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JUNINHO has warned that on-field thuggery is destroying the A-League’s potential “beautiful game”, saying his natural talent is being suppressed in Australia.

"I am suffering a lot because of the violence," said Juninho, who in recent weeks has become more marked than marquee, particularly while carrying a shoulder injury.

"The tackling is continuous and I know it belongs to football. But it cannot be the main part of the game.

"It is not like this anywhere so it should not be like this here."

Speaking to a Brazilian newspaper Juninho, who has been nursing a shoulder injury since round two, said the A-League needed to look after its skilful players.

"Unfortunately this football has a lot to improve," Juninho said. "Especially the violence which has been used in Australia."

The playmaker made a plea to the A-League’s officials to crack down on referees. "I am begging the referees to do the utmost and all they can to stop the violent game that makes Australia have an ugly football."

Juninho said the Australian game based itself on unfairly stopping the creators of the game. "They first think of tackling and not the football," he said. "Defenders in Australia are extremely violent."

Given the Brazilian’s two spells in England and one in Scotland - arguably the two most physically demanding leagues in the world - his criticism is the more remarkable.

"They have amazing potential (Australian players)," he said. "They have great players in Australia.

"But referees must protect creative and skilled players. We are at the mercy of violence and players who first think to destroy."

Juninho sang the praises of some of the league’s showmen who he said should be given every opportunity to play the beautiful game.

"There are excellent players who could build up an excellent football," he said. "But they become scared.

"I am in love with this country. I am not sorry for my move.

"The only thing I’m saying is for referees to do all they can, to keep the fair play. Because in the end everyone will enjoy it. The public and the creative player will be more secure to show the beautiful game."

Meanwhile, the fallout from Sydney’s clash with Melbourne on Saturday continued yesterday, with FC believed to be contemplating a ban on away supporters.

After widespread reports of bad behaviour by Melbourne fans, Sydney officials are considering refusing to pay for a separate policed section for Victory fans at future games in Sydney, or even banning the purchase of tickets by Victorian residents.

The club believes the cost of providing even more security would mean them making a loss, after a Melbourne fan evaded stewards to confront Sydney fans before the game.

Witnesses said Victory fans tore seats out and smuggled fireworks into the stadium. The situation was further complicated by Sydney fans who threw water bottles at referee Mark Shield as he left the field.

FC officials are reviewing CCTV footage of the incident to identify the perpetrators, determined to set a lead in banning those responsible.

Amid other reports of cars being attacked and officials intimidated by Victory fans, Sydney will discuss with the SCG Trust, who run the SFS, to see what measures that can be taken.

Sydney boss Branko Culina may also come under scrutiny for comments made to the referee, with the FC boss reportedly saying to Shield as he headed towards the tunnel: "If the police need to escort you, it’s not a good sign."

Source: foxsports.com.au

It’s been nearly three months since the last Les Miles is the next Michigan coach thread at Fanblogs, so Brian’s post today at MGoBlog seems like the perfect impetus to discuss the rising drumbeats once more.

As many know, Les Miles is a Michigan man. He played there, he coached there, and many believe his heart is at Michigan.

So, if the position came upon after this season, would Les Miles be interested? Well, he isn’t saying no.

I don’t want you to take the fast, hard line. I want you to hear me out.

I am indebted to that school and those people. Not Lloyd or the president there. But the tremendous memory of Bo Schembechler, and the quality that I was exposed to both academically and in football at the school. So I cannot in any way change that view. That’s an honesty. I can’t tell you my appreciation. My wife, my first born, my entire life is marked by my time at Michigan. Yet, I’m in a wonderful place here. I’ve got a great team. If I lose or have any distraction to that fact, that I would spend fun time, my time on something else like the view of that, would be a mistake. It would be a mistake and I really can’t.

When I was a young coach, I had a school call me. It was so distracting. I did everything that I was supposed to do, but it affected me. Things like this really have no day-to-day change in the way I do things. I woke up at 4 a.m. today and I’m daydreaming, I’m not thinking about anything else but how to make this football team better. That to me is the right feel. I have great confidence in Michigan and they have a great staff there and they’re going to do great things this year. I have no designs and nor has it ever been displayed to me that I’m the next guy, by anybody. I have given little or no thought to things that are not imminent. I really don’t want to spend any more time talking about another program.

Lloyd Carr won a national championship and that staff is as quality as there is. I fully support what they’re doing there.

Readers Digest version….. Miles is the HC at LSU. Lloyd Carr - his friend - is the HC at Michigan. The job is not open & Miles is not going to talk about it, even if he wants it. That’s just the way Miles is, says John Wangler.

When and if the opportunity comes up, I think will Les will consider it strongly. I don’t think there’s reason to tap dance around it. He’d have to look at it seriously. Les is not going to campaign for any job. He’s a friend of Lloyd’s and they worked together on the same staff. You don’t talk about that stuff now.

Wangler, a close fried of Miles hedges a little, but still seems to indicate that Miles would leave LSU for Michigan if offered the job. Miles himself is not saying no, which also leaves the door open.

The NYT notes that even LSU knows that Miles has a heart for Michigan.

No one knows this better than L.S.U., which has a $1.25 million buyout if Miles, 53, leaves for Michigan, compared to a $500,000 buyout if he leaves for another job.

For the moment, the ball is in Lloyd Carr’s court. He’s the coach of Michigan and — despite indications that he may step down after this season — UM seems intent on allowing Carr to write his final chapter, rather than forcing the issue. As DFP says, only he can end the speculation, but — eventually — uncertainty will hurt the Wolverines both on and off the field.

Hat Tip: MGoBlog

Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Smith: Focused on Old Trafford

Tony Smith insists it is “business as usual” as he prepares to take charge of Leeds for the final time in Saturday’s Grand Final.

The Australian will swap the Rhinos for the Lions after the game at Old Trafford as he is leaving Headingley to become the new full-time coach of Great Britain.

However, rather than think ahead to the upcoming Test series with New Zealand, Smith insists he is fully focused on helping Leeds become Super League champions.

“It’s business as usual this week,” he told Sky Sports News. “I think it will be more emotional afterwards.

“It’s that busy this week and I just want to enjoy it. We’re pretty relaxed at the moment and we’ll build the intensity as the week goes on.”

Fine line

Standing in Leeds’ way of glory is St Helens, a side that have already beaten them once in the play-offs already.

A 10-8 triumph at Knowsley Road in the qualifying semi-final meant Saints gained an extra week off, although the Rhinos had won the two meetings in the regular season.

“It was a pretty fine line (in the last match against Saints),” Smith said. “It could have gone either way.

“A couple of bounces could have gone our way and we could have snatched it although having said that St Helens were very good that night.

“We’ve beaten them twice this year, they’ve beaten us once, so it’s nip-and-tuck.

“It’s going to be about taking opportunities when they come along.”

When asked about his side being the underdogs, he added: “We’re not unhappy with that tag. We’re going in with good confidence.”

Ellis statement

Meanwhile, the club have released a statement dismissing speculation that Gareth Ellis could be set to move to NRL outfit Manly Sea Eagles.

“Gareth is currently in contract at the Rhinos and has no interest in leaving Headingley Carnegie,” the statement on the club’s website said.

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Source: www.skysports.com

Not content with winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007, Germany have also gone back to the top of the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, dethroning Olympic champions the USA in the process.

The Germans’ formidable run of five victories and one draw without conceding a goal, including four wins against teams that were in the top ten before the start of the tournament, earned Germany a haul of more than 50 points.

This is only the third change in leadership of the women’s world ranking, which has been dominated by Germany and the USA since its introduction four years ago. The Americans had only taken over as leaders in April following a disappointing showing by the Germans in the Algarve Cup.

The biggest movers in the latest world ranking are Brazil (3rd, up 5), whose five victories in the World Cup put them among the crème de la crème.

The points total of World Cup surprise packages England (10th, up 2) also increases, but only slightly, as despite some excellent performances they only managed one victory. In any case, they are now in the top ten for the first time.

The FIFA Women’s World Ranking was first published in July 2003 to rate some 150 FIFA member associations on the basis of several factors including victories, home advantage, the strength of the opposition and the importance of matches. The ranking is published four times each year.  

The next FIFA Women’s World Ranking will be published on 21 December 2007.

Source: www.thefa.com

Chapple-Hyam: Too much?

Peter Chapple-Hyam refused to point the finger of blame at Frankie Dettori for the defeat of Authorized in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The 11-10 favourite beat only two home in the prestigious Group One event, with many keen to blame the Italian for holding the horse up too far out of his ground, and without cover on the outside of the field.

And while Dettori said the horse was never travelling at any stage and may have failed to act on the track, the trainer knew his draw from the widest stall may have contributed to the defeat.

“Perhaps he was further back than we wanted but the draw didn’t help,” Chapple-Hyam told his website on Monday morning.

Deflated

“If he’d managed to lie fourth or fifth early in the race, the energy used in doing so may have resulted in him being beaten further - who knows?

“Frankie ended up looking after him and I take my hat off to him for that.”

Chapple-Hyam conceded the long season may have caught up with his stable star, who will now be retired to stud after being bought by Sheikh Mohammed following his victory in the Vodafone Derby.

“I was totally gutted and deflated yesterday after the race.

“I thought I had him spot-on but he has had a few hard races and maybe I had done too much with him. I blame myself for that and the run itself.

“It wasn’t Authorized’s running as he is a horse who travels into his races so well as a rule.”

A sportsman to the last, Chapple-Hyam was magnanimous in defeat, adding: “Take nothing away from Dylan Thomas. He is such a hard horse and I would like to congratulate Aidan O’Brien on winning his first Arc.”

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Source: www.skysports.com

Gerrard: Confident

Steven Gerrard says England are in confident mood ahead of the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia.

Recent wins over Israel and Russia at Wembley have helped Steve McClaren’s side into second spot in Group E in the race for a place in Austria and Switzerland next summer.

Gerrard believes England should be able to see off Estonia this Saturday, although he acknowledges the trip to Russia, live on Sky Sports 1, will be a difficult encounter.

However, the Liverpool schemer says confidence is high in the England camp and that the squad are determined to prove the critics wrong following a shaky start to their qualifying campaign.

“We’re on the back of two really, really good wins so confidence is high,” he told Sky Sports News.

“We’ve got a great chance of qualifying. If we can take six points from these games we’ve qualified, so we’re really confident we can achieve that.

“We’ve proved a lot of critics wrong, but it’s understandable because we were very inconsistent and underachieving for a long time.

Consistency

“It’s important we try and maintain the levels we achieved in the last two games and try and find some consistency.

“I’d like to think if we take maximum points from these two we’re virtually there. We’ll fight all the way until the end to finish top of the group.

“We should win the first game quite comfortably, but the first goal will be really important. The second game is all about going there and being really good defensively.

“I think we’ve got to go there and try and win the game. I don’t see why we can’t go there and take maximum points.”

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Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against AC Milan and their Brazilian goalkeeper Dida after the Champions League game at Celtic.

Dida collapsed dramatically after a fan appeared to strike him near the end of Milan’s 2-1 defeat on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old was stretchered off but has been criticised for overreacting.

Uefa has already opened proceedings against Scottish champions Celtic and both cases will be heard by the control and disciplinary body on Thursday.

The incident occured after Scott McDonald had slammed in Celtic’s winner late on after Dida had failed to hold a Gary Caldwell shot.

The fan, who has since been identified and banned by Celtic for life, ran onto the pitch and made contact with Dida, who proceeded to briefly give chase before collapsing to the ground.

He was eventually substituted in injury time, with Australian Zeljko Kalac coming on in his place.

A statement on the Uefa website said it had opened an investigation on the basis of article five, paragraph one of the disciplinary regulations, which state:

Member associations, clubs, as well as their players, officials and members, shall conduct themselves according to the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship.

Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has already admitted Dida’s actions were a “mistake”, but says the keeper should not be punished.

“During the years, Dida has shown great sportsmanship and fairness - he was also hit by flares and he got up,” said Ancelotti.

“The other night was a mistake. I don’t know why he did it, but I think that the issue must be closed for all the demonstration of professionalism he gave through the years.

“I think that he made a mistake, but that’s all. The doctor decided he should come off because he did not know the extent of the damage and preferred to avoid any eventual risks.”

Dida returned to action on Sunday, on his 34th birthday, as Milan won 5-1 at Lazio in Serie A.

Last week, Celtic chairman Brian Quinn accused Dida of play-acting.

“I’m making no excuses for the behaviour and the fan behaved disgracefully,” said Quinn.

“But the contact made with the goalkeeper was minimal. His antics have to be taken into account as well.”

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Brazil forward Afonso Alves scored seven goals, including four in 10 minutes, to set a Dutch league record Sunday and lead SC Heerenveen to a 9-0 rout of Heracles Almelo in the first division.

He scored his first goal of the season in the 10th and followed with goals in the 17th, 18th, 68th, 70th, 74th and 77th. Gerald Sibon also scored in the 60th and 80th minutes in the biggest victory for Heerenveen in its 87-year history.

Feyenoord regained first place after Nicky Hofs scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem, and Ajax drew 2-2 at Sparta Rotterdam. Feyenoord, a 14-time league winner, has 18 points, one above Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

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LONDON (AP) — Arsenal returned to first place in the Premier League, defeating Sunderland 3-2 on Robin van Persie’s second goal in the 80th minute.

Chelsea beat Bolton 1-0, giving Avram Grant his first victory as coach of the Blues. Chelsea ended a 460-minute goal drought in the league when Salomon Kalou scored in the 41st minute.

Fernando Torres scored in the 90th minute to salvage a 2-2 tie for Liverpool against Tottenham, and Michael Owen marked his return from minor surgery with a goal in Newcastle’s 3-2 win over Everton.

Arsenal leads the standings with 22 points, followed by Manchester United with 20. The Red Devils had moved into the top spot Saturday for the first time this season with a 4-0 win over Wigan. Manchester City is third with 19 points and Liverpool is fourth with 16.

Reading beat Derby 1-0 on Kevin Doyle’s 64th-minute header to end a two-game losing streak. Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann kept his third shutout of the Premier League season — a marked contrast to last Saturday, when the American let in seven goals in a 7-4 loss to Portsmouth.

Reading’s other American international, Bobby Convey, was not in the squad because of a leg injury. U.S. midfielder Eddie Lewis came on as a 65th-minute substitute for Derby.

Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel helped his team win 2-1 by pushing a header from Birmingham’s Olivier Kapo over the bar in injury time. Another American goalkeeper, Everton’s Tim Howard, was not as lucky. Everton lost even though Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given scored a late own-goal.

Fulham started three Americans — goalkeeper Kasey Keller, defender Carlos Bocanegra and striker Clint Dempsey — in a 2-0 loss to Portsmouth. Dempsey’s third-minute shot was turned around the post by Portsmouth goalkeeper David James.

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MILAN, Italy (AP) — Kaka and Alberto Gilardino scored two goals each, sending AC Milan past Lazio 5-1 for its first victory in six rounds of the Italian first division.

Kaka converted a penalty kick in the 33rd and in the 52nd held off two defenders and shot through the legs of Lazio goalkeeper Nestor Fernando Muslera. The Brazilian then created an opening in the 70th for Gilardino, who beat Muslera for his first goal of the season.

Adrian Mutu converted an 88th-minute penalty kick to help Fiorentina draw with Juventus 1-1 and Francesco Totti had two goals and set up another as AS Roma routed 10-man Parma 3-0.

Inter Milan, which beat Napoli 2-1 on Saturday, leads the Serie A standings with 17 points, followed by Juventus and Roma with 14, Fiorentina with 13 and Genoa with 12. Milan is tied with Napoli and Atalanta with 10 points.

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MADRID, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi scored for the sixth straight game to lead FC Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league.

Messi scored in the 19th, three minutes after Deco had put Barcelona ahead when he took advantage of a goalkeeping error by backup Christian Abbiati. Xavi Hernandez added a third in injury time.

Barcelona is second with 17 points. Real Madrid stayed atop the standings with 19 points after beating Recreativo Huelva 2-0 with second-half goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and substitute Gonzalo Higuain.

Villarreal stayed third with 15 points after losing to Osasuna 3-2. Valencia, which lost to Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday, also has 15 points. Deportivo La Coruna handed Sevilla its fourth straight defeat with a 1-0 win.

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BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich extended its lead at the top of the German first division with two goals from Luca Toni in a 3-0 win against Bavarian rival FC Nuremberg.

Toni tied injured teammate Miroslav Klose for the league high of eight goals this season.

“You call that class, he’s always in the right place,” Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said.

Bayern is five points ahead of second-placed Karlsruher SC for a record lead after nine rounds of the season.

Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 behind Sotirios Kyrgiakos’s header goals in the 54th and 79th minutes.

Leverkusen dropped to eighth place. Last week, the team was second and gave Bayern its toughest match in weeks before losing 1-0.

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PARIS (AP) — Defending champion Lyon defeated Bordeaux 3-1 in the French first division with goals from Cleber Anderson, Karim Benzema and Kim Kallstrom.

Benzema, the most prolific striker in the league, beat Bordeaux goalkeeper Ulrich Rame in the 24th minute off a pass from Hatem Ben Arfa for his 10th goal this season.

Lyon leads the standings with 22 points after 10 games. Nancy, which upset Monaco 3-1 Friday, also has 22 points. It has the same goal difference but Lyon has scored more goals.

Toulouse edged Sochaux 1-0 and is in 10th place with 14 points. Sochaux remains stuck in the relegation zone with seven points.

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scott McDonald scored during injury time to give Celtic a 2-1 win over Gretna and returned to the top of the Scottish Premier League.

This was McDonald’s sixth goal in the past four games. He also had the winner in the 2-1 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Aberdeen beat St. Mirren 4-0 with two penalty kicks from Scott Severin, and goals from Lee Miller in the 63rd and 88th minutes. Celtic leads with 22 points, followed by Hibernian with 21 and Rangers with 19.

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LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Nuno Gomes scored twice to lead Benfica over Leiria 2-1 in the Portuguese league.

A week after making his league debut with Benfica, American teenager Freddy Adu returned to the substitutes bench against Leiria and was not used.

Benfica improved to 13 points after seven games. FC Porto tops the league with 18 points after six straight wins.

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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — AEK Athens beat crosstown rival Panionios 3-0 in the Greek league for its fourth victory in four games.

Nikos Lymberopoulos scored his first goal of the season, Rivaldo converted a penalty kick and Julio Cesar netted another.

AEK is in first place with 12 points. Atromitos, which won 1-0 at Xanthi, follows with nine points. Defending champion Olympiakos Piraeus has eight points. Panathinaikos, which lost 1-0 to Asteras, has seven.

Source: www.sportingnews.com

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs signed Bruce Bowen to a contract extension, the team announced Sunday.

Bowen

Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but the San Antonio Express-News said it was a two-year contract that will pay Bowen $4 million in each of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

The second year of the extension is not fully guaranteed, an NBA executive familiar with the details told the newspaper.

Bowen, a 6-foot-7 swingman, is entering his seventh season with the Spurs. Last year he was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team for the fourth consecutive year and finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year. Bowen, 36, has earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team in each of the last seven seasons (first team 2004, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07; second team ‘01, ‘02, ‘03) joining Tim Duncan and Jason Kidd as the only players in the NBA with that distinction.

“He’s obviously been an important part of what we do,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, according to the Express-News. “He’s a consummate pro, always prepared and his work ethic is incomparable. He deserves it. Night in and night out he’s the best perimeter defender in the league.”

Last year Bowen was the only Spur to play in all 82 games and enters this season with a streak of 436 consecutive games played and started, which is the longest active streak in the NBA and a Spurs franchise record.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

ASHWELL Prince and Jacques Kallis scored half centuries to guide South Africa to a fighting 6-259 against Pakistan on the first day of the second Test at Gaddafi Stadium today.

Prince (63) and AB de Villiers (45) were out in the final session to leave the match on an even keel after a slow but hard day on a pitch that had bounce and encouragement for the bowlers.

Mark Boucher was not out on nine and Andre Nel yet to score when bad light ended play seven overs before the scheduled close.

Prince was bowled by left-arm spin bowler Abdul Rehman, who beat him in the air and turned one in sharply, after a patient innings that spanned 132 balls and 180 minutes with five fours.

He put on 83 for the fifth wicket with de Villiers, who was caught out of his crease as a drive by Boucher was deflected by bowler Mohammad Asif on to the stumps.

South Africa was 2-47 after losing Herschelle Gibbs (13) and Hashim Amla (10) in the first session to Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif.

But Prince anchored the innings after Kallis made a fluent 59 runs to follow up his two centuries in the first Test win in Karachi.

Leg-spin bowler Danish Kaneria, who bowled 27 overs from one end, grabbed the wickets of captain Graeme Smith (46) and Kallis.

Reuters

Source: foxsports.com.au