THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012
sp orts Lampard doubtful for United clash LONDON: Frank Lampard could miss Chelsea’s top-of-the-table clash with Manchester United on Sunday after limping out of his side’s Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk after only 18 minutes on Tuesday with a calf injury. The 34-year-old midfielder was having a scan which will determine whether he can play in the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, the first of two matches between the sides in four days. They are also meeting each other at Stamford in the League Cup next Wednesday. “It’s a recurrence of an old injury,” Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo told reporters after the 2-1 defeat in Ukraine. Lampard was ruled out of England’s World Cup qualifiers earlier this month against San Marino and Poland with a calf problem. “He was training fine and there were no alarm bells before the game,” added Di Matteo. “He was in good condition to play.”—Reuters
Cluj split with coach Andone BUCHAREST: CFR Cluj coach Ioan Andone has left the club by mutual consent despite a decent start to their Champions League campaign because of disappointing domestic results, the Romanian champions said yesterday. “CFR Cluj’s club management and Ioan Andone have reached an agreement to end relations,” the club said in a statement. “We are proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. Andone has and will always have a special place in the hearts of our supporters.” The Railwaymen, playing for more than an hour with 10 men, drew 1-1 at Galatasaray in a lively Champions League Group H match on Tuesday to
stay second behind Manchester United having won one, drawn one and lost one of their opening three matches. United have nine points, Cluj have four, followed by Braga (3) and Galatasaray (1). However, local media and fans criticised Andone for CFR’s domestic performances. They are 10th in the Romanian top flight with 16 points from 12 matches, 13 points behind leaders Steaua Bucharest and only six points above the relegation zone. Andone, who led Cluj to a domestic double in 2008, began his second spell as coach in April after replacing Portuguese Jorge Costa and guided the team to their third league title.—Reuters
Yuvraj named to play England NEW DELHI: Cancer survivor Yuvraj Singh has been given a chance to play for India in the upcoming four-test home series against England after being picked for a three-day warm-up game in Mumbai next Tuesday. Left-handed Yuvraj underwent three cycles of chemotherapy in the U.S. in March for a rare germ cell cancer near his lungs, and was recalled by India last month before playing in the World Twenty20. Yesterday, he was named in the 14-man India A squad led by Suresh Raina. Yuvraj, a star limited-overs player who was instrumental in triumphs at the 2007 World Twenty20 and the 2011 World Cup but has never been a certainty in tests, scored 208 this month for North Zone against Central Zone in the first-class Duleep Trophy. England also plays two other warm-ups before the test series, at Mumbai (Nov. 3-5) and Ahmedabad (Nov. 811). The tests are scheduled for Ahmedabad (Nov. 1519), Mumbai (Nov. 23-27), Kolkata (Dec. 5-9) and Nagpur (Dec. 13-17).—AP
Well-rested Tigers take on well-tested Giants
Lindsey Vonn in action in this file photo.
Vonn against men ‘great for sport’ TORONTO: If Lindsey Vonn is cleared to race the men’s World Cup downhill at Lake Louise it would give the sport a huge boost, but the American should reconsider loftier plans to tackle Kitzbuehel, the head of Alpine Canada said on Tuesday. A four-time overall World Cup champion, Vonn set the ski racing world abuzz earlier this month when she petitioned the International Ski Federation (FIS) to let her race in the men’s season-opening downhill on Nov. 24 in the Canadian Rockies. “It would be great for the sport,” Alpine Canada president Max Gartner told Reuters on Tuesday. “That is what the sport needs, stories that are bigger than the sport itself.” But before Vonn can have her name added to the start list there are several technical issues that must be resolved. Vonn has stated she will only take part in the men’s race if she is allowed to compete in the women’s downhill season-opener the following weekend on what is essentially the same course. Under FIS rules, however, no racer is allowed to ski on a race course a week prior to their own competition. In a compromise, Vonn has reportedly offered to forgo two training runs for the women’s race as a way of evening out the playing field if she can compete in both events. The FIS Council is expected to make a decision at its next meeting on Nov. 3-4 in Switzerland. “You can work around those things,” said Gartner. “There has got to be a bit of give and take.” Vonn has had a long-running love affair with Lake Louise having recorded 11 wins and a staggering 17 podium finishes on the undulating layout tucked away in the wilderness of Banff National Park. The 28-year-old speed queen claimed her first career World Cup win at the posh Canadian resort in 2004 and had nine of her 26 career downhill wins come on the Olympic course. Given her familiarity with the track, officials and fellow racers say Vonn will face no added
risks, but Lake Louise, like any other downhill, has claimed its share of victims. Among them is Canada’s John Kucera, the 2009 world downhill champion, who suffered a devastating leg injury the following season that sidelined him for the better part of two seasons. “Her picking Lake Louise wasn’t a fluke,” Kucera told Reuters. “She’s well aware that it is the course she has the best chance on. “It’s longer and it’s prepared a little more challenging than the women’s course but all-in-all it has a lot of similarities. “Lindsey is a good skier and it’s not like it’s way above her ability level but it’s definitely going to be a change.” Racing at Lake Louise, rated as one of the most benign layouts on the men’s circuit is one thing, but challenging the ferocious Hahnenkamm is another. Vonn told the Austrian Press Agency recently that she would like to race Kitzbuehel before she retires but some people have suggested that it is one item she might want to remove from her bucket list. “I admire every athlete that pushes out of that start gate wanting to go as fast as they can because it’s scary,” said Gartner. “Once you push out there is no more stopping. There is no slowing down, you’re going. “It’s expertise, guys who have skied it for many years know this beast and how to manage it.” The treacherous Streif course is routinely the scene of some of ski racing’s most terrifying crashes striking respect and fear into even the most seasoned downhiller. Canadian downhiller Brian Stemmle narrowly survived a near fatal crash that left him in the hospital for months when he lost control and flung into the safety netting. “I loved how she said about Kitzbuehel that she will race that at the end of her career because it probably will be the end of her career,” smiled Stemmle. “I give her credit for laying it out there and wanting to do it and progress her sport. “Kitzbuehel I think is a little over her head, it’s just different”— AP
NZ seek Muralitharan help on Sri Lanka tour CHRISTCHURCH: Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan will be asked to pass on his expertise to New Zealand’s bowlers and batsmen on their tour of Sri Lanka, the country’s head coach has said. The New Zealand-based members of the team leave for the tour, which includes a Twenty20 match, five one day internationals and two tests, today with new bowling coach Shane Bond making his first tour with the side. The former New Zealand paceman was only appointed to the role last week and has had little to do with spin bowlers throughout his career, hence head coach Mike Hesson’s decision to seek Muralitharan’s help. The 40-year-old off-spinner retired from the longer form of the game in 2010, capturing his 800th wicket with the final ball of his test career. “Obviously Muralitharan lives in Sri Lanka in Colombo and he’s someone we’ve got contacts with,” Hesson told reporters at Christchurch airport yesterday. “We haven’t been able to firm things up but we’re also looking into the possibility of another specialist coach. “We’ve got some guys lined up but they add to the mix and help Shane in terms of his development - and also the players. “We play half of our cricket in the sub-
continent and even now the West Indies’ conditions are very sub-continental. We’ll get exposed to a lot of spin, and in this series 70-80 percent of our overs we face will be spin-based. “How well we adapt and how well we play them will dictate the outcome.” Local media also reported that former Sri Lankan left arm pace bowler Chaminda Vaas would help Bond work with the attack. New Zealand have selected three left arm seamers - Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and James Franklin - for the tour, while Jeetan Patel and newcomer Todd Astle are the only specialist spin bowlers in the test squad. Off-spinner Nathan McCullum and left arm spinner Ronnie Hira have been included in the limited-overs squad, while batsmen Rob Nicol, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson are handy part-time spinners. “That (spin bowling) is an area of weakness I think,” Bond told Television New Zealand. “In terms of technique, psychology and playing under the pressure it is all the same bowling seam and pace. “It is probably more getting into the mindset of a spin bowler. “All I can do is communicate and talk as much as I can with those spin bowlers and still challenge around their plans and what they want to do.” The first match will be the Twenty20 international at Pallekele on Oct. 30. — Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO: Jim Leyland and the Detroit Tigers found out the hard way that rest means rust in the World Series. Six years ago, their last Series appearance, they lounged around for nearly a week before getting wiped out by St. Louis. This time, while once again waiting for the National League opponent to be decided, they stayed busy by working on bunts, playing against their instructional league team and letting ace Justin Verlander throw to hitters. “Well, we just tried to come up with something,” Leyland said Tuesday. “It wasn’t like in 2006, where some people would indicate we sat around happy to get there, not doing anything, eating bon-bons.” “That wasn’t the case. We ran into bad weather problems in Detroit, so we were really handicapped,” the manager said. “So this time we’ve done some things to try to keep us from being idle for four or five days. I definitely think it affected the last World Series.” Verlander will start Game 1 late yesterday against Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants, fresh off another stirring comeback and a Game 7 win Monday night over the Cardinals. “I feel like I haven’t played in over two months when you clinch so quick like this and have to wait for the other team,” Tigers reliever Jose Valverde said. Not quite that long. “What is it, eight months of baseball? What’s five days?” Tigers star Prince Fielder asked. Said Zito: “ I guess we can hypothesize for a while on how prepared they are, being that they haven’t played these high-intensity games.” The Tigers made it easy on themselves, sweeping the Yankees in the AL championship series. They traveled to San Francisco on Tuesday and held a late-afternoon workout at AT&T Park. “I loved it because it means we’re in the World Series,” Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. “Someone asked me that question after we won and I was like, ‘Would you rather if we had lost some of those games?’ It doesn’t really matter to me. We did everything we could to stay mentally sharp.” The Giants had no trouble in that department. They’ve been on quite a wild ride this October, first overcoming an 2-0 deficit to beat Cincinnati in the best-of-five division series, then escaping a 3-1 hole to beat the defending champion Cardinals in the NLCS. “You have to throw it all away because it could work in either team’s favor,” Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “We’ve been playing every day, so guys might be a little more tired, whereas they’ve got more rest. Then again, we’ve been playing, so we’ve got our timing, where they might not.” And this little fact: Three times in the past, the World Series has matched a team that went to Game 7 in the LCS against a club that swept its series. In all three instances, the team coming off a Game 7 win breezed to the championship. Boston swept Colorado in 2007, St. Louis chased Detroit in five games in 2006 and Orel Hershiser and the Dodgers beat Oakland in five games in 1988. “We’re fine. I think we’re in the groove and feeling good,” Giants ace Matt Cain said. Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera has gone both routes in early rounds. The Tigers slugger was a rookie with the Marlins in 2003 when they rallied past the Chicago Cubs to win the seven-game NLCS and went on to beat the Yankees for the title. This time, the Tigers gave themselves five off days. “It’s very different. In ‘03 we came from behind like San Francisco did this year,” he said. “We have to focus on what we can do. We can’t focus on, ‘OK we haven’t played, we’re going to get down.’ It’s tough. We have to be ready to play tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.” Leyland and Giants manager Bruce Bochy both hoped to be a quick study. There’s not a lot of history between these longtime franchises - they’ve never met in the postseason, and have played only 12 times since interleague action began in 1997. “I don’t really know the Giants that well. I’m kind of getting a crash course on them,” Leyland said. “But to be honest, when they were down
SAN FRANCISCO: Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera throws a ball during a workout for baseball’s World Series. The Tigers play the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 late yesterday. — AP 0-2 going into Cincinnati having to win three games, for me that was unbelievable. So nothing surprised me when they got to the championship series after I saw what they did in the divisional series,” he said. Likewise for Bochy. “I’ll have to learn a lot about them real
soon, to be honest,” he said Monday night. “I know what a great club they are. And we know all about the guy we’re going to be facing opening day and their whole staff,” he said. “They swept the Yankees. That tells you how good they are.” — AP
Time not on Stoner’s side SYDNEY: Confidence and time-Casey Stoner knows both are in short supply as the double world champion prepares for his tilt at a record sixth successive Australian MotoGP victory. Stoner needed surgery after breaking his right ankle in a crash during qualifying at Indianapolis in August and while he returned for the last two races in Japan and Malaysia, the 27-year-old knows he needs more time to fully recover. With retirement looming in November, however, time is not on Stoner’s side. “There is a bloody good reason why I can’t ride like I really want to,” the Honda rider told local media yesterday. “I know I am not at 100 percent and, to win at this level, everything has to be very close to 100 percent to feel fantastic. “So for Phillip Island, I really don’t know what to expect,” added Stoner, who said he felt as if something was “holding him back”. Stoner, who has notched 37 MotoGP wins, finished fifth in Japan on his return from injur y and while he took third in Malaysia last weekend, he admitted he lacked the confidence to challenge for the win in wet weather.
Casey Stoner in action in this file photo.
“The thing is I’m not fully healed. Most people would have waited a lot longer before coming back and I should have but I can’t. I haven’t got much time left before the end of my season,” said Stoner. “If I was in much better shape and I crashed and hit my foot, it would not be a problem but, if I do that now, then I am going to put myself back another four or five months.” “If I dislocate it again, I’m in strife. We are talking broken ligaments - not just torn,” he added. “Last Sunday in Sepang, I went thinking I’d just go around carefully, finish the race and not take any risks.” Stoner, who is out of the championship race, will have Turn 3 at the Phillip Island track named after him at a ceremony today. His final MotoGP race is in Valencia next month. Fellow Australian world motorcycling champions Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner also have portions of the track named after them at the circuit on the island southeast of Melbourne. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo leads the standings on 330 points ahead of fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa of Honda on 307. Stoner is in third on 213 points. — Reuters