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Kaieteur News
Tuesday January 07, 2014
Eusebio funeral: Thousands Stosur survives as top line streets to say farewell players toil in warm-ups BBC Sport - Tens of thousands of Portuguese have turned out to say a final farewell to football legend Eusebio, who died on Sunday. In Lisbon, mourners lined the streets applauding as the coffin, draped in the colours of his club Benfica, passed by in a funeral cortege. Earlier, thousands of fans sang and cheered as the coffin was taken round the Luz stadium. Eusebio’s burial took place at a cemetery in the north of the city. Tributes were paid at a Mass held in the city’s Seminary Church near the stadium. Portugal has declared three days of national mourning for the footballer, who died from a heart attack at the age of 71. He has been described as Portugal’s first and greatest football superstar. Born in Mozambique when it was still a Portuguese colony, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira went on to play 64 times for Portugal, scoring 41 goals. The Benfica striker was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England, with nine goals, including four against North Korea.Widely considered one of the best players of all time, he scored
733 times in 745 professional matches. UNITED BY PRIDE When his death was announced on Sunday, celebrities from the world of football and beyond paid tribute to the player known in his day as the Black Panther. “Football has lost a legend,” Fifa President Sepp Blatter wrote on Twitter. Portugal’s President Anibal Cavaco Silva said: “Portugal has today lost one of its most beloved sons, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira. The country mourns his death.” Former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano said: “I have lost a friend. Portuguese football has lost one of its greatest idols. Football brought Mozambique and Portugal together, and everyone in Mozambique is proud of Eusebio.” At the Luz stadium, or Stadium of Light, Eusebio’s coffin was carried from the hearse and placed on a golden plinth in the centre of the pitch. It remained there for only five minutes or so before being returned to the car for a procession in front of fans. Fans draped scarves over the statue of the player that stands outside the stadium. The stadium, opened in 2003,
replaced the 120,000-seat Stadium of Light where Eusebio dazzled for Benfica, helping them to numerous honours. “For me, he is simply the creator of football,” said 24-year-old fan Luis Marques. One banner left by the Eusebio statue read: “I haven’t come to say goodbye, but to say thank you.” GLITTERING RECORD Famed for his blistering acceleration and dribbling skills, Eusebio was named European Footballer of the Year in 1965. He won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and was in the side that lost to Manchester United in the 1968 Wembley final. In the 1966 World Cup, Eusebio’s goals helped Portugal win all their group games as title holders Brazil were eliminated in the first round. He then starred in a dramatic 5-3 win over North Korea in the quarter-finals, with his four goals helping his side come back from 3-0 down. Portugal went on to lose 2-1 in the last four to England, with Eusebio in tears as he left the pitch at the end of the game. Married with two daughters, in retirement he became an ambassador for Benfica and Portugal.
Munir Dar suspended for illegal action ESPNcricinfo -Munir Dar, the Hong Kong left-arm spinner, has been found to have an illegal bowling action and has been suspended by the ICC from bowling in international cricket for 12 months. According to an analysis carried out by the ICC, the amount of elbow extension in Dar’s action across all deliveries (stock delivery, quicker one and arm ball) exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted. Dar was reported twice during the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE, firstly on November 15 last year following a group match against Italy, and then on November 28 following a playoff match against Papua New Guinea. Dar was first reported by umpires C Shamshuddin, Michael Gough, Ian Ramage and match referee Dev Govindjee, and was required to submit to an analysis by his home board, which concluded that his action was legal. As such, Dar was permitted to continue bowling in international cricket.
Samantha Stosur
“I tried to be aggressive and not let her attack, because she’s really good playing down the line from the backhand,” Makarova told the tournament website. “So I tried to move her to the backhand, not to stand and hit it. “I was just thinking that it would be a really long match, every point is really long because she never miss those easy balls. “But I showed my best tennis, and it works really well. I’m happy that I came through.”Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, playing for the first time since announcing her engagement to golfer Rory McIlroy over the New Year, overcame a tough challenge from Germany’s Julia Goerges before she clinched a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory to set up a second round showdown against Safarova. American Jack Sock vindicated Auckland Open organizers’ decision to give him a wild card with a 6-3 6-4 victory over France’s Adrian Mannarino to set up a second round clash against second seed Tommy Haas of Germany.
Schumacher’s condition remains critical
Munir Dar was reported twice during the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Graham Crouch / © IDI/Getty
However, any subsequent report within a period of two years of the date of the first report requires a bowler to submit to an ICC analysis, and Dar was reported a second time by umpires Michael Gough, S Ravi, Adrian Holdstock, John Ward and match referee Graeme Labrooy. As a result, he was required to submit to an ICC analysis. Where an ICC analysis concludes that a player’s action is illegal, the player is
(Reuters) - Australia’s Samantha Stosur failed to allay fears she could be heading for another early exit at her home grand slam with a scrappy performance in Hobart while a trio of big names tumbled out of the Sydney International on Monday. Double grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and French Open winner Francesca Schiavone crashed out of the first round in Sydney, while former world number one Jelena Jankovic also booked an early flight to Melbourne for next week’s Australian Open. Stosur appeared on course become the third grand slam winner to lose on Monday when she struggled at the Hobart International before the top seed overcame two lengthy rain delays, chilly conditions and stubborn American Madison Brengle. The 23-year-old Brengle won the first set in a tiebreak before Stosur managed to run away with the second and then claimed the third set tiebreak on her fifth match point to clinch the 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 7-6 (7-5) victory. Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, has struggled on home soil in the past five years, having not advanced beyond the fourth round, with six first round exits in 14 tournaments in Sydney, Brisbane and the Australian Open. She lost all three of her matches in the Hopman Cup in Perth before entering Hobart, which had attracted a strong field before a wrist injury forced Italy’s Flavia Pennetta to join Venus Williams on the sidelines. SYDNEY LOSSES Russia’s Kuznetsova, who had a good second half of 2013 to enter the Sydney tournament inside the top 20 after battling back from knee injuries in 2012, was surprisingly beaten 6-3 3-6 7-5 by American lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko. Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, lost 6-4 6-4 to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. The 33-year-old Italian was also knocked out of the first round of the Brisbane tournament last week by Jankovic. Serbia’s Jankovic, the fourth seed in Sydney, was unable to repeat her semi-final run in Brisbane and was swept aside 6-4 6-2 by Russian left hander Ekaterina Makarova, who used her big ground strokes to move the world number eight around the court.
immediately suspended from bowling in any international cricket for a period of 12 months. Upon the expiry of the suspension period, Dar will be automatically eligible to bowl again in international cricket. The ICC analysis was performed by associate professor Jacque Alderson and her team at the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, in Perth on December 19.
PARIS (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher ’s condition remains stable but critical, eight days after the German suffered brain injuries in a skiing accident in France. “The clinical state of Michael Schumacher is stable as he’s under permanent care and treatment,” Grenoble hospital said in a statement on Monday. “However, the medical team in charge stresses that it continues to assess his situation as critical.” The retired seven-times Formula One world champion slammed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste on December 27. Schumacher has been in an induced coma since then and has undergone two operations in Grenoble.
The medical team and the German’s management repeated on Monday their call to respect his privacy and said they would not send any more statements nor hold any news conference until further notice. Last week his agent Sabine Kehm urged journalists to stay away from Schumacher after security guards said they intercepted a reporter disguised as a priest who was trying to get into his room. “The patient’s privacy requires that we do not disclose any details about his treatment and that’s why we do not plan any news conference nor written statements for now,” said the medical team and Schumacher’s management.
“We ask you again, insistently, to ... stick to the information provided by the medical team in charge or his management because they are the only valid ones.” While Schumacher is battling for his life after suffering severe internal bleeding on the skull, French authorities are investigating the accident that took place in the Alps resort of Meribel. The Annecy prosecutor on Monday said he will hold a news conference on Wednesday. Schumacher, who turned 45 on Friday, is the most successful Formula One driver of all time with 91 race victories. He left the sport last year after a disappointing threeyear comeback with Mercedes following an earlier retirement from Ferrari at the end of 2006.