Cheerleading: The most dangerous sport

Cheerleading - which involves tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting - has been named the most dangerous of all sports. Even though through the years safety efforts have led to fewer mishaps, a new report suggests that the sport still continues to cause more serious and deadly injuries than other sports.

The researchers behind this study have found from records between 1982 and 2007, that there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading. The next most dangerous sports: gymnastics (nine such injuries) and track (seven). The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill released its 26th annual report on the topic.

As per the latest figures from the 2007-2008 academic year for college and high school sports, male and female, catastrophic injuries have been defined as any severe or fatal injury incurred during participation in the sport. Statistics for the 26-year period from the fall of 1982 through the spring of 2008 show that there were 1,116 direct catastrophic injuries in high school (905) and college sports (211).

They further reveal that high school sports were associated with 152 fatalities, 379 non-fatal injuries and 374 serious injuries. The figures show that college sports accounted for 22 fatalities, 63 non-fatal injuries and 126 serious injuries. According to them, cheerleading accounted for 65.2 percent of high school and 70.5 percent of college catastrophic injuries among all female sports. The number of cheerleading injuries fell slightly in the 2007-08 academic year.

"Progress has been slow, but there has been an increased emphasis on cheerleading safety," Live Science quoted the study’s author Frederick O. Mueller as saying. "Continued data collection on all types of cheerleading injuries will hopefully show that these safety measures are working to reduce injuries," he added.
Source: www.sports.timesofindia.com

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Saina bows out

Johor Bahru: Saina Nehwal’s dream of pocketing back-to-back titles went up in smoke as Chinese qualifier Xin Wang stunned the second-seeded Indian in the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Friday.

Saina cut a sorry figure as Wang took just 26 minutes to tame her fancied opponent 21-14, 21-10 in a lop-sided affair.
Indian challenge ends

With Saina’s loss, Indian challenge ended in the tournament as the top-seeded duo of V. Diju and Jwala Gutta were also shown the door in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event by the unseeded Indonesian pair of Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa 8-21, 21-14, 21-16.

Meanwhile, men’s doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas had exited from the tournament on Thursday night, losing its second round match to the Malaysian pair of Teik Chai Gan and Bin Shen Tan 13-21, 23-21, 19-21.

Saina, who last week created history by winning the Indonesian Open Super Series, looked tired and exhausted.

She was nowhere near her best and failed to match her opponent from the start in all departments of the game.

Wang’s dominance in the match could be gauged from the fact that she scored 23 clear winners as against Saina’s 13.
Better at the net

The Chinese shuttler was also the better of the two at the net, winning 11 points while her opponent could only manage seven.

In the first game, both shuttlers went neck-to-neck till the first 15 points but from there on Saina, world ranked seventh, went into a shell as Wang pocketed six straight points to seize the initiative.

The second game started on a similar note with Wang racing on to a 6-0 lead but the Indian, somehow managed to pull up her socks and reduced the deficit to 8-7.

However, it was not to be Saina’s day as the Chinese eventually pocketed the match and a place in the semifinals.
source: www.hindu.com
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india vs West Indies live cricket match

Teams:
West Indies (From): Chris Gayle(c), Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin(w), Jerome Taylor, David Bernard, Sulieman Benn, Lionel Baker, Ravindranath Rampaul, Narsingh Deonarine

India (From): Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ashish Nehra, Abhishek Nayar, Subramaniam Badrinath, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Murali Vijay

Video Coming soon...
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Sachin's words changed life

A brief interaction with Sachin Tendulkar changed Manoj Tiwary's attitude towards life just when the Bengal and Delhi Daredevils batsman was pondering over his future, having been ruled out of the Indian Premier League's season two owing to a finger injury.

"I will treasure those 20 minutes," says Tiwary of the discussion he had with Tendulkar South Africa. "I was disappointed after the injury. I was among the 30 probables for the World Twenty20 and a good tournament would've helped me a lot. However, Sachin made me understand that it was not the end of the world. He told me that I had age on my side and there's every chance that I would make a comeback.

"He also said after these injuries, I would come back stronger. It helped me change my perspective towards life," says Tiwary, whose career has been punctuated by injuries.

In 2007, on the eve of his ODI debut against Bangladesh, he had hurt his shoulder and had to return home. Maybe, it's the Tendulkar effect but he doesn't rue the missed opportunities anymore. "The lay off allowed me to read a couple of books on Oscar Pistorius and Lance Armstrong. They were really motivating," says the right-hander.

Having recovered from the finger injury, Tiwary has set his sights on the opportunities ahead. "Up next is the Emerging Players tournament in Australia and the Champions League. Delhi Daredevils have qualified for the league and a good performance there will once again bring me back in contention. The next World T20 is less than a year away. I hope the rub of the green starts going my favour."
Source: cricket.yahoo.com
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Top Ten Bowlers of Twenty20 Cricket

Twenty20 is the shortest and the latest format of cricket, but there is no doubt, twenty20 has become the most popular format of the game within a very short time. One of the biggest reasons behind its sky-rocketing popularity is its hard-hitting batting display. In a sense, twenty20 is meant to be a game for hard-hitters where bowlers receive less attention than their batting counterparts. Despite the pre-occupying dominance of batsmen in this format, twenty20 format has already got some excellent bowlers who are no less dominant than the batsmen.


Here, I have made a list of top ten bowlers of twenty20 international. Before going through the list, I would like to say that the list is based on my own opinion and you do not necessarily need to agree with me on this list. You may have your own opinion and I would be glad if you share your opinion with us in the comment section. While making the list, I gave priority to the number of wickets as well as economy rate and average of the bowlers. Now, let us go through the list here:


Umar Gul

The Pakistani pacer is undoubtedly the best ever twenty20 bowler. His ability to swing the old ball and produce excellent Yorkers in dead overs has made him one of the most threatening bowlers of twenty20 international. With 37 wickets from 21 games at an average of 11.08, Gul is currently the highest wicket taker in this format. His career economy rate is 5.38 which is pretty much impressive in this shortest form of the game.


Moreover, Umar Gul became first (and only bowler so far) to pick up 5 wickets in twenty20 cricket, a feat he achieved against New Zealand during twenty20 world cup 2009 as his match figure stood at 3 overs-6 runs-5 wickets. Umar Gul was the highest wicket taker in both of the twenty20 world cup tournaments held in 2007 and 2009, picking up 13 and 14 wickets respectively.


Ajantha Mendis

Mystery is the best word that could go with the Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis. The 24-year-old can steal the show for his team, keeping the opposition batsmen guessing. Mendis possesses almost all the weapons of a spinner in his armory. He can produce off spin as well as leg spin with sheer amount of pace without bringing any significant change in his grip, and thus, making the task harder for the batsmen. With a spectacular average of 8.60, Mendis picked up 23 wickets from just 10 matches alongside an economy rate of 5.21. In fact, he has the best bowling average among the bowlers included in this list.


Mendis’ 3 wickets for 20 in 4 overs ousted Australia from the group stage of twenty20 world cup 2009. In the same tournament, Mendis produced another lethal performance against New Zealand when he picked up 3 wickets for 9 runs in 3 overs. With 12 wickets from 7 matches, Mendis finished second to Umar Gul among the highest wicket takers of the tournament.


Shahid Afridi

The Pakistani all rounder has become a threat for the opposition batmen in twenty20 cricket. With his leg spin, Shahid Afridi picked up 33 wickets from 23 games at an average of 15.57 and with an economy rate of 5.74. Afridi is now the second most wicket taker in twenty20 international after Umar Gul. Besides leg spin, Afridi can produce off spin with sheer pace, and his ability to drift the ball very often is proven lethal for the batsmen. As a bowler he progressed a lot over the last 2 years and is now one of the integral parts of Pakistan’s bowling attack in both ODI and twenty20 cricket. Afridi picked up 12 wickets in the inaugural twenty20 world cup, and then bagged 11 wickets in the recently concluded twenty20 world cup 2009.


Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori is perhaps the best left arm spinner at this moment in the world. I used the word ‘perhaps’ in the previous sentence, but when it comes to twenty20 cricket, Vettori is, for sure, the best left arm spinner in the world. Daniel Vettori is the third highest wicket taker in twenty20 international with 25 wickets from 16 games at an average of 14.08. His economy rate of 5.50 is also very impressive.


Vettori is capable of dominating batsmen by bringing variation in length, flight and speed. The 30-year-old can also produce drift in his deliveries. Vettori missed a big part of New Zealand’s twenty20 world cup 2009, but the spinner impressed all in the first edition of twenty20 world cup two years back taking 11 wickets from 6 games.


Lasith Malinga

Yorker is one of the biggest assets of pacers when it comes to twenty20 cricket because in twenty20, a pacer need to check the run rate towards the end of the innings, and producing Yorkers is one of the most important techniques of restricting opposition batsmen from playing big shots. Well, Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga is perhaps one of the biggest artists of producing Yorker effortlessly and effectively in twenty20 cricket.


Malinga has 19 wickets from 15 twenty20 matches to his credit at an average of 18.89. His economy rate of 7.37 may not be something outstanding, but his ability to check the run rate in the dead overs by producing sheer amount of Yorkers made me include him in this list. His unconventional bowling action also creates problems for the batsmen as they can not make any guess from his grip. Malinga keeps his grip hidden until the last moment before delivering the ball, and thus, batsmen can not understand the trajectory of his deliveries.


Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal is perhaps the biggest prospect of Pakistan cricket in the recent time. The off spinner has impressed all by picking up 12 wickets from just 7 matches, and thus, helping Pakistan to win the twenty20 world cup 2009. Ajmal looks so promising that there are many who believe that he could serve Pakistan as the prime spinner of the team in the next few years. You would be surprised to know that Ajmal played only one twenty20 international before the 2009 world twenty20.


His career record looks very impressive with 13 wickets from 8 games at an average of 14.00 and conceding 5.71 runs per over. At 31, you might think that Ajmal has already reached at the end of his career, but the way he produces doosras, his scotch delivery, it seems that Ajmal is just going to dominate the opposition batsmen in the years to come. I think, after Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan has got another spinner who can produce doosra effectively consistently.


Dale Steyn

Picking up 20 wickets from 12 games, the South African pacer is now the fifth highest wicket taker in twenty20 international. He has an excellent average of 14.50, alongside a standard economy rate of 6.74. Dale Steyn is a genuine quick bowler who always tries to beat the batsmen with pace, and is capable of producing excellent out-swings. On a pacer friendly wicket, Dale Steyn is really a big threat for any batsman in the world. His aggression coupled with skill and talent has made him a dangerous pacer for the opposition batsmen.


Steyn showed his guile and aggression against West Indies in a rain-affected twenty20 match two years back when he picked up 4 wickets for 9 runs in his 3 overs. This is the fourth best match figure of twenty20 international.


RP Singh

RP Singh is the only Indian included in this list. Singh has 15 wickets from 10 games to his credit at an average of 15.00, conceding 6.81 runs per over. The pacer was instrumental behind India’s triumph in twenty20 world cup 2007, picking up 12 wickets from 7 games. No doubt, he failed to live up to the expectation during the second edition of twenty20 world cup, but still I found enough justification to include RP Singh in the top ten list of twenty20 bowlers.


The left arm pacer impressed all during IPL 2009, and thus, earning a recall to the twenty20 squad of Indian team. Unlike many left arm pacers, RP Singh can produce in-swing for the right handed batsmen. Moreover, he can swing the ball both ways in what making the task tougher for the opponent batsmen.


Abdur Razzak

I know many of you might argue with me on the inclusion of Bangladeshi left arm spinner Abdur Razzak. Well, I do believe that he is one of the most potent spinners for twenty20 cricket. You might say that 6 of Razzak’s 19 twenty20 wickets came against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ireland. What you are missing here is that Razzak’s career best 4 for 16 came against South Africa last year in a game which Bangladesh could have won, if their batsmen could play with some responsibility.


Abdur Razzak failed to make any impression during Bangladesh twenty20 world cup 2009 mission, but the left arm spinner has been an effective performer for Bangladesh both in twenty20 and ODI formats. Razzak picked up his 19 wickets from 11 twenty20 matches with an excellent average of 13.57 and a good economy rate of 6.29.


Roelof van der Merwe

The South African bowling-all rounder has shown his talent and skill as a left arm spinner during the twenty20 world cup 2009, picking up 10 wickets from 6 games at an average of 13.50 and with an economy rate of 5.62. No doubt, Roelof van der Merwe is one of the biggest prospects of South African cricket. At 24, he has lots of years ahead of him, and I see him as a future of South African cricket.


His career record of 11 wickets from 7 games at an average of 15.00 as well as an economy rate of 5.89 may not fully show his talent and skill as a spinner. I would just recommend you to judge his performance against India in the Super Eight round of twenty20 world cup 2009. Against Indian batsmen, who are traditionally known as the master of spin bowling, Roelof van der Merwe conceded only 13 runs in 4 overs with a wicket. So, I do think you can raise any question regarding his talent and potential.


I honestly admit that I have missed out some other bowlers who could have made it to the list by their own. However, you know this is a list of top 10 bowlers where I can not include an extra bowler because the number of places is limited. Some other talented bowlers who could have been included in the squads are:


Muttiah Muralitharan, Johan Botha, Stuart Broad, Wayne Parnell, Harbhajan Singh, Albie Morkel, Graeme Swann, Shoaib Malik, Nathan Bracken, Jerome Taylor, James Anderson, Irfan Pathan, Prosper Utseya etc.
Source: www.sports37.com

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AC Milan move closer to signing Emmanuel Adebayor

Arsenal's chances of selling Emmanuel Adebayor increased last night after AC Milan admitted that it would be difficult to sign Edin Dzeko, the Wolfsburg striker and the Italian club's main target.

Milan's contingency plan is a move for Luís Fabiano, the Seville striker, or Adebayor. The North London club are keen to sign Marouane Chamakh, the Bordeaux forward. Stéphane Courbis, Adebayor's agent, said that the forward is admired by Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager. “He would like to work with Ancelotti, but Chelsea have not contacted us,” he said.

Decent bets

Manchester City will step up efforts to sign Joleon Lescott, but Everton will resist selling the defender. The Merseyside club have been offered Alan Hutton but Tottenham Hotspur want to recoup the £8million fee that they paid Rangers to sign the right back last year. City have signed Stuart Taylor, the Aston Villa goalkeeper, in a move that will allow Joe Hart to move to Birmingham City on loan.

Bolton Wanderers have approached Swansea City about signing Ferrie Bodde, the midfield player, but their £500,000 offer for Paul Robinson has been rejected by West Bromwich Albion, who want £1million for the defender. Stoke City are ready to revive their interest in Joe Ledley, the Cardiff City midfield player.

The agent of Maicon has claimed that the Inter Milan and Brazil right back would be interested in a move to Chelsea. Peter Crouch, the Portsmouth forward, and James Beattie, the Stoke striker, are being monitored by Blackburn Rovers.

Dead certs

Florent Malouda, the Chelsea winger, has agreed a two-year extension to his contract. West Ham United have signed Luis Jiménez, the forward, on loan from Inter Milan. Marko Arnautovic, the Twente striker linked with Chelsea, has agreed a five-year deal with Inter for about £14million.

Paulo Sousa has been unveiled as Swansea's manager succeeding Roberto Martínez, who has taken over at Wigan Athletic. Hermann Hreidarsson has rejected Middlesbrough to sign a new one-year deal with Portsmouth.

Long Shots

Fabien Piveteau, Michael Essien's agent, claims that the Chelsea midfield player would consider a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona. Monaco have expressed an interest in Andriy Shevchenko, the Chelsea striker.
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
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Little time to savour T20 win, says angry Afridi

The short gap between the recently concluded ICC World Twenty20 and the next edition in the West Indies in April 2010 has robbed Pakistan of the chance to fully savour the triumph, the allrounder Shahid Afridi has said.

"I fail to understand why the next World Cup will be played in nine months time," Afridi told reporters on arrival in Karachi. "If it was being organised after two years, people would have remembered Pakistan's victory and it would have been more enjoyable."

Pakistan's title win at Lord's on Sunday was their first victory in a major ICC tournament since the 1992 World Cup. The first edition of the World Twenty20 was held in South Africa in September 2007 and the champions, India, were able to savour their victory for nearly two years. Pakistan on the other hand will hold on to the tag of defending champions for just nine months.

Afridi, who was given a hero's welcome in Karachi, said the people of Pakistan needed this triumph as a respite from the unstable political and security climate in the country.

"We all know how important this World Cup was with so much happening in Pakistan," Afridi said. "The guys motivated themselves for this World Cup."

Afridi had a quiet start to the tournament with the bat but responded strongly with match-winning half-centuries in the semi-final and final. He also took 11 wickets in the tournament.

He said the support staff, including the head coach Intikhab Alam and bowling coach Aaqib Javed, played a role in shaping the team's victory.

"They all really worked hard with the guys and kept them united and close to each other, that's why we had success," Afridi said.
source: www.cricinfo.com
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Gayle wary of weakened India

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has said he is not underestimating the Indians despite the visitors fielding an understrength team for the four-match ODI series in Jamaica and St Lucia.

Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have opted for rest while Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina failed to make the short tour due to injury concerns. Looking ahead, Gayle said India's poor showing in the ICC World Twenty20 - they failed to win any of their Super Eight games - would have no bearing on the forthcoming ODIs. West Indies reached the semi-finals before crashing out to the Sri Lankans but Gayle insisted it was too early to jump the gun and pick a favourite.

"It is never a walkover against India," Gayle told PTI. "There are a lot of guys still there to give us a lot of trouble, so we just have to stick to the game plan and make it a successful one."

Gayle's team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan also agreed. "The Indians are a very good one-day team and while they may be without a couple of their players, they will prove to be a handful for us," Sarwan said. "But we are in good form and have confidence in our abilities and hopefully, beginning Friday, we can get a good start to the series."

The Indians haven't had the best of fortunes in the Caribbean over the last few years. In 2006, they were comprehensively beaten 4-1 before crashing out of the World Cup in the first round the following year.

West Indies also announced changes to their one-day side for the first two games, the most notable casualty being their in-form bowler Fidel Edwards who's nursing a back injury.

"There are a few changes in the squad, there is Darren Bravo and [Narsingh] Deonarine coming in and it is a good opportunity for them to play an important part against India," Gayle said.

Despite bowing out of the semi-finals, Gayle was happy with his team's comeback after a lacklustre start to the tour, which included a Test and ODI series defeat to England.

"It was a pretty decent performance. We tried our best but in the end it was not to be," Gayle said. "But I am not disheartened. In fact, I am proud of the guys, as at the championship, not many were expecting us to reach that far.

"The aim was to bring home the trophy and make everyone happy, especially the fans. Having said that, however, it was a wonderful experience, one that I think will serve the team well going into the future and one that should serve us well when we host the next World Twenty20 Championship here in the Caribbean."

Meanwhile, three Indian players - M Vijay, S Badrinath and Abhishek Nayar - are yet to depart for the West Indies as they are awaiting their UK transit visas. "They will get their visas today and are set to leave tonight (Monday)," a BCCI source told PTI. "They are scheduled to reach Jamaica by tomorrow evening local time."

The series begins on Friday at Sabina Park.
Source: www.cricinfo.com
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US open 2009 golf scoreboard | us open golf prize money

Congratulations to Lucas Hendley Glover - 109th US Open Golf Champion!
After more than a few days of Golf and bad conditions, the 2009 US Open Golf Championship has finally seen its victor - none other than Lucas Glover. This is his first major championship and second PGA Tour win.

The 109th US Open Golf Prize Money and Purse is a whopping $7,500,000 US/ and the Winner's Share is $1,350,000 US.

Final 2009 US Open Golf Leaderboard / Scoreboard:
Rank Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total Statuses
1 Lucas Glover 69 64 70 73 -4 (276) 18
2 t Phil Mickelson 69 70 69 70 -2 (278) 18
2 t David Duval 67 70 70 71 -2 (278) 18
2 t Ricky Barnes 67 65 70 76 -2 (278) 18
5 Ross Fisher 70 68 69 72 -1 (279) 18
6 t Soren Hansen 70 71 70 69 E (280) 18
6 t Tiger Woods 74 69 68 69 E (280) 18
6 t Hunter Mahan 72 68 68 72 E (280) 18
9 Henrik Stenson 73 70 70 68 +1 (281) 18
10 t Rory McIlroy 72 70 72 68 +2 (282) 18

Find US open 2009 golf scoreboard here:
US open 2009 golf scoreboardLink-1
US open 2009 golf scoreboardLink-2
US open 2009 golf scoreboardUS open 2009 score

Ricky Barnes' run for the US Open 2009


2009 U.S. Open: Final Round Video Footage, Part 1


2009 U.S. Open: Final Round Video Footage, Part 2


2009 U.S. Open: Round 3 Video Footage, Part 3


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Spain defeated South Africa Highlights | fifa confederations cup | fifa confederations cup south africa 2009

South Africa was beaten by Spain with 2-0 in the FIFA 2009 Confederations Cup on last Saturday, Watch Highlight here

South Africa was beaten with 2-0 as Spain - Highlights Video - Spain defeats south Africa, but the majority of possession and scoring chances against South Africa was ahead in the second half can not take quick. David Villa of Spain, the leader of the penalty kick to give, but was prepared with a great South African goalkeeper, khun Itumeleng was rejected by the save. Only a few minutes later, Villa away from the past that a shot to beat khun Miss was able to prepare for. The second half was mainly controlled by Spain after the victory with a goal from a small Llorente sealed. South Africa, but their chances in this match can not be changed, and Spain was a solid play. South Africa, with both teams qualified for the semifinals, Group B runner - up to face Group B winners and Spain to face.



















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Barnes leads U.S. Open into final round

Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover were locked in a tie atop the leader board on Sunday as darkness pushed an often-delayed U.S. Open into Monday.

Barnes hit a bogey at the beginning of the final round to fall into a tie at seven under par with Glover. Both men had shot level par 70s in their third round, but for former U.S. amateur champion Barnes it was a story of missed opportunities after he went to 11-under during the course of his round, but subsequently dropped three shots, including a bogey at the last.

The last round was delayed by darkness and will resume Monday morning, according to the official Web site of the U.S. Open Championship.

Former world number one David Duval is tied in third place with England's Ross Fisher at 3-fewer than 207.

Crowd favorite Phil Mickelson, Canada's Mike Weir and Hunter Mahan were a stroke back.
But world number one Tiger Woods, with an overall score of 211, surely has too much ground to make up despite a battling two-fewer than 68.

Rain had left the Bethpage Black course deluged again and play was delayed until 12.00 local time on Sunday, leaving organizers with no option than to schedule a Monday finish.
When the action started, Barnes quickly moved into a three-shot after six holes thanks to a birdie at the second and a long-range eagle putt at the fourth.

The eagle left the 28-year-old on 11 under par, the first man to reach that mark at the U.S. Open since Jim Furyk in the third round at Olympia Fields en route to his victory in 2003.
But bogeys on the seventh, 10th, 12th, 15th and 18th against birdies on the 13th and 17th gave his rivals some hope.

Mickelson, who is playing in the second major of the season as his wife Amy battles breast cancer, had a topsy-turvy round but grabbed four birdies in the last six holes to claw his way back into contention.
Source: www.cnn.com

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After the heavy defeat to Brazil, Italy crash out

Brazil thrashed Italy 3-0 to send the world champion’s home from the Confederations Cup as the United States also reached the semifinals after beating Egypt 3-0 in the other Group B match on Sunday.

The 2006 World Cup winners trailed 3-0 at halftime in Pretoria to a Kaka-inspired Brazil as a Luis Fabiano double and an Andrea Dossena own goal dealt them a hammer blow.

Brazil could afford to take the foot off the pedal after the break, but Italy could not score the goal which would have put them through.

The U.S. had needed a six-goal swing to go through and strikes from Charlie Davies, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey in Rustenberg saw them home in a remarkable turnaround.
The win meant the U.S., Italy and Egypt all finished on three points, well behind Brazil on nine.

Egypt's goal difference was minus three, ruling them out, while Italy and the U.S. finished on minus two but the States went through by virtue of scoring one more goal.

African champions Egypt, who beat Italy in their previous group match, were outplayed by their opponents, who will play Spain in the semifinals.

Five-time world champions Brazil will take on hosts South Africa for a place in the final.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro matched Paolo Maldini's record for most national team appearances with his 126th cap, but the 35-year-old endured a miserable evening as their ageing team wilted.

Brazil hit the woodwork twice before Fabiano made the breakthrough in the 37th minute as latched on to a shot driven into the Italy penalty area and beat Gianluigi Buffon with ease.

Real Madrid's new signing Kaka was at the heart of Brazil's play and his neat cross was left by Robinho for Fabiano to score his second just six minutes later.

The third came as Robinho burst down the right and his low cross was diverted past the unfortunate Buffon by the outstretched Dossena.
Source: www.cnn.com
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India vs West Indies 2009 Schedule | IND vs WI cricket match |

Just after the completion of 2nd edition twenty20 World Cup in England, Indian team will tour Caribbean for four match ODI series against the West Indies. The first two ODI's of the series will be played in Jamaica while next two ODI's will be played in St Lucia.

India will play their first one day international on 26th June 2009. And the rest of three one day internationals will be played on 28th June, 3rd July and 5th July 2009.

All the matches will be telecast in India by Tensports TV Channel.

Indian Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain/WK), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, M Vijay, S Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (WK).

West Indies Squad for first two ODI's:Chris Gayle (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (WK), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

Just after the completion of 2^nd edition twenty20 World Cup in England, Indian team will tour Caribbean for four match ODI series against the West Indies. The first two ODI's of the series will be played in Jamaica while next two ODI's will be played in St Lucia.

India will play their first one day international on 26^th June 2009. And the rest of three one day internationals will be played on 28^th June, 3^rd July and 5^th July 2009.

All the matches will be telecast in India by Tensports TV Channel.

Indian Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain/WK), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, M Vijay, S Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (WK).

West Indies Squad for first two ODI's:Chris Gayle (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (WK), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

India Vs West Indies Schedule (All timing are mentioned in GMT+05:30)

Timing	Teams	Venue
Fri 26 Jun 20:00 PM	1st ODI – India v West Indies	Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Sun 28 Jun 20:00 PM	2nd ODI – India v West Indies	Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Fri 3 Jul 20:00 PM	3rd ODI – India v West Indies	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Sun 5 Jul 20:00 PM	4th ODI – India v West Indies	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia

Source: www.cricketvillage.blogspot.com
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