WELLINGTON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson capped his final season in charge of the English Premier League champions by clinching the League Managers’ Association Manager of the Year award for the fourth time on Monday. The 71-year-old Scot’s unparallelled success in British football ended on Sunday with a remarkable 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion. “In a way I am glad it is all over now because it has been hard work,” Ferguson told the BBC. “It has been overwhelming. The club has been fantastic and congratulations to West Brom with the way they...
Published On: 2013-05-21

MADRID: Jose Mourinho will quit Real Madrid at the end of the season after coming to a mutual accord with the Spanish club that brings to an end a disappointing three-year stint by his high standards. The Portuguese’s imminent departure, three years before his contract expires, will add fuel to widespread expectations he is poised to return to former club Chelsea. While Real have yet to name a successor, president Florentino Perez confirmed the club had approached French Ligue1 giants Paris St Germain (PSG) to ask about the availability of Carlo Ancelotti. “After the talks with...
Published On: 2013-05-21

CAPE TOWN: South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend, will not compete in any events this year, local media reported on Monday. The sprinter's agent had previously said August's world championships in Moscow were "on the radar" after Pistorius' bail conditions were relaxed on March 28 and the 26-year-old was granted permission to travel abroad. But the double amputee, nicknamed ‘Blade Runner', will not return to the track in 2013 according to his coach, Ampie Louw. "We have decided as a team we are not talking any tr...
Published On: 2013-05-21

MADRID: Jose Mourinho will quit Real Madrid at the end of the season after coming to a mutual accord with the Spanish club that brings to an end a disappointing three-year stint by his high standards. The Portuguese's imminent departure, three years before his contract expires, will add fuel to widespread expectations he is poised to return to former club Chelsea. While Real have yet to name a successor, president Florentino Perez confirmed the club had approached Paris St Germain to ask about the availability of Carlo Ancelotti. "After the talks with our coach Jose Mourinho we have re...
Published On: 2013-05-21

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear a petition on Tuesday seeking to scrap the remaining matches of the country's lucrative Twenty20 cricket competition amid growing concerns about corruption in sport. Former test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other players were arrested along with 11 bookmakers on Thursday on suspicion of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The case has prompted the government to look at the possibility of introducing a law to combat matchfixing and spot-fixing. Cricket fan Sudarsh Awasti, an architect by profession and self-declared social activi...
Published On: 2013-05-21

MILAN: AC Milan scored twice in the last six minutes, the first a hugely controversial Mario Balotelli penalty, to beat relegated Siena 2-1 in Serie A on Sunday and snatch the Champions League playoff spot. Furious Siena, who went ahead in the 25th minute through Claudio Terzi, also had Christian Terlizzi harshly sent off in the 70th minute, almost immediately after Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini had been dismissed. Milan scraped into third place with 72 points, two ahead of Fiorentina who won 5-1 at Pescara with an Adem Ljajic hat-trick and are likely to feel hugely aggrieved by the mann...
Published On: 2013-05-20

MADRID: Champions Barcelona moved a step closer to matching Real Madrid’s Spanish League record of 100 points with a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid, that was the prelude to a title party at the Nou Camp on Sunday. Tito Vilanova’s side wrapped up their fourth league crown in five years last weekend, but still have the chance to equal the mark set by Jose Mourinho’s victorious side last season. A 21st-minute strike from Pedro and an own-goal from Valladolid’s Marc Valiente before halftime sealed a victory. Valladolid pulled one back from the penalty spot through Victor ...
Published On: 2013-05-20

IRVING: Sang-Moon Bae won the Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Keegan Bradley by two strokes after blowing a four-stroke lead. The 26-year-old South Korean closed with a one-under 69 to finish at 13-under 267. Bradley was trying to become the Nelson’s first wire-to-wire winner since Tom Watson in 1980. Bradley set the TPC Four Seasons course record with an opening 60, but finished with a 72 on a day with wind gusting to near 40-mph at times. Four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine gave Bae a four-stroke advantage in the final gro...
Published On: 2013-05-20

HYDERABAD: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets to storm into the playoffs of the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi international Stadium on Sunday. The home side achieved the 131 target with the loss of five wickets with seven balls to spare, but not before some anxious moments. Requiring 15 off last two overs, Darren Sammy hit Abdullah for two consecutive sixes to seal the match, much to the delight of the over 32,000 crowd. Sunrisers’ openers had scored 89 in 12th over and were looking set for a comprehensive win before they lost five wickets with the additio...
Published On: 2013-05-20

LONDON: Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to England's fourth Champions League spot, their 1-0 victory over Newcastle on the final day of the Premier League season enough to ensure their place in Europe's showpiece competition. In Serie A, AC Milan scored twice in last six minutes to snatch a place in the Champions League qualifying round while Porto clinched their 27th Portuguese Premier League title. ENGLAND Arsenal claimed the final Champions League spot at the expense of their arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the Premier League season on Sunday with a ...
Published On: 2013-05-19