sport news Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta is off, for now LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The owner of Rachel Alexandra says his Horse of the Year won't run against unbeaten Zenyatta next month in Arkansas....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-14 Alex Ferguson says Arsenal may be biggest threat to Manchester United • Alex Ferguson says Arsenal may mount biggest title challenge• Real Madrid want Wayne Rooney says former presidentSir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his belief that Arsenal, not Chelsea, might pose the greater challenge to Manchester United's aspirations of winning the "tightest title race ever" and being crowned champions for a record fourth successive time.Two more goals from Wayne Rooney, taking his total for the season to 32, and a late Dimitar Berbatov header took United two points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win against Fulham and Ferguson has told his players they may need to win their final eight games."We are back in the lead, but Chelsea have a game in hand," Ferguson said. "It's also going to be a hard-fought tussle with Arsenal coming strongly now and I have a suspicion that they might yet mount the biggest challenge." To a certain extent, the title is in our hands because Chelsea have to come to Old Trafford and, naturally, that will be a massive match but, as I say, I am wary of Arsenal if they don't suffer too many more injuries to key players."Rooney has now scored 24 times in his past 22 games after a relatively quiet start to the season and Ferguson believes the England striker has become the irresistible choice to be named footballer of the year. "I think he's a certainty," the United manager said. "You can't ignore his form and I think he has a great chance of winning both the players' award and the football writers' prize. He's been absolutely brilliant and is developing his game all the time. He's spending a lot of time practising and that's paying off on the football field."Rooney, chasing Cristiano Ronaldo's target of 42 goals last season, is now two ahead of his former team-mate at the corresponding stage two years ago, and it will be of no surprise to anyone at Old Trafford that the former Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón spoke yesterday of there being an "obsession" at the Bernabéu to sign him.Calderón believes his successor, Florentino Pérez, wants to capitalise on the financial uncertainty at Old Trafford by persuading Rooney to follow Ronaldo to Spain "if it is possible to spend again another €100m or €80m".Berbatov described Rooney as "the best player in the world" after his two second-half goals and backed him to finish the season with more than 40 goals.Ferguson agreed: "I said a while ago it would be impossible for him to get to 42 but he's on 32 now, so there's a challenge there. He's capable of scoring goals in our final eight games and maybe five more Champions League games. He's got 13 more games possibly to come so I'm not putting it beyond him."The manager had a broader task for his team. "I have set us a target: win every game between now and the end of the season. Obviously it's a big ask, but that's what we must aim for if we are to achieve our objective of winning the championship again."We are in a good run of form in the Premier League, but our rivals are going well, too, and it's as well for everyone to understand that's what it could well take to come out top.I have built a squad that should enable us to compete on all fronts and I am not going to prioritise except to say that it is essential we strain every sinew to win the league. That's the expectation and there is no hiding from it. Consistency is the name of the game now, and if I am honest we have had more off days than I would like."Premier LeagueSir Alex FergusonManchester UnitedWayne RooneyDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Lucky escape for Andretti in Sao Paulo • Moraes crashes and lands on top of Andretti's car• Andretti able to walk away from the scene uninjuredMarco Andretti escaped injury after being involved in a dramatic accident at the start of the Sao Paulo Indy 300.The car of Brazil's Mario Moraes span and crashed on the back of Andretti's slowing car as they approached the first chicane after the start.Moraes' car finished on top of Andretti's and they slid tangled for several metres with the bottom of Moraes' car appearing to be resting on Andretti's helmet.It took more than five minutes for officials to remove Moraes' car so that the medical team could attend to Andretti, who eventually was able to walk away from the scene.Andretti was briefly taken to the medical centre and released.IndycarMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 South Korea claims Olympics profit Economist Lee Dong-hun reckons the fiscal value of South Korea's Winter Olympics performance is worth a cool £12bnAs the England World Cup 2018 bid team announced npower as a sponsor this week, they suggested the Cup could be worth a £3bn cash injection to the British economy. A tidy sum, but a bagatelle compared to the 20.2 trillion Won (£12bn) economist Lee Dong-hun estimated as the fiscal value of South Korea's Winter Olympics performance in the latest JoongAng Daily.Lee believes the country's success, a fifth place in the medals table topped off by Kim Yu-na's spectacular gold in the figure skating, translates financially to represent 2% of South Korea's gross domestic product.The figures, which are exceptionally high and hard to verify, are broken down into approximately £1bn in national promotions, £485m from the improvement of corporate brand recognition and £9bn in increased corporate revenues. He also estimates that the Games have been worth £2bn in indirect effects, including enhancing public morale – an important factor in a country constantly measuring itself against its northern neighbour.Lee refers to this as promoting the Korea "brand" that will boost Pyeongchang's bid to host the 2018 Olympics, saying that: "Korea realised its DNA of success once again."It was a good week all round for the brand. Park Ji-sung scored for Manchester United against Milan in the Champions League, teenaged golfer Noh Seung-wul won the Malaysian Open, and on Thursday Kyodo News announced that the second head-to-head golf team event against Japan would take place in Seoul in September, in what could turn into the Asian Ryder Cup.Winter Olympics 2010South KoreaGiles Richardsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Williams 'devastated' by Weird Al injury • Highly promising chaser forced out of RSA Chase by injury• Three Sandown winners shows Paul Nicholls is in brilliant formWeird Al will miss Wednesday's RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, for which he had been third-favourite. The seven-year-old has suffered a suspected stress fracture to a cannon bone on the gallops at the Worcestershire yard of his trainer, Ian Williams."He will have an MRI scan next week, which should confirm the injury," Williams said. "I have never been so devastated about a horse before and I'm mortified for the owners."This wasn't any race meeting, it was Cheltenham. He was to have gone there for the RSA, in an exceptional year, with an excellent chance in my book. We still have him and thankfully the prognosis from our team of vets is very good."Despite the news that such a serious contender had been ruled out, Paul Nicholls remained unwilling to commit The Nightingale to run in the RSA. His horse, unbeaten in two starts over fences, is one of 16 entries but the champion trainer is concerned about exposing him to such a hard race so early in his career."He's all right to run if I want to, but I'm not actually desperate to run him because I'm thinking next year as much as anything with him. I'd still think the wisest move is to go to Aintree with him and then look after him for next year," Nicholls said."If I knew he would definitely get the trip and was a real, real stayer, you'd go, but there's still a doubt and if I give him a really hard race there, that might not help me. So I've got to discuss it with Graham [Roach, the owner] and see. If a couple of the top ones didn't run, then you'd have a think about it. I'd say, very unlikely."Nicholls had three winners here this afternoon, including Red Harbour, whose 5lb penalty might be enough to get him into the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on Friday. The trainer said the horse "might well" run in the Festival race, for which he is a 10-1 shot.Qaspal, the impressive winner of today's Imperial Cup, is the new favourite for the Martin Pipe, as well as for the County Hurdle, which will also take place at Cheltenham on Friday. The County is the favoured option for connections, who will pick up a £75,000 bonus from bookmakers Paddy Power if he can win at the Festival, but he is still so far down the weights that he may not make the final field for either race.Sarah Hobbs, wife of Qaspal's trainer, Philip, pointed out that the yard had won both the Imperial Cup and the County Hurdle with Moody Man in 1990, the year before a cash bonus was first offered for winning both races.Tony McCoy had boiled himself down to make the weight of 10st 3lb on Qaspal, 2lb below the lowest weight at which he had ridden in the past year.Normally a gaunt figure, he was coughing and grey as he discussed his victory in the winner's enclosure."They went real fast and it just meant that he was pretty much flat out all the way," the champion jockey said, "but the one thing he was going to do was come home well. He just nodded a bit on landing [at the second-last] but in fairness to him, from there on, the more we started to climb, the more he started to pick up."McCoy also passed on word of Binocular, an 8-1 chance for Tuesday's Champion Hurdle after he was finally confirmed as a definite runner. "He schooled really well on Wednesday morning and I rode him work yesterday and I was happy with him, didn't see any reason why he shouldn't run."On Wednesday, it was probably the best he's schooled or jumped all season.He hasn't had a great preparation but at the same time it's the Champion Hurdle. He's entitled to take his chance."Binocular's trainer, Nicky Henderson, also offered hope that the horse might end a disappointing season on a high. "I think we have reason to hope that he has [turned the corner]. The way he schooled the other morning, that was what we were waiting to see. The only thing that's been missing has been his hurdling technique, which used to be spectacular."Tactfully, Henderson declined requests to put his three Champion Hurdle contenders into any kind of pecking order. "I've got three chances, is my only attitude to it. I'd love to see [Punjabi] retain it. I would love to see Binocular win because I always, in my heart of hearts, felt that he would win last year. And we've always believed in him and now there are doubters and we always like proving doubters wrong."And Zaynar is a very likeable, very honest horse. I've got three shots and I've got to say to the owners that any one of them can win."The trainer deplored the betting public's seeming coolness towards the reigning champion, Punjabi, also an 8-1 shot for Tuesday's race. "He lacks that sort of sex appeal. If I painted him pink, he'd probably be everybody's favourite."Henderson made a point of sympathising with Weird Al's connections, saying: "I feel sorry for everybody who goes through this. We've got to go back tonight and go through all my lot and we know what's going to happen.There'll be catastrophes everywhere and there'll be a lot of tears before it starts, let alone before it finishes."Running plans have been clarified for a number of the trainer's horses that held multiple entries this week. Dave's Dream will go for the Jewson Novice Handicap Chase rather than the Grand Annual, Quantitativeeasing for the Coral Cup rather than the Neptune and Bellvano for the County rather than the Supreme.With 36 horses expected to run at Cheltenham this week, Henderson faces a challenge to his organisational skills, though he appeared relaxed at the prospect. "If you've got one horse, you've got enough to worry about – with that sort of number, you know there are going to be niggles and cuts and lumps and bumps and sneezes."And that's why I think we all get absolutely fangled from it. It hasn't been too bad. The cat's still alive."It's 361 days to put it all together. Jumping has somehow got to the situation where four days is the summit of a racehorse's life. It's something that we're all passionate about. We all know it is the pinnacle of everything that has got to do with this great sport. This is it."Henderson's trio will have to beat Solwhit on Tuesday, as the Irish runner has been declared a likely runner after recovering from a spell of coughing this week. "He scoped clean earlier this morning so he will travel over tonight but obviously we will be monitoring him closely," said his trainer, Charles Byrnes."It was very strange, because he didn't go off his food and looked well in himself, it was just that he was coughing. There was no virus or anything, none of the other horses have coughed, so it really is a bit of a mystery."Obviously it is not ideal to have something like this happen so close to the Champion Hurdle but he seems fine now. He'll be monitored on the journey there and when he gets there but the intention is to run and, as long as he's 100%, he will."Cheltenham festivalHorse racingPaul NichollsChris Cookguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Out-of-touch Kuznetsova loses early • Favourite loses 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to Carla Suárez Navarro• Rafael Nadal cruises through in men's drawThe top seed and world No3 Svetlana Kuznetsova has lost in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.In a horridly error-strewn display she was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 by Spain's Carla Suárez Navarro. "The tennis ball is perfect; I am not perfect," the Russian said.Kuznetsova, who had not played in a month and had a first-round bye, made 69 unforced errors and served seven double-faults against a player 39 places below her in the rankings. Suárez Navarro next plays Agnes Szavay of Hungary."It's frustrating because I know I have the game," said Kuznetsova. "I feel great. I do practice, play unbelievable and then I get to the match and I don't do much. I play tennis for like 17 years and I still cannot put this little ball in this huge court. It's frustrating ..."Suárez Navarro, who made her name by beating Venus Williams in the 2009 Australian Open, played only 14 winners against Kuznetsova's 34.Another former world No1, Ana Ivanovic was also a shock loser, thrashed 6-2,6-4 by Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.The No3 seed Victoria Azarenka made much easier work of dispatching Austria's Sybille Bammer 6-1, 7-5 and the No8 seed Sam Stosur dispatched Julie Coin of France 6-1, 7-6. She will now face the 25th seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Karolina Sprem 6-3, 6-1. The two-time champion Kim Clijsters, seeded 14th, beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-1.In the men's tournament, the reigning champion Rafael Nadal breezed into the third round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany's Rainer Schuettler on Saturday to set up a third-round meeting with Croatia's Mario Ancic, who struggled past France's Julien Benneteau 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.Novak Djokovic, seeded No2, had a topsy-turvy 6-1, 0-6, 6-2 win over Mardy Fish in a reprise of the 2008 final. The Serb's opponent in the third round will be Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.Marin Cilic was the main casualty of the day. The Croatian No8 seed, who reached the Australian Open semi-final, was crushed in the second set as Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez won 7-6, 6-0.Tennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Huddersfield Giants 26-20 Leeds Rhinos • Salford come back from 18-4 down for first win of season • Coach hopes 26-22 victory will begin a resurgenceSalford's coach, Shaun McRae, expects his side to begin a march up the Super League table after the Reds earned their first win of the season with a 26-22 comeback victory at Harlequins.The visitors were 18-4 down after 50 minutes at The Stoop, but came back with a vengeance, thanks to a Steven Tyrer hat-trick. And McRae has urged his team to build on the confidence boost of the unlikely triumph."It is a massive relief to get that first win and get off the foot of the table," he said. "I am hoping this is the catalyst for us – we have lit the fuse for the season now and it is up to us to carry on the work."We have had some good performances against the bigger sides this campaign but did not get anything out of them, so this is a massive confidence boost."The key for us was possession – out of the last 15 sets in the game 10 were ours and that tells you everything."We knew if we kept the ball we would have a chance of wearing Harlequins down and that came to happen."No disrespect to Harlequins but we will have some bigger challenges ahead. We will go into those games in confidence."In a scrappy game befitting a bottom-of-the-table match there was precious little guile but plenty of effort on display in the opening half.The Reds took an early lead when Karl Fitzpatrick dummied his way over in what was to prove their only real attack of the half. But, with a distinct lack of cutting edge, it was not until half an hour that the hosts scored.Danny Orr wriggled his way over to give Quins the lead, and they extended this moments later when Karl Temata crashed over.When Lamont Bryan went over shortly after the interval it looked like game over, but the Reds had other ideas.Tyrer grabbed his first thanks to Fitzpatrick's lofted pass, and minutes later some slick passing put him in the corner again. The game was suddenly in the balance, and when Jodie Broughton scorched in with five minutes left Salford scented victory.There was still time for Tyrer to complete his hat-trick and Ben Jones-Bishop to add a late Quins score but the game was up.Quins' coach, Brian McDermott, was philosophical about seeing his side fall to bottom of the table. He said: "I know people will look at the score and see we lost to Salford and be negative about it but we cannot afford that."It was not a case of us throwing it away. Salford just got hold of the game with their kicking play and we just could not get away from our line in the second half."We did not make some smart decisions and that cost us, but the players will learn from that."Super LeagueHarlequins rugby leagueSalford City RedsRugby leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Contador keeps cool to win Paris-Nice • Spaniard fends off several attacks to secure overall win• Amaël Moinard sprints to victory in final stageAlberto Contador showed great composure to fend off attacks from all sides in a dramatic final stage and clinch the Paris-Nice race for the second time on Sunday.The twice Tour de France champion was attacked in the 119km stage by his fellow Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez but he never panicked.Contador beat the Vuelta champion Valverde by 11 seconds, with last year's winner Sánchez finishing third overall, 25 seconds behind."It is very difficult to win Paris-Nice, especially when you're the man to beat," Contador said. "So it's like a liberation. You have to keep cool. As the years go by, I become more mature."France's Amaël Moinard outsprinted his compatriot Thomas Voeckler at the end of a 70km breakaway as Contador finished safely in the chasing pack three seconds behind. But it was a long day for the 27-year-old, who also won the Paris-Nice race in 2007.Moinard and Voeckler surged ahead of the pack just before the ascent to the Col de la Porte and built a lead of two minutes 25 seconds.Moinard secured the polka-dot jersey for the best climber and the Slovakian prodigy Peter Sagan, who clinched two stages in the race, took the green jersey for the points classifications.Contador was on his own as the peloton reached the foot of the Col d'Eze, a 4.2km ascent, after his team-mates failed to follow the pace of the Caisse d'Epargne and Katusha teams.Spain's Joaquín Rodríguez, who started seventh overall, 36 seconds behind, attacked in the climb, prompting Contador to react. He swiftly caught Rodríguez, with Valverde and Sánchez on his wheel.Contador then launched a preventive attack to drop Sánchez but the Caisse d'Epargne rider managed to come back with the Estonian champion, Rein Taaramae.Contador, sandwiched in between Rodríguez, Sánchez and Valverde, showed great poise to hold them off as a group of some 15 riders joined the chase. Voeckler and Moinard resisted, with the latter pipping his compatriot in the final stretch."I am so happy," said Moinard. "I have the polka-dot jersey and I win a stage. We had some head wind so I let Thomas launch the sprint so I could surprise him."Cyclingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Meadows takes silver in 800m at Doha • Briton finishes second to Russia's Mariya Savinova• Meadows sets personal best and British record in DohaJenny Meadows produced the finest performance of her career but still had to settle for a silver medal in the 800 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Doha.Meadows, looking to add to wins for Dwain Chambers in the 60 metres and Jessica Ennis in the pentathlon, ran a superb race to again smash the British record she took from Kelly Holmes last month.But the world outdoor bronze medallist was unable to hold off the reigning European indoor champion, Mariya Savinova, in the final straight, the Russian's longer strides carrying her to a narrow victory.Savinova ran 1min 58.26sec, the fastest time in the world this year and 0.17sec ahead of Meadows.Meadows, whose only defeats this year have been at the hands of Savinova, followed the fast early pace before hitting the front with 300m remaining.The British team captain had opened a four-metre gap at the bell but was gradually reeled in by the fast-finishing Russian."With 100m to go I was thinking 'I am going to win it, I am going to win it'," Meadows said. "I looked up at the screen and I saw who was behind me and I kept thinking 'Keep going, keep driving'."Maria has run 52.05 for 400m this year and I knew I was up against it. When she passed I thought 'Keep driving'. I thought she was coming back ever so slightly at the end."Meadows, who won $20,000 (£13,000) prize money, added: "It was a big challenge and the girls were enormously strong."When I saw the time I told myself at least it was a new PB. This event is very different and the medal is special to me."The men's 4x400m relay team won a surprise bronze in a bizarre race which saw athletes from the Bahamas and Jamaica pull up with injuries on the second leg. The United States were runaway winners ahead of Belgium and Britain's quartet of Conrad Williams, Nigel Levine, Chris Clarke and Richard Buck.Elsewhere, Steve Lewis was equal sixth in the pole vault and Helen Clitheroe eighth in the 1500m.Shot putter Carl Myerscough and the women's 4x400m relay team were both last in their competitions, Samson Oni finished seventh in the high jump and Joice Maduaka went out in her 60m semi-final.Meanwhile, Chambers is now concentrating on further glory at the European Championships after adding the world indoor title to the European crown he won in Turin last year.After being banned for drug offences, he has few chances to compete on the circuit and is ineligible for the Olympics or Commonwealth Games, but is determined not to be bitter about his situation."I've had an opportunity to sit down and analyse my situation and there's only two ways I can go about it," he said."I can be bitter about things or I can be positive about it. These are the cards I've been dealt and I'm going to use them to the best of my ability, concentrate on running and I enjoy that. It makes me a lot more happier so I'll just do that."Chambers, only the second Briton to win the 60m gold medal, added: "I'm just going to concentrate on the opportunities I do have, and the next is winning at the European Championships."AthleticsDwain Chambersguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Pacquiao retains title with points victory • Filipino wins unanimous points decision• Pacquiao feels Mayweather clash could still happenManny Pacquiao has defended his WBO welterweight title with a comfortable points victory over Joshua Clottey in Dallas. The Filipino scored a 120-108, 119-109, 119-109 but could not find Clottey's breaking point as he maintained his proud record of never having been stopped.The Ghanaian entered the ring with a flamboyant dance but he failed to show as much imagination once the fight started and Pacquiao was always on top."He's a very tough opponent. He was looking for a big shot," Pacquiao said after the fight, which took place in front of a crowd of 50,994, the biggest in the US for 17 years.Pacquiao also revealed the he still has hopes that a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr may still go ahead. "I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it's up to him," he told Associated Press.The pattern Saturday's fight would take was established early in the first round when, despite Clottey's peek-a-boo defence, Pacquiao still managed to advance against his taller opponent and throw punches with both hands from all angles. It was the same style that gave him spectacular wins in his past three fights and though Clottey was clearly the bigger fighter, he rarely sought to use his reach advantage.Clottey's corner was urging him to take some risks late on but even in the final round, when he needed a knockout to win, the Ghanaian only sparingly dropped his guard.Manny PacquiaoBoxingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 France 46-20 Italy Six Nations: France are on the verge of a grand slam after they brushed aside Italy in Paris   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Eddie Butler: Wrecking-ball rugby dulls the senses No tries are scored at Murrayfield, while Ireland keep alive Triple Crown hopes with a win over WalesA bruising 15-all draw at Murrayfield withdrew England from the Six Nations title race, while Ireland kept their hopes alive with a comfortable home victory over Wales. France, the unbeaten favourites, play Italy today at the Stade de France.Penalties and a drop goal were the order of the day in Scotland. There was not a try scored in the Calcutta Cup encounter, which is not so very rare, given it has happened three times in a row now in Edinburgh. Jonny Wilkinson, knocked out in a collision with Max Evans and his own captain, Steve Borthwick, wobbled away from the action, which is not so very rare either. He was not the only player knocked senseless, for Ugo Monye and Kelly Brown clashed heads and both had to leave the field, England's wing on a stretcher. This was an advert for rugby as combat rather than entertainment.Alastair Kellock was laid out too, but having received attention near the half-way line he recovered and stood up to find the ball coming his way out of the evening sky. He proved his fitness to continue by making a catch and smoothly passing the ball on.Both teams had chances to win the game, but Toby Flood was short with a long penalty and wayward with a drop-goal attempt at the very end. Dan Parks hit the post twice with long-range penalties. It was simply tough all round, wrecking-ball rugby that was painful in every sense.At least there were tries in Dublin as Ireland, 27-12 winners, did to Wales at home what they had done to England at Twickenham, remaining at ease when without the ball and striking every time a chance with it came their way.It was the day when Brian O'Driscoll won his 100th cap, and seemed ready-made for a special performance from the leader of Ireland's golden generation. The captain made a mark or two with his tackling and was involved in the passing for Ireland's first try, but it was two of the younger brigade who stole the show. Keith Earls scored two tries, the other coming from the real star turn, Tomas O'Leary, who directed the defensive and offensive operations with precision.Just as influential was Paul O'Connell who stole several throws on the Welsh line-out and made emphatic gains with his runs in open play. Nothing had stuck in his hands in earlier rounds, but here he caught everything bar one late restart and galloped into space. His offload to his scrum-half for Ireland's second try was a sweet touch of class.There was nothing sweet about the Welsh performance, only a repetition of the bad bits of previous rounds without the counterbalancing beauty of a comeback. An echo of the defeat at Twickenham was provided when they lost Lee Byrne to the sin-bin in the first half and immediately leaked two tries.At least there were no interception tries, the Welsh downfall against France. In fact, here at Croke Park they now had a chance to overcome a half-time deficit smaller than those they had faced before. Against England, Scotland and France they had trailed after 45 minutes by 17, 12 and 20 points respectively. Yesterday they trailed by 10, but having worked their way to within five metres of the Irish line not long into the second period they lost a scrum against the head and the spark seemed to go out of their revival. The longer the game went on the less progress the vaunted Welsh attack made.The line-out improved but the three-quarters drifted across the field and no clear breaks were made. Jamie Roberts had made some gains with his runs in the first half, but was halted in the second, and without any thrust in the centre, Wales became more and more careless with the ball.Ireland defended stoutly and then struck, with a penalty, Earls's second try and a drop goal by Jonathan Sexton. If the outside half had kicked with anything approaching his customary accuracy – he landed only three place-kicks from seven attempts – the winning margin would have been a gulf.England have lost once, to Ireland, and this draw means that only Ireland or France can take the title. France play England on Saturday in Paris, while Ireland hope to complete the Triple Crown by beating Scotland in Dublin. This will be the last game they play at Croke Park, their home for the past four seasons while Lansdowne Road is being rebuilt.Wales face Italy in Cardiff, a match to determine where the wooden spoon will go. This is not exactly what Wales had in mind as they entertained serious hopes of their own only eight weeks ago. The inquest into what went wrong in Dublin is likely to be bitter and prolonged. Such is the way in Wales.England are likely to be too dented to be doing much more than recover over the next few days. The only talking point they have generated in the championship concerns the physical toll of modern international rugby. You could tell by the way that Dr James Robson, the Scottish team doctor, ran repeatedly and urgently on to the field that something decidedly dangerous was going on before his very eyes.Rugby unionEngland rugby union teamScotland rugby union teamIreland rugby union teamWales rugby union teamEddie Butlerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 England crawl towards Bangladesh win • England 599-6 dec & 131-5; Bangladesh 296Alastair Cook warned that he was a conservative captain and don't we know it. If a first-innings lead of 303 against the weakest Test nation is not a sound basis for enforcing the follow-on, then nobody is safe.Cook's decision, in his first Test as England's stand-in captain, was bound to attract some indignation, although it seemed logical enough. England's lead at the close of the third day had been extended to 434 with five wickets remaining; there was not even the hint of a storm in the Bay of Biscay and unless the pitch is dug up overnight by the Hilly People – not a Bangladeshi gay pop group, but indigenous settlers fighting for land rights – victory looks inevitable.There is always a clamour for the imposition of the follow-on and a quick kill but Cook (Con) chose to live within his limitations. England had chosen only four specialist bowlers, one of them, Stuart Broad, had just come back from back trouble and another, the debutant Steven Finn, has unproven stamina. The failure to select James Tredwell as a second spinner forced the captain's hand.Bangladesh, stubborn enough to eke out their first innings to 90.5 overs, had just about earned a temporary reprieve on a hot afternoon. Anyway, there is no point finishing too early – there are not too many alternative attractions in Chittagong.The case for Cook was not enhanced, however, by England's negligent second innings. They sought to be positive but their focus wavered and Cook, caught at deep square, was the first of five batsmen to fall to spin. Three wickets tumbled in five overs late in the day, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Carberry both falling to borderline lbw decisions in favour of the slow left-armers. To England's embarrassment, Ian Bell will have to try to stodge towards a declaration on the fourth morning.Criticism of Cook would be tempered if England outdid their 329-run margin against Bangladesh seven years ago, which would assure them of one of their three highest victory margins in history. "Harrmph," came one macho snort. "Innings wins are always better."It was the brilliance of England's fielding which hastened their progress towards what should be, however the cloth is cut, a comfortable victory. Carberry has experienced the joy of a Test debut in Chittagong whereas Tredwell's anticipated first cap never materialised, but they will share equal acclaim.On a stultifying afternoon at the ZA Chowdhury Stadium, as the second new ball failed to bring rewards and Bangladesh's lower order mounted unexpected resistance, England's weary fielders were in imminent danger of resembling Antony Gormley statues waiting for the tide to turn. Mushfiqur Rahman might have had a woeful time behind the stumps, but he is capable and brave with the bat and his 79 in a record Bangladeshi eighth-wicket stand of 113, with Naeem Islam, had restored respect.Instead, just as England's four frontline bowlers looked like being exposed, Carberry and Tredwell summoned two moments that must have left their fielding coach, Richard Halsall, purring with delight.Carberry struck first by running out Naeem. Mushfiqur imagined that an ambled two runs were inevitable as he guided Tim Bresnan to third man but Carberry dashed from point, slid and returned the ball to the wicketkeeper with a grace that illustrated why he is regarded as one of the best fielders in the county game. By the time Mushfiqur recognised the danger and sent Naeem back, his partner was doomed.Cook then briefly left the field. Perhaps it was to discuss the follow-on with Andy Flower, perhaps, as England later claimed, it was a toilet break. Either way, Cook was not injured and Tredwell should not have been allowed to come on as a substitute. Mushfiqur thrashed the next ball, from Graeme Swann, to short midwicket and Tredwell flung himself to his right to hold a spectacular catch. Cook immediately returned to the field and Tredwell walked off to an ovation from the England huddle. When Swann bowled Rubel Hossain, Bangladesh had lost their last three wickets in four balls.Tamim Iqbal only added five runs to his overnight 81 before Bresnan bowled him with a beauty, coming round the wicket and leaving him slightly to hit off stump. Finn claimed the rustic nightwatchman Shahadat Hossain as his first Test wicket. Bresnan bowled with great spirit in disheartening conditions, passing the outside edge enough to view his one for 72 as rough justice.England Cricket TeamEngland in Bangladesh 2010Bangladesh Cricket TeamCricketguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 Ferrari's Alonso wins Bahrain grand prix • Spaniard leads Felipe Massa in team 1-2 on debut• Sebastian Vettel finishes fourth after exhaust problemA sweeping one-two victory for the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in the Bahrain grand prix could not obscure the overall dullness of a contest in which, for the first time since 1993, the drivers were not allowed to refuel their cars. A processional race was brought to life only when the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel, a convincing leader for the first hour, developed an exhaust problem which reduced the power from his engine, allowing the Italian cars to pass and relegating the young German driver to an eventual fourth place behind the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.Even the new lightning-fast pit stops to change tyres failed to add to the excitement, partly because they were too brief to provoke much in the way of incident. Most of the drivers made only one mid-race stop and spent most of the time on their radios, talking to their race engineers about the best way to achieve a safe balance between tyre wear and fuel consumption.Add the unwelcome addition of fiddly new corners which turn the Sakhir circuit into a giant go-kart track, and this was the recipe for an unsatisfactory start to the most eagerly anticipated season for years. Apart from the Scuderia Ferrari, overjoyed by their success after the travails of 2009, the team gaining most pleasure from their afternoon's work were probably Lotus, rewarded for their Malaysian-backed efforts to revive a famous name by having their two cars classified as finishers, albeit at the tail of the field in 15th and 17th places. The other new low-budget teams, Hispania and Virgin, saw their cars retire.For the McLarens, which finished third and seventh in the hands of Hamilton and Jenson Button, and the new Mercedes outfit, for which Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished fifth and sixth, there will be some head-scratching among the engineers after their failure to match the leaders' pace. Hamilton found encouragement in his podium place, but Button was unable to get past Schumacher after spending the last 15 laps on the tail of the seven-times champion.Nothing, however, could dim the excitement in the Ferrari pit, where a new regime came under severe criticism after suffering disaster after disaster last season. Following the example set so successfully 12 months earlier by their former technical director Ross Brawn, they abandoned last year's hopeless car midway through the season and concentrated their efforts on preparing for 2010. Today their new F10 showed the kind of reliability that underpinned five of Schumacher's championships, and enough speed to be in the right place when Vettel faltered and the Red Bull's 4sec cushion started to shrink.For Alonso, watched from the grandstand by the King of Spain, this was the best possible start to his career with his new team, making him the sixth driver – after Juan Manuel Fangio, Giancarlo Baghetti, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen – to win his maiden race for Ferrari. Starting from the third slot on the grid, behind Vettel and Massa, he slipped past his team-mate between turns one and two on the opening lap and was in position to take advantage of the pole man's misfortune with 15 laps to go."It's even more special because of the history of the team and the expectations of those who drive for this team," he declared, articulating a sentiment guaranteed to endear him to the numberless fans of the Scuderia around the world. "The guys here at the track and back at the factory in Maranello worked day and night to make this car and we've arrived here very well prepared."There was an extra surge of emotion inside and outside the cockpit of the second Ferrari as Massa crossed the line 16sec behind his team mate on his return to racing after the accident that almost took his life in Hungary last July. "It's fantastic to be here," the little Brazilian said. "I didn't get a good start and lost a position to Fernando, but the race was great and the car was perfect."The day's biggest disappointment was endured by Vettel, whose pole position had been achieved with a lap that won praise from his rivals. "It seems something broke," he said, "but luckily we could continue and finish fourth, but we should have won today. It was positive all weekend, except for the exhaust failure."What became clear yesterday was that Formula One is the new Premier League, with a Big Four whose cars finished in the top eight positions followed by a group of worthy midfield runners (Force India, Renault, Williams and Sauber are the equivalents of Spurs, Aston Villa, Man City and Everton) and a sweaty bunch of relegation contenders. Despite spinning his Force India on the opening lap while blinded by a cloud of oil smoke from Mark Webber's Red Bull, Adrian Sutil looked the most likely to disturb the established order.The last time Ferrari opened a series with a 1-2 win was with Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in Australia in 2004, prefacing the most crushing of the German's championship seasons. Vettel will win races this season, and so will Massa and Hamilton, but the intelligent and consistent Alonso, with 25 points to his name under the new scoring system against Massa's 18 and Hamilton's 15, must be feeling optimistic about the prospect of a third title.Formula OneFerrariMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-14 SEC: Kentucky survives Alabama; Miss. State stumps Florida John Wall had 23 points, including seven straight in the second half to give the Wildcats the lead for good, and No. 2 Kentucky overcame an 11-point ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Ranked teams crash, San Diego State, UNLV prevail in semis San Diego State escaped with a 72-69 upset of No. 8 New Mexico and UNLV followed it up with its own upset of No. 15 Brigham Young, winning 70-66 ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Vettel edges Massa, Alonso for Bahrain Grand Prix pole Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will start Formula One's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position, while Michael Schumacher's comeback ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Bobcats sign Larry Hughes to bolster backcourt The Charlotte Bobcats have signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Quinnipiac beats Union, N.Y., in longest college hockey game ever It took five overtimes and nearly six hours, but Quinnipiac managed to edge out Union College 3-2 early Saturday in the longest hockey game in ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Chief: No cops pictured with Ben Roethlisberger involved in probe The police chief in Milledgeville, Ga., acknowledged on Friday that some of his officers posed for photos with Ben Roethlisberger on the night ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Oregon coach Chip Kelly acts, suspends QB Jeremiah Masoli for 2010 season Taking the same no-nonsense approach he did with former Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount, Ducks coach Chip Kelly has suspended starting ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Responders suspected Tiger Woods, wife, of domestic incident The ambulance crew that responded after golfer Tiger Woods crashed his SUV would not allow his wife to ride with him to the hospital because ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Mike Leach, Craig James in court in Texas Tech deposition Mike Leach sat across from his accuser Saturday as Craig James gave sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech. James, ...   rssfeeds.usatoday.com   2010-03-13 Desire to make history is driving my players on, says Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, believes that his players are being driven on by a desire to become history-makers as the club inch closer to setting a remarkable series of records this season.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Martin Johnson well aware of the danger signs Andy Robinson never played for England against Scotland at Murrayfield. This evening the Scotland side coached by Robinson have the chance to bring England’s campaign in the RBS Six Nations Championship to a grinding halt and confirm the regard in which the former Bath flanker is held both by his players and farther afield.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Rusty Michael Schumacher put in shade by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg It was billed as the biggest sporting comeback of recent times, but Michael Schumacher struggled to shake off three years of retirement to compete with Formula One’s young guns yesterday.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Milestone more like millstone for Liverpool Whatever you say to any pals who support Liverpool this weekend, there is one phrase to avoid. “Happy anniversary” would not be appropriate, for tomorrow it will seem a lot longer than a year since Rafael Benítez’s team went to Old Trafford and, having given Manchester United a goal start, won 4-1.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13

sport news Niall Quinn: owner Ellis Short is loving life at this crazy club Five minutes had gone in Tuesday’s match against Bolton Wanderers and the raucous section of the Stadium of Light, which Niall Quinn refers to as the “Crazy Corner”, found its voice. Sunderland were 1-0 up, but 14 games - spread over three long months - had elapsed with no sniff of victory and relegation was increasingly difficult to banish from the forefront of minds.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Elena Baltacha offers British tennis an antidote The antidote to the ills pervading British tennis was discovered in a far-off desert oasis last night. Elena Baltacha, who has been through so much and endured it all with a determination to make the most of her career, defeated a top ten player for the first time in her life.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Ricky Hatton 'to retire from boxing next week' Ricky Hatton is to announce his retirement from boxing next week.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Premier League LIVE! Follow all today's Premier League action with our Match Tracker, where you can follow each game.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Sebastian Vettel takes pole in qualifying for Bahrain Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel upstaged the returning Michael Schumacher and the other three world champions on show when he grabbed pole for Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Jessica Ennis and Dwain Chambers claim world indoor pentathlon titles in Doha Jessica Ennis and Dwain Chambers claimed gold for Great Britain at the World Indoor Championships on Saturday. The reigning world outdoor heptathlon champion racked up a total of 4,937 points over the one-day, five-discipline event to win with ease, while Chambers clocked 6.48sec, the fastest time of the year, to beat Mike Rodgers, of the United States, in the 60 metres.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Keith Earls takes centre stage to heap more woe on Wales Two tries by Keith Earls and one from Tomas O'Leary steered Ireland to a comfortable win over Wales at Croke Park and kept alive their slim hopes of an RBS Six Nations title.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Didier Drogba scores twice to return Chelsea to top of Premier League table Chelsea returned to the top of the Barclays Premier League with victory over West Ham United, thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba and strikes from Alex and Florent Malouda apiece.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Johan Elmander paves way for Bolton triumph Johan Elmander scored only his third goal of the season to trigger a goal spree that eases Bolton's relegation fears and dumps rivals Wigan deeper into trouble.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Matt Jarvis finishes off struggling Burnley A Matt Jarvis strike and a Clarke Carlisle own goal earned relegation-haunted Wolves a priceless away win, leaving Burnley even deeper in trouble at the bottom of the Premier League.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Villa fail to cash in on Stoke stalemate Aston Villa missed the chance to make ground on their rivals for the final Champions League place, being held to a goalless draw by mid-table Stoke.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Battling Birmingham make their point against Everton Everton's hopes of leapfrogging Birmingham City into eighth place were hit by a resilient performance from Alex McLeish's side. David Moyes saw his team dominate play and establish a two-goal lead in the first half but that was conceded to leave the Midlands side two points clear of Everton.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 Alastair Cook turns up the heat TEST cricket cannot afford many more days like this one. With the Indian Premier League celebrating an exciting start to its new season in Mumbai, the five-day game needed to remind everybody why it remained a spectacle worth watching.   feeds.timesonline.co.uk   2010-03-13 LeBron returns with 23, leads Cavs over Sixers PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- LeBron James had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in his return from a two-game absence, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won for the 14th time in their last 19 road games with a 100-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Els takes the lead at Doral DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Ernie Els was in the lead and off the golf course, and he wasn't sure which made him feel better....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 No. 2 Kentucky downs Alabama 73-67 to start SEC NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- John Wall had 23 points, including seven straight in the second half to give the Wildcats the lead for good, and No. 2 Kentucky overcame an 11-point deficit Friday in beating Alabama 73-67 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Lindsey Vonn clinches 3rd World Cup overall title Lindsey Vonn finished with a fitting flourish, the perfect way to cap a nearly perfect season, one chock full of victories, medals, trophies - and injuries....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Collins, Henry carry No. 1 Kansas past Texas A&M KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Xavier Henry scored 11 points in a stunning 21-2 run that broke a tight game wide open and carried No. 1 Kansas past No. 23 Texas A&M 79-66 in a rough-and-tumble Big 12 semifinal Friday night....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 San Diego State upsets No. 8 New Mexico 72-69 LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Dairese Gary missed a runner in the final second and San Diego State escaped with a 72-69 upset of eighth-ranked New Mexico in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament Friday night....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Twins sign Span to 5-year extension CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins have signed center fielder Denard Span to a five-year, $16.5 million contract extension....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Herbst of Austria wins slalom World Cup title GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) -- Reinfried Herbst gave Austria its only men's title of the season, clinching the slalom crystal globe in the final race on Saturday....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Jones wins hurdles, highlights solid day for US DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- LoLo Jones has defended her title in the 60 meter hurdles by setting a world indoor championships record....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13 Leach faces James in Texas Tech lawsuit deposition LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Mike Leach sat across from his accuser Saturday as Craig James gave sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech....   hosted.ap.org   2010-03-13