IRVINE: US swim star Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and six more at the 2004 Athens Games, takes his next strokes toward the 2012 London Olympics starting Tuesday.Phelps is among more than 30 Olympians set to compete at the US National Swim

NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan captain Salman Butt insisted recalling Mohammad Yousuf was far from a miracle cure for the team`s batting ills after their crushing 354-run first Test loss to England.Just hours after Pakistan were bowled out for 80 - their lowest Test score against England - at Trent

COLOMBO: India`s world batting record holder Sachin Tendulkar will become the most-capped Test player on Tuesday, adding another milestone in one of cricket`s most accomplished careers.Tendulkar will overtake former Australian captain Steve Waugh when he takes the field for the third and

STANFORD: Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus overwhelmed Russian fifth seed Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 in Sunday`s WTA tournament final here to win her first title of the season.A day after her 21st birthday, Azarenka broke the Russian three times in the first set then took advantage

BARCELONA: Switzerland`s Viktor Roethlin broke from 25 km to set up a commanding victory in the marathon on a hot, humid Sunday at the European championships in Barcelona.Roethlin quickly built up a lead which he continued to increase, coming home in two hours 15 minutes 31 seconds to

YAOUNDE: Cameroon`s veteran centre-back Rigobert Song announced his retirement from international football on Sunday.The 34-year-old, the first African to play in four World Cups and eight African Cup of Nations, said that the time was right to call it a day."You have to know when to quit

BARCELONA: Switzerland`s Viktor Roethlin broke from 25 km to set up a commanding victory in the marathon on a hot, humid Sunday at the European championships in Barcelona.Roethlin quickly built up a lead which he continued to increase, coming home in two hours 15 minutes 31 seconds to

LOS ANGELES: Top seed and world number four Andy Murray won a curiously topsy-turvy encounter with Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-0 1-6 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the LA Open.Bidding for his first ATP title of the year, Murray recovered from a poor second set to wrap up victory in

MADRID: New Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has sent a potential warning to fans of the Spanish giants by claiming the teams he has coached do not reach their peak until his second season in charge.Mourinho, speaking to Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Sunday, made the claims despite having

STANFORD: Russian star Maria Sharapova is poised to capture her third title of the year and a rankings milestone after beating Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday in a WTA Bank of the West semi-final.Fifth seed Sharapova rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over the Polish third seed,

BALTIMORE: Nigerian winger Nsofor Victor Obinna scored one goal and set up another to lead reigning European champion Inter Milan past 10-man Manchester City 3-0 in a football friendly on Saturday. Obinna opened the scoring in the 38th minute and fired a shot in the 54th minute that

NOTTINGHAM: James Anderson took ten wickets in a Test for the first time as England beat Pakistan by a crushing 354 runs in their series opener at Trent Bridge here on Sunday. Pakistan were dismissed for just 80 - their lowest Test total against England, replacing the 87 they made at

NOTTINGHAM: England beat Pakistan by 354 runs to win the first Test on the fourth day at Trent Bridge here on Sunday and so go 1-0 up in the four-match series.Brief scores:England 1st Innings 354 (E Morgan 130, P Collingwood 82; Mohammad Asif 5-77, Mohammad Aamer 3-41)Pakistan 1st Innings

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Siddikur became the first Bangladeshi to win on the Asian Tour after defeating South Africa`s Jbe Kruger in a nerve-racking play-off at the Brunei Open on Sunday. Siddikur secured his career breakthrough with a par on the first extra hole as Kruger missed a 10-foot

NEW DELHI: Claims of shoddy construction in the venues for India`s Commonwealth Games emerged Saturday as the organising committee head denied the latest in a slew of corruption allegations.With barely two months to go before the Commonwealth Games start in October, the sporting

NEW DELHI: India`s cricket chiefs Saturday endorsed New Zealand`s Alan Isaac as the next vice-president of the world governing body after former Australian Prime Minister John Howard was snubbed for the job.Isaac, who heads New Zealand Cricket, was on Friday nominated by Australia and New

NEW DELHI: India`s cricket selectors on Saturday rested batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar and recalled Yuvraj Singh for next month`s triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka.New Zealand are the third team in the tournament, starting in Dambulla on August 10. Each side will play four league

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has offered his services as a batting coach for a national side struggling to score runs in England."The team definitely needs a full-time batting coach and if any offer is made to me for this position, I will definitely give it serious

NOTTINGHAM: South Africa born batsmen Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen saw England to 49 for two in their second innings, a lead of 221 runs, at lunch on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge here on Saturday. England have been wobbling at 18 for two after

BALTIMORE: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has flown back to Europe during his team`s US tour because of a family illness.Mancini left Baltimore to fly to Italy on Friday, the English Premier League team said. Mancini`s father lives in Italy."Clearly it`s a difficult time for the