10
Dimapur
SPORTS
Sunday 26 January 2014
The Morung Express
Liverpool ease past Bournemouth Anthony breaks records
with 62 as Knicks roll
Liverpool's Victor Moses, left, fights for the ball with AFC Bournemouth's Simon Francis, right, during an English FA Cup 4th round soccer match in Bournemouth, south England on January 25. Liverpool won the match 2-0. (AP Photo)
LONDON, JaNuaRY 25 (REutERs): Goals from Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge eased Liverpool through a tricky FA Cup fourth round tie at Championship (second division) Bournemouth on Saturday although they had to work hard for a 2-0 victory. Moses settled some Liverpool jitters at a packed Dean Court, scene of Bournemouth's famous FA Cup defeat of Manchester United in 1984, with a low fin-
ish after 25 minutes. Sturridge then combined with Luis Suarez to finish off the hosts after an hour. However, the visitors were matched by Bournemouth throughout the match and survived a few scares before halftime. Lewis Grabban started and finished a flowing Bournemouth move only to see his shot deflected over the crossbar by Kolo Toure and shortly afterwards Tommy Elphick headed a great
chance over the bar from a corner. Bournemouth fell behind shortly afterwards when Moses, on loan from Chelsea, received the ball just outside the penalty area, took a step inside and drilled a right-foot shot through the legs of a defender and just inside the post. It was tough on Bournemouth who kept plugging away and were still very much alive in the early stages of the second half when they were denied a penalty after
Liverpool defender Martin Kelly blatantly grabbed the shirt of Simon Francis. Their sense of injustice was heightened almost immediately when Suarez slipped a perfectly weighted pass through the Bournemouth rearguard and Sturridge ran on to score. Liverpool join Arsenal in the draw for the fifth round after the Gunners beat Coventry City on Friday. Chelsea host Stoke City on Sunday.
Arsenal beat Coventry in FA Cup
LONDON, JaNuaRY 25 (aP): Lukas Podolski scored a brace in the first half on Friday to help give Arsenal a routine 4-0 victory over third-tier Coventry in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In a game that Arsenal dominated from the start, Podolski put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute by slotting home a cool finish after being set up by Mesut Ozil. He then doubled the lead with a close-range header from a corner in the 27th.
The win was never in doubt after that and Arsenal added two late goals as substitute Olivier Giroud struck in the 85th after replacing Podolski five minutes earlier, before Santi Cazorla slotted in the fourth. In Friday's only other FA Cup game, Nottingham Forest was held to a 0-0 draw at home against Preston. Playing in a steady drizzle in north London, it was the kind of comfortable victory Arsenal had hoped for as
it looks ahead to facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout round, while trying to protect its slim lead atop the Premier League. Despite playing at home against third-tier opposition, manager Arsene Wenger named a surprisingly strong starting lineup with both Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere in midfield — perhaps worried about another upset after going out to Blackburn last season.
NEW YORK, JaNuaRY 25 (aP): Carmelo Anthony let it fly from halfcourt, and when it went in, he had proof of what was already obvious. "When I made the shot at the half, I told myself the zone was there," Anthony said. Soon, he had passed Kevin Durant. Next was Bernard King, and finally Kobe Bryant. Three records, all shot down in one scintillating performance. Anthony scored a career-high 62 points to break the franchise and current Madison Square Garden marks, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96 on Friday night to stop a five-game losing streak. Anthony made 23-of-35 shots, one when he leapt from center court to beat the halftime buzzer, and even added 13 rebounds in the NBA's highest-scoring performance this season. Anthony had 56 after three quarters, bettering Durant's previous season high of 54, and stayed in for the first few minutes of the fourth to break King's Knicks record of 60 set in 1984 and Bryant's arena record of 61 set five years ago. "I made history tonight, with the performance, but just to be a part of that group of people, like I said, there's only a small group of people that knows what that zone feels like and tonight I was one of them," Anthony said. It was easily the highlight of the season for Anthony, on pace to miss the playoffs for the first time in his career and facing frequent questions about his future with the team as he heads into free agency this summer. That was all on hold for one night, the focus simply on Anthony's amazing scoring. He easily passed his previous career best of 50 points and possibly could've even passed 70 or more had
Arsenal's Lukas Poldoski, center heads the ball to score his second goal during their fourth round English FA Cup soccer match between Arsenal and Coventry City at the Emirates stadium in London, Friday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo)
the game been close. Instead, he checked out for good after breaking the records when he banked in a short jumper with 7:24 to play. "I've seen him score a lot of points, but that was some performance right there," said J.R. Smith, who was also a teammate of Anthony's in Denver. Smith noticed a different focus from Anthony before the game, a seriousness replacing the usual laughter. Perhaps some of it was some added pregame motivation after the team
watched a video featuring Muhammad Ali, one of Anthony's favorite athletes. With the Knicks desperately thin in the frontcourt after losing Andrea Bargnani on top of the injuries to Amar'e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin, Anthony simply took on more of the scoring load as New York won for the first time on its eight-game homestand after dropping the first three. King, elected to the Hall of Fame last year, said he was proud of Anthony, who he considers one of
the best players in the game. "If anyone was to break my Knicks record that I have held for so long, I'm absolutely delighted that it was Carmelo," King said through the team's public relations department. Al Jefferson had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, snapping his streak of four straight 20-10 games. Charlotte had won two in a row, holding division leaders Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers to an average of 93 points.
cannot stop people to be happy," Mourinho said. United refused to negotiate with Chelsea in the offseason when Mourinho lodged two bids for Wayne Rooney, who was pushing for a transfer after losing his regular place in United's team. Mourinho said that hadn't been a factor in dealing with Mata. "Would Chelsea supporters be happy if we stop a fantastic person, that they all like, from being happy, if we say you only can go to Russia, China, to France or to Portugal, not England?" Mourinho asked. "To say now, 'You cannot go, Juan, to United because United refused in the summer to sell us Wayne Rooney,' I don't think it's fair to Juan. So if they decide not to sell (Rooney, it's) their decision." United will hope the arrival of Mata, who is likely to be in Spain's squad for the World Cup in Brazil, proves to be a turning point in its so-far lackluster season under new manager David Moyes.
BaRCELONa, JaNuaRY 25 (REutERs): The deal to sign Neymar cost Barcelona 86.2 million euros, including payments to the forward and his family, the club said on Friday after the player's father revoked a confidentiality agreement. The Brazil international's close-season move from Santos, which the Spanish club initially said was worth 57.1 million euros, is being investigated by a court for possible misappropriation of funds following a complaint from a Barca member. Sandro Rosell, who was named in the lawsuit but denies wrongdoing, stepped down as president on Thursday. He said he wanted to protect the club's image and alleged he and his family had been threatened. Barca had been reluctant to reveal all the details of the deal, citing the confidentiality agreement,
but after a board meeting on Friday, Rosell's successor Josep Bartomeu told a news conference Neymar's father had given them permission to go public. Barca director Raul Sanllehi reiterated the transfer on its own had cost 57.1 million euros including 17.1 million euros to Santos and 40 million euros as a "compensation fee" paid to a company owned by Neymar's parents. However, he also detailed other payments around the transfer such as a signing bonus of 10 million euros and various other fees paid to the family that took the total cost to 86.2 million. Barca are paying Neymar 8.8 million euros in wages per season for his five-year contract, said Sanllehi. "Neymar's father waived the confidentiality agreement because he considers what has happened (to Rosell) to be unjust," Bartomeu said.
No plans to wake ManU agrees deal with Chelsea to sign Mata ‘Neymar deal cost Schumi out of coma almost $118 million’
LONDON, JaNuaRY 25 (aNI): Doctors battling to save the life of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher reportedly have no plans to wake him from the coma. The seven-time German world champion has been in a medically-induced coma after he suffered severe brain injuries in a French Alps skiing crash in late December. According to the Mirror, neurosurgeons at the hospital in Grenoble where the former Ferrari racer is being treated have still not revealed any date when
they may try to bring him out of the coma, while some experts fear that he may remain in a permanent vegetative state for the rest of his life. The report mentioned that Schumacher is still classed as critically ill following the December 29 accident when he smashed his skull against a rock while skiing, and medical experts said that the prognosis for a recovery so long after being on life-support machines does not bode well. The report further said that the medical intention of an induced coma is to decrease the brain's need for oxygen to ease its workload and therefore give it time to recover, although the longer the coma is induced, the bleaker the chances become. It was the fear of a brain haemorrhage, if Schumacher is awoken, which has made his medical team keep him under, with an expert saying that even if Schumacher wakes up, his memory could be 'wiped out'.
MaNCHEstER, JaNuaRY 25 (aP): Juan Mata is on the brink of becoming the most expensive player in Manchester United's history after the Premier League champions announced Friday they have reached an agreement with Chelsea over the transfer of the Spain midfielder. United released a statement saying Mata will move for a club-record fee "subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms." Although United didn't give any further details, the club this week made a bid of 37 million pounds ($61 million) for Mata, which would eclipse the 30.7 million pounds that United paid to sign striker Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham in 2008. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Mata had requested to leave Stamford Bridge after losing his place in the London club's starting lineup. "I asked him (Mata), 'Are you really happy to go?'" Mourinho
Juan Mata (AP File Photo)
said. "He said, 'Yes, I'm really happy to go.' "We hope he does well," Mourinho added in a news conference. "We are convinced he is going to do well. If Man United pays their record for a player, it's because they know exactly what they want from him. And they know exactly what he can give them." The 25-year-old Mata was Chelsea's player of the year for the last two seasons but has been marginalized at the London club this cam-
paign following the return of Mourinho as manager. He has largely been on the bench, with Mourinho preferring Eden Hazard, Willian and Oscar as his playmakers. "If he cannot be fully happy here because he is not playing 100 percent like he was the last two years, if he has a big club that wants him — even if it's a rival club and in England — the club decided, and I was on the club's side for this feeling, that you
Nadal win may intensify 'all-time greatest' debate
MELBOuRNE, JaNuaRY 25 (REutERs): Rafa Nadal has the opportunity to add another chapter to his storied career, and intensify an already robust debate, should he beat Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday's Australian Open final. A victory would make the Spanish left-hander the third man to win all four grand slam titles twice, joining Australians Rod Laver and Roy Emerson, and also draw him level with Pete Sampras on 14 career major titles. It would also leave him three behind Wawrinka's compatriot Roger Federer, who Nadal beat in the semifinals, and would no doubt generate another round of debate as to who can justifiably be called the greatest player of all time. "Is there one greatest player of all time?" Sampras replied when asked by reporters if Nadal or Federer could be labelled with
that mantle. "I believe when you look at the history of the game, each decade has their player. "Certainly Roger has been the best player for the last 10 years. Rafa is up there with him. (Novak) Djokovic is pushing. So it's really hard to say. "Rafa has won all the majors, he's been number one. You could argue that he's well up there. If he plays the next four or five years, he could have 17, 18 majors. "Let's just appreciate what we're watching. It's hard to compare the numbers and the eras where we all did our thing." Both sides have a strong case in the Nadal v Federer debate. Fans of the Swiss suggest Nadal's record is skewed by his claycourt dominance over the years, while the Spaniard's supporters point to his 23-10 head-to-head record over Federer. If Nadal does beat Wawrinka, however, it is inevitable the question will be asked
whether he can achieve what no man has done since Laver in 1969 and win a calendar grand slam. Few would bet against him winning his ninth French Open title in early June. He has lost just one match - to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 - at the claycourt grand slam since 2005. And the manner in which he accounted for 17-times grand slam winner Federer, who had looked back to his fluid best at Melbourne Park after a dismal 2013, suggests he will be hard to beat at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Nadal, who has played the tournament with strapping across his left hand due to a painful blister, is only focused on the challenge posed by the 28-yearold Wawrinka. "He's playing better than ever ... he's a player that is ready to win against everybody," Nadal said. "If I don't play my best tennis ... I don't have (a) chance to
beat him."
MAJOR CONCERN Nadal holds a 12-0 career record over Wawrinka but he has every reason to be concerned about the challenge from the quietly spoken Swiss, who has found a new level of consistency and seems confident he can reach the upper echelon of the men's game. He pushed Djokovic to five-sets in both the Australian and U.S. Open last year - the latter was in his first grand slam semi-final which capped off a year in which scored eight wins against top-10 opponents, the third-best total on the ATP Tour. Wawrinka started 2014 by winning his fifth career title at Chennai and then beat world number two Djokovic, again in five sets, in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, ending a 14-match losing streak to the
Serb. He handily beat seventh Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals. "I saw him play against Novak. I saw him play against Berdych. He's playing great," Nadal said. "He's serving unbelievable. He's hitting the ball very strong from the baseline. "If I am not able to play my best, I think I will not have chances because he's coming to this match with a lot of victories and playing great." Wawrinka said his past record against Nadal had not entered his thoughts and he was heading into his first grand slam final with a lot of confidence. "The record is not what I'm looking (at). That's what is it against Rafa (and) I don't care about having lost 14 times. "But I (had) some good match last year against him, close ones ... (and) I have more confidence in myself. "I know that when I go on court I can beat almost everybody, even in the big stage."
Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a shot during a training session, one day before his men's singles final against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)