| Manchester City's 2-1 win over Premier League leaders Manchester United on Monday was too little too late for manager Roberto Mancini who is already focusing his attention on next season's title race. Sergio Aguero's outstanding 78th-minute winner allowed champions City to close the gap on their neighbours to 12 points but it was more of a 'nice-to-have' result than a fate-changing victory for this campaign. "We know we can win the title next year," Mancini told a news conference after his team's second successive league win at Old Trafford, following last season's 6-1 thrashing. "This year we have made some mistakes unfortunately but now we can't do anything, the season is gone. It is important we continue to win ... we need to continue to play like this for next season." Second place in the league is what the Italian is striving for with seven games remaining. City also have the chance of silverware as they play holders Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday. "I think it will be a different game, it's a semi-final and Chelsea are in a good moment," said Mancini who is likely to be without playmaker David Silva after he went off with a hamstring injury on Monday. Mancini previously said City's timid defence of their title had been partly down to a failure to bring in some quality signings, including missing out on top striker Robin van Persie who joined United in the close season from Arsenal. The Italian also reckoned a spate of injuries to key players were to blame, saying his expensive squad could not cope with the situation. "This season we had some problems with some important players injured - Aguero, Yaya (Toure), (Vincent) Kompany ... we are not a team who can lose important players like this," said Mancini. "We are not so strong that we can lose three or four players like this together." Whatever happens this season, one thing is for sure in Mancini's mind - City will not trail United by 15 points again. "No, I think we showed this tonight," he said before adding that United deserved to win what will be their 20th league title. United manager Alex Ferguson, who has refused to watch a re-run of last season's Old Trafford humiliation at the hands of City, had less to be upset about in his team's performance this time. "It was a very intense game, very competitive with two of the best teams in the country," he told the BBC. "I thought we were the better team in the second half but we know Sergio Aguero is a fantastic finisher and we gave him a lot of room for (the winner). "I was pleased with the second-half performance. There were a lot of plus sides. Van Persie was fantastic today and Wayne Rooney got some time on the pitch after coming back from injury." |
Derby succeed requests Town to begin conspiring with regard to following time of year
Branson will take off within pull in order to complete F1 wager
| (Reuters) - Richard Branson will take to the skies as an airline stewardess on a charity flight next month to finally fulfil a bet with aviation rival Tony Fernandes over the fortunes of their teams in the 2010 Formula One season. AirAsia chief Fernandes, who once worked for Branson's music business, bet the British entrepreneur that his Lotus Racing team would do better in their debut season than Virgin Racing team with the loser dressing up as an female flight attendant. Lotus F1 finished 10th in the constructors' championship to Virgin's 12th and so on May 12, Branson - "complete with make-up, a pair of high heels and freshly shaved legs" - will join the AirAsia X cabin crew on a flight from Perth to Kula Lumpur. "The day of reckoning for Sir Richard has finally arrived," Fernandes said in an AirAsia news release on Monday. "It's an awkward moment when you go down memory lane and recall the times I used to work for Richard. And it's hilarious to think now, that it's Richard who will be working for me as a sassy flight attendant." Members of the public can purchase tickets for the flight for A$399 ($410) with A$100 of the fare going to Australian charity Starlight Children's Foundation. Branson is no longer involved in Formula One with the Virgin team now competing as Marussia Racing, while Fernandes's team has since been renamed Caterham F1. ($1 = 0.9635 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O'Brien) |
Much more Rutgers teachers look for firings within trainer situation
| NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — The call from faculty members and politicians to oust top Rutgers University administrators grew louder, a day after men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired for mistreating players, shoving them and berating them with gay slurs. More than 50 faculty members signed a letter Thursday calling for the dismissal of Athletic Director Tim Pernetti and an explanation from President Robert Barchi for why he didn't fire Rice last year when he learned of a video showing Rice's behavior during practices. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney also called for Pernetti to step down or be fired. He said Pernetti deserves credit for getting Rutgers into the Big Ten conference but mishandled this situation. "This incident will continue to hang over Rutgers like a dark cloud for weeks, months and perhaps years to come," the Democrat said in a statement. Meanwhile, the number of faculty members calling for Barchi to step down more than doubled Thursday to 28. The letter calling for Barchi's resignation was sent to the university's governing boards on Wednesday. In it, the faculty members cite Barchi's "inexcusable handling of coach Mike Rice's homophobic and misogynist abuse" of players, his "pattern of insensitivity and arrogance toward issues of diversity" and the "lack of transparency that he has exhibited in his relations" with faculty, staff and students. It's unclear what effect the calls might have on the president or the athletic director. Neither was willing to be interviewed by The Associated Press. Barchi also skipped a town hall meeting he'd been scheduled to attend Thursday at Rutgers' Newark campus and declined to comment when he left his office. Members of the university's two governing boards have been mum. Barchi, a neuroscience researcher before he became a university administrator, was hired a year ago and took office Sept. 1 to lead the university, which has 58,000 students and 13,000 faculty members on three campuses. He had been president of Thomas Jefferson University, a Philadelphia health sciences university, and before that was an administrator at the University of Pennsylvania. He was brought to Rutgers as the university takes over two medical schools that are part of the separate University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The ongoing reconfiguration of the state's higher education system is intended to expand Rutgers' life-science research prowess, and Barchi was chosen largely to oversee that. He had never been an administrator, though, at a school with athletic scholarships. Over the past decade, Rutgers' athletic program has grown increasingly ambitious and expensive, largely as the university's football team transformed from an also-ran to a power in the Big East conference. The school's teams are set next year to join the more prestigious Big Ten, a move engineered largely by Pernetti, a former TV sports executive. Shortly after Barchi took office, he told reporters that high-profile sports teams are an important way to increase the university's visibility but that he wanted to gradually reduce the university's operating subsidy for sports, currently about $8 million per year, while continuing to pay for scholarships for athletes at a cost of about $10 million annually. Barchi said in a statement Wednesday that Pernetti told him last year about the video of Rice made by a former basketball program employee, but he said he did not watch the video until Tuesday, the day it was made public. A university spokesman declined to comment on why Barchi didn't watch the video last year. In December, after the university consulted lawyers and commissioned an independent report on Rice's actions, Barchi said he agreed to suspend the coach for three games, fine him and order him to anger management counseling. He said that when he saw the video, he realized that Rice needed to be removed. The faculty members calling for Barchi to step down said in their letter that he knew enough to remove the coach months ago. "Although President Barchi is now suggesting otherwise, he has known about Coach Rice's homophobic, misogynist and abusive behavior for several months now," the letter said. Ron Becker, head of special collections and university archives at Rutgers, said he believes the handling of the situation needs to be reviewed. "The value of sports and the Division I atmosphere often trumps some of the basic needs of the university," he said. "The pressure to win and succeed at athletics seems to trump (academics) around here." The university's student government association also released a statement saying that Rice deserved to be fired. It said it intended to work with Barchi and Pernetti "to ensure that incidents like this never happen again." While practically everyone who has spoken publicly about the case says it was right to fire Rice, two players in interviews with The Associated Press on Thursday defended the coach, saying the snippets of video were taken out of context. "I feel if people had a chance to see the other portions of practice, or had been at practice, their judgment would not be as severe," sophomore forward Austin Johnson said. "I am not saying what he did wasn't wrong, because I do believe it was wrong. But it is also tough because it was a highlight reel of his worst moments." Junior Wally Judge said Rice, who apologized Wednesday, has treated him well and helped him grow as a person and a basketball player. There also was a defense of Pernetti. According to Newark's The Star-Ledger, an athletic department fundraiser emailed Rutgers boosters asking them to contact Barchi and the head of the university's board of governors to voice support of him. University spokesman Greg Trevor would not comment on whether the email was sanctioned by the author's superiors. A Rutgers assistant coach has resigned amid the scandal. According to The Star-Ledger, the assistant, Jimmy Martelli, could be seen on the video shoving a player. Martelli said in a statement he was "sickened that as an assistant coach I contributed in any way to an unacceptable culture," and he apologized to the players "from the bottom of my heart." The Associated Press also obtained a letter Thursday from a lawyer for Eric Murdock, the former basketball program employee who gave the video to university officials and later ESPN. The letter to a lawyer for Rutgers, dated Dec. 27, said Murdock was fired for telling school officials about Rice's behavior and would accept $950,000 not to file a lawsuit against the school. The letter also complained that the university did not seem to investigate when Murdock first complained about Rice in July, when an interim president was in office. Democratic state lawmakers, particularly Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, have been calling for legislative hearings on why Rice was not fired sooner, but none had been scheduled. Keeping the coach on through the season cost the university a portion of his salary — he was paid $622,500 in 2012 — and a $100,000 bonus for coaching the final game of the year. Athletic department spokesman Jason Baum said the university is contractually obligated to pay the bonus, due this month. ___ Delli Santi reported from Trenton. Also contributing to this report were AP reporters Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield and Katie Zezima in Newark and AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan. |
Lance Armstrong searching for to create a sprinkle having a go back to competitors.
| Lance Armstrong searching for to create a sprinkle having a go back to competitors. The disgraced cyclist is signed up to swim three events this weekend at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said Wednesday that Armstrong, 41, will compete in the 40-44 age group in the 500-, 1,000- and the 1,650-yard freestyle. Rob Butcher, executive director of U.S. Masters Swimming, said the organization is not covered under the same anti-doping rules as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which banned Armstrong for life from its sanctioned events for his performance-enhancing drug use during his cycling career. "Our mission, dating back to the 60s, is we encourage adults to swim," Butcher said. "Lance is a member of USMS so he is eligible to swim." But the U.S. Master's Swimming web site suggests U.S. Masters Swimming falls under the umbrella of FINA, the international swimming federation, which is covered by the World Anti-Doping Code that bars Armstrong from competing. The web site portion covering rules links to the FINA Masters rules, which states FINA adopted the World Anti-Doping Code in 2007. Butcher and Higgins did not immediately respond to emails Wednesday night seeking clarification. U.S. Master's Swimming does not drug test. Butcher said earlier in the day U.S. Masters Swimming has debated in the past whether to start testing and whether Armstrong or other athletes who have been caught doping should be allowed to compete. "We just stick to the fact that our purpose is encouraging adults to swim," Butcher said. Armstrong had been pursuing a post-cycling career in triathlons before he was banned by USADA for performance-enhancing drug use. A message was left seeking comment from USADA. Armstrong needed to use the actual Austin tx occasion through Mar thirty-one. Based on the fulfill occasion linens, Armstrong has got the second-best being qualified amount of time in the actual 1, 000 with no. three within the 1, 600 as well as five hundred. |
Matsuyama in order to debut as pro in Nagoya this month
Top Japanese amateur Hideki Matsuyama will make his professional debut at this month's Token Homemate Cup, the 21-year-old golfer said on Tuesday.
"I had many top-10 finishes last year in professional competitions, and this gave me the confidence that I can make it," the 2010 and 2011 Asian amateur champion said in a statement.
"I want to become a player who can win around the world," added the golfer, whose 2011 Taiheiyo Masters triumph made him only the third amateur to win on the Japan Golf Tour.
The 130,000,000 yen ($1.39 million) Token Homemate Cup gets underway at Nagoya's Token Tado Country Club on April 18.
Currently ranked fourth among the amateurs, Matsuyama finished tied 27th to win the low amateur title at the 2011 U.S. Masters tournament and followed that up with a tied 54th finish 12 months later.
He will compete at the British Open at Muirfield in July after he came through the international qualifier in Asia last month.
Cal rallies to beat Georgia 65-62 in overtime
| SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Layshia Clarendon was the first to get her hands on the regional championship trophy. Rightfully so, after getting California somewhere they've never gone before: the Final Four. Clarendon scored 17 of her 25 points in the second half and overtime, and California rallied from down 10 with less than 7 minutes left to beat Georgia 65-62 in the Spokane Regional final and advance to the national semifinals for the first time in school history. Clarendon and the second-seeded Golden Bears became the first team from the western U.S. other than Stanford to reach the Final Four since Long Beach State in 1988. They did it with a gritty rally down the stretch and big shots by Clarendon, Afure Jemerigbe and Talia Caldwell. During that 25-year span, eight different programs in the West have reached the regional finals. But whether it was Long Beach State, Washington, USC, UCLA, Colorado, Utah, Arizona State or Gonzaga, they all came up one game short — sometimes at the hands of Stanford — of advancing. California, and second-year coach Lindsay Gottlieb, finally broke the string. Gottlieb threw her arms in the air when Shacobia Barbee's desperation half-court shot at the buzzer bounced off the backboard and wore a huge grin throughout the postgame celebration. Jemerigbe finished with 14 and Caldwell added 10, with six coming in the final 3:30 of regulation and in overtime. California (32-3) was the selection of President Obama when he filled out his NCAA women's tournament bracket. The Golden Bears proved him right. Barbee led Georgia (28-7) with 14 points, but the Lady Bulldogs struggled down the stretch as California chipped away at the lead. It was just the third time this season Georgia lost after leading at halftime. Georgia managed to force overtime despite going the final 7:45 of regulation with just one field goal. That came when Anne Marie Armstrong twice came up with offensive rebounds and scored underneath with 8.5 seconds left in regulation to force the extra session. Clarendon's 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim. Georgia played the final 2:20 of regulation and all of overtime without point guard Jasmine James after she fouled out picking up two quick fouls in less than 40 seconds. James finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists before fouling out. California trailed 49-39 with 6:46 left after Barbee hit a pair of free throws. The Bears got back into the game by halftime overcoming a horrible shooting start, but each run early in the second half was rebuffed by the Lady Bulldogs. This time Cal had an answer. Jemerigbe hit her first 3-pointer after missing her previous six attempts. Clarendon scored four straight points and Caldwell scored in the paint. Caldwell then rebounded Jemerigbe's missed free throw and scored to pull Cal even at 50-all. Tiaria Griffin missed a 3 for Georgia and Cal's Brittany Boyd was fouled driving to the rim by James, her fifth foul, leaving Georgia without its floor leader. Boyd hit both free throws and Cal had its first lead since 17-16. Not having James on the floor showed immediately as Georgia turned it over on its next two possession, helped by a pair of blocked shots by Jemerigbe, the second with 51 seconds left. But the Bears' free throw struggles that nearly cost them in the second round against South Florida returned when Jemerigbe missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 27 seconds left. Griffin missed a 3 for Georgia, but Armstrong scored to force the extra session. Georgia went up 55-52 when Khaalidah Miller hit a 3 to start overtime, but the Bears took command. Jemerigbe hit a 3-pointer with 2:48 left in overtime to give California a 59-55 lead and Clarendon later added a rebound putback for a 61-55 advantage with 1:26 remaining. Barbee hit a pair of free throws with 1:03 left, but instead of fouling, Georgia chose to play defense. Clarendon made them pay, spinning away from Barbee and hitting a 15-footer with 37.9 seconds left for a 63-57 lead. Barbee scored with 15.6 seconds remaining, but Gray split a pair of free throws for Cal. Armstrong hit a 3 with 3.4 seconds left to get within 64-62, but Clarendon split free throws and Barbee's desperation shot was off. Armstrong finished with 12 points, but Georgia leading scorer Jasmine Hassell was held to seven points. The loss ended Georgia coach Andy Landers' hope of reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1999. Georgia last reached the regional finals in 2004. |
Athletes, stars join Obama for Easter Egg Roll
| The Easter Bunny, dozens of professional athletes and thousands of children were hippity-hopping across the White House's South Lawn Monday as President Barack Obama and his family were leading the annual Easter Egg Roll. The theme of this year's event is "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!" — fitting with first lady Michelle Obama's campaign to lower childhood obesity rates by encouraging physical activity. The president's basketball court was open for play, along with an obstacle course and yoga garden.
A dance party was set up at the "Hop To It Stage," and professional athletes and coaches were helping teach their sports in the "Eggtivity Zone." Among the stars scheduled to attend were Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, gymnast John Orozco and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall. Two of the younger celebrities in Monday's lineup are Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhane Wallis, star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," and Robbie Novak, who plays "Kid President" in a series of popular YouTube videos. A track suit-clad Elmo and other "Sesame Street" Muppets performed and encouraged exercise. The White House had warned more than 35,000 expected attendees that the 135-year tradition could have been cancelled because of budget battles with Congress this year. White House tours have been called off because of government-wide spending cuts, but the egg roll was not. The National Park Service, which organizes the event, says it's largely funded by sales of commemorative wooden eggs, plus some private donations. The park service would not say how much the event costs. The White House said 14,500 eggs were dyed for the egg roll and hunt, with another 4,500 hard-boiled eggs available for children to decorate. There are also special eggs that make a sound like a chirping bird so visually impaired children can participate in the hunt. |
