(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) Pacquiao calm,confident for …pdfs.island.lk/2010/03/12/p14.pdf2010/03/12...
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14 Friday 12th March, 2010 by Jamie Aeron ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Manny Pacquaio arrived at Cowboys Stadium on Wednesday in a bus covered with his likeness, the seats filled with members of his entourage. He walked into the formal part of his appearance wearing a straw hat and a dark blazer. He quickly swapped the sports coat for a red jacket featuring his MP logo in golden thread. He talked about his upcoming elec- tion for Congress in his homeland, the Philippines. He talked about singing - rehearsing with his band the night before, with another session later Wednesday night, all in preparation for a performance at the after-party following his fight Saturday night. Oh, yeah. The fight. Billed as “The Event,” Pacquiao is facing Joshua Clottey on Saturday night in boxing’s debut at the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium. It’s an intriguing matchup perfect for a football stadium - Pacquiao’s furi- ous offense against Clottey’s dedication to defense - and it’ll look amazing on giant video boards towering over the ring. A sellout crowd of 45,000 is expected, with the attendance possibly soaring if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decides to sell standing-room-only tickets. And, of course, there’s the pay-per-view audi- ence that promoter Bob Arum said is likely to top the hoped-for total of 700,000. Put the pieces together, and it all makes perfect sense: The WBO welter- weight champion - already considered the best fighter in the world, pound for pound - is treating this entire week as one big performance, especially if he wins that election and decides to devote more time to politics than pugilism. “I’m inspired to give a good show, to do my best,” Pacquiao said, smiling. “To impress the people, you have to make your best (effort).” Then trainer Freddie Roach jumped in, cranking up the hype. “There’s no stage big enough for Manny Pacquiao,” Roach said. “He loves it, and I love it. He’s going to perform for the crowd. He’ll entertain all 45,000. He’ll entertain everybody.” Roach said the adrenaline surge that’s going to come from walking into the ring in these surroundings already has been factored into the game plan. That likely means even more punches from Pacquiao (50-3-2), who is already known for throwing plenty. Then again, Clottey (35-3) is known for blocking punches. The 32-year-old Ghana native also has never been knocked out - he’s been knocked down only once. “Blocking punches doesn’t win fights,” Roach said. “I think we can stop him in the late rounds. The accumula- tion of punches he’ll be taking in this fight he’s never seen before. ... I don’t think he’ll be able to handle it.” Clottey is taller and with a longer reach. He’s never been stopped cold, with his few losses including a disqualifica- tion in 1999 and a split decision to Miguel Cotto in his last bout, in June. Clottey was given this opportunity against Pacquiao when the proposed megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. fell through. He’s very appreciative for this opportunity and has nothing but nice things to say about Pacquiao. It’s Roach who rankles him, from the predicted result to talk of a head butt being one of Clottey’s best punches. Pacquiao calm, confident for fight vs. Clottey Boxers Manny Pacquiao, second from left, and Joshua Clottey, second from right, smile while flanked by cheerleaders after a news conference at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Pacquiao and Clottey square off in a welterweight bout at the stadium this Saturday. (AP Photo/LM Otero) CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AP) - England captain Alastair Cook has warned his players about the threat posed by Bangladesh’s spinners in the first Test starting Friday. The first of the two-test series will be held in Chittagong’s Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. England is the only Test-playing nation never to lose to Bangladesh in any form of the game. The hosts go into the Test after sweeping the three-match one-day international series 3-0. “Their spinners will be a huge threat and for us to take them light- ly would be a cardinal sin,” Cook told reporters after a practice ses- sion in this southeastern port city of Chittagong on Thursday. “We all know spin is important in the subcontinent,” said Cook, standing in for Andrew Strauss who has been rested for the Bangladesh tour. Bangladesh has three experi- enced left-arm spinners in its squad, while England is expected to include two off-spinners, Graeme Swann and uncapped James Tredwell. Their role has become even more important due to an injury-stricken pace attack. Ryan Sidebottom has flown back home due to a thigh injury, and fel- low seamer Graham Onions has been ruled out for the Test series because of a back injury. England is hoping that Stuart Broad, struggling with a back spasm, will pass a fitness test before the match. He bowled 10 overs dur- ing a practice session Wednesday without feeling any discomfort. Bangladesh suffered a jolt when batsman Rakibul Hasan announced a surprise decision to retire from all forms of the game and pulled out of the Test series. Hasan, who scored a century and a fifty in the warm-up match against England to force an inclu- sion in the team, resigned late Wednesday citing personal reasons. England concerned by Bangladesh spinners Tiger Woods is also sharing it with a rookie. Billed as an advertisement of the game’s Ryder Cup features, some take the pairing with Rory McIlroy as more fallout from Tiger’s inability to abstain from sex with women not named Mrs. Woods. An EA Sports news release described the new cover but, under- standably, said nothing about his mari- tal infidelity scandal - which has sent Woods to rehab, indefinitely delayed his return to the PGA Tour, and sent big- name sponsors running for the hills, EA not among them. Instead, the statement focused on the inclusion of Ryder Cup play, allow- ing players to choose from U.S. or European teams and participate in the tournament’s varying competi- tion formats. As for the cover, “Tiger Woods denotes the U.S. team and Rory McIlroy represents the Europeans.” And he’s a perfectly good choice. McIlroy, 20, of Northern Ireland, is tech- nically a rookie, though he is regarded as the future of the game, is ranked ninth in the world, and Woods has said very complimentary things of him. Some might think this is a prudent time for EA Sports to begin preparing for life after Tiger. But golf legends’ names - Palmer, Nicklaus, et al. - far outlive their competitive prime and besides, EA’s had no problem publishing a game by the name of Madden, without his face on the cover since 1998. Then, as the NCAA Tournament begins next week, take note of how many ads will feature any of Woods’ four victories. Granted, he’s not even a confirmed participant. But nor is his absence confirmed, and marketers are definitely minimizing connections to him. Back to the game. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will feature an intriguing online team play mode accommodating up to 24 players, with teammates capa- ble of communicating strategy with one another between shots (on Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.) A slew of other capabili- ties and features have been mentioned in this posting on the game’s official blog. The game is out June 8. (kotaku.com) Tiger Woods to share cover of Tiger Woods game by Ravi Nagahawatte Sri Lanka accepting the invitation to contest the Commonwealth Games rugby test event in New Delhi has given rise to the question whether the islanders have sized up the chal- lenge before them? India takes its sports assignments very seriously and it’s speculated that the upcoming rugby sevens tour- nament, in New Delhi, will attract the best of Asia’s sevens teams which will be at full strength. The official websites for Indian rugby (Rugby India) and Asian Rugby Football Union, till yesterday, didn’t have any details of the teams contesting the sevens tournament which is a prelude to the Commonwealth Games, which will be hosted by India in October this year. This begs the question whether the Sri Lankan rugby authorities did the wise thing by picking their under 22 squad for the tournament when the line-up of teams at the tourna- ment isn’t known yet? From what the National Selection Chairman Ajith Abeyrate told this newspaper, on Wednesday, Sri Lanka has decided to give the rugby players who did national duty at the Youth Asian Championships in 2008 and 2009 foreign exposure. This is a com- mendable move, given the fact that Sri Lanka has no plan or policy to cater to the interest of players who wish to continue rugby after success- ful seasons with their respective aca- demic institutions. But rugby critics point out whether this is the ideal occasion to experiment with young ‘blood’ when a tournament in the caliber of a fore- runner to the Commonwealth Games demands the services of the coun- try’s best players? Most of the players named in the squad have potential, but have no worthwhile credentials as exponents of the shorter version of rugby union. Sri Lanka needs to beef this New Delhi bound squad with players like Radeeka Hettiarachchi, Pradeep Liyanage, Saliya Kumara, Chamara Vithanage and Saliya Handapangoda who are some of our sevens regulars, are not serving bans. The best play- ers will be out for one more year fol- lowing a decision take by the Rugby Interim Committee to ban them for refusing to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Five Nations following a dispute regarding the captaincy. The present Sri Lanka national team has four talented schoolboys, but then again it would be very unlikely that their school coaches would release them with the highly competitive school season just weeks away from kicking off. The national team to India will be handled by Nilufer Ibrahim who would wish to see more sevens regu- lars in the side. The general thought in the rugby fraternity is that the squad be expanded to allow players who are under 24 to be picked. Abeyratne said that the sectors had plans to add muscle to the squad by bringing in more three quarters. This is a must given the fact that the three quarters, already in the squad, are more accustomed with the fif- teen-a-side version of rugby. From the little information avail- able to us, about how Asian teams have prepared at rugby recently, India has stood out having toured Fiji for a recent sevens tournament and having made plans to take wing to New Zealand to under-go special training in sevens rugby, for the Commonwealth Games. The Indians are coached at present by Fijian Usaia Biumaiwa who has been with Rugby India since 2007. The New Delhi sevens could pro- vide Sri Lankans with the ideal plat- form to elevate their rugby which is in dire straights at the moment in terms of performances at interna- tional tournaments. Preparing for a rugby battle without knowing the ‘enemy’ West Indies C Gayle st Taibu b Utseya 33 A Barath c Maruma b Utseya 35 S Chanderpaul run out (Utseya) 58 D Ramdin c Utseya b Maruma 19 N Deonarine c Chigumbura b Lamb 21 D Bravo c Matsikenyeri b Chi’bura 24 K Pollard st Taibu b Cremer 17 D Sammy not out 7 R Rampaul run out 14 N Miller b Chigumbura 0 K Roach not out 2 Extras: (7lb, 8w) 15 TOTAL: (for 9 wickets) 245 Overs: 50 Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-86, 3-151, 4-151, 5- 195, 6-207, 7-225, 8-242, 9-243 Bowling: Chigumbura 9-1-43-2 (3w),Price 10-1-42-0, Lamb 10-0-44-1 (4w), Utseya 10- 0-47-2, Cremer 7-0-43-1, Maruma 4-0-19-1 (1w) Zimbabwe V Sibanda b Roach 0 H Masakadza c Ramdin b Sammy 35 B Taylor c and b Sammy 19 T Taibu c Ramdin b Sammy 1 S Matsikenyeri lbw b Bravo 0 G Lamb c Gayle b Roach 7 E Chigumbura lbw b Roach 10 T Maruma b Sammy 2 G Cremer c Miller b Bravo 6 P Utseya not out 13 R Price c Gayle b Miller 4 Extras: (1lb, 4w, 2nb) 7 TOTAL: (all out) 104 Overs: 31.5 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-51, 3-57, 4-58, 5-58, 6- 72, 7-75, 8-80, 9-96, 10-104 Bowling: Roach 9-0-28-3 (2nb, 1w), Rampaul 4-0-23-0 (1w), Bravo 7-0-23-2 (2w), Sammy 10-1-26-4, Miller 1.5-0-3-1. Result: West Indies won by 141 runs (leads series 2-1) Toss: Zimbabwe Umpires: Norman Malcolm, (WI) and Simon Taufel (AUS) TV umpire: Clancy Mack (WI) Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL) Windies beat Zimbabwe by 141 runs SCOREBOARD KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) - West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 141 runs in the third one-day cricket international at Arnos Vale Sports Complex on Wednesday to lead the five-match series 2-1. West Indies totaled 249-5 off its 50 overs then dismissed Zimbabwe for 104 in the 32nd, with Darren Sammy taking 4-26. The fourth match is on Friday at the same ground. England’s cap- tain Alastair Cook catches balls during a practice ses- sion ahead of their first Test cricket match against Bangladesh in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Thursday, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) Comment
Transcript of (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) Pacquiao calm,confident for …pdfs.island.lk/2010/03/12/p14.pdf2010/03/12...
14 Friday 12th March, 2010
by Jamie AeronARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Manny
Pacquaio arrived at Cowboys Stadiumon Wednesday in a bus covered with hislikeness, the seats filled with members ofhis entourage.
He walked into the formal part ofhis appearance wearing a straw hat anda dark blazer. He quickly swapped thesports coat for a red jacket featuring hisMP logo in golden thread.
He talked about his upcoming elec-tion for Congress in his homeland, thePhilippines.
He talked about singing - rehearsingwith his band the night before, withanother session later Wednesday night,all in preparation for a performance atthe after-party following his fightSaturday night.
Oh, yeah. The fight.Billed as “The Event,” Pacquiao is
facing Joshua Clottey on Saturday nightin boxing’s debut at the $1.2 billionCowboys Stadium.
It’s an intriguing matchup perfectfor a football stadium - Pacquiao’s furi-ous offense against Clottey’s dedicationto defense - and it’ll look amazing ongiant video boards towering over the
ring.A sellout crowd of 45,000 is expected,
with the attendance possibly soaring ifCowboys owner Jerry Jones decides tosell standing-room-only tickets. And, ofcourse, there’s the pay-per-view audi-ence that promoter Bob Arum said islikely to top the hoped-for total of700,000.
Put the pieces together, and it allmakes perfect sense: The WBO welter-weight champion - already consideredthe best fighter in the world, pound forpound - is treating this entire week asone big performance, especially if hewins that election and decides to devotemore time to politics than pugilism.
“I’m inspired to give a good show, todo my best,” Pacquiao said, smiling. “Toimpress the people, you have to makeyour best (effort).”
Then trainer Freddie Roach jumpedin, cranking up the hype.
“There’s no stage big enough forManny Pacquiao,” Roach said. “He lovesit, and I love it. He’s going to perform forthe crowd. He’ll entertain all 45,000. He’llentertain everybody.”
Roach said the adrenaline surgethat’s going to come from walking into
the ring in these surroundings alreadyhas been factored into the game plan.That likely means even more punchesfrom Pacquiao (50-3-2), who is alreadyknown for throwing plenty.
Then again, Clottey (35-3) is knownfor blocking punches. The 32-year-oldGhana native also has never beenknocked out - he’s been knocked downonly once.
“Blocking punches doesn’t winfights,” Roach said. “I think we can stophim in the late rounds. The accumula-tion of punches he’ll be taking in thisfight he’s never seen before. ... I don’tthink he’ll be able to handle it.”
Clottey is taller and with a longerreach. He’s never been stopped cold, withhis few losses including a disqualifica-tion in 1999 and a split decision to MiguelCotto in his last bout, in June.
Clottey was given this opportunityagainst Pacquiao when the proposedmegafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.fell through. He’s very appreciative forthis opportunity and has nothing butnice things to say about Pacquiao.
It’s Roach who rankles him, from thepredicted result to talk of a head buttbeing one of Clottey’s best punches.
Pacquiao calm, confidentfor fight vs. Clottey
Boxers Manny Pacquiao, second from left, and Joshua Clottey, second from right, smile while flanked by cheerleaders aftera news conference at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Pacquiao and Clottey square off ina welterweight bout at the stadium this Saturday. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AP) -England captain Alastair Cook haswarned his players about the threatposed by Bangladesh’s spinners inthe first Test starting Friday.
The first of the two-test serieswill be held in Chittagong’s ZohurAhmed Chowdhury Stadium.England is the only Test-playingnation never to lose to Bangladeshin any form of the game.
The hosts go into the Test aftersweeping the three-match one-dayinternational series 3-0.
“Their spinners will be a hugethreat and for us to take them light-ly would be a cardinal sin,” Cooktold reporters after a practice ses-
sion in this southeastern port cityof Chittagong on Thursday.
“We all know spin is importantin the subcontinent,” said Cook,standing in for Andrew Strauss whohas been rested for the Bangladeshtour.
Bangladesh has three experi-enced left-arm spinners in its squad,while England is expected to includetwo off-spinners, Graeme Swannand uncapped James Tredwell.Their role has become even moreimportant due to an injury-strickenpace attack.
Ryan Sidebottom has flown backhome due to a thigh injury, and fel-low seamer Graham Onions has
been ruled out for the Test seriesbecause of a back injury.
England is hoping that StuartBroad, struggling with a backspasm, will pass a fitness test beforethe match. He bowled 10 overs dur-ing a practice session Wednesdaywithout feeling any discomfort.
Bangladesh suffered a jolt whenbatsman Rakibul Hasan announceda surprise decision to retire from allforms of the game and pulled out ofthe Test series.
Hasan, who scored a century anda fifty in the warm-up matchagainst England to force an inclu-sion in the team, resigned lateWednesday citing personal reasons.
England concerned by Bangladesh spinners
Tiger Woods is also sharing it with arookie. Billed as an advertisement ofthe game’s Ryder Cup features, sometake the pairing with Rory McIlroy asmore fallout from Tiger’s inability toabstain from sex with women notnamed Mrs. Woods.
An EA Sports news releasedescribed the new cover but, under-standably, said nothing about his mari-tal infidelity scandal - which has sentWoods to rehab, indefinitely delayed hisreturn to the PGA Tour, and sent big-name sponsors running for the hills, EAnot among them.
Instead, the statement focused onthe inclusion of Ryder Cup play, allow-
ing players to choose from U.S. orEuropean teams andparticipate in thet o u r n a m e n t ’ svarying competi-tion formats. As forthe cover, “TigerWoods denotes theU.S. team and RoryMcIlroy represents theEuropeans.” And he’s aperfectly good choice.
McIlroy, 20, ofNorthern Ireland, is tech-nically a rookie, though heis regarded as the future ofthe game, is ranked ninth in
the world, and Woods has saidvery complimentary things ofhim. Some might think this is aprudent time for EA Sports tobegin preparing for life afterTiger.
But golf legends’ names -Palmer, Nicklaus, et al. - faroutlive their competitiveprime and besides, EA’s hadno problem publishing agame by the name ofMadden, without his faceon the cover since 1998.Then, as the NCAA
Tournament begins next week,take note of how many ads will feature
any of Woods’ four victories. Granted,he’s not even a confirmed participant.But nor is his absence confirmed, andmarketers are definitely minimizingconnections to him.
Back to the game. Tiger Woods PGATour 11 will feature an intriguingonline team play mode accommodatingup to 24 players, with teammates capa-ble of communicating strategy with oneanother between shots (on Xbox 360 andPS3 versions.) A slew of other capabili-ties and features have been mentionedin this posting on the game’s officialblog. The game is out June 8.
(kotaku.com)
Tiger Woods to share cover of Tiger Woods game
by Ravi Nagahawatte
Sri Lanka accepting the invitationto contest the Commonwealth Gamesrugby test event in New Delhi hasgiven rise to the question whetherthe islanders have sized up the chal-lenge before them?
India takes its sports assignmentsvery seriously and it’s speculatedthat the upcoming rugby sevens tour-nament, in New Delhi, will attractthe best of Asia’s sevens teamswhich will be at full strength.
The official websites for Indianrugby (Rugby India) and AsianRugby Football Union, till yesterday,didn’t have any details of the teamscontesting the sevens tournamentwhich is a prelude to theCommonwealth Games, which willbe hosted by India in October thisyear. This begs the question whetherthe Sri Lankan rugby authorities didthe wise thing by picking their under22 squad for the tournament whenthe line-up of teams at the tourna-ment isn’t known yet?
From what the National SelectionChairman Ajith Abeyrate told thisnewspaper, on Wednesday, Sri Lankahas decided to give the rugby playerswho did national duty at the YouthAsian Championships in 2008 and2009 foreign exposure. This is a com-mendable move, given the fact thatSri Lanka has no plan or policy tocater to the interest of players whowish to continue rugby after success-ful seasons with their respective aca-demic institutions.
But rugby critics point outwhether this is the ideal occasion toexperiment with young ‘blood’ whena tournament in the caliber of a fore-runner to the Commonwealth Gamesdemands the services of the coun-try’s best players?
Most of the players named in thesquad have potential, but have noworthwhile credentials as exponentsof the shorter version of rugbyunion.
Sri Lanka needs to beef this NewDelhi bound squad with players likeRadeeka Hettiarachchi, PradeepLiyanage, Saliya Kumara, ChamaraVithanage and Saliya Handapangodawho are some of our sevens regulars,are not serving bans. The best play-ers will be out for one more year fol-lowing a decision take by the RugbyInterim Committee to ban them forrefusing to represent Sri Lanka atthe Asian Five Nations following adispute regarding the captaincy.
The present Sri Lanka nationalteam has four talented schoolboys,but then again it would be veryunlikely that their school coacheswould release them with the highlycompetitive school season just weeksaway from kicking off.
The national team to India will behandled by Nilufer Ibrahim whowould wish to see more sevens regu-lars in the side. The general thoughtin the rugby fraternity is that thesquad be expanded to allow playerswho are under 24 to be picked.
Abeyratne said that the sectorshad plans to add muscle to the squadby bringing in more three quarters.This is a must given the fact that thethree quarters, already in the squad,are more accustomed with the fif-teen-a-side version of rugby.
From the little information avail-able to us, about how Asian teamshave prepared at rugby recently,India has stood out having touredFiji for a recent sevens tournamentand having made plans to take wingto New Zealand to under-go specialtraining in sevens rugby, for theCommonwealth Games. The Indiansare coached at present by FijianUsaia Biumaiwa who has been withRugby India since 2007.
The New Delhi sevens could pro-vide Sri Lankans with the ideal plat-form to elevate their rugby which isin dire straights at the moment interms of performances at interna-tional tournaments.
Preparing for arugby battle withoutknowing the ‘enemy’
West IndiesC Gayle st Taibu b Utseya 33A Barath c Maruma b Utseya 35S Chanderpaul run out (Utseya) 58D Ramdin c Utseya b Maruma 19N Deonarine c Chigumbura b Lamb 21D Bravo c Matsikenyeri b Chi’bura 24K Pollard st Taibu b Cremer 17D Sammy not out 7R Rampaul run out 14N Miller b Chigumbura 0K Roach not out 2Extras: (7lb, 8w) 15TOTAL: (for 9 wickets) 245Overs: 50Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-86, 3-151, 4-151, 5-195, 6-207, 7-225, 8-242, 9-243Bowling: Chigumbura 9-1-43-2 (3w),Price10-1-42-0, Lamb 10-0-44-1 (4w), Utseya 10-0-47-2, Cremer 7-0-43-1, Maruma 4-0-19-1(1w)Zimbabwe V Sibanda b Roach 0H Masakadza c Ramdin b Sammy 35B Taylor c and b Sammy 19T Taibu c Ramdin b Sammy 1S Matsikenyeri lbw b Bravo 0G Lamb c Gayle b Roach 7E Chigumbura lbw b Roach 10T Maruma b Sammy 2G Cremer c Miller b Bravo 6P Utseya not out 13R Price c Gayle b Miller 4Extras: (1lb, 4w, 2nb) 7TOTAL: (all out) 104Overs: 31.5Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-51, 3-57, 4-58, 5-58, 6-72, 7-75, 8-80, 9-96, 10-104Bowling: Roach 9-0-28-3 (2nb, 1w),Rampaul 4-0-23-0 (1w), Bravo 7-0-23-2 (2w),Sammy 10-1-26-4, Miller 1.5-0-3-1.Result: West Indies won by 141 runs (leadsseries 2-1)Toss: ZimbabweUmpires: Norman Malcolm, (WI) and SimonTaufel (AUS)TV umpire: Clancy Mack (WI)Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL)
Windies beatZimbabweby 141 runs
SCOREBOARD
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent(AP) - West Indies beat Zimbabweby 141
runs in the third one-day cricketinternational at Arnos Vale SportsComplex on Wednesday to lead thefive-match series 2-1.
West Indies totaled 249-5 off its50 overs then dismissed Zimbabwefor 104 in the 32nd, with DarrenSammy taking 4-26.
The fourth match is on Fridayat the same ground.
England’s cap-tain AlastairCook catchesballs during apractice ses-sion ahead oftheir first Testcricket matchagainstBangladesh inChittagong,Bangladesh,Thursday,March 11, 2010.(AP Photo/AijazRahi)
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