Blatter calls for alternative to penalty shoot-outs
(Fri, 25 May 2012 10:38:38 +0100)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called on Germany's World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer and his panel of soccer experts to try to come up with an alternative to penalty shootouts to settle drawn matches.

Di Vaio signs for MLS side Montreal Impact
(Fri, 25 May 2012 10:10:19 +0100)
ROME (Reuters) - Former Italy striker Marco Di Vaio has signed for Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact, the Canadian club announced on Thursday. Di Vaio moves to Canada after leading Bologna, where he scored 65 Serie A goals in 143 games over four years, to Serie A safety last season. "I am very proud to become a member of the Montreal Impact and to start this new phase of my career," Di Vaio said on the club's website. "I have accepted with great enthusiasm the challenge of joining an enticing championship like MLS. ...

Mercedes see progress in F1 contract talks
(Thu, 24 May 2012 20:00:13 +0100)
MONACO (Reuters) - Mercedes hinted at progress on Thursday in talks to secure their long-term future in Formula One.

PFA wants players to be sacked for racist abuse
(Thu, 24 May 2012 18:37:16 +0100)
LONDON (Reuters) - The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is pushing to make racist abuse a sackable offence for professional footballers in England next season.

Harrington shows he is no banker from a bunker
(Thu, 24 May 2012 18:03:07 +0100)
VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - Padraig Harrington has won three major championships but looked more like a weekend hacker when he took three shots to get out of a bunker at the second hole in the PGA Championship on Thursday.

McDowell is victim of "freak" rules penalty
(Thu, 24 May 2012 18:02:21 +0100)
VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell was the victim of a "freak" ruling that led to a triple-bogey eight at the 18th hole in the PGA Championship first round at Wentworth on Thursday.

Electronic tennis racket makes world debut
(Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:10 +0100)
PARIS (Reuters) - A tennis racket stuffed with electronic sensors capable of tracking a player's every slice, spin and smash made its public debut at the French Open on Thursday. Tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among those who tested the racket, made by French manufacturer Babolat, at a launch event on a sun-baked clay court. As Nadal and Tsonga traded shots before an audience of Babolat employees and journalists, their prototype rackets wirelessly communicated data to two display screens. ...

Guardini inflicts surprise defeat on Cavendish
(Thu, 24 May 2012 17:39:42 +0100)
VEDELAGO, Italy (Reuters) - Up-and-coming Italian Andrea Guardini inflicted a surprise defeat on world champion Mark Cavendish in a bunch sprint at the end of Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday. Spain's Joaquim Rodríguez retained the overall lead with three days remaining. Cavendish hammered his handlebars in frustration after the 22-year-old Farnese Vini rider outpowered the Briton by more than a bike length on the flat stage from San Vito di Cadore to Vedelago. Italy's Roberto Ferrari was third. ...

Guardini wins Giro Stage 18, Rodríguez leads
(Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:46 +0100)
VEDELAGO, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's Andrea Guardini won Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia in a bunch sprint on Thursday and Spain's Joaquim Rodríguez retained the overall lead.

England friendly to trial goalline technology
(Thu, 24 May 2012 15:55:52 +0100)
LONDON (Reuters) - England's home friendly against Belgium at Wembley next month will be used to test the Hawk-Eye goalline technology system, world governing body FIFA said on Thursday. Independent testers from EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) and representatives from FIFA will monitor the system although it will not be available for use by the match officials on June 2. The Hawk-Eye system was also tested in a English minor league cup final between Eastleigh and AFC Totton in April. ...

London 2012 security guards told to smile
(Thu, 24 May 2012 14:12:03 +0100)
LONDON (Reuters) - Private security guards manning venues at July and August's London Olympics have been warned against over-zealous behaviour that might alienate sports fans, the firm in charge of training said on Thursday.

Seam options leave Strauss in enviable position
(Thu, 24 May 2012 14:09:39 +0100)
LONDON (Reuters) - England's fast bowling options are a luxury for captain Andrew Strauss but he sympathises with the likes of Steve Finn who was left kicking his heels in the first test against West Indies.

Seam options leave Strauss in enviable position
(Thu, 24 May 2012 14:09:20 +0100)
LONDON (Reuters) - England's fast bowling options are a luxury for captain Andrew Strauss but he sympathises with the likes of Steve Finn who was left kicking his heels in the first test against West Indies. Stuart Broad, fresh from his 11-wicket haul at Lord's, and James Anderson will again lead England's attack in the second test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday with the third pace slot up for grabs. Tim Bresnan played as the third seamer in England's five-wicket victory in the opener but could come under pressure from Finn, who has bagged 53 wickets in 13 tests. ...

FIFA want referees to be tested for drugs
(Thu, 24 May 2012 13:20:38 +0100)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Referees are routinely criticised for having poor eyesight, lacking fitness and getting decisions wrong but FIFA medical experts want whistlers tested for performance-enhancing drugs. Top class and international match officials are already subject to stringent fitness tests and while there was no indication doping was an issue, delegates at FIFA's medical congress were told on Thursday referees could come under the same kind of doping scrutiny as players. ...

Bayern's loss will not affect Germany at Euros - Podolski
(Thu, 24 May 2012 13:12:44 +0100)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayern Munich's dramatic Champions League final defeat to Chelsea last week may have affected the club's eight German internationals but their disappointment will not spread into Euro 2012 starting next month, Germany winger Lukas Podolski said.

Sponsor agrees three-year Austrian Open deal
(Thu, 24 May 2012 12:57:29 +0100)
VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - A new sponsorship deal will safeguard the future of the Austrian Open for the next three years, European Tour officials said on Thursday. Austrian-based affinity card company Lyoness has agreed to back the tournament with a minimum annual prize fund of one million euros (803.46 thousand pounds). "We thank them and the promoters for helping to secure the event's future and we look forward to working closely with them to develop the tournament," tour official Keith Waters told reporters during the PGA Championship first round at Wentworth. ...

CVC to further cut Formula One stake after IPO -sources
(Thu, 24 May 2012 12:54:28 +0100)
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners will cut its ownership stake to about 30 percent in the Formula One motor racing business after the company's up to $3 billion IPO by selling shares on the public market, sources said on Thursday. CVC currently holds about 42 percent of Formula One after it recently sold a $1.6 billion stake to a group of investors, including the investment management firm BlackRock. ...

Madrid 2020 bid team see chance to lift ailing economy
(Thu, 24 May 2012 12:01:42 +0100)
MADRID (Reuters) - Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games will help boost Spain's flagging economy if successful, the organising committee said after being named as one of the three cities left in the race to host the world's biggest sporting spectacle.

Nadal clouds Djokovic's bid to match Laver
(Thu, 24 May 2012 11:20:03 +0100)
(Reuters) - Novak Djokovic will arrive at Roland Garros seven wins away from becoming the first man for 43 years to hold all four grand slam titles concurrently - the only trouble is one of his victims will probably have to be claycourt king Rafa Nadal.

List of French Open women's singles champions
(Thu, 24 May 2012 11:11:08 +0100)
(Reuters) - List of French Open women's singles champions: 2011 Li Na (China) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-4 7-6 2010 Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Samantha Stosur (Australia) 6-4 7-6(2) 2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-4 6-2 2008 Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-4 6-3 2007 Justine Henin (Belgium) beat Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-1 6-2 2006 Justine Henin (Belgium) beat Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-4 6-4 2005 Justine Henin (Belgium) beat Mary Pierce (France) 6-1 6-1 2004 Anastasia Myskina (Russia) beat Elena Dementieva (Russia) 6-1 6-2 ...

Sharapova and Serena head to Paris as favourites
(Thu, 24 May 2012 11:11:08 +0100)
(Reuters) - Based on form alone, Maria Sharapova enters the French Open as favourite to complete her career grand slam, a surprising turn of events for the Miami-based Russian whose relationship with the red dust has not always been a happy one. Her recent title in Rome, where she defeated 2011 French Open champion Li Na in the final, coupled with her resounding victory over world number one Victoria Azarenka to win Stuttgart a few weeks earlier means she is 12-1 for the claycourt swing and sliding into Paris full of joie de vivre. ...