Australia leads the group with 13 points by playing 5 games.4 win and 1 draw.Great Britain is on 2nd position.It has 9 points.It played 5 matches, win 3 and 2 lost.Pakistan is on 3rd position.It has also 9 points.3 wins and 2 lost.If Pakistan beat Malaysia with a big margin than it 'll qualifies for final against Australia.Pakistan and Britain has a tie but Britain with less goal against their team which is 9 and they hit 11 goals against their opposotion.Pakistan has took 13 goals against their team and they scored 14 against opposition.
Friday, May 13, 2011
USA TODAY: Consultants back firing of basketball coach
St. Charles Unit District 303 plans to make changes to its athletics polices in light of an independent review. (Melissa Jenco/TribLocal file photo)
Consultants found, despite the backlash from parents and students, “there is significant evidence to support the dismissal” of Clodi who coached the varsity team for eight years.
“That decision’s been made, it’s done and we need to continue to move on,” Supt. Don Schlomann said. “And I think while there’s different sentiments about it everybody wants to move on and provide quality programming for our kids.”
He plans to announce an interim coach next week and said it will not be someone who is in the running for the job permanently.
While the coach’s dismissal exacerbated the review of the East athletic department, Schlomann said the district actually had already been considering one due to bullying and hazing issues.
The review, which was performed by a former superintendent and former athletic director from another district, interviewed more than 40 people and found positives like extensive offerings, dedicated coaches and good facilities. However, it also found weak spots like Athletic Director Jerry Krieg’s communication and organization, the evaluation system for coaches, inconsistency among booster clubs and bullying.
In response, Schlomann is calling for coaches and students in District 303 to be trained to recognize and report bullying and hazing. Recent efforts in that area already are causing more people to come forward, he said.
“We’ve got to provide some training for our students because the environment is different in the classroom and on the field … and often on the field over time there are things that occur that are kind of historical in nature where people have always done it this way, and now people are realizing that doesn’t feel right,” he said.
He also is calling for a review of job descriptions for the athletic director, assistant athletic director and coaches and wants coaches to be evaluated annually in writing by the athletic director instead of the current system of self-evaluations.
In addition, he would like a committee to study potential changes to the booster club structure in the district. The district has 53 clubs between the two high schools – one for each sport – while many districts have one per school.
“These are the things that really matter to make a program successful, to make it fair for our kids and to have what we would call a really dynamic programming for all of our students,” Schlomann said of the recommended changes.
There will be new leadership at East helping to implement those changes as Krieg announced this week he is retiring as of June 30.
Despite some criticisms in the report regarding Krieg’s leadership, Schlomann said Krieg has been considering retirement for several years, and he did not push Krieg into the decision. He added, “in no way am I disappointed with Jerry Krieg and his performance.”
“No one cared more about ‘Saints Nation’ as they call it than he did,” Schlomann said. “I mean, I’m not convinced if you cut him open he wouldn’t bleed orange.”
The district will be posting a job opening notice for both an interim and permanent athletic director and then decide which would be the best choice.
USA TODAY: Hall of Famer Killebrew ends cancer fight
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, the brawny slugger who remains near the top of the career home runs list, said on Friday he is ending his battle with esophageal cancer and will live out the final days of his life in hospice care.
The 11-times All-Star, whose 573 career home runs are the 11th most in Major League Baseball, said he looks forward to spending his finals days in comfort alongside his wife.
"It is with profound sadness that I share with you that my continued battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end," Killebrew, 74, said in a statement released by the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure."
Killebrew started his career with the Washington Senators in 1954 and relocated with the franchise to Minnesota in 1961 where they became the Twins. He played one year with the Kansas City Royals in 1975 before retiring.
Killebrew was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1969 after a season where he recorded a career-best 140 RBIs, 49 home runs and a .276 batting average while playing in all 162 of Minnesota's games that year.
The Twins retired his uniform number in 1975 and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 after a 22-year career in which he recorded 1,584 RBIs and a .256 batting average in 2,435 games.
In April, Killebrew scrapped plans to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Twins' home opener, saying the trip would disrupt his cancer treatment schedule in Arizona.
TREMENDOUS PROGRESS
At the time, he said in a statement that he had made tremendous progress and remained optimistic and hopeful for a full recovery.
Twins spokesman Kevin Smith said plans to pay tribute to Killebrew at Friday's home game against the Toronto Blue Jays were still being finalized but acknowledged that a video tribute and hanging the former player's No. 3 jersey in the Minnesota dugout were likely.
"This is not anywhere close to a memorial. He is still with us," Smith told Reuters. "This is an acknowledgment of his statement. He just wanted everyone to know what his next step was and beyond that we don't have anything to say."
Smith also said notes of best wishes from current Twins players will be sent to Killebrew overnight by the team.
Killebrew, who still holds the team record for most home runs, RBIs, walks and games played, had announced in December that he had been diagnosed with cancer and started treatment.
"I am comforted by the fact that I am surrounded by my family and friends. I thank you for the outpouring of concern, prayers and encouragement that you have shown me," Killebrew said on Friday.
"I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side."
Homegrown talent helps UConn baseball thrive
The common belief among state high school players used to be the south was the place to be for college baseball.
Jim Penders and the UConn Huskies are doing an excellent job to debunk that theory.
Last season, Pender's program earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1994 with a school-record 48 wins and its first appearance in the national rankings since 1979.
A trip to the NCAAs was a nice reward after UConn dropped its second straight Big East championship game, which came in a 3-0 loss to St. John's. The Huskies were eliminated by Oregon last year in the Norwich Regional.
Stocked with a roster full of homegrown talent and sitting atop the conference with one week to play, the Huskies (34-13-1, 18-3 Big East entering Friday's game against Louisville at Dodd Stadium in Norwicj) have not only stirred up interest in the collegiate game in New England, but made it cool to stay home to play ball again.
"All the talent in Connecticut, most of the top prospects try to go down south," said sophomore designated hitter LJ Mazzilli, from Greenwich, whose father is former major league player and manager Lee Mazzilli. "But we are doing it right here."
The Huskies have 17 players with in-state ties, including their two biggest stars -- junior outfielder George Springer (New Britain) and junior right-hander Matt Barnes (Bethel), who anchors the staff with his 98-mph fastball.
Springer leads the team in average (.376), homers (10) and RBIs (64), while Barnes is 9-3 with a 1.29 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
"If there's a kid who can play baseball, it's foolish for them not to come to UConn," said Penders, who is in his eighth season as the Huskies' skipper. "Right now we are one of the best teams in the region and have a lot of prospects."
One of the rising prospects is freshman southpaw Brian Ward, a Foran graduate who is 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA working at the back end of the rotation behind Barnes, Madison native Greg Nappo and senior co-captain Elliott Glynn, who is one of two California players on the roster.
Ward's emergence has helped offset the loss of righty Scott Oberg, who is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery.
"I've settled in nicely after a couple shaky starts," the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Ward said. "We all complement each other (on the staff). We work well with each other and root for each other."
Pitching is the one thing Penders focused on recruiting plenty of when he took over in 2003 after seven years serving as an assistant coach.
"It all starts with the guy on the bump," he said. "We were determined to build the team with pitching."
Among the other regional players on the Huskies are two Stratford juniors -- catcher John Sulzicki and infielder Tim Martin. Greenwich sophomore Michael Zaccardo is part of the bullpen.
UConn is the only team in the conference to already secure one of the eight postseason spots and entered the weekend ranked first in the New England region and 15th overall in one of the national polls (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper). Baseball America has the Huskies 18th while the NCBWA has them at 29th.
"Jim has done a tremendous job there," said Sacred Heart coach Nick Giaquinto, whose club beat UConn 5-4 earlier in the season. "They've taken the program to new heights."
The new heights include much bigger plans than just being a factor in the Big East. They Huskies want a league championship, which is something the program has not won since 1994 when Penders was a player there.
"One of the things that stands out about this team is we are all best friends on the one team," Mazzilli said. "We're one group with one goal in our lives. Everyone wants the same thing."
The Huskies appear to have the talent to accomplish that goal, but Penders prefers the Huskies focus on their daily tasks, not long-range goals.
"We haven't accomplished any of our goals, but we're making progress towards out goals," he said.
Jim Penders and the UConn Huskies are doing an excellent job to debunk that theory.
Last season, Pender's program earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1994 with a school-record 48 wins and its first appearance in the national rankings since 1979.
A trip to the NCAAs was a nice reward after UConn dropped its second straight Big East championship game, which came in a 3-0 loss to St. John's. The Huskies were eliminated by Oregon last year in the Norwich Regional.
Stocked with a roster full of homegrown talent and sitting atop the conference with one week to play, the Huskies (34-13-1, 18-3 Big East entering Friday's game against Louisville at Dodd Stadium in Norwicj) have not only stirred up interest in the collegiate game in New England, but made it cool to stay home to play ball again.
"All the talent in Connecticut, most of the top prospects try to go down south," said sophomore designated hitter LJ Mazzilli, from Greenwich, whose father is former major league player and manager Lee Mazzilli. "But we are doing it right here."
The Huskies have 17 players with in-state ties, including their two biggest stars -- junior outfielder George Springer (New Britain) and junior right-hander Matt Barnes (Bethel), who anchors the staff with his 98-mph fastball.
Springer leads the team in average (.376), homers (10) and RBIs (64), while Barnes is 9-3 with a 1.29 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
"If there's a kid who can play baseball, it's foolish for them not to come to UConn," said Penders, who is in his eighth season as the Huskies' skipper. "Right now we are one of the best teams in the region and have a lot of prospects."
One of the rising prospects is freshman southpaw Brian Ward, a Foran graduate who is 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA working at the back end of the rotation behind Barnes, Madison native Greg Nappo and senior co-captain Elliott Glynn, who is one of two California players on the roster.
Ward's emergence has helped offset the loss of righty Scott Oberg, who is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery.
"I've settled in nicely after a couple shaky starts," the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Ward said. "We all complement each other (on the staff). We work well with each other and root for each other."
Pitching is the one thing Penders focused on recruiting plenty of when he took over in 2003 after seven years serving as an assistant coach.
"It all starts with the guy on the bump," he said. "We were determined to build the team with pitching."
Among the other regional players on the Huskies are two Stratford juniors -- catcher John Sulzicki and infielder Tim Martin. Greenwich sophomore Michael Zaccardo is part of the bullpen.
UConn is the only team in the conference to already secure one of the eight postseason spots and entered the weekend ranked first in the New England region and 15th overall in one of the national polls (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper). Baseball America has the Huskies 18th while the NCBWA has them at 29th.
"Jim has done a tremendous job there," said Sacred Heart coach Nick Giaquinto, whose club beat UConn 5-4 earlier in the season. "They've taken the program to new heights."
The new heights include much bigger plans than just being a factor in the Big East. They Huskies want a league championship, which is something the program has not won since 1994 when Penders was a player there.
"One of the things that stands out about this team is we are all best friends on the one team," Mazzilli said. "We're one group with one goal in our lives. Everyone wants the same thing."
The Huskies appear to have the talent to accomplish that goal, but Penders prefers the Huskies focus on their daily tasks, not long-range goals.
"We haven't accomplished any of our goals, but we're making progress towards out goals," he said.
Pakistan in resurgent form despite youth
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament
IPOH: Pakistan’s manager said Friday that the Asian champions were seeing a return to form and eyeing victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, despite the relative youth of their side. Pakistan and Great Britain each have nine points with one game to go to decide who will meet World champions Australia in Sunday’s final. Great Britain will first play South Korea on Saturday followed by Pakistan against Malaysia. “I have told my players that we must play to win no matter what the result of the other match,” Pakistan team manager K.M. Junaid said. “We are under no illusion of the task that awaits us. Malaysia have always been a tough team to play, and they will certainly want to win as well,” he said.
“I also thank God almighty for what we have been able to achieve thus far after having come with a young team,” he said. The Pakistanis have eight players under 21. So far Pakistan have beaten old adversaries India, South Korea and New Zealand but lost against both Great Britain and Australia. Last November, Pakistan won the Asian Games gold medal, bolstering their confidence. Junaid said another title win would be a major boost to efforts to create a top team for their 2012 London Olympic challenge. “(The young players) are the future of Pakistan hockey, and I am glad that they are showing good form. We have to keep exposing them to tougher matches,” Junaid said.
Great Britain have vowed not to take South Korea for granted either. South Korea and India are both joint title holders for the cup, whose final was marred by rain last year. “I have said that we are here to win the title,” Great Britain coach Jason Lee said. “We will go all out to do that against Korea but at the same time we have to be on our toes from the start.” “Frankly it is in our hands to make the final and we have to get the job done,” he said. Behind Great Britain and Pakistan, New Zealand have seven points meaning the Kiwis could sneak into the final if both Great Britain and Pakistan lose their games and New Zealand win their match against Australia on Saturday.
IPOH: Pakistan’s manager said Friday that the Asian champions were seeing a return to form and eyeing victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, despite the relative youth of their side. Pakistan and Great Britain each have nine points with one game to go to decide who will meet World champions Australia in Sunday’s final. Great Britain will first play South Korea on Saturday followed by Pakistan against Malaysia. “I have told my players that we must play to win no matter what the result of the other match,” Pakistan team manager K.M. Junaid said. “We are under no illusion of the task that awaits us. Malaysia have always been a tough team to play, and they will certainly want to win as well,” he said.
“I also thank God almighty for what we have been able to achieve thus far after having come with a young team,” he said. The Pakistanis have eight players under 21. So far Pakistan have beaten old adversaries India, South Korea and New Zealand but lost against both Great Britain and Australia. Last November, Pakistan won the Asian Games gold medal, bolstering their confidence. Junaid said another title win would be a major boost to efforts to create a top team for their 2012 London Olympic challenge. “(The young players) are the future of Pakistan hockey, and I am glad that they are showing good form. We have to keep exposing them to tougher matches,” Junaid said.
Great Britain have vowed not to take South Korea for granted either. South Korea and India are both joint title holders for the cup, whose final was marred by rain last year. “I have said that we are here to win the title,” Great Britain coach Jason Lee said. “We will go all out to do that against Korea but at the same time we have to be on our toes from the start.” “Frankly it is in our hands to make the final and we have to get the job done,” he said. Behind Great Britain and Pakistan, New Zealand have seven points meaning the Kiwis could sneak into the final if both Great Britain and Pakistan lose their games and New Zealand win their match against Australia on Saturday.
Pathetic PCB preventing cricket’s progress
The inherent trait of conflicts and controversies practiced and promoted by present set-up of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has prevented our cricket from making the desired progress to capture a place among top teams of the world. The six weeks of World Cup 2011, during which Pakistan managed to reach the semifinals, apparently looked like a period of relative peace and harmony but it was not so.
It was a phase of blistering differences between coach Waqar Younis and skipper Shahid Afridi mainly on the matters of selection. The issue if leaked out would have caused tremendous shame to the Pakistan team. Afridi very wisely tolerated all the taunts, gimmicks and shouts, at times agreeing and at times not agreeing with the coach. He, however, remained absolutely firm in his conduct as captain preventing the gang of officials from making undue interference into the affairs of the team. He kept the things under control without giving a clue to the media till Pakistan reached Mohali where the team succumbed to the politics of Himalayan level to create history.
The next international engagement of our team was the tour of the West Indies in which the series of five one-day internationals (ODIs) was of paramount importance. Having defeated the Windies all ends up during the World Cup, our team had judged the weakness of the opponents and were fully confident of achieving a clean sweep of the series. The relationship with coach Waqar having become extremely bitter, Afridi initially declined to accompany the team to West Indies ‘for personal reasons’. Some of his well wishers, however, advised him not to leave the team after doing so well in a great event like the World Cup. He changed his decision and accompanied the team. The team performed as successfully as planned. Pakistan won the three ODI’s in a row winning the series while the fourth one became the joint victim of rain and the Lewis-Duckworth rules. The fifth and last ODI was gifted to the hosts consequent to a serious altercation between the two officials, the bone of contention being the dropping of in form player Asad Shafiq by the coach.
The major point of contention between Waqar and Afridi was Waqar’s authoritative attitude in selection matters. During the West Indies tour while Afridi wanted to give ample chance to the new players considering that ‘they were not on tour for a joy ride’ while Waqar kept on resisting and playing the tried and tested old hags. Cricket fans, who were aspiring for a straight 5-0 victory, were not pleased with the 3-2 win caused mainly due to a rift between the two top officials. While coach Waqar has stayed back with the team to complete the series Afridi is back home.
Immediately on arrival, Afridi made a press statement criticising coach Waqar for interfering in the team selection. He also touched upon the differences that existed within the team management. The PCB immediately reacted to the statement as a violation of the code of conduct and issued a show cause notice to Afridi to which he has submitted a reply.
It is quite likely that the matter will be decided on Waqar’s return but there are two schools of thought. Some sources indicate that PCB chief Ijaz Butt is not happy with Afridi’s performance as well as attitude to go public about the team affairs. There may thus be a chance of his losing the ‘limited over matches captaincy’. ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi having turned into a legend, I think it would be too big a punishment for an issue which could be easily sorted out by the team’s management headed by a seasoned manager like Intikhab Alam. The other suggestion that he should be set free with a reprieve appears reasonable.
Another alarming conflict of similar nature occurred within the PCB’s headquarters where agitated by the dictatorial conduct of Ijaz Butt, chief selector Mohsin Khan threatened to resign from his post. Mohsin was irked by the fact that he was not given a free hand in selecting the team. The team selected by his committee was often changed by the chairman arbitrarily. His objection is quite valid because the selection committee forms the team after meticulously watching the performance of each player. In contrast since the chairman does not go through such a process the induction of any player by him is based either on ‘safarish or personal liking.’ To prevent the issue from turning into a national debate Ijaz found it convenient to have a compromise with the chief selector. It is high time that the PCB avoids such conflicts and controversies and concentrates on boosting up the game.
It was a phase of blistering differences between coach Waqar Younis and skipper Shahid Afridi mainly on the matters of selection. The issue if leaked out would have caused tremendous shame to the Pakistan team. Afridi very wisely tolerated all the taunts, gimmicks and shouts, at times agreeing and at times not agreeing with the coach. He, however, remained absolutely firm in his conduct as captain preventing the gang of officials from making undue interference into the affairs of the team. He kept the things under control without giving a clue to the media till Pakistan reached Mohali where the team succumbed to the politics of Himalayan level to create history.
The next international engagement of our team was the tour of the West Indies in which the series of five one-day internationals (ODIs) was of paramount importance. Having defeated the Windies all ends up during the World Cup, our team had judged the weakness of the opponents and were fully confident of achieving a clean sweep of the series. The relationship with coach Waqar having become extremely bitter, Afridi initially declined to accompany the team to West Indies ‘for personal reasons’. Some of his well wishers, however, advised him not to leave the team after doing so well in a great event like the World Cup. He changed his decision and accompanied the team. The team performed as successfully as planned. Pakistan won the three ODI’s in a row winning the series while the fourth one became the joint victim of rain and the Lewis-Duckworth rules. The fifth and last ODI was gifted to the hosts consequent to a serious altercation between the two officials, the bone of contention being the dropping of in form player Asad Shafiq by the coach.
The major point of contention between Waqar and Afridi was Waqar’s authoritative attitude in selection matters. During the West Indies tour while Afridi wanted to give ample chance to the new players considering that ‘they were not on tour for a joy ride’ while Waqar kept on resisting and playing the tried and tested old hags. Cricket fans, who were aspiring for a straight 5-0 victory, were not pleased with the 3-2 win caused mainly due to a rift between the two top officials. While coach Waqar has stayed back with the team to complete the series Afridi is back home.
Immediately on arrival, Afridi made a press statement criticising coach Waqar for interfering in the team selection. He also touched upon the differences that existed within the team management. The PCB immediately reacted to the statement as a violation of the code of conduct and issued a show cause notice to Afridi to which he has submitted a reply.
It is quite likely that the matter will be decided on Waqar’s return but there are two schools of thought. Some sources indicate that PCB chief Ijaz Butt is not happy with Afridi’s performance as well as attitude to go public about the team affairs. There may thus be a chance of his losing the ‘limited over matches captaincy’. ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi having turned into a legend, I think it would be too big a punishment for an issue which could be easily sorted out by the team’s management headed by a seasoned manager like Intikhab Alam. The other suggestion that he should be set free with a reprieve appears reasonable.
Another alarming conflict of similar nature occurred within the PCB’s headquarters where agitated by the dictatorial conduct of Ijaz Butt, chief selector Mohsin Khan threatened to resign from his post. Mohsin was irked by the fact that he was not given a free hand in selecting the team. The team selected by his committee was often changed by the chairman arbitrarily. His objection is quite valid because the selection committee forms the team after meticulously watching the performance of each player. In contrast since the chairman does not go through such a process the induction of any player by him is based either on ‘safarish or personal liking.’ To prevent the issue from turning into a national debate Ijaz found it convenient to have a compromise with the chief selector. It is high time that the PCB avoids such conflicts and controversies and concentrates on boosting up the game.
49er Women's Tennis Starts NCAA Tournament Competition This Weekend
2:34pm | No. 36 Long Beach State will be making its eighth all-time appearance in the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament this weekend, playing No. 27 Pepperdine at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, at Stanford.
Long Beach State’s eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament comes off the heels of claiming the team’s eighthBig West Championship over the last 10 seasons, making it the best team in the strongest Big West Conference season top-to-bottom in recent memory. With Cal Poly’s at-large selection, the league earned two bids for the first time since the 2007 season (LBSU, UC Irvine) and had six teams ranked at the conclusion of the regular season.
The NCAA Tournament host for Long Beach State, Stanford University, will be a familiar site for the 49ers. Long Beach State has played in Palo Alto twice before in the tournament; the first time was back in 2002, the team’s first NCAA appearance, and the other was in 2009.
This will also be the third time that Long Beach State has played Pepperdine in the postseason, and the second time that Long Beach State has faced the Waves at Stanford. Pepperdine defeated the 49ers in 2002 4-1 in the first appearance for the program. The last time the teams met was in 2007 at Fresno State, when Long Beach State nearly upset the No. 20 Waves, getting wins from Hannah Grady and Katy Williams and leading them in the unfinished match in a 4-3 defeat.
Pepperdine and Long Beach State are meeting for the 19th time; the 49ers have never defeated the Waves but have come tantalizingly close in the last three meetings, losing all three by a 4-3 margin while being ranked lower in all three matches.
In this season’s meeting, Long Beach State won the doubles point, taking the top two matches, and did the same in singles, as Anais Dallara defeated Arianna Colffer at No. 1 singles and Klaudia Malenovska won at No. 2 over Ale Granillo.
Dallara has also defeated Khunpak Issara in fall play, giving the 49ers junior a pair of wins against the Waves this season. She’ll likely match up with Colffer once more, while Deborah Armstrong will get a rematch with Anamika Bhargava, who entered the singles rankings this week at No. 122.
With Malenovska out due to injury, Rachel Manasse will draw Granillo this time around, while Jaklin Alawi will likely face Issara. Sarah Cantlay and Anna Jeczmionka will round out the singles lineup for the 49ers, facing Marie Zalameda and either Andrea Oates or Megan Moore.
The doubles point appears to point in the Waves’ favor despite Long Beach State’s triumph earlier in the season, as Pepperdine has two tandems ranked No. 1: No. 65 Bhargava/Zalameda and No. 53 Issara/Granillo. Long Beach State will look to topple the top two a second time, as well as rely on Cantlay/Luzar at No. 3 doubles, a team with a 19-4 record in dual matches this season.
In NCAA Tournament play the Waves have the edge, with a 23-27 all-time record in the postseason. Long Beach State enters with a record of 1-7, getting their win in 2006 by beating No. 46 New Mexico 4-1 before falling to No. 2 USC in Los Angeles.
With a win, the 49ers would play the winner of No. 2 Stanford and Illinois-Chicago at noon on Sunday, May 15. Long Beach State has never beaten Stanford in six matches, but is undefeated against the Flames with a 4-0 record, including a 5-2 win in Chicago earlier this year.
TENNIS: Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruise into Rome Masters semis
ROME: Rafael Nadal showed no signs of the fever that has been afflicting him this week as he strolled into the Rome Masters semifinals here with a 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Marin Cilic. Earlier Andy Murray became the first British man to reach the Rome semis in the Open era after a bizarre 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory against Florian Mayer. Having been totally off colour on Wednesday in a tortured three-set victory over Italian qualifier Paolo Lorenzi, Nadal proved he was back to his best against Cilic. The big serving Croatian hit twice the number of unforced errors as Nadal in the first set with the world number one clinically taking his only two break point opportunities and securing the set with a powerful, deep forehand that Cilic couldn’t return.The second set started off going with serve until Nadal broke to love in the seventh game, Cilic’s wildly long forehand on the final point indicative of the loose game he played. And in his next service game the world number 23 plonked a forehand into net to give up match point and then hit another wide to hand Nadal the match. Murray became the first British man since George Hughes in 1932 to get this far in Rome. “It is important, it’s nice to do well in tournaments abroad and this tournament has been around a long, long time,” said Murray. “There’s a lot of history, it’s always had great fields. Every year I’ve been here when you walk to the practice courts there’s a list of winners down a wall that has a lot of great players.” The world number four was completely out of sorts in the first set but then went on to win 11 of the last 12 games as Mayer crumbled alarmingly.
Murray had never even reached the quarters here until this year but after a poor start riddled with unforced errors, he found his form on his least favourite surface, finishing with twice as many winners as his opponent. “He’s a very tricky player, I’d never played against him or even practised against him or anything,” added the 23-year-old. “After the way the first few games went I got a bit uptight because I wasn’t really seeing his game well. “I didn’t put prssure on him, I was rushing a bit, coming to the net, he was moving well and hitting passing shots. “In my previous games I was coming up (to the net) and getting success but I had to back off a bit and made the rallies longer and I had to be more patient.” The first two sets were a poor advert for serving as eight of the 14 games ended in a break.
Murray was the principal culprit in the first set as he put up feeble resistance, going down 6-1 and holding serve only once in his first five service games. But as erratic as the Scot was in the first set, the German was just as bad in the second, in which he failed to hold serve at all. The second opened with three breaks of serve before Murray crucially held for only the second time in the match and he accelerated away from there, closing out the set 6-1 with a backhand crosscourt winner. Mayer had completely lost his way on serve and after Murray held at the start of the decider, the German was broken for the fifth game in a row as he netted a backhand volley on the stretch.
Having found the corners at will in the first set, Mayer was now struggling to find his range. The world number 28 held his next service game but it was a brief reprieve as at 4-1 he was broken to love after netting a forehand and Murray served out the match. In the women’s event, Li Na of China was the first person into the semifinals after completing a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory over Hungarian Greta Arn. The fourth seed has made startlingly easy progress here, losing only 13 games in three matches, and she is yet to drop a set
TENNIS: Kim Clijsters on track to make French Open - ESPN NEWS
BRUSSELS: Kim Clijsters is recovering well from shoulder, wrist and ankle injuries and is on schedule to compete in the French Open. Her spokesman Gert Van Goolen said Friday that “everything is on schedule regarding training and recovery” to make the May 22 starting date of Roland Garros. “There are no signs anything is going bad,” he said. Clijsters had been sidelined since early last month and only resumed on-court training last week. She hopes to be able to make a definitive decision on her participation early next week.
Clijsters is a two-time runner-up at the French Open and slow clay is generally considered her weakest surface. Up to last week, she had been considered doubtful to compete in Paris. During a busy early spring schedule, Clijsters overexerted her right shoulder and wrist and withdrew from the tour last month. Then she compounded her problems when she also injured her right ankle while wearing high heels at her cousin’s wedding. She withdrew from the ongoing Italian Open in Rome and has no plans for a preparation tournament before the French Open. However, after a tentative first training outing last week, she has progressively felt stronger during subsequent sessions. The reigning U.S. and Australian Open champion remains No. 2 in the world rankings behind Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Clijsters is a two-time runner-up at the French Open and slow clay is generally considered her weakest surface. Up to last week, she had been considered doubtful to compete in Paris. During a busy early spring schedule, Clijsters overexerted her right shoulder and wrist and withdrew from the tour last month. Then she compounded her problems when she also injured her right ankle while wearing high heels at her cousin’s wedding. She withdrew from the ongoing Italian Open in Rome and has no plans for a preparation tournament before the French Open. However, after a tentative first training outing last week, she has progressively felt stronger during subsequent sessions. The reigning U.S. and Australian Open champion remains No. 2 in the world rankings behind Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
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