Turkish Club to Kobe Bryant‎

We’re still not sure how serious this is from Turkish Club to Kobe Bryant‎ Besiktas — the club that signed Deron Williams to play for them next fall and had Allen Iverson last season — is still trying to court Kobe Bryant. The club’s very talkative coach explained to the Los Angeles Times how the team hopes this will go down.

As we’ve said before, Ataman likes to talk but don’t bet on a deal. For one, Kobe’s body could use the rest. Then there’s the matter of money. Besiktas was reportedly looking for a special sponsor to pick up Kobe’s salary (he does have an existing endorsement deal with Turkish Airlines).

Kobe Bryant's representatives have had conversations about a deal to play for Turkish club team Besiktas this season in Istanbul, Besiktas coach Ergin Ataman told the Los Angeles Times in a telephone interview Thursday. Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, didn't return repeated phone calls Thursday.

The Pistons fired John Kuester on June 5. From the Los Angeles Times: Ataman said the team is trying to satisfy Bryant's salary demands so that he can join New Jersey Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams on the team. Williams signed with Besiktas about a week ago.

via Kobe Bryant:Turkish Club to Kobe Bryant‎ reportedly in talks with Turkish club - latimes.com.

It's surprising that Besiktas continues to pursue Bryant despite the match-fixing issue and the fact that Bryant has yet to publicly speak on the supposed talks, even through a representative.

Angels fall 5 games back to Rangers‎

The Los Angeles Angels fall 5 games back  to Rangers‎ found out firsthand what the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners discovered last week - the Texas Rangers are a difficult team to score against.

Alexi Ogando extended an extraordinary run by Texas pitchers with eight innings of four-hit ball and the streaking Rangers beat the sputtering Angels 7-0 Tuesday night for their 12 straight victory.

Texas' winning streak is the second-longest in club history behind a 14-game run in 1991, and it has put the Rangers (56-41) a season-high 15 games over .500. Tyler Chatwood (5-6) gave up three runs, seven hits and four walks in five innings. Ian Kinsler drove in Napoli with a single.

Napoli, who spent his first five big league seasons with the Angels, was 2 for 3 with a pair of walks and scored twice in his first game at Anaheim since Los Angeles traded him and Juan Rivera to Toronto for Vernon Wells on Jan. 21. Rangers part-owner and team president Nolan Ryan was scheduled to throw a first pitch and take part in a pregame ceremony inducting former Angels owner Gene Autry posthumously into the Angels Hall of Fame. Conger batted .214 in 50 games with five homers and 16 RBIs, and threw out only eight of 56 runners attempting to steal. Ryan's youngest son, Reese, was named after the Angels' former conditioning coach. Chatwood has allowed one home run over his last 11 starts and 66 2-3 innings, a two-run shot by Tampa Bay's Justin Ruggiano on June 6 at Angel Stadium.

The American League West standings show the Texas Rangers five games ahead of the Angels with more than two months to play, hardly an insurmountable deficit for the Angels.

The Angels fall 5 games back  to Rangers‎ won 20 of 27 games before the All-Star break, erasing all of the Rangers' five-game lead, but they've lost four of five games coming out of the break, going from one game behind Texas to five games back in six days.

The pitching staff has given up 23 earned runs in 108 innings for a 1.92 earned-run average, with five shutouts.

The Angels? The Rangers put plenty of pressure on starter Tyler Chatwood (5-6), who gave up three runs and seven hits and walked four in five innings, and reliever Michael Kohn, who gave up Chavez's two-run home run in the eighth inning and both ninth-inning shots.

It was this kind of night for the Angels: They hit consecutive doubles in the fifth inning … and didn't score.

NASCAR new Hampshire

Entering Sunday's Sprint Cup event at Nascar New Hampshire Motor Speedway, eight races remain before the Chase. For the first time, the 11th and 12th spot in the playoff are decided based on wins for drivers ranked in the top 20. Drivers will tell you they always try to win in every race.

"If I could win a race, I'd win a race,"Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday. Earnhardt could use a victory. The difficulty and the pressure will mount as the Chase approaches if a team needs a win to get in. If a driver is inside the top 10, points racing might be the best option -- playing it safe and having a good finish to earn as many points as possible.

If a driver is outside the top 10, taking a few risks to try to win becomes the best option as the races wind down before the Chase.

"The single-race winners this year will change the dynamic of the points.

"Last year we were that one-race win team that would have made it with this year's type of points system. So yeah, we want to win."

David Ragan, who won at Daytona two weeks ago, is the only driver outside the top 10 that would make the Chase right now based on wins. Stewart is 11th and winless, but he's only two points behind Denny Hamlin in 10th.

Burton’s No. 31 Chevrolet was seventh or better in both practice sessions on Saturday and Burton holds the most track records at NHMS – most wins (four), most laps led by a race winner (300, September 2000), least laps led by a race winner (two, July 1999) and race record (2:42:35 and 117.134 mph, July 1997).

In 32 Cup races at the track, Burton has four wins, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.

Clint Bowyer put the trophy from last year’s victory at Nascar New Hampshire in his house.Bowyer is stuck in 12th place again, a spot that, thanks to NASCAR’s revamped points system, puts him outside the Chase field.Eight races remain until the Chase field is set.Bowyer and his Richard Childress Racing team have huddled at the shop for solutions.

Cup final: US vs. Japan

USA vs Japan Women’s World Cup 2011 Final showdown. The story of the United States women’s soccer team continues to dominate the sports headlines as they defeated France 3-1 in a dominating fashion as they advance to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final to face Japan on Sunday.

The United States lead in the early stage of the game when Lauren Cheney scored. France was completely surprised by the United State late scores as they suffered this defeat in the FIFA World Cup semifinals against USA.

In the other semifinals match, Japan upsets the favorite Sweden 3-1 to arrange the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final against the United States.

(NewsCore) - The United States advanced to the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup Wednesday with a 3-1 semi-final win over France.

Bidding for a hat-trick of World Cup titles following victories in 1991 and 1999, the US team went into Wednesday's clash on the back of draining quarter-final victory over Brazil on penalties.

Alex Morgan sealed victory for Team USA three minutes later with a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

Texas Rangers Fan Dies

BROWNWOOD, Texas - Last thursday night, firefighter Shannon Stone took his young son to a Texas Rangers baseball game. 

Monday afternoon, Shannon Stone's friends, family and colleagues turned out to say goodbye.

With full firefighter honors, Shannon Stone, 39, was laid to rest.  The firefighters Stone spent the last 18 years with carried his casket to the fire engine.

One by one, they placed Stone's helmet and fire uniform in the fire engine beside him.  His wife and 6 year old son Cooper walked slowly behind.

More than a thousand people turned out in Brownwood, Texas, Monday for the funeral of firefighter Shannon Stone, the Rangers fan who died after falling over a railing while attempting to catch a foul ball last week.

Stone, 39, fell to his death after reaching out to catch the ball for his six-year-old son, Cooper Stone, who was sat beside him during Thursday's game with the Oakland A's at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Stone's wife Jenny and their son Cooper followed the truck hand in hand.

Stone, a local firefighter, was honored by family, friends and law enforcement personnel who stood across from the First United Methodist Church holding American flags and also carried his stone casket to a lone fire engine in front of the church.

Rangers Fan Dies over the railing in an attempt to catch the ball, Stone fell headfirst about 20 feet onto the concrete below. Club president Nolan Ryan and vice-president Jim Sundberg were among Rangers officials who attended the funeral.

Hamilton said Monday that Stone's family was still in his thoughts and prayers.

"I know Mr. Stone's funeral was today, and obviously the organization is being represented at the funeral," Hamilton said. My family is still praying for their family."

MLB All-Star Game

Nobody appreciates being an MLB All-Star Game more than a first-timer, and Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants and Oakland's Gio Gonzalez demonstrated that Monday.

Long after the National League finished batting practice at Chase Field, Vogelsong remained on the field. Sixteen players, including no-show Derek Jeter, have bowed out of tonight's All-Star Game, but Sandoval, Vogelsong and Gonzalez wouldn't dare miss it. Vogelsong was told by NL manager Bruce Bochy that he'd pitch only in extra innings, and AL manager Ron Washington said Gonzalez at most could be a situational lefty and face one batter.

The AL's utility guy is Young.

ncaa football 12

•Fixed an exploit with the QB Contain assignment.

•Fixed an issue where defensive coverage assignments were not updated correctly when the offense called an audible.

•Fixed and issue that was causing defenders to play the curl route too effectively.

•Fixed an issue where the play was not always whistled dead when the kicking team touched the ball.

•Fixed an issue where a safety playing deep zone did not cover properly against a Trips set.

•Fixed an issue to prevent linebackers from man aligning when in Cover 3 Zone.

•Fixed an issue in Online Dynasty where multiple Dynasty members using the same playbook caused a bug preventing both users from being able to edit their playbooks.

•Fixed an issue with record breaker banners in Online Dynasty that caused the banner to appear too often.

•Fixed an issue where custom playbooks were not displayed properly for coaches when at the Coaching Carousel screen.

Online
•Fixed a very rare crash that occurred when entering online games on PS3.

•Fixed various disconnect and dysnc issues.

•Fixed an issue in Custom Playbooks where removing too many formations resulted in an empty playbook.

•Fixed an issue with the look of the sparkle on helmets in night games.

Year after agonizing year, the Bully's have been portrayed as a team that plays more like a high school team...and not even a good high school team.  I've been playing the game for years and it shames me to say that when a friend challenges me to a game, I usually pick another team instead of my beloved Bulldogs.  I came across a list of all the NCAA '12 team ratings. 

According to pastapadre over on the pastapadre.com website, the patch (which is already available) has added the ability to edit rosters from within the NCAA Football 12 game’s Dynasty Mode. The patch has also fixed a problem in Custom Playbooks, where removing too many formations would result in an empty playbook.

In terms of online play, the patch has fixed a rare crash that occurred when entering online games on the PlayStation 3, as well as fixed a number of dysnc and disconnecting problems. The issue on the Job Openings screen of the Coaching Carousel that would always default players back to the top of the list has also been fixed with the launch day patch.

British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Fernando Alonso ended Ferrari's victory drought by charging to his team's first victory of the year in the British Grand Prix.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel and poleman Mark Webber had to settle for the remaining podium spots in the two Red Bulls, with Vettel just holding on in a huge late battle between the pair.

The German's immediate burst of pace convinced everyone else to come in, with Webber, Alonso and Hamilton choosing lap 12 while Vettel and Massa stayed out till lap 13.

Alonso initially struggled to get temperature into his slicks and not only fell away from the Red Bulls, but lost third to a charging Hamilton into Copse.

With his team instructing him to save fuel, Hamilton backed off and lost third to Webber, who then caught Vettel and mounted a huge late effort to overtake his team-mate until ordered to 'maintain the gap' on the final lap.

Alonso also got past his Ferrari team mate Massa, while both Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) each made up three places on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Hamilton got past Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) as Massa got past Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) and was followed through by Hamilton, up to fifth place in just two laps after starting tenth.

Leading Positions on Lap 10

1 Vettel

2 Webber +8.1

3 Alonso +9.4

4 Massa +14.2

5 Hamilton +15.0

6 Button +22.8

7 Di Resta +25.8

8 Sutil +31.0

9 Kobayashi +35.7

10 Rosberg +36.8

On lap 12, Schumacher, on fresh tyres, set a new fast lap of 1'49.012 as Hamilton got past Massa into fourth place but he then ran wide and Massa took the place back again.

Leading Positions on Lap 20

1 Vettel

2 Webber +3.6

3 Hamilton +7.3

4 Alonso +8.6

5 Button +13.7

6 Massa +17.6

7 Di Resta +31.7

8 Sutil +32.9

9 Rosberg +37.9

10 Perez +39.4

Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres and rejoined in sixth place, 5.6 sec behind Massa.

<1--more-->

Leading Positions on Lap 30

1 Alonso

2 Hamilton +0.8

3 Vettel +2.7

4 Webber +4.1

5 Button +8.5

6 Massa +11.0

7 Rosberg +23.7

8 Perez +25.6

9 Heidfeld +37.9

10 Alguersuari +41.4

Vettel pitted on the next lap for fresh tyres. McLaren responded, pulling in Hamilton on the next lap and although their work was slick, Vettel flashed past as Hamilton rejoined the track from the pit lane.

Alonso now had a 13.1 sec lead over Webber who was 3.9 sec ahead of Button who was in turn followed by Massa (+23.4), Vettel (+24.4) and Hamilton (+27.4).

Third-placed Webber was also closing the gap to team mate Vettel, just one second behind on the penultimate lap. As the final lap started, Webber was challenging Vettel for second while Massa was challenging Hamilton for fourth.

2011 British F1 Grand Prix Results

Pos Driver Nat Team Time

1 Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari

2 Sebastian Vettel GER Red Bull +16.5

3 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull +16.9

4 Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren +28.9

5 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari +29.0

6 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes +60.6

7 Sergio Perez MEX Sauber +65.5

8 Nick Heidfeld GER Renault +75.5

9 Michael Schumacher GER Mercedes +77.9

10 Jaime Alguersuari ESP Toro Rosso +79.1

11 Adrian Sutil GER Force India +79.7

12 Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault +80.6

13 Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams +1 lap

14 Pastor Maldonado VEN Williams +1 lap

15 Paul di Resta GBR Force India +1 lap

16 Timo Glock GER Virgin +2 laps

17 Jerome d'Ambrosio BEL Virgin +2 laps

18 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Hispania +2 laps

19 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Hispania +3 laps

DNF Jenson Button GBR McLaren DNF

DNF Kamui Kobayashi JAP Sauber DNF

DNF Heikki Kovalainen FIN Lotus DNF

DNF Sébastien Buemi SUI Toro Rosso DNF

DNF Jarno Trulli ITA Lotus DNF

Hamilton was left fuming after McLaren bolted on old tyres for the final qualifying session.

2.33pm: FERNANDO ALONSO WINS THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX!

Meanwhile, Massa is all over the back of Hamilton.

Lap 47: Five laps to go at Silverstone, and it's a walk in the park for Alonso - he is 17 seconds clear of Vettel.

Lap 46: And there it is - Webber sails past Hamilton's stricken McLaren to take the final podium position. Lap 45: Vettel appears to have settled for P2 - he is 15 seconds behind Alonso now. Will Webber be able to keep Hamilton at bay? Lap 40: Jenson Button is out of of the British Grand Prix. Lap 39: So Webber comes in, but Button stays out... was that a dummy call from McLaren? Lap 38: Hamilton responds by coming in, but it isn't enough as Vettel retakes the McLaren man for P2.

NBA All-Star Deron Williams

Turkish team Besiktas says it is close to reaching a deal with NBA All-Star guard Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets, Besiktas manager Murat Murtezaoglu told the Associated Press yesterday. Jeff Schwartz, Williams’s agent, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. The 6-foot-9-inch, 265-pound Kemp is the son of former Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp.

Isner reaches Newport semifinals Top-seeded John Isner reached the semifinals of Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, R.I., with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Alex Bogomolov. baseball

Dodgers denied request for documents A Delaware judge denied a request by the Los Angeles Dodgers to order Major League Baseball to turn over a vast array of documents in the team’s bankruptcy case. Ex-NHL player Cote violated probation Former NHL player Patrick Cote surrendered Tuesday to US officers at the border crossing in Champlain, N.Y. Cote, who played for the Oilers, Predators, and Stars during his six-year career, is charged with violating probation on a drug-related conviction . . . The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired center Ryan Russell from the Montreal Canadiens for right wing Mike Blunden . . . The Phoenix Coyotes promoted goaltending coach Sean Burke to director of player development.

Kimball’s wife, Marge Marash, told the Herald that Kimball died Wednesday.

Texas Rangers

Arlington, Texas -- When the A's and Rangers originally tried to play Thursday night's game, on May 11, Texas jumped out to a big lead that was washed away.

In the makeup game, the Rangers scored five runs against their former teammate, Rich Harden, and beat Oakland 6-0 at Rangers Ballpark. Willingham returns: Outfielder Josh Willingham came off the disabled list after missing nearly three weeks with Achilles tendinitis and went 1-for-3.

With Willingham back, Hideki Matsui returned to the third spot in the order and Coco Crisp hit second.

Manager Bob Melvin said that, while nothing is guaranteed, Moscoso deserves to be considered the front-runner for that July 19 start at Detroit. Briefly: Reliever Grant Balfour came off the DL after missing 15 days with a right oblique strain.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A male fan has died after falling over the outfield railing and landing on the concrete behind the out-of-town scoreboard at the Rangers Ballpark during the second inning of Thursday's game between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics.

"We are deeply saddened to learn that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident," Rangers president/CEO Nolan Ryan said in a statement. The fan's young son attended the game with him.

The left-field wall is 14 feet high and the fan went headfirst over the railing, which is a few feet higher, for an approximately 20-foot drop. The area where the man fell Thursday is out of sight from the field.

The fan, wearing a blue Rangers cap and white Rangers shirt, was seated in the front row with his young son. Ryan added that the Rangers are "very heavy-hearted about this."

Rangers manager Ron Washington said: "Josh is fine -- outwards he's fine. Ryan left moments later while Bush remained in the seats.

The Rangers had released an initial statement saying the man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital.

Thursday's fall is the third by a fan over one of the railings. The first was April 11, 1994, after the Rangers' first home game in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete during a Colorado Rockies game.

Hamilton was unwittingly involved in the shocking tragedy in the second inning of Thursday's 6-0 Texas victory. The Rangers clubhouse was closed to reporters after the game.

Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP, drove in four runs Thursday and was selected earlier this week to start his fourth consecutive All-Star game. Manager Ron Washington said he would wait before determining if Hamilton will play Friday.

Michael Young homered Thursday to continue his hot hitting against Oakland, improving to 11 for 27 with 10 RBIs in the season series. Oakland (39-50) has totaled five runs over its last four games. Each team will start an All-Star left-hander Friday, with C.J. Wilson (8-3, 3.02 ERA) facing Gio Gonzalez (8-5, 2.31).

Willingham went 3 for 7 with a homer against Wilson in those games.

Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 34 strikeouts in his last four starts.

bolivia vs argentina

The questions will be asked - Can Lionel Messi(FC Barcelona) inspire the Argentines, will Coach Sergio Batista get the team balanced well, can Javier Mascherano(FC Barcelona) captain the side to victory? With Messi and Angel Di Maria(Real Madrid) on the wings Argentina should create a host of chances tomorrow night.

Bolivia coach Gustavo Quinteros will be looking to create shockwaves in world football and stop the galaxy of stars that will be on show for Argentina, Bolivia while not having many household names do possess a team full of battlers with a couple of their better known players Marcelo Martins(Shaktar Donetsk) and Edvaldo Hermoza(Navas) plying their trade in Europe. Martins was the one who opened the scoring in Bolivia's shock six one win over Argentina in Qualifiers for last years world cup.

Argentina will have home-field advantage as the much-anticipated Copa America kicks off on July 1st.

The 12-team tournament also features Colombia, Bolivia, and Costa Rica - the recent replacement forJapan - in Group A, with host Argentina.

Group C will include recent Gold Cup Champions Mexico, with Uruguay, Chile, and Peru.

In the 2007 Copa America tournament, Argentina sent their top players, while Brazil's squad was made up of mainly up-and-coming and inexperienced players like goalkeeper Doni, and forward Vagner Love.

With the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, as well as the 2014 World Cup, this is a great tune up for new Brazil head coach Mano Menezes. A Copa America victory on Argentina's soil would be a fantastic achievement for the Verde-Amarela.

This year's roster includes veteran Julio Cesar. While goalkeeping has been historically a rather weak position for Brazil, Julio Cesar has proven to be one of the world's elite goalkeepers.

Argentina, considered a world power in the sport, has had a drought of international success dating back to 1993 when they won they Copa America, and haven't won a World Cup since 1986.

While head coach Sergio Batista has a roster stacked with talent, and veteran Javier Zanetti has been included on the team, defense will be a serious factor in the team's success.

Argentina remains arguably the best in the world at defensive midfield, with Javier Mascherano, Fernando Gago, and Esteban Cambiasso, as well as at the wing position with Angel di Maria. Meanwhile, the forwards are also top quality with Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, and one other specific player.

Considered by many as the world's best player, Messi has been a superstar for Barcelona, but just a solid player for his country.

He has scored only 17 goals in 55 appearances for Argentina, and didn't score in the 2010 World Cup.

Los Angeles vs. New York

With Reyes unlikely to be available, the Mets look for a fourth consecutive victory Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who in contrast hope to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the year.

Bay, who drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 10th inning Sunday, helped extend the club's winning streak to three by hitting two home runs and driving in a season best-tying four in a 6-0 win Tuesday.

"I try not to get too high or too low," said Bay, batting .367 with three homers and 12 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak. While Bay has carried the offense, the starters have gone 2-0 and compiled a 1.59 ERA during the winning streak. Mike Pelfrey followed up Chris Capuano's solid effort in Monday's 5-2 victory with six strong innings Tuesday, a trend Jonathon Niese (7-7, 3.72) will try to continue.

The right-hander recorded a similar line during his last outing against the Mets, giving up five hits over eight innings of a 2-0 win July 22, 2010. Bay is 2 for 9 with a home run against Kuroda.

New York hasn't won three straight at Chavez Ravine in the same season since sweeping a three-game set Aug. 28-30, 1989.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A disturbing pattern is emerging for the offensively challenged Los Angeles Dodgers, who are having a tough time taking advantage of scoring opportunities.

Ted Lilly matched zeros with Mike Pelfrey until Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer in the fifth, helping send the last-place Dodgers to their fourth straight loss and 16th in 24 games.

Lilly came up with the bases loaded later that inning and grounded out. The Dodgers loaded the bases again in the fifth after Pelfrey retired the first two batters, but Uribe lined out to center field, lowering the team's average in bases-loaded situations to .179 (14 for 78).

Uribe hit that ball 120 mph right to the center fielder," Pelfrey said. The loss put the Dodgers 13 games under .500 (37-50) for the first time since finishing the 2005 season 71-91.

The Mets have scored 162 runs with two outs, second-most in the majors behind Boston's 166.

Beltran turned in the defensive gem of the game, robbing Rafael Furcal of extra bases with a diving, backhanded catch in the alley.

Pelfrey (5-7) scattered five hits. NOTES: Pelfrey hit Trent Oeltjen in the fourth and Miles in the fifth — both with two-strike pitches — and Miles left the game with a bruised right elbow. Dodgers RF Andre Ethier didn't play because of a high temperature. Kemp was chosen to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Bay hit a pair of homers, including an opposite-field three-run blast in the eighth inning, helping the New York Mets to a 6-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mike Pelfrey threw six shutout innings and Carlos Beltran also went deep for the Mets, who won their third straight game. Ted Lilly (5-9) yielded six hits and three runs over six innings to suffer his fourth straight loss.

The Dodgers, who went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base, lost their fourth consecutive game.

LA failed again with the bases packed in the bottom of the fifth when Juan Uribe lined out to Pagan in

Women World Cup Australia v Equatorial Guinea, Brazil v Norway

In Group A, France rose to the top -- surprisingly ahead of Germany -- with a 4-nil win over Canada while Germany earned itself another win, escaping with a 1-0 win over the much-inferior Nigeria. Sweden joined them with two wins a 1-0 win over North Korea.

Assuming the group mirrors the tight match-blowout format, Brazil-Norway's the best blowout candidate. Brazil entered the World Cup as the favorite of Group D but, like many of the other favorites, showed opening-match jitters. But that's behind them, and with a chance to win the group, Brazil would be the most likely of Group D's teams to win in blowout fashion.

That, coupled with Norway’s play (if 's anything like was saw vs. Equatorial Guinea), will get Brazil their blowout.

Equatorial Guinea battled Norway to the brink, losing 1-0 on an Emilie Haavi goal in the 84th minute. Australia, like Equatorial Guinea, gave its opponent (Brazil) all it could handle in the opening match. If Norway can duplicate that performance, they will have a legitimate shot of stealing the group, with Brazil moving to the quarterfinals as the Group D second place finisher.

Wins NASCAR Daytona David Ragan

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.

David Ragan’s victory in the Coke Zero 400 was sweet revenge.

After NASCAR black-flagged Ragan when he was leading the Daytona 500 with two laps to go, he watched his first career Sprint Cup win slip away.

Ragan drafted with Roush Fenway Racing teammateMatt Kenseth, who won the 2009 Daytona 500 under the direction of Blickensderfer. Ragan took the lead in the No. 6 UPS Ford on Lap 162 during the restart after the first of three wrecks erupted in the closing laps of the race. And Kenseth committed to pushing Ragan to the finish.

You just won it.’

We should be 13th in points. We've got good tracks coming up. So I'm happy about the win. At the start of the season, Jack Roush put Ragan on notice. Jack Roush was “hopeful” that Saturday’s win could turn the tide.

While UPS would not offer definitive plans for Ragan’s future, the sponsor did offer props Saturday night.

“We’re very proud to have David Ragan as UPS Racing’s brand ambassador and are excited to congratulate him on his first win,” said Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president, sponsorships & events. Under Blickensderfer’s direction, Ragan, 25, has made solid gains this season. “Coming back here and to get that win here at Daytona is that extra little bit that I wanted,” Ragan said. “Kind of to show the Daytona race track ‘Here’s what we’ve got.’

POINTS HIT

The No. 99 Ford team refused to quit Saturday night, but a chain of unfortunate circumstances resulted in Carl Edwards losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

Women's Soccer World Cup USA

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WBA boxing champion David Haye

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U-17 World Cup 2011, USA VS. Germany

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NEW 2011 NHL Draft

ST. PAUL — The crowd inside the XCel Center was still buzzing from a flurry of trades Saturday and Sunday when a 20-year veteran of National Hockey League entry drafts muttered “this is like an old-time draft, with all the deals.”

The Philadelphia Flyers got the ball rolling on Thursday. The Flyers were hardly done there, dealing away Mike Richards to Los Angeles Jeff Carter to Columbus. Voracek, one of countless former Blue Jackets first round picks who has fought with coaches, has untapped talent. After unloading the huge Mike Richards and Carter contracts, the Flyers may also be competing with the New York Rangers for Brad Richards when free agency begins on Friday. Columbus, meanwhile, has also dramatically changed direction. The Blue Jackets need Carter, who was stunned by the trade, to be Rick Nash’s set-up man. It’s suspected the Sharks aren’t finished trading.

The Panthers, who will struggle to reach the NHL’s salary cap floor of $49 million, added Campbell’s heavy contract in a deal for Rusty Olesz. Campbell has five years and $35.714 left on his deal.

That deal wasn’t a complete surprise.

Nick Cousins,

USA Soccer falls in Gold Cup final to Mexico

Wimbledon‎ 2011 News

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Head bowed, Andy Roddick trudged off Centre Court, his purple Wimbledon towel dragging along the turf.