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Sixth-seeded Patty Schnyder needed only 39 minutes to crush top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-0 Friday and reach the semifinals of the Generali Ladies Linz.

Look at these facts: Chakvetadze made 24 unforced errors, scored only six points on her opponent’s serve, and she won her only serving game after facing two break points! No wonder the Russian described the Linz Open quarterfinal as her worst match of the year.

Chakvetadze is now withdrawing from an event next week in Quebec in order to prepare for the season-ending Championships in Madrid but her confidence is low.

"Now I'm already thinking if it's a good thing that I qualify for there because with this kind of game I don't know what I'm going to do there," Chakvetadze told reporters.

In the semifinals Patty Schnyder will face third-seeded Marion Bartoli, who defeated Julia Vakulenko in the quarterfinals. Second seed Daniela Hantuchova also reached the semis, and will play against either Nicole Vaidisova or Dinara Safina. (sources: ESPN, Reuters)

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Source: feeds.feedburner.com

FORMER Carlton captain Anthony Koutoufides has spoken about the scourge of illicit drugs in the AFL and the impact it had on the Blues when two former teammates suffered from substance abuse.

And in his biography, Kouta, to be launched at Princes Park tomorrow, the retired Blues champion has questioned the AFL’s stance on drug addict Ben Cousins.

While the AFL has offered Cousins rehabilitation, Koutoufides said the same treatment wasn’t given to troubled teammates Laurence Angwin and Karl Norman.

"I can’t say the AFL offered to assist Laurence and Karl, as it did more recently with West Coast’s Ben Cousins," Koutoufides wrote.

"For Cousins to receive assistance and not Laurence and Karl is a double standard."

Koutoufides also details the drug binge that Norman and Angwin embarked on in 2004. The pair showed obvious signs of substance abuse on arrival at a club recovery session.

The Blues captain was fuming with the pair and says he and the rest of the playing group felt betrayed.

"It was a Monday afternoon in April 2004 and all players were required to attend a recovery session at Port Melbourne beach and after the swim I made my way back to the Carlton footy club and decided to take a shower," Koutoufides said.

"As I filed past a few of the boys on the way in, they looked at me rather oddly. I couldn’t work out why. I walked into the shower to find Karl Norman there. He was in poor shape. His eyes were rolling and he was staggering about.

" ‘Mate, are you all right?’ I asked.

"Karl replied: ‘I haven’t slept.’

"Even when you don’t sleep, you still shouldn’t look like this.

"What did I know? I’d never seen anyone under the influence of drugs before. When I emerged from the shower a couple of players asked whether I’d seen Karl.

" ‘Yeah, what’s wrong with him?’ I asked.

" ‘We think he’s taken something,’ they said.

" ‘You’re kidding.’

"I then went upstairs and caught a glimpse of Laurence Angwin, wearing a jumper and tracksuit pants on a very hot day, riding an exercise bike at 100 miles an hour."

It was at this point that Koutoufides decided to consult with his leadership group - Lance Whitnall, Nick Stevens, Matthew Lappin, and Barnaby French.

They agreed to tell coach Denis Pagan about the condition of Angwin and Norman.

"All of us then confronted Karl and Laurence. Karl, to his credit, admitted taking recreational drugs, but Laurence denied the charge which forced the club’s hand in testing him and confirming a positive result," Koutoufides said.

While Angwin was on his last chance and sacked for the drug binge, Koutoufides wanted the Blues board to give Norman another chance.

He reveals in his book details of a conversation with Norman, who admitted to drug use from his teen years.

"I felt sorry for Karl and he was a kind-hearted guy who was influenced by the wrong people," Koutoufides wrote.

"In a quiet moment later on, in what was the President’s Room in the Heatley Stand, Karl told me that he had taken drugs when he was growing up and this had left him in a bad state making it difficult to get off the stuff.

"The club had no choice but to cut Laurence. He’d come to Carlton with a poor reputation, he’d been given enough chances and wasn’t the sort of bloke needed around the young guys.

"Laurence was a bad influence and had to go."

Koutoufides presented to the Carlton board a case to retain Norman and they supported the captain’s wish.

Norman departed soon after over another indiscretion.

According to Koutoufides, a drug culture does exist at AFL clubs.

"I was confident that it stopped in my final years at Carlton, but in the wake of recent media revelations, I could never give a guarantee," he said.

Source: foxsports.com.au

Somehow, I get the feeling the Atlanta Spirit (sounds like a cheerleading squad, no?) will force Don Waddell to stick it out behind the Thrasher bench for the entire season or go with the minor-league coach in Chicago. That way, ownership can make a clean sweep after the season and bring in a new G.M./coach combo. On the other hand, the Thrashers have not been building up too much goodwill in the community, and may tell the fans, “We’re writing this season off” may kill both advance and walk-up ticket sales…Just after the Birds finally got themselves on the radar last year. (But then again, maybe not so if you remember Tim Tucker’s column about the abysmal TV ratings for the playoffs.)

Frankly, with so many players not knowing what the hell they’re doing, they look more and more like a first or second-year expansion team…

Well, the Thrashers have rarely NOT looked like an expansion team through much of their inception. Waddell has not been able to get over the hump and turn his squad into a competitive squad on a nightly basis. Despite having loads of offensive talent, defensive and goaltending issues have always plagued the team.

Meanwhile, over in New Jersey, the new arena opening is supposed to bring scads of Devils fans to the games and prosperity to the neighbourhood.

Throughout the ceremony, he heard speaker after speaker refer to the “renaissance” and “rebirth” of Newark, words he had repeatedly used in recent years to extol the virtues of building the 17,000-seat arena.

Jeff Vanderbeek, the chairman of Devils Arena Entertainment, was the first person connected with the project to speak. Mr. Vanderbeek, the arena’s main developer, said that Mr. Booker, Mr. James’s successor, was “the reason this city will prosper.”

Hands up if you know of any areas that have suddenly turned from crap to gold with the building of a new arena?

*crickets chirping*

What happens when there isn’t a game in an arena? It’s a big, vast, empty space is what it is.

Labels: Devils, thrashers

Source: jesgolbez.blogspot.com

These incredible Golf Girls…they’re getting younger and younger. When will it stop?

Who knows, but for this moment at least, adorable Ariya Jutanukarn, a petite 11-year-old from Thailand, holds the record for youngest golfer to compete in an international tour event! She took the record by qualifying for the Honda LPGA earlier this week, and teed off yesterday to beat Michelle Wie’s record by five months. No doubt she’ll be hearing a few cautionary tales base on Ms. Wie’s troubled trajectory, For the time being though,Ariya is just happy to play against so many golfers she admires, especially, Annika.

Ariya’s Dad is ultra proud of her. He’s also very proud of her caddy Moriya. You see Moriya happens to be Ariya’s 13-year-old sister.

Source: thegolfgirl.blogspot.com

Thomas: No trip to London

The Miami Dolphins will have to do without linebacker Zach Thomas at Wembley on Sunday after he was ruled out with whiplash.

Thomas suffered the injury in a car accident on Sunday after playing for the Dolphins against the New England Patriots.

The seven-time Pro Bowler has not even travelled with the rest of the Dolphins squad to England for their week eight clash with the New York Giants.

The game, the first NFL regular season fixture to be staged outside the Americas, takes place on Sunday at Wembley, and is also live on Sky Sports.

Unfortunate

“Obviously it’s unfortunate, but there are some guys that are going to have to step up,” said coach Cam Cameron.

“Channing Crowder is going to have to step up and Derrick Pope and those guys will fill in and that’s how we’re going into the ball game.”

Thomas is the latest name to be added to Miami’s lengthy casualty list.

The Dolphins found out on Monday that both running back Ronnie Brown and safety Renaldo Hill would miss the rest of the season with knee injuries.

Another safety, Yeremiah Bell, was ruled out for the year after tearing his Achilles tendon in the opening game of the season, against Washington.

Lance Schulters, who played for the franchise in 2005, has been signed to strengthen a weak secondary.

Miami are 0-7 this season following their 49-28 defeat against the Patriots.

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Source: www.skysports.com

The road to Istanbul will always hold special memories for Liverpool fans but Rafael Benitez has seen another side of the city, at the Inonu stadium, where his side dare not even contemplate the consequences of defeat when they face Besiktas tonight.

Benitez was pelted with bottles and cans at the stadium and rode a tide of abuse when he arrived with a Valencia side that won 2-0 en route to winning the Uefa Cup three years ago and, though he is not expecting the same hostility tonight, he has plenty of grounds for anxiety after a dismal Champions League start in which his side have collected one point and a solitary goal in two games.

Benitez did not quite go so far as to say that defeat would condemn his club to the Uefa Cup before heading to Turkey yesterday, but he was not far off it. “We can’t lose,” he said. “It depends on the other game [between the group’s leading two, Porto and Marseilles] but you know that one point after three games will be very difficult.” Even a draw would probably compel Liverpool to win their three remaining games, the last of which is in Marseilles.

Liverpool are undoubtedly favourites against a Turkish side who have mustered only one goal, and not a single win, from five previous home games against English opposition. But Besiktas demonstrated with some stout resistance against Porto, who took 92 minutes to prise a winner three weeks ago, that they can frustrate sides and Benitez’s hope that Fernando Torres might be available to exploit the space provided by the home side’s attack-minded full-backs have been dashed. After the Liverpool manager consulted doctors about his striker early yesterday, the Spaniard was left behind on Merseyside, which means he may well bank on Peter Crouch to continue his impressive Champions League record, alongside Dirk Kuyt up front.

But creativity has been as much of a problem as finishing for Liverpool and the continued absence of Daniel Agger may mean Javier Mascherano operating as a defensive midfielder to protect Sami Hyypia – hardly the most creative option at Benitez’s disposal. With Xabi Alonso’s return also still uncertain last night, Benitez will, as ever, look to Steven Gerrard as the side’s fulcrum and hope their difference of opinion over the midfielder’s substitution on Saturday can be put in the past.

Benitez stood by his initial decision yesterday. “Would I do it again? Yes, if it helped the team,” he said. “If I need to use him I will do and I need to replace him it’s because I’m thinking of what’s best for the team.” Fortunately, Gerrard has never needed much encouragement to give his all in games in Turkey.

Besitkas, for whom former West Ham loan player Edouard Cissé should play, have never made it beyond the second round of the Champions League but resistance is ingrained in the club, which grew out of a gymnastics club created in the days of an Ottoman sultan who banned all sporting activities. Benitez knows that the Black Eagles, as the home side are known, are somewhat disorganised but prone to surprising opponents. A goal to settle nerves will be hugely welcome. Benitez says the inevitable desires of the club’s new owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, to cash in on a European run will be put out of his mind, but that cannot help.

“People think we will always qualify [for the second stage] and as soon as the draw was made people said: ‘Oh, easy,’” said Benitez. “It’s never easy.”

Besiktas (possible, 4-5-1): Arikan; Kurtulus, Zan, Toraman, Delgado; Tello, Cissé, Ozkan, Tandogan, Akin; Bobo.

Liverpool (possible, 4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Rise; Babel, Gerrard, Mascherano, Pennant; Crouch, Kuyt.

Group A

Results: Marseilles 2 Besiktas 0; Porto 1 Liverpool 1; Besiktas 0 Porto 1; Liverpool 0 Marseilles 1.

Remaining fixtures:

Tonight: Besiktas v Liverpool; Marseilles v Porto. 6 November: Liverpool v Besiktas; Porto v Marseilles. 28 November: Besiktas v Marseilles; Liverpool v Porto. 11 December: Marseilles v Liverpool; Porto v Besiktas.

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Source: sport.independent.co.uk

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chris Rolfe scored the lone goal to lead the Chicago Fire to a 1-0 playoff victory over D.C. United on Thursday night.

The physical match included four yellow cards - two for each team - and 41 fouls.

Rolfe scored in the 14th minute when he sent a loose ball into the net for his first career playoff goal. The Fire only had five shots on goal for the game.

"I was anticipating the ball coming may way," Rolfe said. "Luckily I was able to get it in. We knew we had to score at least one goal tonight."

Christian Gomez had the United’s only first-half shot on goal in the 22nd minute, which Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens handled easily.

"It was an easy night for me," Pickens said. "We played great team defence. We limited them to very few chances."

Seconds later, D.C. United’s Brian Carroll tripped up Chicago star and Mexican national team member Cuauhtemoc Blanco, getting a yellow card.

D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio led the league with 20 goals, but did not enter the match until the 78th minute because of an injury.

Chicago headed into Thursday’s game on an eight-game unbeaten streak. D.C. United finished first in the league and ended the season with a 3-1-4 record in the same span.

The Fire have a 5-0-1 record against United in playoff action, outscoring the United 11-0. The final game of the aggregate-goal series is Nov. 1 at RFK Stadium.

"If we want to make it to the finals, this result has to be good enough," Fire captain Chris Armas said. "It’s always nice to get more goals and I can count at least three chances we had to get another one, but it is what it is. Rolfe gave us a great goal and now we just have to go to D.C. and get it done."

The winner of the series will advance to the Eastern Conference championship on Nov. 8.

Source: www.tsn.ca

UNHERALDED bench players Larry Davidson and Jeremy Kench combined to lead Wollongong to an upset 114-97 win over Perth in the National Basketball League at WIN Entertainment Centre.

The pair each turned in their best performance of the season as the Hawks took control in the second half.

Davidson, who kept Perth captain Paul Rogers quiet after the long break, netted a season high of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Kench, who spent last season playing for Singapore, sparked the Hawks into life with 14 points.

Delighted Hawks coach Eric Cooks couldn’t say enough about his undermanned team, which had captain Mat Campbell and import Angelo Reyes both in street clothes.

"We had a contribution from everybody, Jeremy Kench was huge again," he said.

"Obviously we are still near the bottom of the ladder (2-5 win-loss record), but I don’t think there is a lot in that.

"I think we will play our best basketball in the second half of the season."

Davidson said his strong performance was a result of the extra minutes on court.

"In games like this, you know you are going to be out there a while, you have time to get into the flow of the game," he said.

Perth’s size advantage was the telling story of the opening half, with Rogers dominant.

The Australia big man netted 18 points in the first half, shooting at a blistering 89 per cent from the field, but Davidson limited him to just four points in the second half.

Cameron Tragardh (13 points) Kavossy Franklin (12 points) and Kench had the hosts in the match at half-time before Wollongong made its run in the third term, outscoring Perth 28-13.

The night was an unhappy introduction to the NBL for Perth import Gerald Brown.

The former Phoenix Suns player in the National Basketball Asociation in the US, netted just five points in a performance that did little to suggest Perth did the right thing by axing Rashad Phillips last week.

AAP

Source: foxsports.com.au

So, Liverpool are in a bit of a pickle. 3 games, 1 point and bottom of their Champions League group. After the fortuitious victory in the Merseyside derby and before the key game at Anfield against the Arsenal, Liverpool’s away defeat to Besiktas has asked a lot of questions from Rafa Benitez and the Liverpool players.

Except that there shouldn’t be any questions - or any problems with Liverpool. The problem lies squarely on the media, and their manipulation of Liverpool’s condition.

Every summer it’s the same story - Liverpool buy a few players, cut out the deadwood and there are whispers that they will finally challenge for the title. The core problems are not solved but the hype (and the money expended) grows every year, hence the abuse hurled at Rafa and Liverpool at this early stage of the season.

To be honest, Myles Palmer is just a ranting Arsenal fan here, drunk on a 7-0 home win against a pub team. Arsenal have played well this season, no doubt, but this is a big four game, and Rafa always has his men ready for a battle against the big teams (unless you’ve forgotten how Liverpool have played against the top teams at Anfield in the past, both Premier League opposition and those from abroad). Myles is playing to the crowd - the Arsenal faithful have been eager to primp themselves this season, something they pretty much deserve to do considering what they’ve been through in the last two seasons.

So there are 3 questions:

• Can Liverpool qualify for the 2nd round?
• Can Liverpool beat Arsenal on Sunday?
• Can Liverpool win the Premier League?

1. Can Liverpool qualify for the 2nd round?

If you see their remaining fixtures, and the CL standings, here’s the ground reality - They play Besiktas and Porto at Anfield, and Marseille away. Assuming that Liverpool win both home games, that’s 7 points going into the Marseille game.

Marseille travel to Porto and Besiktas in their next two games - not sure if they can more than 2-4 points out of those games, but with Group A a free-for-all, odds are that Marseille will go into that last game having 8 or 9 points.

Porto host Marseille in their 4th game and Besiktas in their 6th game - and 6 points will give them 11 and a way through.

Besiktas may beat or draw with Marseille at home but they will probably lose their other two games, leaving them with a max of 6 points.

So…Liverpool at least have the Uefa Cup to look forward to, and if they can beat Marseille in their last game, they’re through to the 2nd round.

There are many other permutations possible, of course, but Liverpool have to win their last 3 games in any case, and even then they’ll probably end up in 2nd place. The group is wide open now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Besiktas squeezed through somehow into the 2nd round.

2. Can Liverpool beat Arsenal on Sunday?

Can Rafa drop Gerrard to the bench and use him as a super-sub? That might be what’s needed to kick the captain into action. If Gerrard is in a genuine slump then there’s nothing anyone can do, it’ll just take some time for him to work things out. Maybe the missus needs a call?

Liverpool’s first XI plus playing at Anfield - Arsenal are good but rarely 100% certain of keeping a clean sheet and if Torres is fit to play, Liverpool could easily win this one. At any rate it’ll be a tight game, and for Pool’s sake I hope they play Kuyt with Crouch if Torres is still injured.

3. Can Liverpool win the Premier League?

Rafa’s problems have been discussed, but perhaps it’s time to point out that despite the overhaul, Liverpool’s squad still lacks talent in some areas? Apart from Torres, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Carragher and Reina, this is an average team. Strong in central midfield but take Torres out and they’re toothless. Babel is good but will take time, Pennant has more graft than craft and four of the 6 names mentioned are defensive players.

Compare this to Manchester United and Chelsea, and you’ll see that these teams have several top players in creative positions. United have Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Scholes and at a stretch, Giggs. Chelsea have Drogba, Malouda, SWP, Lampard, Joe Cole. Arsenal may have fewer ‘big’ names (feel free to correct me Arsenal fans) but what they have this season is confidence and a manager who knows what it takes to win the Premier League.

Rafa doesn’t, not yet. Until he learns, Liverpool’s fastest way to the top is by buying better players.

Source: feeds.feedburner.com

2009 prospect Jarred Cunningham wanted to commit before his junior season has begun. The 6-3 165 point guard planned to take several unofficial visits before making a decision. ASU was one of his first stops, and the four-star prospect saw all he needed to see to pull the trigger and join the maroon and gold on Wednesday Night. We talked to the San Leandro (Calif.) standout following his decision.

Filed under California

Source: www.ncaamensbball.com