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Melbourne Storm blew Manly away in the second half of the NRL Grand Final in Sydney yesterday, running out 34-8 winners.

The outpost club were disappointed to lead only 10-4 after dominating the first half, with tries from Anthony Quinn and the man of the match, Greg Inglis, partly redressed by one by Steve Matai. But three quick tries after the break from Mick Crocker, the Warrington-bound Matt King and a second from Inglis, took them out of sight.

The former St Helens favourite, Jamie Lyon, set one up for another player destined for Warrington, Chris Hicks, briefly to revive Manly’s hopes.

But Melbourne ended strongly with tries from Clint Newton and Quinn underling their superiority. They will now play the Super League winners in England for the World Club Challenge in February.

After the match the Storm’s Jeremy Smith and Jeff Lima were told that they had made the Kiwi squad for the first time for the Test against Australia in Wellington in two weeks.

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Source: sport.independent.co.uk

Serena Williams

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - U.S. Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australian Open champion Serena Williams were a pair of second-round winners Wednesday at the $650,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The second-seeded Kuznetsova held off Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, while the sixth-seeded former world No. 1 Williams handled Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko 7-5, 6-2 at Porsche Arena.

Kuznetsova and Williams will lock horns here in Friday’s quarterfinals.

A second-round upset came when France’s Tatiana Golovin, who titled in Slovenia two weeks ago, grounded fourth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. Golovin was last year’s Stuttgart runner-up to Russian Nadia Petrova. Chakvetadze appeared in the U.S. Open semifinals last month.

The first round concluded with a quartet of matches here on Day 3, as fifth- seeded French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic of Serbia rolled past Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-0, 6-2 and eighth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, the 2002 Porsche runner-up, humbled Czech Lucie Safarova 6-1, 6-3. The red-hot Ivanovic is fresh off her title last week in Luxembourg, where she topped Hantuchova in the finale.

In other opening-round play, Dutch qualifier Michaella Krajicek bested Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 6-2 and Kateryna Bondarenko erased Italian and fellow qualifier Karin Knapp 7-5, 6-0.

Second-round matches will come Thursday for world No. 1 Belgian Justine Henin, third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic, Ivanovic and a seventh-seeded Petrova. The French Open and U.S. Open titlist Henin, the 2001 and 2003 Stuttgart runner-up, will face Russian Dinara Safina, while Jankovic will encounter Israeli Shahar Peer, Ivanovic will meet Kateryna Bondarenko and Petrova will tangle with Krajicek.

The 2007 Stuttgart titlist will claim $92,410.

Source: www.tsn.ca

LIVERPOOL is facing a huge fight for survival in UEFA Champions League Group A after Marseille won 1-0 today to become the first French club to win at Anfield.

Liverpool now has just one point from its opening two games in the group, and the latest result will only fuel the controversy over Rafael Benitez’s love of endlessly rotating his line-up.

Having named a side in which the totally ineffective Sebastian Leto was making only his second start of the season, and striker Peter Crouch his third, Benitez was rewarded with a performance as disjointed as any in his three and a bit seasons in charge.

Marseille midfield player Mathieu Valbeuna settled the contest with a superb strike, curling a 25-metre shot into the top corner of the net as the Liverpool back four stood off him with 25 minutes to play, but the troubled French side might have wrapped up the win much sooner.

The "directors out" banners brandished by the noisy contingent of travelling visiting supporters reflected the fact that Marseille is currently hovering just above the relegation zone in Ligue 1, having won only once in nine matches.

That run cost former head coach Albert Emon his job last week, but Marseille, playing its first match under Emon’s replacement, former Belgium defender Eric Gerets, looked anything but a side in turmoil.

Sharper in the tackle and crisper in their passing than their lacklustre hosts, Gerets’s new charges dominated all but the final five minutes of the match and were unfortunate not to have taken a first-half lead.

Mamadou Niang spurned the best chance, firing a 13th-minute shot straight at Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina from 12 metres after midfield player Karim Ziani had robbed Fabio Aurelio of possession and played the Senegal striker in behind the Liverpool back four.

The frustrating opening half for Benitez’s side was epitomised by its only meaningful strike on goal, a long-range free kick from Aurelio that might have found the corner of the net had referee Konrad Plautz not been standing in the way.

Plautz did not improve his standing with the Anfield faithful by booking Gerrard shortly afterwards for what was close to a textbook challenge on Benoit Cheyrou.

But the Austrian official did Liverpool a huge favour 10 minutes before the break, failing to ignore the flag his assistant had raised as Niang got in front of Aurelio to meet a low cross from left-back Taye Taiwo.

Reina blocked the striker’s shot at close range but Cheyrou netted the loose ball. The goal was disallowed even though television replays suggested that Niang should have been given the benefit of the doubt on the offside decision.

Nearly an hour had elapsed before Liverpool carved out its first half-chance of the match.

Steve Finnan’s cross from the right was at an inviting height for Crouch, but the front man’s attempt at a volley resulted in an embarrassing air shot that will have done little for the confidence of the unsettled striker.

Marseille had greater reason for alarm when Gerrard intercepted an attempted clearance, but the Liverpool captain’s strike skidded a metre wide of goalkeeper Steve Mendanda’s left post.

Marseille lived dangerously in injury-time, after Valbuena’s piece of magic had given in the lead, with centre-back Julien Rodriguez blocking Yossi Benayoun’s goalbound header and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres striking the post, but there was no disputing that the visitors deserved a milestone win that leaves them top of the group with a maximum six points.

Agence France-Presse

Source: foxsports.com.au

The New Zealand No 8 Sione Lauaki has been cited for an alleged dangerous tackle during this Pool C victory in Toulouse on Saturday and will face a disciplinary hearing in Paris today. Lauaki was reported by the match citing commissioner, John West, for a tackle on the Romania wing Gabriel Brezoianu.

The All Blacks continued their march through the World Cup with a crushing victory. There was nothing riding on the match, with the All Blacks having swept into the quarter-finals on the back of emphatic wins over Italy, Portugal and Scotland, yet they showed a great desire to take their tournament points tally – 224 going into the match – over 300. They eventually ran 13 tries past the outclassed Romanians.

The wing Joe Rokocoko led the way with a hat-trick and Sitiveni Sivivatu and Isaia Toeava scored twice.

New Zealand: Tries Sivivatu 2, Masoe, Rokocoko 3, Evans, Mauger, Toeava 2, Hore, Smith, Howlett; Conversions McAlister 4, Evans 6. Romania: Try Tincu; Penalty Vlaicu.

New Zealand: N Evans; J Rokocoko, I Toeava, A Mauger, S Sivivatu; L McAlister, A Ellis; N Tialata, K Mealamu, G Somerville, R Thorne, K Robinson, J Collins (capt), C Masoe, S Lauaki. Replacements: R McCaw for Masoe, 55; C Jack for Robinson, 55; D Howlett for McAlister, 55; B Leonard for Ellis, 59; C Smith for Sivivatu, 61.

Romania: I Dumitras; S Ciuntu, C Gal, R Gontineac, G Brezoianu; I Dimofte, L Sirbu; B Balan, M Tincu, S Florea, S Socol (capt), C Petre, F Corodeanu, A Manta, O Tonita. Replacements: C Ratiu for Corodeanu, 48; R Mavrodin for Tincu, 53; F Vlaicu for Dumitras, 61; V Calafeteanu for Sirbu, 62; V Ursache for Manta, 67; C Dascalu for Gontineac, 70.

Referee: J Jutge (France).

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Source: sport.independent.co.uk

This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details here.

Written by Shane Coghlan

At the best of times football is a beautiful sport. Watching the Argentineans leave their opposing team standing motionless like Wayne Rooney when asked a basic math question or watching the Aussies bash their way to a sweet victory can often bring a tear to the eye, a fart of excitement or a beer chug of admiration.

Sometimes when I lay on the couch at 2 o’clock in the morning (bloody time zones!), watching the Toons put in that one performance each season that makes you scream “Premiership Contenders!” I scratch the exposed bald patches on my inner thighs (BIG fan of the dressing gown) and wish that what I was seeing would never end, that all there was to life was sitting in front of the couch flicking only between sports channels, some form of Playboy TV and Neighbours… Actually could probably skip that last one as it is nothing without Holly Valance.

But still, the point remains, football can excite and intrigue like no other…or am I wrong about that? Can Football truly compare to the beauty of women? Does an Obafemi Martins goal celebration lift the spirits as well as a “bend and snap” from a miniskirt wearing stranger lifts the…eyebrows? Does pulling on the black and white (or whatever inferior strip you happen to like) fill you with the same pride as looking back at your mates while dancing with a hot chick (In my case moderately attractive :P)?

It’s a tough call that much like religion could be argued in my head for the rest of my life without getting any closer to the answer… Well maybe not that deep But rather than decide I am asking why the two haven’t been combined to make for the ultimate spectacle?

I often think that the idea of half time entertainment has been overlooked by FIFA and its associates. After watching players like the aforementioned Wayne Rooney and other players like Drogba and Milner (You have to admit Geordies, ugly bugger) run around for 1 ½ hours and looking to the stands to see large fans with their tops off (it’s always the big ones :P) it wouldn’t be bad to see a few girls dancing around at half time.

There’s often not much going on during the break and after watching a game that could be beaten for excitement by playing football with your Lego men I often think of chucking it in. This could all be erased by the cameramen often cutting to a bunch of cheerleaders. This would certainly keep me inspired at 2 o’clock in the morning. Although I wouldn’t be too interested in the line-up from certain parts of England they could be replaced by girls from other parts of the country or even abroad. (Though this would lead to everyone writing about the development of cheerleading in England suffering from becoming too international :P)

I’ve been to a fair few games here in Adelaide and when the game gets pretty poor it can get a tad tedious as endless passionate chanting hasn’t really been embraced by most fans. This is where cheerleaders could add to the atmosphere keeping the fans on their toes and the noise high as the screamingly ask for their number and relay the size of their package.

What kind of hooligan would seriously get involved in a fight while hot women were in attendance? Not only do I think that Cheerleaders would help stop any footie violence, but it would add to the atmosphere and excitement of the game. What do you guys think? Is half time just an energy sapper for the crowd? Are beautiful women the only thing in existence that could make this great game better?

This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details here.

Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Crouch: Given warning

Liverpool chief Rafa Benitez has warned Peter Crouch that he must fight for his place at Anfield.

Crouch has dropped down the pecking order at Liverpool this season with Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andrei Voronin all ahead of him in Benitez’s plans.

The England international has spoken of his frustration at his lack of first-team opportunities, but Benitez has told the giant forward to do his talking on the pitch.

Character

“In a top side every player needs to prove his character, quality and mentality.

“The strikers need to be ready and the responsibility is on the player. When I talk about a good mentality I mean a winning one, trying to fight for your position and show you’re good enough.

“We’re hopefully going to play 60 games so that’s enough for all to have their opportunity.

“If they say they are not ready, in a top side we don’t want excuses. We want players who are ready to play every game the best they can.

“It doesn’t just apply to Crouch but to all of them. For me it’s better if a player plays 50 per cent of the games working at 100 per cent and not 90 per cent in all games and not win anything.”

No problem

Benitez also called on Crouch to use the example of Yossi Benayoun by playing his way into his plans

“Benayoun showed what can happen if you work hard and you’re ready. But I don’t have a problem with Crouch - he’s learning,” added Benitez.

“It’s frustrating for them but when they are left out they must be ready for the next game.

“Sides do evolve and you do lose players along the way. That is inevitable.

“It isn’t easy to find players like Jamie Carragher, who stay at one club and retain a winning mentality. But Crouch will score goals and must be ready when he gets a chance.”

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Source: www.skysports.com

Didier Drogba

VALENCIA, Spain - Didier Drogba scored a second-half goal Wednesday to give Chelsea a 2-1 win at Valencia in the Champions League.

Drogba ran on to Joe Cole’s long through ball before beating goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand in the 71st minute.

David Villa gave Valencia the lead after spinning around defender John Terry and beating goalkeeper Petr Cech to the loose ball in the ninth. Joe Cole equalized in the 21st by knocking in a cross from Florent Malouda with Emiliano Moretti also channeling for the ball.

"I think the Chelsea fans today will be very happy, not just for the results but the way we played," Chelsea coach Avram Grant said. "It was one of our best games in the UEFA away."

Related Info

• Matchday Two Team of the Week
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Terry, who had surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone Sunday, returned wearing a protective face mask and played the entire match in Grant’s European debut.

"For me it was an easy decision, when you see John Terry you see a player who plays with all of his heart," Grant said. "A big player has to be a good example and I don’t think you could be a better example than this."

Grant took over for Jose Mourinho shortly after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against visiting Rosenborg in the first game of the group stage. Chelsea has four points in Group B, while Valencia stayed with three.

Cole side-footed a long through ball from inside his own half to release Drogba, who shrugged off his defender to reach it at the edge of the area before sending it over Hildebrand and into the top right of goal.

"I’m not surprised (with the victory) . . . the last two weeks have been a very difficult time and we played well the last two games in the league," Grant said. "I’m happy with the win, but I’m more happy with the effort."

Drogba, who missed the 1-1 draw to Rosenborg with a thigh problem, started in place of Andriy Shevchenko in attack.

Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores stuck with Hildebrand for the fifth straight match despite regular goalkeeper Santiago Canizares having recovered from injury.

Villa deflected Michael Essien’s clearance high before spinning around Terry and the last of Chelsea’s back line to get to it for his sixth Champions League goal.

Fernando Morientes turned to send Joaquin Sanchez in alone along the right in the 21st minute but Cech was there to save.

Chelsea immediately pushed up the field on the next play. Drogba passing to Malouda, who drew Hildebrand out of his crease before Cole beat Moretti to the centering pass.

Villa and Drogba both saw shots from beyond the edge of area miss over the bar soon after. In the 26th, Villa shot over the bar of the open net.

"At the end of the first half it was a pity we weren’t ahead," Sanchez Flores said. "What counts in the end is not statistics but the number of goals. The small details are important and we made two big errors."

Terry’s header glanced wide to open the second half, with Moretti nearly heading in at the far post off a long cross in the 54th.

With both teams stuttering, Sanchez Flores substituted Morientes for Nikola Zigic in the 69th, and the Serbia striker created space up front on his Valencia debut.

But after Drogba’s goal two minutes later, Chelsea held on with Cech saving shots from substitute Ruben Baraja at the whistle.

Meanwhile in Glasgow, Scottland Scott McDonald scored a 90th-minute goal in Group D action.

Stephan McManus had given Celtic the lead in the 62nd minute at Celtic Park, scoring from a corner, but Kaka equalized in the 68th from the penalty spot.

After McDonald’s goal, a fan ran onto the field and Milan goalkeeper Dida was soon on the ground clutching his face. Dida was taken off the field on a stretcher and replaced by Zeljko Kalac for the remaining minutes of injury time.

Both sides struggled through most the match, which was played in heavy rain.

Mathieu Valbuena gave Marseille a 1-0 victory at Liverpool in Group A, with the visitors becoming the first French team to win at Anfield.

The 77th-minute goal gave new coach Erik Gerets a perfect start to his Marseille career.

Mohamed Sissoko lost possession for the Reds, allowing Valbuena to score from the edge of the penalty area. Goalie Pepe Reina could do little to stop the ball from dropping into the net off the inside of the crossbar.

The Reds fought for an equalizer in injury time with Sami Hyypia turning Andriy Voronin’s corner wide, Yossi Benayoun seeing a header deflected away from goal and Fernando Torres hitting the post after Steve Mendana initially saved at the feet of Steven Gerrard.

Gerets had faced a daunting match, just a week after replacing Albert Emon, who was fired despite beating Besiktas 2-0 in its European opener.

Liverpool, which lost last season’s final to AC Milan, drew its first Group A match 1-1 at FC Porto.

Jermaine Jones and Kevin Kuranyi scored second-half goals to give Schalke a 2-0 victory over Rosenborg in Group B play.

Jones capitalized on Rosenborg’s sloppy central defence to give the visitors the lead in the 62nd minute. Unmarked inside the box, the midfielder beat Canadian international goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld to silence a near sellout crowd of 21,361 at Lerkendal stadium, Europe’s northernmost Champions League venue.

Kuranyui added a second goal in the 89th, curling the ball past the Edmonton ‘keeper.

It was Schalke’s second win away in three Champions League campaigns. The only previous win came in 2001 against Mallorca (4-0).

Schalke, unbeaten in eight Bundesliga games and second in the standings, earned its first three points after losing 1-0 to Valencia in the Group B opener. Rosenborg drew Chelsea 1-1.

Kuranyi had three scoring chances in the first half, which the German side dominated.

In the eighth minute, the Schalke striker shot over the crossbar from close range. Two minutes later, he broke through all alone in the box, but Hirschfeld blocked the shot.

In the 36th, Kuranyi hit a volley inside the box that just missed the target.

Schalke was missing three players, including German national team defender Christian Pander.

For Rosenborg, playing its 11th Champions League season, it was the first loss at Trondheim against a German side. The Norwegian team drew Bayern Munich in 1999 and 2000, and Borussia Dortmund in 1999.

Finally in Rome Lazio held nine-time champion Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw Wednesday in the Roman team’s first Champions League game at home in four years.

Ruud van Nistelrooy scored two goals for Madrid, but Goran Pandev equalized each time for Lazio.

Van Nistelrooy, who had missed two games with a calf strain, scored in the eighth and 61st minutes to give him 56 goals in 75 European matches. Pandev answered in the 32nd and 75th.

Van Nistelrooy received the ball all alone behind Lazio’s defence and had only goalie Marco Ballotta to beat for his second goal. Pandev equalized from the edge of the area.

Madrid has four points in Group C and Lazio has two.

With the Stadio Olimpico full, Lazio took the initiative after kickoff, but Fabio Cannavaro blocked Pandev’s shot in the fourth minute and Sergio Ramos stopped a chance for Tommaso Rocchi a minute later.

Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the World Cup title last year, played with a foreign club for the first time in his home country.

Van Nistelrooy scored on Madrid’s first opportunity, redirecting a free kick from Wesley Sneijder.

Cannavaro made a difficult play on Rocchi in the 18th to start a counter-attack and a defensive error led to another Lazio chance in the 26th, but Pandev couldn’t get the ball to Rocchi, who was wide open.

In the 28th, Cristian Ledesma sent a free kick in on goal which Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas calmly caught. Two minutes later, Rocchi set up Pandev with only Casillas to beat but Pandev shot high.

Pandev made up for his error with his first goal, finishing off a beautiful play. Luciano Zauri sent the ball over to Guglielmo Stendardo, who headed the ball over to Pandev, and the Macedonia striker pounded the ball in.

Madrid ended the half with two chances. Sergio Ramos strode into Lazio’s area in the 37th but shot wide and Arjen Robben’s attempt from beyond the area was caught by the 43-year-old Ballotta in the 44th.

Both sides kept their energy level up to start the second half.

Ballotta had to make a diving save to stop a bicycle kick by Van Nistelrooy in the 51st and Stefano Mauri wasted a chance in the 52nd because he thought he was offside.

Van Nistelrooy had another chance in the 53rd but couldn’t get a good shot off. Rocchi had a chance inside Madrid’s box in the 57th but shot wide from a difficult angle.

Madrid hosts Olympiakos next and Lazio visits Werder Bremen.

Source: www.tsn.ca

ST. LOUIS (AP) - One day after insisting he’d stick with Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan benched his banged-up quarterback.

The winless Rams will go with backup Gus Frerotte on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Linehan said Wednesday. Frerotte and Bulger, who has been ineffective while playing with two broken ribs, both got the news Tuesday from the coach and the switch was made public before practice Wednesday.

Linehan also will return to play-calling in an effort to wake up a dormant offense that has scored only two touchdowns, yanking duties from offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Olson was Linehan’s first hire when he got the job last year, and will move to the coaches booth, where he’ll assist the head coach.

Linehan said sitting Bulger was his call after reviewing the last three games, and not a decision made under pressure from superiors.

News:

FORMER Great Britain rugby league stars Andy Farrell and Jason Robinson have been brought into England’s backline for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup showdown with Australia.

Robinson has recovered from a torn hamstring to be picked at fullback while Farrell is a contentious selection at inside centre for the Marseille quarter-final.

Coach Brian Ashton also restored veteran prop Phil Vickery to the front row and captaincy in making five changes to his starting side. Ashton punted on the 110kg Farrell to contain classy Wallabies centres Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock ahead of smaller incumbent Olly Barkley.

The key selection reveals England will take a conservative field-position approach to the 2003 final rematch, relying heavily on the boot of playmaker Jonny Wilkinson.

Ashton denied the direct approach was his struggling England’s only chance to beat the far better placed Wallabies at Stade Velodrome.

"It’s not the only way (to beat Australia) but it may not be the best way either," he said.

It’s a remarkable comeback for 33-year-old Robinson whose career appeared over when he hobbled off Stade de France on September 14 in the 36-0 loss to South Africa with a torn hamstring.

Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri rated the fellow league convert’s loss as massive as he felt he was the only world-class player in England’s backline.

Flanker Josh Lewsey recovered from head knocks against Tonga to be selected ahead of the dynamic Tom Rees in the back row.

Vickery returns ahead of young tight-head Matt Stevens as England aims to repeat the scrum demolition of 2005 at Twickenham.

The veteran prop takes the captaincy from Martin Corry.

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

CHARLESTON, S.C. — New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said Wednesday his mind “never left basketball” throughout a three-week trial where he was found guilty of sexually harassing a former Knicks executive.

“Honestly, my head never left basketball. This is what I’ve done. This is what I do and this is what I think about the majority of the time,” Thomas said after the Knicks’ second day of training camp.

Thomas said a day after the verdict that he wasn’t worried about losing his job and didn’t even talk with the team about the trial before practice.

“We came back extremely focused,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to make sure we stayed focused and keep the team moving. We went right into practice.”

He arrived in South Carolina in time to run Tuesday night’s practice, just hours after a jury in New York found that Thomas and Madison Square Garden sexually harassed Anucha Browne Sanders.

The jury decided only MSG and chairman James Dolan should pay for harassing and firing Browne Sanders. The jury awarded punitive damages of $11.6 million.

Dolan was not expected at training camp, Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranwitz said.

Thomas said it was good to back on the basketball court and see his players again.

“The intensity is great. The energy that everyone is playing with is fantastic,” he said.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Source: sports.espn.go.com