China’s Sun Tiantian and Nenad Zimonjic, from of Serbia, have won the Australian Open mixed doubles final in straight sets at Rod Laver Arena.
Sun and Zimonjic, the No. 5 seeds, beat Indian duo Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in 1hr 21mins.
The win is Sun’s first grand slam victory and Zimonjic’s second – the Serb also winning the 2004 Australian Open mixed doubles title.
Legendre claims third straight all-around title as No. 5 OU defeats No. 2 Michigan.
Jan. 26, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. – In a top-five showdown at the McCasland Field House Saturday night, the fifth-ranked Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team opened its home season in style, defeating No. 2 Michigan 351.400-347.000. Freshman Steven Legendre claimed his third straight all-around title with an 85.850 and OU scored team season highs on rings (60.000), vault (63.000) and parallel bars (58.550) to earn a thrilling come-from-behind victory.
“It’s a little early in the season to put it all together,” OU head coach Mark Williams said. “We had some mistakes, but being this early in the season I was happy with everyone’s effort. To be able to beat a highly-ranked team like Michigan is a big boost.”
Freshman Blake Griffin scores 17 points and grabs 15 boards in first action since injury.
Jan. 26, 2008 Final Stats | AP Photo Gallery
Having secured the £350m loan that will keep them as Liverpool’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett have now turned to Rafa Benitez to secure his continuation as the club’s manager. The financial roller coaster in the last month exposed Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s own financial weakness and reluctance to part with their money. In addition, more disturbingly, to thousands of fans, they were found short in the goodwill department, having decided to approach Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Rafa, in an underhanded move. For Liverpool fans this was the last straw.
The £350m used to cover the initial loan, players transfers, existing debt, and the first phase of the new stadium, raises the question of how Liverpool will generate sufficient amounts of revenue to help pay for those massive £30m annual interest repayments. A look at the enormous benefits of winning the CL title shows why the American owners can ill afford to lose Rafa.
Vancouver skyline
VANCOUVER – Ontario is showing its support for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Canada’s athletes with a $5 million investment.
In Vancouver, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said his government would put up the money to help Ontario’s future sports stars compete in the Games.
Nicolas Anelka scored his first goal for Chelsea to help them beat Wigan in their FA Cup fourth-round tie.
The opening half was highly forgettable with Joe Cole’s first-minute shot the only real effort of note.
The opponent for undefeated DC lightweight Ty Barnette has changed. Barnette (12-0-1, nine KO’s) will now face rugged veteran “The Eastern Beast” John Brown of Atlantic City, NJ tonight at the Fitzgerald Hotel and Casino in Tunica, MS.
Brown (23-15-2, 11 KO’s) has challenged for world titles four times in his career against Diego Corrales, Shane Mosley and twice against Steve Forbes. However, Brown is truly on the downside of his career, going winless (0-7-2) in his last nine bouts, including an eighth-round TKO loss to Lamont Peterson in DC last May. Barnette will be the fourth straight undefeated fighter Brown has faced, joining the likes of Peterson, Herman Ngoudjo (who recently challenged Paul Malignaggi for the IBF Welterweight title) and Vernon Paris.
Los Angeles (Calif.) Fairfax, one of the Golden State’s top prep programs visited Seattle for the MLK HoopFest. The Lions dropped a heartbreaker to Franklin, losing on a last second shot. GoldenStatePreps.com was there and brings you images of the contest…
After decades of frustration, first-year coach Keno Davis is leading a resurgence at Drake. Seems fitting this will be the school’s first home game as a ranked team in his lifetime.
The 22nd-ranked Bulldogs look to extend their school-record winning streak to 17 games when they host Northern Iowa on Saturday in their first home game as a ranked team in 37 years.