally get it on as Australia's Casey Stoner eased to victory, with 2008 champion Rossi finishing second and Jorge Lorenzo third.
There had already been a sense of anticlimax on Thursday when Valentino and Sete Gibernau publicly made their peace over a bitter row that started, coincidentally, at Qatar back in 2004.
It was the first ever race to be run here and Vale was forced to start from the back of the grid after a complaint from Sete's Honda team that Jeremy Burgess and his crew had swept his grid position clean.
Valentino crashed out trying to recover positions in the race and, when Sete took victory, Rossi swore he would make sure the Spaniard would never win another race - a promise he stuck to in their most public falling out at Jerez in 2005, when he punted him off the track on the final corner.Sete announced his retirement at the end of 2006, marrying a supermodel and disappearing into the ether before divorcing and returning to MotoGP as a test rider last year. When he announced he was coming back full-time for 2009, we were all looking forward to some unfinished business getting sorted out.
"Honestly, I'm really happy to have Sete back," said Vale, disappointing the hacks but without doubt echoing the sentiments of the entire paddock.
"Some of my hardest battles have been with him and I wish him luck. Hopefully he can be at the front again - not in front of me, but at the front - and I think we can be friends again."
"We've all matured since then and I've come back with my hand outstretched to Valentino and to everybody else," said Sete.
"I'm proud of the way I've been welcomed back and proud that Valentino says he had to ride on the limit against me in the past. I think he'll be champion again this year."
The pair had actually already kissed and made up - metaphorically speaking of course - in an impromptu phone conversation last summer when Sete was visiting his friend Fonsi Nieto, the former 250cc and WSBK rider, in Ibiza.
The Spanish pair were having dinner when Fonsi received a call from Valentino, who owns a house on the island.
Fonsi cheekily passed the phone to Sete without telling either who was on the other end. "It was a bit confusing and he caught us both out," recalls Sete. "We talked for a little while and we've been in touch a couple of times since."
Friendly rivalry is an essential part of racing and while it may have overstepped the mark at Tech 3 Yamaha, where Colin Edwards and James Toseland are still not talking, there is very much the opposite vibe going on a few doors down the pit-lane at Ducati.
Nicky Hayden suffered a 130mph high-side during qualifying on Saturday and when Casey Stoner returned to parc fermé at the end of the session to be congratulated and interviewed on his pole position, his first question to his mechanic before he'd even taken his helmet off was about the welfare of his team-mate.

Golf

Harrington's driving will need to be on song this year to retain the Claret Jug

Turnberry to set longer Open test

Padraig Harrington will aim for a hat-trick of Open titles at a Turnberry course that is 247 yards longer than when it last staged the tournament.

The Scottish course, which last held the Open in 1994, will measure 7,204 yards for the 16-19 July event.
The new layout features six new tees, including a 200-yard drive over the bay near the famous Lighthouse at the 10th.
The longest course in Open history was Carnoustie, which measured 7,421 yards when Harrington won in 2007.
Since Zimbabwean Nick Price triumphed at Turnberry 15 years ago, the straight 410-yard 16th has changed to a 455-yard dogleg right, while the par-five 17th has been stretched from 498 to 559 yards with three new bunkers also added.

The 17th is the hole that Price eagled with a 50-foot putt as he saw off Sweden's Jesper Parnevik.
Turnberry first staged the Open in 1977 when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke in what was dubbed the "Duel in the Sun". Although Nicklaus finished 65-66, Watson shot 65-65 with third-place Hubert Green 10 shots back.
Australian Greg Norman claimed his first major when Turnberry held the second of its three Opens in 1986.
Harrington, who defended his title with a four-shot victory over Ian Poulter at Royal Birkdale last year, will be playing his first tournament at the Ayrshire venue. The Dubliner is bidding to become the first player to win the Open three years in a row since Australian Peter Thomson in 1956.
Tiger Woods will also be making his first visit, but Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Geoff Ogilvy all competed in the 1996 British Amateur.
Meanwhile, with the world gripped by economic gloom, organisers of the Open are offering help to golf fans to get to Turnberry.

"Corporate hospitality is 15-20% down in line with all UK sporting events - everybody has suffered from that a little bit and it reflects the world we are in," said director of championships David Hill.
"We are encouraging clubs to bring members and the R&A will pay £250 towards the cost of a coach.
"In this period of recession we're trying to reach out to clubs and we will be contacting them with details. We're asking them to bring 30 people.
"We're also conscious that with the success of golf in Ireland we're anticipating a lot of people coming over and there will be a coach service from the ferry terminals.
"But we're not hugely concerned. We are pretty upbeat and we are confident that there is huge interest and that we should get to the same figures we had when the Open was last here in 1994."
While Opens at St Andrews always prove the most popular and attract in excess of 200,000 people, Turnberry's attendance 15 years ago was 115,000.
A daily ticket will cost £55 and Hill added: "When you compare that to other sporting events I believe it's fantastic value."
Prize money - Harrington scooped £750,000 last year- has still to be announced for July's event, but the Masters earlier this month showed no increase on last year.
"In recent years we have been the most lucrative major championship in dollar terms but with the shift in the exchange rate that may be difficult to sustain," said Hill.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Reds' Sibbit banned for Hull game
Salford will be without second-rower Ian Sibbit for Saturday's Super League game against Hull after he was handed a one-match suspension.
Sibbit also received a £300 fine after being found guilty of a high tackle in the Reds' 38-6 defeat by Catalans Dragons on Saturday.
Castleford's Rangi Chase is free to face Celtic Crusaders on Sunday.
The stand-off was found not guilty of making a dangerous tackle in the Tigers' defeat by St Helens on Sunday

RUGBY UNION

O'Connell handed Lions captaincy
Ireland's Paul O'Connell has been confirmed as British and Irish Lions captain for the three-Test summer tour to South Africa.
The second row was one of 14 Ireland players included in head coach Ian McGeechan's 37-man squad on Tuesday.
The party also includes 13 Welshmen, eight from England and two Scots.
Ireland centre Keith Earls was a surprise call-up, as was countryman and back-row Alan Quinlan, Welsh wing Leigh Halfpenny and England lock Simon Shaw.
England wing Ugo Monye is also on the plane, but national captains Steve Borthwick of England, Ryan Jones of Wales and Mike Blair of Scotland were among those left out.

With Wales' Lee Byrne and Ireland's Rob Kearney the only full-backs in the squad, another surprise omission was England number 15 Delon Armitage.
Leicester loose forward Tom Croft, one of England's most consistent performers in the Six Nations, also misses out, along with international team-mate and Wasps fly-half Danny Cipriani and Wales and Ospreys number 10 James Hook.
The 21-year-old Earls, who can also play full-back, has two Ireland caps but did not feature in the Grand Slam-winning side during the Six Nations campaign.
Shaw, 35, is the only player in the squad who featured on the previous tour of South Africa, when Martin Johnson led the Lions to a 2-1 series victory in 1997.
McGeechan, who as head coach appointed Johnson as skipper 12 years ago, believes O'Connell has similar qualities to the England legend and is the ideal man to lead the Lions, on and off the field.
"He leads from the front on the field and as a quality international has the respect of his fellow players all over the world," said the Scot.
"As a member of the 2005 tour to New Zealand he played in five matches including three Tests so knows all about the ethos and challenges of Lions tours.
"I look forward to working with him and the entire squad over the coming months as we strive to develop a side that can add a successful chapter in the long history of the Lions."
O'Connell, who featured in all three of the Lions Tests in the 3-0 defeat by New Zealand in 2005, said he was honoured to have the chance to captain the side against the world champions.
"This was never something I aspired to do but to be selected is a great honour," said the 29-year-old, who has made 62 Test appearances for Ireland and who got the nod ahead of his international skipper Brian O'Driscoll.
"I looked at the squad last night and it will be a privilege to lead them. It's a great honour considering the captains that have gone before me, some of them legends of the game.
"Brian O'Driscoll gave me a ring the other day after we had spoken to Ian and was great about it. The main thing will be leaning on the experience of the coaches and leaders within the squad.
"It needs to be a big squad effort. That will be the secret to any success. The more people who have input the better."
Former Lions scrum-half Matt Dawson told BBC Radio 5 Live that O'Connell has "the Martin Johnson type quality about him".
"He leads by example. He has blossomed as an experienced player over the past year or so. He's been through the mill and it is a perfect opportunity and time for him to captain the Lions."
And former Lions hooker Keith Wood agreed that his former team-mate was the ideal man for the job.
Wood told BBC Radio 5 Live: "There is a new level of maturity and he is a leader by example.
"He talks very well and he understands how to be a captain. There is the upmost respect for him across Ireland."
McGeechan said he opted for physical ball carriers among the forwards to combat the threat posed by South Africa's Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger.
"It's important you do have forwards that are comfortable on the ball as well as being big men," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Simon Shaw is one of the most skilful forwards I've ever coached. Nathan Hines is the same. Paul O'Connell gets his hands on the ball quite a lot."
Lions scrum coach Graham Rowntree added: "It's important that we took some physical animals. Because that's what South Africa are

Cricket

Lendl Simmons hit 102 and Brendan Nash 78 as West Indies declared their first innings on 315-6 on day two of their warm-up match with Leicestershire.
Simmons, whose uncle Phil was an overseas player at Grace Road between 1994 and 1998, shared a 154-run stand spanning 30 overs with Nash.
Both men retired unbeaten to allow team-mates batting practice. Paceman Alex Wyatt, 18, finished with 3-42.
The hosts, who made 182 in their first innings, were 51-1 at stumps.
"It was a pretty flat batting track and I enjoyed it," said Simmons, who also hit a hundred at Grace Road playing for West Indies A against Leicestershire nearly three years ago.
"I know my uncle played here a few years ago and I also played here for the A team a few years ago and I enjoyed today - it was a good feeling.

"It was important I made a good start to the tour. I've taken this warm-up game very seriously and I wanted to make a good show of myself.
"I have been looking forward to this series, particularly the first Test at Lord's, and I'm feeling in good nick."
On Monday, Windies coach John Dyson delivered a scathing verdict on the Grace Road pitch after seeing Leicestershire dismissed for a small total and his side reduced to 80-4.
But a change in conditions and a determined display from the West Indies middle order rather showed up his comments, with the tourists ending the 100 overs of their first innings - the maximum allowed for the three-day warm-up matches - 138 runs ahead.
The 24-year-old Simmons scored a double-hundred for West Indies A against England in St Kitts and made his Test debut in the final match of the series in Trinidad.
That display earned him a place in West Indies' tour squad and he chose his uncle's old stomping ground to enhance his claims for selection in the opening Test at Lord's on 6 May.
Resuming overnight on 21, Simmons was given one reprieve on 79 when he slashed at left-arm seamer Harry Gurney and was dropped at slip by Boeta Dippenaar, but otherwise he seemed to have adjusted to the conditions impressively.
He retired hurt only three balls after reaching his century with his 11th four through extra cover, but had recovered sufficiently from cramp in his right arm to keep wicket when Leicestershire began their reply.
Nash was equally impressive and, although he was watchful at first, he also hit 11 fours before retiring after being hit on the thigh.
The pair's premature retirements allowed Dinesh Ramdin, leading the side in the absence of skipper Chris Gayle, who is playing in the IPL, to forge a 54-run stand with Sulieman Benn.
Ramdin made 36 before being caught in the deep to hand Dippenaar his maiden first-class wicket in a career spanning nearly 14 years.
Emerging seamer Andrew Richardson ensured West Indies finished the day in buoyant spirits by removing opener Tom New in his second over when he fended a short ball to gully.

Olympics

Adcock and White are bright hopes for 2012 and beyond

Britain's badminton players can topple China's top talent according to the boss of England's governing body.
The Chinese won eight medals, including three golds at the Beijing Olympics, while British pair Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms lost in the quarter-finals.
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy told BBC Sport: "We are coming in after a successful era, but we're building for 2012 and beyond.
"There will be no compromise. China are the competition but we can be bigger."
Badminton England's directive is developing the current crop of international players and the young prospects coming through to the Elite senior level, as well as providing a pathway for producing talent for the Olympics.
Christy, who oversees the development of the sport in England and Britain, is targeting two medals at London 2012.
He is looking to improve on the mixed doubles bronze won by Simon Archer and Joanne Goode in 2000 and the Athens silver in won by Robertson and the now-retired Emms in 2004.
Following the lack of medals at last year's Olympics, Christy added: "We did well in Athens and Sydney and we were close in Beijing.
"Although we had tough draws in China, the fact of the matter is that we didn't deliver."
As well as performance director Ian Moss, the responsibility of this delivery that Christy is demanding also lies in the hands of the recently-appointed Ian Wright and Andy Wood.
Wright, former national head coach, is the new performance manager and Wood, team GB manager in Beijing, is the new Olympic team boss for London.
Wood led Team GB in Beijing, while Wright guided England to bronze in the Sudirman Cup in 2007 and successive silvers in the European team championships in 2007 and 2008 and was also GB and England coach in Beijing.
With six high performance centres in England and a base in Milton Keynes the future looks even brighter for the sport in Britain.
Wright revealed huge "excitement" for his new role, emphasising his responsibilities lay towards talent recruitment and winning medals.
"We do have a lot of emerging players but in the long term we have to compete with the Asians and increase the base of players," Wright said, adding that Gabby White, 18, and Chris Adcock, 20, were great prospects.
"There have been some uneasy times but we now have to create more competition for players for the English and British programs.
"At the end of the day we will be judged by this."

Football

Liverpool held as Arshavin scores four
Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin grabs four goals as his side deal Liverpool's title hopes a blow in a pulsating 4-4 draw at Anfield.

Goodman League to Officially Invite Obama

President Barack Obama shakes hands with George Goodman League commissioner Miles Rawls (center) at the Washington Wizards vs. the Chicago Bulls game at the Verizon Center in February. (Courtesy Photo/REUTERS / Jason Reed)


April 21, 2009) - With the Washington Wizards failing to qualify for the NBA playoff for the first time in four years, President Barack Obama will have to wait until next season before he can make his second basketball game appearance at the Verizon Center. But the good news for Obama is he won’t have too long to see some exciting hoops in Washington.Remember the fan who allegedly heckled the president during the Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls game back in February?Well, the AFRO had confirmed that Miles Rawls had intentions far beyond annoying the first Black president of the United States. We reported last month that Rawls, the longtime commissioner of the annual George Goodman League—a series of summer basketball games at Barry Farms Dwelling Court—had plans of inviting Obama down to the Farms, according to a source familiar with the situation.The AFRO now learns directly from Rawls— also a longtime District police officer—that he has written an official letter of invitation and will personally deliver it to the White House one day this week.Rawls, who will also take to the president several photos of the Goodman League games, said he wanted to present an invitation to Obama during the Wizards games, but never had the chance because the two were having so much fun exchanging trash talk.If the president does accept the invitation to either watch or participate as a player in the games, surely he’ll be the most recognized public figure to do so.But he won’t be the first famous face to engage in D.C.’s most popular street ball tournament.Rawls, one of the most respected names among local basketball, has the ability to attract high- profile ball players to participate in the games. He’s invited NBA stars such as Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Shaquille O’Neal and several And-1 All Stars down to play against some of the best local talent.Whenever word gets around the area that a star baller will be playing, hundreds of folks crowd the courts just to be a witness.If Obama shows face, he’ll easily attract the most visitors to Barry Farms in the 30-plus year history of the Goodman League games.

MLB 2K9: Details on the First Patch

There's little doubt that MLB 2K9 had issues at launch, and the game took a drubbing both critically and from its vocal fanbase. Among the prominent problems in the game was strange fieldling behavior: first basemen who stepped off the bag, strange fielding errors in the outfield, and more. News of an upcoming patch has been released on the 2K Sports forum. According to the post, here's a partial list of the fixes that will be implemented in the patch:
AI AgressivenessHome Run TotalsFly balls in the outfield tweaked so ghastly fielding errors will be a thing of the past1st baseman stepping off bag has been tweakedIssues with the pitch overlay hudFixed pickoffs, especially to 2nd baseRoster issues as it pertains to subsituting pitchers and bench
As the forum post points out, this is just a partial list of fixes but, by the look of it, it's addressing some of the uglier issues in the game. I'm wondering if the "ghastly fielding errors" includes that strange and unnatural slowdown effect that sometimes happen when you're controlling an outfielder and chasing down a fly ball. If not, I hope its addressed at some point.
According to 2K, the patch is nearly ready for submission and approval, which puts its release out a couple of weeks from now. I look forward to seeing how the game plays, post-patch. What issues are you hoping this patch fixes up?

Madden NFL 10: Wildcat Is In, Dolphin Resizing Imminent

We're just a few days away from the official unveil of Madden NFL 10 and NCAA Football 10. Homer and I will be heading to NYC tomorrow to go see the game, interview a ton of future NFL stars, and chat with the cover star of Madden NFL 10, who will be announced on Friday morning. I'll also be taking part in the Madden NFL Draft Experience show, which will be happening all day on Saturday. Look for lots of pics and impressions from this week's festivities right here at the GameSpot sports blog, and our first looks at Madden and NCAA Football next week.
More on Madden after the jump...

Madden NFL 10: Refs Beware

While staring at today's new batch of Madden screens, I noticed something else that's got me excited about the game. Check it out:

Knocking down refs--be it in real life or in a game--just never gets old.

8th Asia Cup : Penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas joins national camp

LAHORE: Penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas joined the Asia Cup national training camp that started at the National Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. “22 players reported on day one. Half-line Waseem Ahmad and forward Rehan Butt will report on Wednesday (today) while goalkeeper Salman Akbar will join on April 27,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) told reporters. The PHF has recalled four senior players – Sohail, Waseem, Rehan and Salman – to strengthen the squad for the 8th Asia Cup which the green shirts must win to qualify for the next year’s World Cup to be held in New Delhi, India. “The players had physical training in two sessions on the first day, while the training will also be held in floodlights from Wednesday,” the spokesman added. He said the trials to select the final team would be held on April 29-30. Talking to media, Sohail said he left the Dutch league for the Pakistan team. “Pakistan should be the top priority for every player. I am completely fit and in good form and I will try my level best to deliver in the Asia Cup,” he said. To a question, the penalty corner expert said he enjoyed playing hockey in Holland and the tough level of competition there had helped him to remain fit. Sohail said after inclusion of seniors in the team the juniors would get more confidence and the team would try to give good results in the tournament. “I think it is a good step. Gelling experience with youth will definitely produce good results in the Asia Cup,” he maintained. Sohail lamented that some former Olympians were giving ‘negative statements’ against the Pakistan team. “Such statements not only give bad name to Pakistan hockey but also have a negative impact on the team.”Camp probables: Nasir Ahmad, Mohammad Imran, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ehsan Ullah, Zeeshan Ali, Sibtain Raza, Mohammad Saqlain, Rana Mohammad Asif, Fareed Ahmad, Sajjad Anwar, Dilawar Hussain, Waqas Sharif, Shakeel Abbasi, Abbas Haider, Tariq Aziz, Shafqat Rasool, Akhtar Ali, Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Irfan, Abdul Haseem Khan, Imran Shah and Mohammad Zubair.

PCB women’s wing advisor sacked after ‘YouTube’ scandal

LAHORE: It seems that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and scandals are made for each other. PCB women’s wing advisor Azrah Parveen was sacked on Tuesday after an audio scandal, allegedly involving her, surfaced on a website ‘Youtube’. “Yes, Azrah Parveen has been relieved of her duties. She has been asked to report to the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) from where she came on deputation,” a spokesman for the women’s wing told reporters here. In the audio file, Azrah, who is SBP assistant director, is badmouthing women’s wing chairperson Shireen Javed and manager Ayesha Ashar and requesting another woman to pull some strings and pass the dirt on the duo. When Azrah was contacted, she flatly denied having said anything of the sort. “The audio tape is fake. I have not said anything like this,” she maintained. On the other hand, Shireen said she had recognised the voice of Azrah and was disappointed as well as disgusted. “She has spoken utter rubbish. I have known and worked with Azrah for over 30 years and would not have believed that she could have said all this had I not heard it myself.” When asked what could have prompted her into making such controversial statements that can bring down the women’s wing, Shireen said ‘vested interests, of course’. “She wanted to accompany the team to England as manager for the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup but her request was denied.” Azrah is better known as a former women’s hockey umpire. She took over the position of an adviser of the PCB women’s wing from former Test cricketer Imtiaz Ahmed soon after Ijaz Butt took over as chairman of the board in October 2008 and sent home several women’s wing employees.

First Pakistan-Australia ODI in Dubai today : Akhtar, Symonds seek career revival

DUBAI: When Pakistan take on Australia in the first match of their one-day series here on Wednesday, Andrew Symonds and Shoaib Akhtar will face what could be the last chance to revive their careers.Australian all-rounder Symonds, who was previously told to seek counselling after a series of alcohol-related incidents, has made a comeback to the squad after being dropped for a recent one-day series in South Africa. Pakistan fast-bowler Akhtar has played only three Twenty20 internationals and two one-day matches in the last 16 months, which saw him mainly sidelined for fitness and disciplinary problems. He was axed after taking just one wicket in two one-dayers against Sri Lanka in February, a tour that ended after an attack on Sri Lanka’s team in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Akhtar was not part of the squad for the Bangladesh tour, which was postponed over security fears in the aftermath of a bloody border guard mutiny in February. Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam admitted both Akhtar and Symonds will be the focus of attention. “They (Akhtar and Symonds) are two players who will be the focus for everyone, both are match-winners and at their best can be devastating. I hope they take this opportunity with both hands and move ahead,” Alam told AFP.The 33-year-old Akhtar, who has taken 220 wickets in 140 one-day matches, was handed a five-year ban in April last year after publicly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board for axing him. The ban was reduced to 18 months by an appeal committee which also fined him Rs 7 million ($95,000), before the Lahore high court suspended the ban but upheld the fine, paving his return to cricket. While doubts over his fitness remained even after he arrived here with the team, Alam said he was satisfied with Akhtar’s progress. “I am pleased at Akhtar’s discipline both on and off the field. He has shown promise and he is bowling with commitment, and I have lots of hope that he would deliver for us, which, I tell you, is very important,” said Alam. Akhtar said he was keen on taking the opportunity with both hands. “I am raring to go. I can’t wait to bowl against a strong team like Australia and the past is behind me,” he said. “I can’t guarantee on fitness, but I can guarantee that whenever I take field, I will try my best.”Just like Akhtar, Symonds’ form, fitness and behaviour will be on trial. The all-rounder has promised he will do his best against Pakistan, having been included in Australia’s preliminary 30-man squad for the ICC Twenty20 world championship in England in June. Australian selectors had been advised Symonds had reached a point in his counselling where it was appropriate to consider him for international selection, subject to fitness and form. “I’ve never taken a chance to play for granted so it’s going to be pretty rewarding to be a part of the side considering I’ve worked hard to get back,” said Symonds, who has so far scored 5006 runs and taken 129 wickets in 193 one-day matches. “I’m feeling pretty fresh for cricket again. It’s going to be a tough little tour and it will be great to be a part of it.”

RAW got Big Show too, so Smackdown is left with Taker, Edge, Jericho and...well...some headless chickens. This past week Smackdown's big matches consisted of Big Show vs Jeff, which can't happen again...and Batista vs Ted Dibiase...which was a freakin' RAW stars match as the Main Event! They didn't even use their own stars to book their own show! They don't even have Koslov anymore, who's a bit of a boring baboon, but he could still be built up as a monster. Here's the results of all the Draftiness! New to Smackdown: Knox, Cryme Time, Kane, Melina, CM Punk, Jericho, Alicia Fox, Rey Rey, Candice, Ricky Ortiz, Layla, Dolph Ziggler, Charlie Haas and John Morrison. I swear, if Morrison or Jericho aren't running that place in six months I'll eat an entire diseased alley cat. Jericho deserves two years of uninterrupted World Title domination for his 'Mania match, btw. New to ECW: Koslov, Ezekial, Zach Ryder, Natalya, DH Smith and Shane Helms. Wasn't Natalya there already? New to RAW: Triple H, Kendrick, The Bella Twins. Primo and Carlito, Jesse and Festus, Kennedy, Chavo, Hornswoggle, MVP, Matt Hardy, Maryse, Big Show and The Miz. The whole supplemental draft thing is kind of what I'm talking about when I said that they can just move people whenever. They basically said, hey let's have the whole Tag Division on RAW. Looky looky.

Cody tries his best to hold onto the sweatiest man alive.

April 20, 2009 - You know what the WWE needs? An extra freakin' hour of programming each week. Yeah, that'll do it. I just don't feel like they're given enough time to get their storylines across. I could use a whole other show to show me the history between Orton and Triple H. It's not like I have other TV that I need to be watching for...a job or something. Thank you, WWE Superstars, thank you. You filled a void in my life that I thought could only be filled with quality time with my children or feeding the homeless. (Yes, I did note later on in the column that I didn't want to put in a plug for my Foley interview at the beginning of the column, but I changed my mind. I can do that! It's allowed! So here it is… Read Fowler's Extra Special Super-Dee-Duper Exclusive Interview with Mick Foley by clicking right here!. Sorry. Carry on now.) Well, the "draft" happened. Oh, yes it did. And things are gonna "get shaken up!" Nothing will ever be the same again forever! I was kind of bummed when Miz and Morrison got split up, but other than that, the draft didn't make me emote any one way or another. The WWE can just make things happen whenever they want to. The draft is just the "guise" of a draft. It's all just employee transfers. There are no new contracts written up or drafted. Right now Triple H and John Cena are on the same show, but that can change just as easily as Cena going on Smackdown and saying "Hey I talked to Teddy Long and I'm on Smackdown now, booyaka blap blap bing boop!" People can really just go to any brand whenever the WWE wants them to. The fact that it actually needs to be explained to us through the false constraints of a "draft" is a little silly now. MVP headed to RAW means that Rey needs to go to Smackdown. US Title for IC Title. Easy peezy. Plus, Rey needs to head back there to build the Hispanic viewership back up. Woman's Champ for Diva's Champ. Peezy sleazy. Tag teams were "miraculously" kept intact, like Primo and Carlito and JTG and Shad. Raw though, ends up with Batista, Cena and Triple H and Orton, who a person could claim are the tip top stars of the entire organization right now - if that person were exceptionally dull and liked to eat dried glue.

Jordan Zimmermann wins major league debut with Nationals

Paid attendance of 12,473 sets a low for the team since it moved from Montreal to Washington.
April 21, 2009
at Washington 3, Atlanta 2: Jordan Zimmermann won his major league debut, giving up six hits in six innings. The paid attendance of 12,473 set a low for the team since it moved from Montreal to Washington. Drizzle resulted in a start delay of 2 hours 10 minutes, and there was a 33-minute delay in the eighth inning.Cincinnati 4, at Houston 3: Joey Votto's two-run double in the seventh inning lifted the Reds. Trailing, 3-2, Paul Janish and Willy Taveras singled before Votto's hit helped the Reds win for the third time in four games.
at Arizona 6, Colorado 3: Mark Reynolds hit a home run and a double, and Miguel Montero hit a three-run home run to back Jon Garland, who gave up one earned run in 6 2/3 innings. Ian Stewart hit his third home run for the Rockies, who have lost seven of eight games. Jason Marquis dropped to 0-4 all-time at Chase Field.San Diego at Philadelphia, rain: No makeup date was announced.-- associated press

The giant lock forward got the nod over his own national captain Brian O'Driscoll, who led Ireland to an historic grand slam earlier this season.
O'Driscoll had been widely expected to land the prestigious job, but coach Ian McGeechan opt for the combative second row forward.
O'Connell will lead a 37-strong squad to South Africa, containing only two Scots, with McGeechan calling the three-Test tour "the ultimate challenge for any rugby player."
He will follow in the footsteps of England's Martin Johnson who was selected to captain the 1997 Lions on their winning trip to South Africa despite not being his national skipper at the time.
The inspirational O'Connell is in the same mould as Johnson, who went on to captain England to World Cup triumph in 2003.
He has led Ireland on four occasions, each time standing in for O'Driscoll, and also skippered provincial side Munster to the European Cup last year.
Months of speculation ended on Tuesday as Lions manager Gerald Davies revealed the party which is chosen from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
They will leave for Johannesburg on May 24 ahead of a three-Test series against world champions South Africa, which begins in Durban on June 20

Ramiz Raja Exclusive Interview:

Pakistan's No.1 cricket pundit feels the ICC was not as compassionate about Pakistan's situation as it could have been
March 05 2009 YOUNG PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2008: -->Bigstarcricket is publishing a series of interviews with players to keep an eye on in 2008 - starlets who could be the Test and ODI stars of tomorrow. Our latest interview is with Adil Rashid. -->
By Ramiz Raja, ex-Pakistan captain and now distinguished TV commentator speaks out on the horrific terrorist attack in Lahore on Tuesday, March 3.
“I have lived in Lahore all my life and what happened to the Sri Lanka cricket team is shocking, we weren’t expecting this. But now is a time to support us in our hour of need, we don’t need people turning away from us.
Pakistan is a country that has gone through so much in the last six or seven years and though there have been terrorist incidents, cricket teams have never been targeted before so our entire nation is appalled by this ghastly incident.
Sport usually transcends boundaries, irrespective of culture, religion, colour or creed so to see that challenged by these terrorists is a huge concern.
We are a resilient nation but we still need other countries to stand by us. The entire cricket world should rally around us. This is the time to support Pakistan, not knock us down. I can understand teams’ reservations about touring Pakistan but having said that it’s also an excellent opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan when they need it most.
Pakistan is a not a new cricket nation or a minnow in the cricket world, we are a former World Cup winner and a country with a rich history in the sport which has produced many great players and icons. Cricket is our way of life. Cricket is the best entertainment to Pakistani people so to snatch it away would be the worst thing that could happen to us.
We don’t have many people promoting us around the world but cricket and our icon players do give us a lot of recognition.
I felt uncomfortable with the ICC’s statement in the press conference held in London, when they suggested it would be hard for teams to play in Pakistan for the foreseeable future. I would have liked to have heard them being a little more caring to Pakistan – their statement sounded a little plastic.
I wanted more emotion and support from the ICC for Pakistan. It’s common knowledge that after an incident like this, teams would be reluctant about touring Pakistan. But as a governing body I thought they should have been a bit more caring. To even contemplate taking the World Cup away from us at this stage could only be described as a knee-jerk reaction.
If Pakistan is forced to play at neutral venues it will have a negative impact on not only our team but the whole country. We have a growing media and cricket is a huge part of that, the cricket manufacturing industry in Sialkot is growing, there is more money in cricket than there has ever been and youngsters want to play the game.
All these things and more will take a huge dent if cricket is taken away from the country. It would be catastrophic.”
Ramiz Raja was talking to Bigstarcricket.com Managing Editor Richard Sydenham

Magazine show

A1GP – Portugal
With Portugal already winning a race (in Chengdu, China), and the team currently placed third with 64 points, the A1GP’s sixth race of the season in Algarve, Portugal, is sure to catch the fancy of the local fans. The Qualifying race is on Saturday, April 11, while the Feature Race is on Sunday, April 12.

Winning Post

The only place for all the news from the Indian horse racing scene, featuring the top races as well as presenting a form guide before the weekends action. Winning Post is the perfect addition to the Live horse racing action presented by Ten Sports from India, Dubai and England. Presenter Mohit Lalvani takes you behind the scenes in the stables and in the stud farms, as well as helping to analyse the form before the major races.

European Tour Weekly

The European tour now stretches from South America to Australasia, from Asia to its traditional home in Europe. European tour weekly keeps you up to date with this remarkable range of events, and the stars who participate on them. With course reviews, action from the tour, top tips and profiles on the leading players, it’s the perfect support to live action from the European PGA tour.

WWE

WWE Vintage Collection
WWE Vintage Collection is a 1-hour show hosted by Hall-of-Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund. The program will feature classic ‘Big Arena’ matches from the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. WWE Vintage Collection will include the biggest names in sports-entertainment history such as Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, George “The Animal” Steele, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, Gorilla Monsoon, Ric Flair and many more as they face each other in historic competition at the most famous venues in the United States --- New York City’s Madison Square Garden, The Philadelphia Spectrum, The Boston Garden and others.

The WWE Experience
Combining highlights from Raw, ECW & SmackDown with exclusive features on WWE Superstars outside the ring; The WWE Experience provides a fresh, new look that audiences of all ages will find entertaining.

AfterBurn

AfterBurn is a magazine-style program that features scorching highlights from SmackDown. Each week, this innovative show brings fans up to date with rundowns of the hottest SmackDown stories and matches.

Bottom Line

Bottom Line is a magazine-style program that gets right into the most compelling stories and match action from Raw each week. This is one show that isn’t afraid to get in your face with World Wrestling Entertainment excitement and attitude like you’ve never seen before
SmackDown

Guaranteed to blow the lid off television worldwide, SmackDown is a live event program with a brilliant array of talent. Each week, the Superstars from the SmackDown roster dazzle live audiences with thrilling in-ring action, entertaining vignettes and dramatic sagas

ECW

This live event program showcases exciting and unpredictable action of the ECW Superstars. Over-the-top personalities of the world’s most extreme athletes are featured each and every week.
Raw



his live event show is the most exciting and unpredictable action-packed program on television. Raw features an incredible roster of larger-than-life Superstars. It combines in-ring matches with over-the-top athleticism and intriguing storylines. Every week offers an original show with fresh stories and unprecedented action where anything can happen.

Tennis

ATP Masters 1000’s - Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Clay King Rafael Nadal will be aiming for a record fifth consecutive Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title when the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title is played this week.
With nine of the top 10 ranked players in the world participating, including world No2 Roger Federer, No3 Novak Djokovic and No4 and red-hot Scotsman Andy Murray. Ten Sports will telecast the semi-finals and the final live from Monte Carlo.
The semi-finals are on Saturday, April 18, followed by the final on Sunday.

GolfBug TV

GolfBug TV www.golfbug.tv is an online TV channel with excerpts from The European Tour, Asian Tour and Royal & Ancient archive. Programmes cover; golf news, equipment reviews, competition highlights, golf lessons, and golfing destinations. It’s totally free to watch and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Programmes also feature tips and interviews with professional and celebrity golfers including Gary Player, Denis Pugh, Simon Holmes, Zane Scotland.

USPGA - Verizon Heritage

The Harbour Town Golf Links, which has the smallest greens on the PGA Tour, makes for a very exciting venue of this week’s Verizon Heritage. Held just a week after the Masters, the tournament has drawn some big names, including Indian ace Jeev Milkha Singh.
Two-time defending champion Boo Weekley will be the man to beat, but then there are guys like Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, four-time champion Davis Love III and Camilo Villegas in the field. Live action starts on Ten Sports with the second-round coverage.

Barca TV

Barca TV is the channel produced by Barcelona Football Club, the club with perhaps the most glamorous players in the world – including Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Samuel E’to and Lionel Messi. Barca TV keeps you up to date with all the news from the club as well as showing action from this season and classic games

Manchester United TV

The worlds most famous football club is back with regular action on Ten Sports. Courtesy of Man United TV, Ten Sports will show Premier League action on a 1 day delay as well as Classic games, analysis and other shows from Old Trafford, the home of legends. Sir Alex Ferguson has added to his star studded squad with the arrival of Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani, now sit back and watch them go!

Dutch League - Feyenoord v FC Twente

Former champions Feyenoord will hope to carry on with their form of last week when they scored five goals against the hapless Heracles as they take on the second placed FC Twente in the Dutch League.
Meanwhile, FC Twente will want to win and close the nine-point gap against league leaders AZ Alkmaar, as well as get some cushion against third-placed Ajax, who are just one point behind them.

South Africa v Australia - 5th ODI

After Australia won the first match of the five-ODI series comfortably, it seemed they were mounting a serious threat to South Africa’s position as the No1 limited overs team in the world. But Graeme Smith’s men came back strongly and closed the series by winning the next three matches. The final match will be played on Friday, April 17, and the Kangaroos will be playing for pride, as well as a moral boost before their ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE.

Pakistan v Australia – ODI series

Pakistan are hoping the massive fan support they get in the UAE will lift them to a memorable series win when they take on Australia in five One Day International and a solitary Twenty20 match series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The brand-new cricket stadium at Dubai Sports City also makes its debut with the series, which has two ODIs in Dubai (starting April 22), followed by three in Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium and the T20 match in Dubai.