Manchester City to unveil $40M signing Tevez

Big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City will unveil the much-anticipated signing of Argentina international Carlos Tevez on Tuesday afternoon.

Argentina star Carlos Tevez is moving across Manchester to join United's bitter rivals City.
City revealed on Monday night that the striker has agreed a five-year contract and would complete his move from bitter rivals Manchester United after passing a medical.
The 25-year-old is expected to face the media ahead of City's departure on Wednesday for a three-match pre-season tour of South Africa.
A fee for the transfer has not yet been revealed, but it is reported that City have agreed to pay about $40 million to take over the player's ownership rights from the sports agencies which previously held them.
"It is terrific news," City manager Mark Hughes told the club's official Web site. "Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward.
"He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goal scorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension.

"I cannot wait to welcome him to City. This is yet another deal that shows the commitment of the owner Sheikh Mansour to make this club the very best it can possibly be. I am sure our fans will give Carlos an exceptionally warm welcome."
The capture of Tevez will be a big boost for the club and its billionaire Abu Dhabi-based owner, who was forced to end his long-running bid to sign Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o.

The Cameroon international, who had been offered a reported $400,000 a week wages, stalled on the move after being offered a new deal by the European champions, with some papers claiming he wanted a big chunk of any transfer fee paid by City.



The Mancunians have also made a huge offer for Chelsea captain John Terry, but the London club have insisted that the England defender is not for sale.
Hughes is reportedly also hoping to sign Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor in another $40 million deal that would leave the Welshman with nine strikers at his disposal.

The former Manchester United forward already has new $30 million signing Roque Santa Cruz, January's $23 million acquisition Craig Bellamy and Brazil star Robinho -- who arrived a year ago in a British-record $58 million coup.
Felipe Caicedo, Valeri Bojinov, Benjani Mwaruwari and Ched Evans have also been given shirt numbers -- Tevez will wear No. 32 -- in a 57-strong squad named ahead of the new season.
Hughes has released former England international striker Darius Vassell, while England Under-20 forward Daniel Sturridge has joined Chelsea for a fee to be resolved by a tribunal.
Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has revealed that he knew as long ago as January that Tevez would end his two-year stay at Old Trafford.
"I half-expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back," the Scot said. "I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan (in March) and he never came back to me.
"I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago.
"He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else."
Tevez scored 19 goals in 63 appearances for Premier League champions United after joining from West Ham, who he controversially saved from relegation despite a furor over his part-ownership with agent Kia Joorabchian's MSI Group.

He has won 50 international caps, and has recently returned from holidays following Argentina's latest World Cup qualifiers.


Tevez, who has won an Olympic gold medal, is the only man to be named South American Player of the Year in three successive

Australia send England back to drawing board

This is, admittedly, early in a series to be grasping at straws, but there are precedents for teams coming back to win after being outplayed in the opening encounter. Only last summer, South Africa followed on 346 in arrears in the first Test at Lord’s yet batted their way to safety before winning the next two matches.


England can do something similar now in the Ashes. They can bat their way to a draw today in the first npower Test — the pitch remains basically good and is hardly of threatening pace — and in more favourable bowling conditions demonstrate that Australian batsmanship is not always as pleasing on the eye as Silvio Berlusconi’s Cabinet. But it will take immense character. Four days into the series, Ricky Ponting’s side have struck several telling blows.
England’s novel plan of beating Australia with a pair of spinners lies in tatters. On a pitch offering turn, the combined figures of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar read 73-12-246-1. Instructions have already gone out for pitches later in the series to assist spin but it will be a brave man who reunites this pair.
Two bowlers harmed and two batsmen, too. If England’s fragile batting is to prosper, the top order must function well, but Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara have failed twice here in favourable conditions and with Brett Lee absent.

Cook’s two dismissals were sadly predictable, caught off an open face and leg-before falling over. “Seen it all before, Chef,” the Aussies will say. And they will like what they see in Bopara, frozen by Peter Siddle bouncers and yesterday playing across the line to his third ball. It was a poor decision from umpire Billy Doctrove — the ball was high — but there is enough to suggest Bopara is batting too high for his, or our, comfort.


The Australians also returned to what are clearly well-laid plans for Kevin Pietersen, bowling full and straight at him early on when he, like Bopara, tends to play cross-batted shots. Already, Andrew Strauss and Pietersen are under pressure to holds things together.
Going into the game, England had spoken of hitting the Australians hard, but where, when it came to it, was the aggression? Over the Caerphilly mountains and far away. England have batted positively, but this isn’t calculated aggression, more a dangerous cocktail of agitation and adrenalin. Again, they have begun a series nervily on the back foot.
Yesterday provided pitiful fare for English supporters. Their team’s time-wasting was blatant, ambitions limited to delaying Australia’s declaration, preferably until the rain arrived. But the expected deluge failed to make an appearance until tea, by which time England were tottering at 20 for two. The darkest clouds kept skirting the ground.
Marcus North and Brad Haddin helped themselves to some of the easier Test runs they will make. As a declaration of intent, Strauss’s decision to start with Stuart Broad rather than Andrew Flintoff had all the punch of a powder-puff and after leaking 16 runs in two overs Broad was in danger of being withdrawn. But he recovered his poise, as did Swann and Panesar, who, with the pressure off, turned the ball more.
Despite the spinners bowling 10 overs, England delivered just 27 in the session, which ended with North reaching a composed century, his second in three Test appearances, and Haddin his fifty. By batting until mid-afternoon, Ponting was giving Haddin a chance of a hundred and making the kind of brutal statement of intent loved by Aussie captains in opening Ashes Tests.
Strauss, his field settings bedraggled, must have felt the humiliation long before Australia closed on 674 for six or Haddin became the fourth man to reach a century, the first time the feat had been accomplished against England in 887 Tests. It was, indeed, only the second time the feat had been achieved in Ashes Tests. The previous occasion was by England at Trent Bridge in 1938. North and Haddin added 200 before Haddin holed out off the part-time medium pace of Paul Collingwood.
Batting again, England were footsore and weary and no doubt fighting off the here-we-go-again feeling. They had been under pressure for much of the game and Ponting would have sensed that even with his inexperienced attack — the four frontline bowlers boasted just 35 caps before this game — he had a good chance of going one up.
Whatever the outcome today, England must not panic. When they lost the first Test in 2005, they kept faith with the XI; this time one change, jettisoning a spinner for a seamer, might be as far as they should go. Despite his most erratic bowling to date, Swann must be retained ahead of Panesar. His batting is required, so too his unquenchable chirpiness. Graham Onions will surely play at Lord’s.
A change might be enforced if say, Stuart Broad is struggling with his calf problem. There is a temptation to cast past performances aside and recall Steve Harmison, who was among the wickets for Durham yesterday, or Ryan Sidebottom. There may also be concerns, if minor ones, about the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, who had running repairs to his left foot yesterday, and Pietersen, nursing a sore Achilles.

Already, Cardiff confirms the truth established in the Caribbean that England will struggle to take 20 wickets in good batting conditions. To win a match they will need the ball to swing and that, to a degree, depends on overhead conditions. Whether Australian techniques might then be exposed remains to be seen. It is England’s only hope.
What England must address is their own batting frailties. For all the bold talk, they lack hunger. They were content with batting four sessions when six should have been a bare minimum.
The game can be saved but already Australian confidence is soaring and once the Baggy Greens get on a roll they are rarely stopped. Nathan Hauritz is hardly an in-your-face character — he once admitted that there are times, when things go badly, “when you want to crawl under a rock” — but one suspects he won’t be crawling under any rocks today, just trying to crawl all over England.

Federer wins record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title

London: Switzerland's Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in one of the most extraordinary finals ever seen at Wimbledon on Sunday, holding off an incredible challenge from the American to win 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14.

The final set alone of an unforgettable Centre Court duel lasted 95 minutes before Roddick's mishit forehand gave Federer his sixth Wimbledon title and the record of 15 Grand Slam titles he so cherished.

Fittingly, Pete Sampras, the only other man to have previously won 14 Slams, was sat in the Royal Box as a match of unrelenting drama stretched into a fifth hour.

"Andy I want to say you're going to come back and win one, I'm sure," Federer said on court as a shattered Roddick contemplated his third defeat to Federer in a Wimbledon final.

"Today (Sunday) I was on the lucky side. It feels funny to have the trophy back. It feels great. It was a crazy match, my head's still spinning. It's an unbelievable moment in my career."

Few imagined that Federer's seventh consecutive Wimbledon final could come anywhere near close to emulating last year's epic when he lost his crown to Rafael Nadal -- a five-set thriller that ended in near darkness.

The Swiss, who claimed his first French Open title last month to complete his career Grand Slam, dropped just one set in reaching the final and had won 18 of his previous 20 matches against the American who is still waiting for a second career grand slam title after winning the US Open in 2003.

Roddick has reinvented his game though in the last 12 months after his career began to slide and after stunning British hope Andy Murray in the semi-final he came agonisingly close to another shock.

Federer was stretched to the limit in an unforgettable duel of energy-sapping tension despite firing 107 winners.

After losing the first set he was then reeling in the second set tiebreak as Roddick moved 6-2 ahead and seemed set to move two sets clear. Federer then won six consecutive points to level the match, Roddick wasting one golden chance at 6-5 when he sent a backhand volley wide.

CRUCIAL MOMENT

Federer could make no headway on the Roddick serve but remained solid on his own delivery to win the third set on another tiebreak 7-5.

Roddick, beaten twice in previous finals here by Federer, refused to buckle and broke at a crucial moment of the fourth with a great backhand to set up an enthralling decider.

With Wimbledon greats Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver watching intently from the Royal Box, Federer kept his nose in front in a nerve-racking decider and clinched victory after four hours and 16 minutes when Roddick's resistance finally cracked and the Swiss broke serve for the first time in the match.

Williams sisters in doubles final

Venus and Serena Williams swept through to the final of the ladies doubles with an emphatic 6-1 6-2 victory over Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

The sisters, who meet in Saturday's singles final, showed no sign of fatigue en route to a 61-minute win.
Black and Huber offered late resistance defending several match points before succumbing to their opponents' power.
The defending champions will be hoping to land a fourth doubles title after victories in 2000, 2002 and 2008.
Either Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs or Anabel Medina Garriques and Virginia Ruano Pascual will form the opposition in the final.

Kaka gets Hollywood treatment at Real Madrid

MADRID: Kaka was officially presented as a Real Madrid player in a Hollywood-style show to around 50,000 fans at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Director general Jorge Valdano had promised president Florentino Perez's second spell at the helm would be a "super-production" and they did not disappoint with the presentation of their first signing.
"It is a very special day for me. I hope I can write my name in the club's history books with victories and conquests," a slightly overawed Kaka said from a stage on the pitch.

Real Madrid's new Brazilian star Kaka greets the crowd during his presentation

The doors of the stadium had been thrown open to the public who packed the stands around a stage decorated with the club's nine European Cups.
Perez was up first, greeted with chants from the fans as he thanked Kaka for choosing Real Madrid before the Brazilian was given a pop star welcome as he emerged to roars from the crowd.
The Brazilian playmaker was presented with the number eight shirt and had to be protected by bodyguards as he walked around the pitch to greet fans.
Some of them jumped over the barriers and tried to touch the former AC Milan player who cost Real 67 million euros.

Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who was signed for a world record fee of 80 million pounds ($132.7 million) last week, will be presented on Monday in another event covered live on television and internet websites across the world. But Kaka said he was not worried that another big name signing would create tensions within the squad.
"It will be a privilege to play alongside him," Kaka told a news conference.

"There won't be any rivalry with Cristiano. We are compatible on and off the pitch. We are experienced players and there is no room for jealousy." He went on warn against the euphoria generated by the talk of a second Galactico era at Real Madrid.
"From my experience I have learned that talent alone is not enough. There are many talented players who have won nothing and others with less ability who have been successful," he said.
"It is good to have talented players but they have to sacrifice themselves for the team."
Spain defender Raul Albiol, who joined Real for a reported fee of 15 million euros from Valencia, is expected to be presented later this week

Safina, Serena, Venus reach Wimbledon semis

Top-ranked Dinara Safina, two-time champion Serena Williams and five-time titlist Venus Williams were quarterfinal winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also won on Tuesday, as the top-four seeds all made it into the semifinals here.

This marks the first time since 2006 that all four top-seeded women reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam event.
Thursday's semis at the All England Club, which will both pit an American against a Russian, will have Safina facing the third-seeded Venus and a second-seeded Serena taking on Dementieva. Serena and Venus are former world No. 1s, which means three of the four semifinalists have held the top ranking.
Venus has won the last two titles here, including a victory over her younger sister in last year's finale.
The French Open and Australian Open runner-up Safina was tested by rising 19-year-old German Sabine Lisicki on a hot day at the AEC, as the big Russian prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court.
Temperatures topped 90 degrees on Tuesday.
Lisicki broke serve early for a 2-1 lead and served for the opening set, but Safina won the first three points of that 10th game and broke to tie it. The set went to a tiebreak and Lisicki won four straight points to grab a 4-1 edge.
A double-fault by Safina gave Lisicki a 6-3 advantage, but the Russian blasted a forehand winner and Lisicki missed an easy forehand at the net that would have given her the set. With a chance to get back into the tiebreak on serve, Safina committed her seventh double-fault to drop the first set and slammed her racquet in disgust.
The second set remained on serve until Safina broke for a 4-3 edge. She nearly gave the break back serving in the 10th game, but Lisicki slipped while setting up for a backhand on break point and the mishit gave Safina another chance. The Russian managed to hold serve and force a decisive third set.
Unfortunately for Lisicki, the German simply ran out of gas in the final set, as Safina cruised in the last seven games by breaking Lisicki's serve four times in as many tries. The first three games of the set all resulted in breaks of serve, but Safina would assume control by holding serve and then breaking for a comfortable 4-1 advantage.
The big-serving Lisicki then called for a trainer, as she had her legs iced while laying face-down on the court.
Safina then held for a 5-1 cushion despite misfiring for three straight double faults at one point, and she broke her German counterpart in the next game by converting on her first match point when Lisicki missed the court with one final errant backhand.
The 23-year-old Safina moved on in 2 hours, 28 minutes despite piling up a whopping 15 double faults. She did, however, tally six breaks, compared to only two for Lisicki, who wound up out-acing Safina 12-0.
"I was Santa Claus on the court, serving so many double faults," Safina said. "I was tough mentally, that was the key today."
Safina, who does not like to play on grass, will now perform in her first- ever Wimbledon semifinal. She's been the runner-up at three of the last five Grand Slam events. Safina lost to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open final four weeks ago and succumbed to Serena in the Aussie Open final back in January.
The reigning Aussie Open and U.S. Open champion Serena blew past eighth-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court. The 27-year-old Serena reached her sixth Wimbledon semifinal by dousing Azarenka in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
Serena took control of the opening set against Azarenka by breaking her Belarusian counterpart for a 4-2 lead. The American then held and broke again, with a set-ending forehand winner.
In the second set, the 19-year-old Azarenka recorded her first break of the day to assume a short-lived 3-2 lead, as she was unable to consolidate the break. Serena would break right back to level the stanza at 3-all.
Following a hold, Serena notched another big service break for a 5-3 advantage and then closed out the match by holding her big serve to advance. Serena set- up the only match point she would need with a forehand winner, and converted on it with another forehand winner that just caught the baseline.
A clean Serena committed a mere seven unforced errors, fired nine aces among her 26 winners and broke Azarenka four times, while the Belarusian settled for only one break en route to defeat.
Venus, seeking a third straight and sixth overall Wimbledon title, cruised to a lopsided 6-1, 6-2 triumph over 11th-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska in a brisk 68-minute affair. The seven-time Grand Slam champ has yet to drop a set in her five matches at this fortnight and has won 33 straight sets here, dating back to 2007.
There was not much drama for Venus, who won the first six points on the way to a 5-0 lead in the first set. The 20-year-old Radwanska finally held serve in the sixth game, but Williams quickly put it away in the next game with an ace on set point.
The total domination in a 27-minute first set included four aces for Venus and 14 total winners. Radwanska had just three winners and won only two points against Venus' potent serve.
That quickly changed early in the second set, as Radwanska won eight of the first nine points to open a quick 2-0 lead. Venus, who double-faulted to give Radwanska a break in the second game, broke right back in the third and held serve to level the set.
Venus broke serve again for a 3-2 lead, winning a marathon fifth game with a brilliant point at the net, and Radwanska never recovered. The American finished the match with a perfectly-placed forehand winner.
The 29-year-old Venus is now 67-9 all-time on grass.
"Do I feel invincible?" Venus said. "I'd like to say yes, but I really do work at it."
The mighty Williams sisters have combined for seven of the last nine Wimbledon titles, with Venus capturing five and Serena two. The two met last year in the championship match, a 7-5, 6-4 victory for Venus. Both of Serena's titles at the All England Club came in back-to-back finals against her sister in 2002 and 2003.
Venus is 5-2 in seven Wimbledon finals, while Serena is 2-2.
The two-time major runner-up and reigning Olympic gold medalist Dementieva throttled Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 on Day 8. The weak-serving Russian moved on in 66 minutes, despite piling up nine double faults. Dementieva did, however, record five service breaks in nine tries, while being broken only once by the 29-year-old Schiavone.
The 27-year-old Dementieva will play in her second career Wimbledon semifinal, with both coming over the last two years. The Russian lost to Venus in last year's final four here.
On Thursday, Safina and Venus will meet for a fourth time, with the American leading the all-time series 2-1. The Russian beat Venus in Rome earlier this season.
In the other semi, Serena and Dementieva will square off for a fifth time, with the Russian holding a 3-1 lead in their lifetime set. The American bested the Russian in this year's Aussie Open semis.

Spain 8-2 USA, But Still USA Won

Statistically speaking, Spain were the better side.
They took 29 shots out of which 8 were on target while the USA took 9 out of which only two were on goal. They had 17 corner-kicks while the US had only three. Spain were caught offside on seven occasions while the US were flagged offside four times. The Spanish had 56% of the possession while the Americans had only 44%.
Yet there was one area in which Vicente del Bosque's side couldn't make their 'numerical superiority' count. And that was in the scoreline.
No, it was not that Spain spectacularly collapsed right from the centre or that they failed to get any hold on the game. It was not that they didn't get their chances or that the USA outmaneuvered their slick passing movement. It was also not that the USA played an exceptionally outlandish football that one could only marvel at or that Spain lacked that guile or lost their wonted rhythm.
It was that the USA took their chances when they prostrated themselves at their feet while Spain played with such a lack of sharpness upfront that it appeared that they could play all night and still fail to score. It was that the USA merged effectiveness with creativity in just the right proportions while Spain overplayed and overpassed and under-shot. It was that the USA played in a wholesome fashion, playing short passes, long passes, making darting runs and defending in numbers when need be while Spain played an unwholesome fashion, distinctly lacking that ability to break down a rather strong defence always ready to make crucial interceptions.
True, Spain were still the classier side on Wednesday night but they were certainly the second best overall. Perhaps Jozy Altidore's goal in the 27th minute owed more to the Spaniards cheaply losing possession but to take away anything from the Americans’ move would be demonstrating a nauseous sense of disrespect. It was only after that goal that the Iberians started to exhibit their football but there was a discernible lack in their attacking edge.
For once Fernando Torres failed to control the ball at all. Between David Villa and himself, it was the Liverpool striker who found himself at the end of more through balls and crosses but while on some occasions he couldn’t control the pass or cheaply gave the ball away to the Americans, on other times he took the wrong decisions. Villa gave an under par performance too, but his long range efforts and linking up with his teammates still had a hue of constructiveness about them. Those who have watched Torres from his Atletico Madrid days would recall how he would spurn the easiest of chances in La Liga and even though he is now a man that boyish 'misdemeanors' has stayed with him.
Xavi too appeared to lose possession in the midfield far too often while Cesc Fabregas had his first bad game of the competition. Albert Riera might be Liverpool material but he is no genius that David Silva is and that Juan Mata is rapidly developing into. Riera was playing in a pretty much one-dimensional way as he surged upfront on the left, gave crosses that didn't materialize into anything and occasionally cut inside with little effect. Mata's introduction to the game should have come earlier than the 78th minute.
Even in defence Spain lacked composure. While at the opposite end Real Madrid right-back Sergio Ramos was contributing with his crosses, cut-ins and dribbles, at his own end he contributed to USA's joy by showing rather too much laziness on the ball, presenting Clint Dempsey with the 'gift of the summer'. It was not a very uncharacteristic error from a man whom many believe to be one of the three best right-backs in the world.
Yet for all of Spain's erratic moments, you cannot undermine the Americans' brave and gutsy performance. The way Bob Bradley’s side came out in the opening minutes and put Spain firmly and awkwardly on the backfoot was perhaps the highlight of their tournament so far, their 3-0 win over Egypt notwithstanding. Tim Howard, Jay Demerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Dempsey all played with their hearts on their sleeves, playing with pace, finesse and enthusiasm that eventually led them to do what many have failed: beat the European champions. True, the Americans defended in numbers on occasions especially after they scored their second goal of the night but still they didn't resort to anti-football, still sustaining that zeal to ‘play’ football, to enjoy themselves to the fullest.
All of which makes them worthy winners of the semi-final against Spain, a historic moment not only in US's football but in world football’s too.

Liverpool close to bank debt deal

The club's owners are having to sell assets in the US and Canada Liverpool Football Club - which owes two banks £350m - is close to renegotiating its debt with the Royal Bank of Scotland, the BBC has learnt. RBS has told club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett the debt, due to be repaid in July, will be refinanced. BBC business editor Robert Peston says RBS will insist on significant payments in the subsequent six months. It comes as Portsmouth's defender Glen Johnson has agreed to join Liverpool in a £17.5m move. Lending agreement Our business editor says the good news for Liverpool FC supporters is that the club is not about to go bust. The club borrowed too much; and it now has to tighten its belt, pay down debt and endeavour to live within its means Robert Peston, BBC business editor "I understand that Royal Bank of Scotland has told its two billionaire owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, that their £350m debt - which falls due for repayment on 24 July and is owed to Royal Bank and Wachovia of the US - will be refinanced. "A new lending agreement will be put on place." A spokesman for the US pair would not comment on the development. The other bank owed money, Wachovia, has yet to make any announcement. US sales Latest accounts show Kop Holdings, the parent company of the Anfield club, lost £42.6m in the year to August 2008. The RBS revelation comes days after Liverpool co-owner George Gillett agreed to sell one of his major assets in a deal which would ease financial pressures at the Premier League club. He is selling his 80% stake in the NHL's Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team, in a deal reported to be worth at least $550m (£332.9m). His fellow Liverpool owner, Mr Hicks, has also been looking to sell off elements of his own sporting empire - which includes Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers and the NHL's Dallas Stars. The sales will help provide financial guarantees to RBS and Wachovia that Mr Gillett and Mr Hicks have funds available for the operation of the football business. 'Commercial acumen' Meanwhile, the club has appointed a new managing director, Christian Purslow, as overall manager of the club until a new chief executive is in place. Mr Purslow will represent owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks and liaise with manager Rafael Benitez on his summer transfer dealings. He is an executive board member and co-founder of private equity firm Mid Ocean Partners. "His strategic and commercial acumen will be a real asset and we're delighted that he has made a long term commitment to the club," Mr Gillett said.

SHARED READ WATCHED/LISTENED CCTV of Turkish boy's 'miracle' escape Footage of Top Gear crash Hurricane Andres hits Mexico One-minute World News Roxana Saberi on Iran protests Driver's lucky bridge escape Top Gear's Stig removes his helmet 'Exodus' from Costa del Sol 'First' zero gravity wedding Iran video shows street violence Most popular now, in detail

The World's Highest-Paid Athletes

Eight months on the shelf after knee surgery put a severe dent in his prize money, and killed his overseas appearance fees. One of his main sponsors walked away a year before their agreement was set to expire.
Yet Tiger Woods remains sports' highest earner with an annual income two and a half times larger than his closest competitor. The world's top golfer made $110 million during the past 12 months and is the best paid sportsman for the eighth straight year.
In Pictures: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes
Most Powerful Athletes
In Pictures: The World's Top-Earning Golfers
The World's Most Powerful Celebrities
In Pictures: The Worst States For Keeping College Grads
Woods' knee injury caused his prize money to drop to $5 million from $25 million, but his overall earnings only fell $5 million thanks to an expansion of Woods' non-playing financial empire.
PepsiCo launched Gatorade Tiger last year in March with claims that it "helps focus your mind and your body." Woods receives a cut of sales for the four flavors sold under his name. When General Motors' problems caused Buick to terminate its $8 million a year deal with Woods one year early, the Woods camp moved quickly to sign a deal with AT&T to put the phone company's brand on his golf bag in Buick's place.
Nike is by far Woods' biggest benefactor with an annual payday of more than $30 million for the golfer. Woods profits from the success of the company's golf division, and last year sales for Nike Golf hit a record $725 million. Woods' most lucrative new endeavor is his golf course design business. Last year he announced plans for a third course to be built in Mexico. His other courses in Dubai and North Carolina are currently under construction.
Our list of the highest-paid athletes looks at earnings derived from salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements and licensing income between June 2008 and June 2009 and does not deduct for taxes or agents' fees. Overall, the top 20 earned $789 million, down 1% from last year. The cutoff to make the list was $30 million.
Drop-offs from last year include boxer Floyd Mayweather (has not fought since December 2007), NFL players Ben Roethlisberger and Dwight Freeney (both made the 2008 list after inking contracts with big signing bonuses) and Formula One driver Fernando Alonso (just missed the cut).
The highest-ranking of the four newcomers to the list is boxer Manny Pacquiao who earned $40 million over the last year, tied for the sixth most. Pacquiao cemented his claim as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter with convincing knockouts of Oscar De La Hoya in December and Ricky Hatton in May. The two blockbuster fights garnered more than 2 million pay-per-view buys in the U.S. and earned Pac-Man $30 million combined.
Pacquiao's massive popularity in his native Philippines is why companies like Nike and San Miguel beer have signed him to endorse their products. Pacquiao intends to use that popularity to run for political office when his ring career is over.
Our 20 highest earners have a very international flavor with Pacquiao one of eight non-Americans on the list. Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen earned $45 million over the past year, tied for second on our list with hoop legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Right behind that trio is global icon David Beckham who earned $42 million playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan, while schilling for Adidas, Giorgio Armani and Motorola.
Notable omission: the entire NFL, which didn't place anyone in the top 20 despite being the world's richest sports league. The league's salary cap keeps a lid on individual player salaries, and few players outside of Peyton Manning collect big endorsement deals. The top NFL earner during the past 12 months was Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha who made $22 million, mainly as a result of the three-year, $45 million contract he signed in February.

Source : FORBES.com

Barcelona Set To Launch €29 Million Bid For Aston Villa’s Ashley Young

Reports that Aston Villa are prepared to sacrifice Ashley Young to bring in two additional players could spark some of Europe’s big clubs into action and Barcelona appear to be the first to react.
The Blaugrana are unwilling to waste any more time on Franck Ribery now that other heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea have joined the mix and they are also reportedly giving up their chase to recruit Robinho on loan from Manchester City.
And according to the Daily Star, the Calatan giants have now turned their attention to the 23-year-old Young and it is believed that a €29.5 million (₤25) could be enough to tempt Villa manager, Martin O’Neill to part with the talented winger.
Barca could have an ace up their sleeve as O’Neill had previously shown an interest in Alexander Hleb, a player who has no future at the Camp Nou, and a part-exchange deal could be the best option for both clubs.
The paper also quoted a Spanish source saying, “Young has been impressive throughout last season with Villa and he is a player that [Pep] Guardiola likes.
“He has been following him for a while now and we hope that he wants to move to Spain and come to a club as big as Barca.
“There has been no contact yet but the club are firming up their plans at the moment.”
Young came close to joining Real Madrid during the January transfer window when Juande Ramos was still in charge at Los Blancos but the excessive asking price forced them to abandon their chase.

On Day 1, Rain Tops the Leader Board

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — A very bad thing happened Thursday at the 109th United States Open: There was an attempted drowning of the fabled Bethpage Park Black course. The yellow gallery ropes that outline the holes were reminiscent of police tape at a crime scene.

Skip to next paragraph

Multimedia

And as United States Golf Association officials combed the battered, bloated 7,426-yard, par-70 municipal layout to gather evidence and determine the damage, they realized they could not be sure how long it would take to crown a champion.

The first round was due to be revived at 7:30 a.m. Friday, weather permitting, which could push the final round into Monday or beyond.
“An ideal goal would be to get Round 2 finished by Saturday,” said Jim Hyler, the U.S.G.A.’s vice president and championship committee chairman. Based on the forecast, he said, “that’s not looking terribly promising.”
There were 78 golfers on the course, including the defending champion, Tiger Woods, and thousands of spectators when a steady rain became a downpour and the course began taking on water like the Andrea Gail in “The Perfect Storm.” U.S.G.A. officials suspended play at 10:16 a.m., a little more than three hours after it had begun, and called it a day shortly before 2 p.m.
It appeared that the fans who held tickets for the first round were in the right place at the wrong time. Instead of seeing a stern test of golf, they were witnesses to the battering of the course by Mother Nature. It was the first time a round was not completed on the day it started at the Open since thunderstorms blew through Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, east of Bethpage, on the first day in 2004. It could get worse before it gets better.
With any luck, the U.S.G.A. will be able to determine a winner before the Fourth of July. Jeff Brehaut, who held a share of the lead, if you will, at one under par through 11 holes, said: “It’s not what any of us wants to deal with. But they’re still going to give out a trophy, I think.”
He laughed as he said that. Brehaut, a journeyman from Northern California who required 13 trips to PGA Tour qualifying school to earn his playing privileges, might have precisely what it takes to win this tournament: infinite patience.
Amid all the dark clouds, there was a bright side. At least Sergio García had an advantageous tee time this year. García was scheduled to go off in the afternoon (as was Phil Mickelson), meaning he stayed warm and dry. Woods, meanwhile, was one over after six holes, having battled his driver and the elements.
At the 2002 Open here, García earned the enmity of the fans when he carded a 74 in a steady downpour in the second round and then said that if Woods had been on the course later in the day in the worst of the weather instead of in the morning, when he carded a 68, the U.S.G.A. would have suspended play.
On that day, four-tenths of an inch of rain fell. The course was soaked Thursday by more than an inch. Justin Leonard, who was even par through seven, said the saving grace was that it was warmer than on that Friday in 2002. “It was obviously very difficult out there,” he said. “My goal was to forget about par and do the best I could.”
It was raining but not yet pouring when the marquee grouping of Woods, Padraig Harrington and Ángel Cabrera — the champions of the past four Grand Slam events — stepped to the first tee around 8 a.m. The applause that greeted Woods, who won the Open here in 2002 for one of his 14 major titles, was louder than a clap of thunder.
As the players stood on the tee box, under their umbrellas, waiting to hit, one fan yelled, “Go Padraig!” Another shouted, “Go Tiger!” There was a pause, and then from the opposite side of the bleachers someone squawked, “O.K., I’ll bite. Go Ángel!”
Cabrera, the reigning Masters champion and the 2007 Open winner, had said he would not be intimidated playing in front of the large and boisterous crowds that followed Woods.
He was at even par when play was stopped, despite a lapse in concentration on the first hole caused by the bustling of bystanders. Cabrera drove into the left rough but Woods hooked his ball worse, his tee shot coming to rest in front of a merchandise tent. It was the first fairway Woods had missed since the Saturday of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio in his final Open tune-up. Hitting first, Woods landed his second shot in a greenside bunker, after which photographers scurried to get back inside the ropes while fans filled the area that had been cleared for Woods. The maneuvering was worse than what takes place at the Holland Tunnel entrance during a Manhattan rush hour, and it was happening a few yards from where Cabrera stood over his ball.
Instead of backing off until everyone had settled, Cabrera hit a poor shot, his ball landing well in front of the green to set up his bogey. Woods saved par — the kind of Houdini escape that is the hallmark of Open champions — while Harrington three-putted for a bogey after gracing the green in two. When they arrived at the second green, they were met by six squeegee-bearing members of the maintenance crew who dried the green as the players were reading their putts and again between putts.
Keeping the greens fit for play became a futile task for the grounds crew, akin to raking leaves in a gale. Woods said he got in more holes than he expected to given the conditions. “It was a good decision to start today,” he said. “Playing was the right decision.”
Can this tournament be saved? The consensus was that the next 24 to 48 hours would be critical.

£80 Million For Cristiano Ronaldo Is Fair Enough

Sepp Blatter has in the past, in his role as president of football's world governing body FIFA, spoken out in concern at the size of transfer fees being paid between big clubs.

However, the £80 million paid out by Real Madrid to secure the services of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United has attracted no such disapprobation from Blatter, who has instead welcomed the move as a sign that the game is as popular as ever.

Other figures from the world of sports administration, not least amongst them the president of football's European governing body UEFA, have opined that the figure is simply too much, its bloated nature highlighting football's increasing dislocation from a real world affected by the global economic depression.

Not to Blatter though, who told a press conference in South Africa today, "What does 80 million mean when 10 years ago another player with the same name [Ronaldo of Brazil] moved from one club to another for 50 million dollars? It means that there is still a demand to have the stars.

"We are in a very sensitive market, in an economic crisis, but football remains a fantastic product, not just to buy or sell but a product that gives people what they want - emotions. They want the stars."

And the president went on to compare the price paid with that handed over by art collectors for valuable pieces that the public never sees.

"Ten years ago a painting from Picasso's Blue Period was sold by Sothebys in London for over 100 million. And what happened to the painting?" he demanded, rhetorically.

"They hid it somewhere so no-one could take it away. Nobody can see it. But you can see a football player once or twice a week, he is there, he is a star. You might say it is too much, but you have to put it in context of what football in our society is worth and what other things in our society are worth."

Source:GOAL