England set for ‘LG’ midfield

Fabio Capello is set to start both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for England's qualifier against Kazakhstan.

The Stevie-G and Lamps midfield combo has been the subject of debate for years, with many questioning whether the two can co-exist effectively in the middle of the park.
The argument is that the Liverpool captain and the Chelsea dynamo play the same game, and have struggled to deliver the goods when paired together.

The majority of England fans have preferred Gerrard in the past, ever since the Huyton-born midfielder broke into England side in 2000.

However, public opinion seems to favour Lampard in recent months. The Chelsea midfielder, once booed by his countrymen, has had a renaissance for the Three Lions. The former West Ham apprentice was a pillar of strength against Croatia in the absence of Gerrard, producing a fine display in England's 4-1 victory in Zagreb.

Gerrard is now fully fit for England, and it is reported that Capello will field both midfield maestros against European rivals Kazakhstan.

As both are in the attacking mould, it seems that England's Italian tactician will add some steel to the midfield by starting another player in the middle.

Owen Hargreaves' struggle for fitness means Capello will have to play Gareth Barry as England's holding midfielder. The Aston Villa skipper has complemented both Gerrard and Lampard well in the past, though he has not played with both at once.

Capello may, like every manager that's managed Stevie-G, start the Liverpool man on the flanks or ‘in the hole'. The 28-year-old has, in the past, publicly shown his ire when being played out of position more than once; believing that this shuffling affects his performance for England.
But recent developments would suggest that Gerrard is finally coming to terms with his role for England, and with Joe Cole out though injury, he may start on the left against the Kazakhs, leaving Lampard and Barry to man the middle.

Capello, to his credit, has arranged for a scrimmage on Thursday, which he will use to evaluate how to best use the Gerrard-Lampard-Barry combination before his date with Wembly.
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Tags: world cup, Liverpool, England, Chelsea, news, football, Gerrard

Mauresmo advances in Moscow

Amelie Mauresmo had to come from behind to advance to the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Monday.

Mauresmo fell behind but came back to beat fellow Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4.
With only three games played on the women's side the opening day, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova advanced when Italy's Marion Bartoli retired while trailing 6-1 4-1, and Russia's Vera Dushevina set up a meeting with the new world number one Jelena Jankovic by beating Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-1 3-6 6-3.
Jankovic headlines a strong field on the women's side.
The 23-year-old Serbian overtook Serena Williams atop the rankings Monday and comes into this hardcourt event having won her last two tournaments, including a victory over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the Stuttgart final this past weekend.
Winning a third consecutive crown will be a challenge for Jankovic, as six other top-10 players are in the the draw.
Among those players is defending champion and third seed Elena Dementieva, who kept the title on home soil for the fourth time in five years with her win over Williams in last's year's final.
Russia's Anastasia Myskina won consecutive titles here in 2003 and 2004 and countrywoman Anna Chakvetadze claimed the trophy two years later.
Frenchwoman Mary Pierce interrupted the Russian reign with a win here in 2005.
Once again, there is a strong likelihood that the trophy will be hoisted by a local favourite.
In addition to Dementieva and the eighth-seeded Chakvetadze, Russia is represented by number two Dinara Safina, fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and number seven Vera Zvonareva.
Petrova, the runner-up to Chakvetadze two years ago, is also entered.
Safina, who has a first-round bye as one of the top four seeds, has been a wrecking ball since opening the year in stuttering fashion, winning 11 of her first 21 matches.
The 22-year-old has won four titles, won 42 of 48 matches and reached seven finals since the start of May.
Kuznetsova has not won a title since August 2007, but remains a serious threat at any event. The 2004 US Open champion reached the final in two of her last three events and has appeared in five title matches this season.
Zvonareva has ascended to ninth in the rankings on the strength of two titles and three runner-up performances this season.
Fourth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic and number six Venus Williams of the United States round out the talented field.
Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and subsequently became the world number one, but has won only five of 10 matches since and has not reached a semi-final.
The two-time reigning Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams' best performance in four appearances here occurred in 1998 when she reached the semi-finals.
Serena Williams has pulled out with an ankle injury.
On the men's side, play got underway on Monday with a handful of matches.
Second-seeded Russian Igor Andreev advanced when Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu retired after dropping the first set, 6-2.
Seeking his first ATP singles championship since winning here in 2005, Andreev will now face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who rallied for a 3-6 6-1 6-4 triumph against Italy's Potito Starace.
Veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, 35, advanced with a 6-2 6-4 win over wild card Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Nicolas Devilder of France, 6-2 6-4, to book a potential second-round encounter with top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko.
The Kremlin Cup has traditionally been an all-or-nothing event for Davydenko, but things have gone well recently.
The top-seeded Russian is seeking his third consecutive title at the $1 million hardcourt event.
Davydenko also won here in 2004, but on the two occasions he has not triumphed, he has been ousted in the first round.
The world number five and top-ranked Russian, Davydenko will attempt to avoid another first-round setback and run his winning streak here to 11 matches when he opens play against unseeded Frenchman Florent Serra.
The only other former champion in the draw is fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, who will open with Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Frenchman took the title in 2002 and was a runner-up to Davydenko last year.

by espnstar.com/tennis/news

Tags: Amelie Mauresmo, Williams, Kremlin Cup, ATP, news, tennis

Jankovic is number one

Jelena Jankovic was officially confirmed as the world number one on Monday, replacing Serena Williams from the top.

Williams had held the honour for the last four weeks after defeating Jankovic in the US Open final.
However, Williams' stunning second-round loss to China's Li Na last week in Stuttgart guaranteed 23-year-old Jankovic the top spot in the updated rankings.
Jankovic went on to win in Stuttgart, clinching back-to-back titles following her victory in Beijing a week earlier.
"I'm happy the hard work I've put in is paying off," said Jankovic, who has won nine of her 10 matches since the defeat at Flushing Meadows.
"I've been playing very well since the US Open and my confidence is quite high. My main goal is to finish the season at number one."
by espnstar.com/tennis/news

Tags: Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, US Open, news, tennis

Stamford Bridge must be a fortress

Luiz Felipe Scolari has highlighted Chelsea's form at Stamford Bridge as one of the keys to the BPL title race.

Although they have not been beaten in their last 86 home league matches, seven draws on their own turf last season helped hand the title to Manchester United.
One of those draws came against Aston Villa. But Chelsea never looked like dropping points against them on Sunday, Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka grabbing the goals in a 2-0 win.
After sharing the points with Tottenham and United, it was Chelsea's first league win at home since the opening weekend of the season.
"We need to win more games at home," said Scolari.
"We have played four games and won two of them; we need more, because we remember last season.
"I wasn't here but I know about this. There were many, many draws ... and the final result was being two points behind Manchester United."
Cole opened the scoring when he lashed in at the near post but he then limped off with a foot injury and was left out of Fabio Capello's England squad.
John Terry and Ashley Cole, who both had back niggles, came through unscathed - while Deco and Alex could be available after the international break, and Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho will be on the road to recovery.
Scolari was delighted with the prospect of being top of the table over the international break, his players returning - and also three days off to finally sight see in London with his family.
"I will spend three days with my family," he said.
"I have only spent one day in London, so I will do something with my wife. I don't want to talk about football!
"I told that to the players - to win and give me three days of thinking about nothing."
Scolari spoke of his admiration for Martin O'Neill before the match.
The Villa boss feels Scolari is putting his own stamp on the football at Stamford Bridge.
"He is a brilliant manager," said O'Neill.
"He's proved it; he won the World Cup with a side whose expectations were incredibly high - and that is hard to do.
"He doesn't have to prove anything. He's enjoying himself. He's inherited a very good side and put his stamp on it - which is remarkable. They were brilliant, which is a credit to him and the players."
Aside from the scoreline, O'Neill noticed significant differences from Chelsea's performances against Villa last season.
"Ashley Cole is back probably playing to his best again," he said.
"He has licence to go forward, safe in the knowledge that when it is played square to midfield they will put him in.
"Bosingwa has given them a new dimension, which has helped. But the great stalwarts of the last few years are still brilliant."

by espnstar.com/football/premier-league/news

Tags: Scolari, BPL, Manchester United, Chelsea, England, news, football, premier league

A cursory glance at the NBA 2

The previews continue as the NBA training camp ticks by. Today, we look at the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.

Central Division

Chicago Bulls
The Bulls hit the jackpot in the draft, getting the number one overall pick in the summer extravaganza at Madison Square Garden.
Thing is, the Bulls wasted the pick like they did in 2000 and 2002, drafting a player in a position that they were already loaded in. The player in question was Derrick Rose, an uber-athletic guard out of the University of Memphis.
The Bulls were already loaded at point guard though, with Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon (even Ben Gordon played a little point). So they let Duhon walk, and drafted an upgrade at the position, while totally neglecting what they really needed in the draft: inside scoring.
That inside scoring would have been provided by power forward Michael Beasley, who's no slouch compared to Rose.
Point guards take time to mature and assimilate to the style of the NBA. With Rose on board, I see Chicago struggling this season while trying to accommodate the growing pains of their new floor general.

Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs remind everyone of the Bulls in the mid-eighties. They have the greatest player in the league at the moment in the form of LeBron James, who's as important as Michael Jordan was to his Bulls before they won their first championship.
King James is a nightly terror on the court, an absolute matchup nightmare for his defender every single game, because he can do everything. Okay, almost everything until he can hit most of his freethrows.
The guy is a walking triple-double waiting to happen on a daily basis, a player who can score, dish and defend. Lebron has the size, skill and athleticism to dominate just about anyone as well.
However, questions are asked as to why the Cavs have only appeared in the NBA Finals once with such a dominant player on board.
The answer: His supporting cast is terrible.
You see, Mr. James does not have the Pippens, Grants or Rodmans of the world at his side. He is but one man on a team of five, playing as if he was three of them.
The Cavs, to their credit, thought that Larry Hughes would be that dynamic sidekick to the King. Hughes is now collecting his cheques from the Bulls, so you know how that experiment went. Ben Wallace is now on the team to relieve ‘Bron of some of his defensive duties, but Big Ben has yet to prove himself as anything but a big overpaid bust.
So, unless Cleveland can find some reliable help for LeBron James, expect an early playoff exit for the NBA's perennial nearly-men.

Detroit Pistons
If the Cleveland Cavaliers lack a supporting cast to ever win the NBA championship, the Detroit Pistons lack a superstar who can take the team on his back and carry them into the Promised Land.
The Pistons have depth that any team in the league would kill for. With a nucleus of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, along with a superb bench of Jason Maxiell, Antonio McDyess, Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey, Detroit are well-built for a long and grueling season, with enough quality to rest the starters, and not suffer from a drop in performance when the said starters are not in the game.
It is in the playoffs that DEE-TROIT BASKET-BAALL suffers the most.
In recent seasons, the Pistons have always been sent home by teams that have a resident superstar in their lineup. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett (with the help of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) have had their way with the Pistons enroute to the NBA Finals.
And unless President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars trades for a superstar soon, the Pistons are doomed to turning in great regular seasons and suffering frustrating playoff outings until their core members retire.

Indiana Pacers
Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird should be in basketball executive purgatory now.
The Celtics playing legend traded away his oft-injured center-forward Jermaine O'Neal for an equally injury-riddled point guard TJ Ford. Everybody, including my mom and her kettle, knows you don't trade a big for a small. But Larry Legend did just that.
The Pacers now have a hugely unbalanced squad entering the season, with misfits like Jamal Tinsley still sulking within its ranks, and a bulk of players who excel in shooting the ball from long range. Problem is, Indiana does not have any sort of post presence that would effectively space the floor to give their long range bombers room to operate.
That said, Larry's Legion, under the command of coach Jim O'Brien, could start playing "Seven Seconds or Less" basketball in Hoosier state, and make all of us look extremely stupid.

Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks claimed that they were devastated by injury in the 2006-07 season, only to turn in a 26-56 season the following season with a relatively healthy squad. The collapse of Milwaukee only served to prove one thing:
The team sucked.
Out went GM Larry Harris along with head coach Larry Krystkowiak, who were replaced by former Detroit Pistons assistant GM Joe Hammond his advocate for defence, coach Scott Skiles.
Milwaukee should get immediate improvement with Skiles, whose fiery temper should whip the Bucks into playing some semblance of defence.
The trade for athletic wingman Richard Jefferson should offer the team some slashing ability to complement star guard Michael Redd's shooting stroke, along with some muscle and speed on the perimeter.
Milwaukee should still finish in the lower echelon of the Eastern Conference, but the Bucks now have a solid platform to build on and try to squeeze their way into the playoffs.

By Vincent Lai
espnstar.com/us-sports/nba/news

Tags: Central Division, Chicago Bulls , Eastern Conference, nba