World No 7 says China still has a great chance to promote the sport

Feng Shanshan, who became China's first major golf champion by capturing last year's LPGA Championship, returns to defend her title at the $2.25 million event starting on Thursday.

Seventh-ranked Feng and the rest of the world's top 50 players will take aim at a $337,500 top prize at Locust Hill Country Club, where Feng fired the best round of last year's event, a 5-under 67, on Sunday to win by two shots.

"My life hasn't been really changed," Feng said. "People didn't know much about golf in China, so we had a great chance to promote it."

Golf's profile is also growing in China thanks to schoolboy Guan Tianlang, who became the youngest starter in Masters history last April at age 14 and was low amateur this year at Augusta National.

"He's fantastic," Feng said. "Maybe 2020 or in the future, I think China will become one of the most competitive countries in golf."

Asians already dominate women's golf, with the past eight major titles going to Asian-born players. American Stacy Lewis, world No 2, was the last non-Asian to win a women's major - the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"When we started like 15 years ago, we had very positive images for the LPGA wins," said South Korean Shin Jiyai, the British Women's Open champion.

"I was watching Se Ri Pak's win in the 1998 US Women's Open. So that's my biggest dream, be like her. That's why I get better and work harder in training and practice."

Feng's fame in her homeland has been less than that enjoyed by former world No 1 Tseng Yani or Ai Miyazato in their countries.

"Yani's like a rock star in Taiwan. It's like Ai Miyazato in Japan," Feng said. "Me, in China, well, I think I still can have a hamburger in my hand and a Coke in my hand and eat on the street and nobody would recognize me."

Feng has not won since her breakthrough triumph, but she changed her clubs last week to those of Japanese manufacturer Honma and finished second at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

"I'm really excited about this week because last week I had a good finish, and I think I'm ready for this week," Feng said.

The course, she said, looks ready to challenge the LPGA's top players.

"Scores won't be too low, I don't think," Feng said. "The fairways are just as narrow. The greens are actually maybe a little faster and the rough is really, really thick.

"Last year the reason I won was the final day I hit 17 fairways, and the only one that I missed the fairway, I made a birdie. So the longer the better."

Feng's goal is to claim the world No 1 ranking now held by South Korean Park In-Bee, who won this year's first major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"I still can't believe I'm No 1," Park said. "It's tough to believe that I am the top player of this great tour. This is a world tour with so many different players representing so many different countries.

"It's still a big fight for the number one player every week and it could change every week. We are really good for each other, we inspire each other and that's very good for the tour."

World No 3 Choi Na-Yeon, the US Women's Open champion, is also in the title hunt.

"I like to play these difficult courses," she said. "It's just different mind-set. I have to be really patient until the last hole. I need to accept every situation."

(China Daily 06/07/2013 page23)

Ballack scored twice for his "friends of Ballack" team and then scored one more for a "world selection" coached by Jose Mourinho.

Ballack, who changed sides at halftime, played for Mourinho at Chelsea. The world selection won 4-3.

The teams included the likes of Didier Drogba, retired Formula One great Michael Schumacher, Lothar Matthaeus, Andriy Shevchenko and Philipp Lahm.

Japan soccer team captain Makoto Hasebe said Wednesday that he felt “relieved” the team had booked a spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 1-1 draw with Australia the previous night.

Coach Alberto Zaccheroni, Hasebe and his teammates all voiced their delight at a press conference held Wednesday in Saitama. Australia led the game until the last minute, but Japan was awarded a penalty during stoppage time. Keisuke Honda, a midfielder who plays for CSKA Moscow, smashed his shot into the goal.

The draw ensured one of two spots available in Group B for Japan with one game to spare. Moreover, Oman’s victory over Iraq in the other Group B match sealed Japan’s finish as No. 1 in the group.

At the press conference, Zaccheroni said he was delighted about qualifying for the World Cup and was grateful to the players. Hasebe, who plays for German team Wolfsburg, said: “One day after the game, frankly speaking, I feel relieved. As we get closer to the World Cup, we want to speed up our growth more and more.”

On Thursday evening, the Samurai Blue will depart for Doha, a neutral site, to play their last qualifier against Iraq, which is set for Tuesday.

Brazilian midfielder Denilson and former France defender Sebastien Squillaci will also be released by Arsenal as manager Arsene Wenger rebuilds his squad ahead of the new season.

Arshavin failed to deliver on his potential following his move to Emirates Stadium for a reported 15 million pounds ($23 million) from Zenit St. Petersburg in 2009 and barely featured last season.

Heynckes will fulfill his current contract with the Bavarians until June 30 before a break from professional soccer. He puts an end to speculations that he would take charge at Real Madrid or other European top-flight clubs.

Treble-winning Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes poses with the German soccer cup (DFB Pokal), Champions League, German soccer championship Bundesliga and the super cup trophies in Munich June 4, 2013. Heynckes will take time out next season but fell short of announcing his retirement on Tuesday following his club's most successful season to date. [Photo/Agencies]

"I will go on holiday now and I won't work in Germany nor aboard at the beginning of July. I will retract, regenerate and retire into private life," Jupp Heynckes said at the press conference.

The 68-year-old became the first coach of a German team who wrapped up with treble title of the Bundesliga league, UEFA Champions League and the DFB Pokal (German Cup).

He completed an outstanding season for the Bavarians when he won the Bundesliga title with 25 points ahead of Dortmund. He led Bayern into the Champions League final to clinch the trophy following a 2-1 win over Dortmund in Wembley and rounded off the historic season with a 3-2 victory over Stuttgart at the DFB Pokal final in Berlin.

"The job as a coach at Bayern costs a lot of substance, power and energy. I felt that I reached the limit, as it was incredibly exhausting. I have reached a certain age where the regeneration takes a bit longer after stresses and strains."

After almost 50 years of professional soccer Heynckes retires with 1011 matches overall as coach and player.

He played for Monchengladbach and Hannover to score 243 goals in 394 matches overall. After his professional career as a player he coached Monchengladbach, Athletic Bilbao, Eintracht Frankfurt, Tenerife, Real Madrid, Benfica, Schalke, Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

During his time as a coach he lifted the UEFA Champions League title twice, with Real Madrid and Bayern.

Besides that he clinched three domestic league titles in Germany and the German Cup. Furthermore he secured the Supercup of Spain in 1997 with Real.

"Now its time for the ordinary things in life. I have so many interests, I think it won't be boring."

Although Heynckes retracts from professional soccer he left it open whether it was the definitive end of his career as a coach or not. "I personally have something against definitive answers but there is a life after the working life."

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who returns into working life after his sabbatical, will be the successor of Heynckes.

Midfielder reportedly will leave Sevilla to join Manchester City

The list of big names swapping La Liga in Spain for the English Premier League continues as Jesus Navas looks set to become Manchester City's first major signing of the close season, with Manuel Pellegrini expected to follow suit as the club's new manager.

Sevilla confirmed on Monday night that it had accepted a bid for the player from City that is believed to be in the region of 20 million euros ($26 million).

The deal, though, could eventually be worth up to 25 million euros to the Spanish club, depending on Navas achieving certain objectives.

Pellegrini, meanwhile, has already admitted having a verbal agreement with City to take over for next season.

Navas was believed to be one of his main transfer targets as he tries to rejuvenate the 2011-12 English champions after a disappointing campaign in which they finished without a major trophy.

"It is a good opportunity and I think that both parties end up winning," said Navas, who also revealed that he made up his mind to go to City four months ago.

Navas' move makes him the latest in what has been a broadly successful wave of Spanish players coming to the Premier League in the last few years.

The vast difference in wealth between English clubs, which will receive even more television money thanks to the start of a new broadcasting deal next season, and those outside Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga has already seen the likes of Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla, Michu and Navas' new teammate at City, David Silva, make the move to England.

What makes Navas' move so intriguing, however, is how he will adjust, not just to the playing style of the Premier League, but with the move to Manchester generally.

"The Premier League is a competition with very quick football," he says. "I am very excited. Manchester City are creating a great team. It is a very good project and it was the moment to take the step."

Despite the recognition of his undoubted talent from early on in his career, a move away from Sevilla has come relatively late, at the age of 27, due to the panic attacks and anxiety he suffered when being away from his home province of Seville.

A potential move to Chelsea seven years ago never materialized because of fears about his homesickness that also delayed his introduction to the Spanish national team.

But since making his international debut in 2009, those fears seem to have been overcome, as he was part of both Spain sides that won the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and the European Championship last year in Poland and Ukraine.

Moreover, his style of play already seems more suited to the Premier League than the likes of Mata, Cazorla and Silva, who have all made a successful transition.

A tricky winger, he has the ability to beat full-backs both on the outside and cutting in more centrally.

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page23)

The San Antonio Spurs refuse to let talk of them being too old get in the way of their NBA championship dreams.

In what has become a familiar refrain, the Spurs opened yet another NBA campaign to waves of doubt as critics dismissed them as too old and slow to handle an 82-game regular season and four grueling best-of-seven playoff series.

But the Spurs, powered by a seemingly ageless Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, have proved the doubters wrong by reaching this year's NBA Finals for the first time since 2007, the last time they won the title.

"We've been old for probably eight years now," said Ginobili. "I remember in 2007, our last championship, they were saying that we were old, and it's all right.

"I guess we are. But we play well, we play together and every year we are out there contending. That's a great thing."

Duncan, 37, Manu Ginobili, 35, and Tony Parker, 31, will again lead the way for the Spurs when the NBA Finals open on Thursday in Florida against a Miami Heat team powered by 28-year-old four-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James.

The Spurs won NBA titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 during a remarkable stretch for a 46-year-old franchise that began as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association.

After some lean years, a relocation and name change, the Spurs started to come together and, in 1979, just their third year in the NBA, they made it to the conference finals where they lost after squandering a 3-1 series lead.

Reuters

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page22)

It's raw power and 15 Grand Slam titles against consistency and one Grand Slam final defeat in the French Open semifinals on Thursday when Serena Williams goes up against Sara Errani.

On the face of it there should be only one winner - which would put the 31-year-old American into Saturday's championship match, with Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka looming in the other half of the draw.

Williams has been on a mission in Paris - determined and fully focussed for once on vanquishing the demons that have bedeviled her at Roland Garros for the last 11 years since her first, and to date, only French Open title.

Four rounds for the loss of just 10 games, under the watchful eye of new French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, brought her career best winning streak to 28 and she opened her quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova in similar fashion with a 6-1 first set romp.

But, out of the blue, Williams got the Paris blues again as she surrendered the second set and looked in a panic as she faced break points on her serve to fall 0-3 down in the third.

But this time she rallied to see off the Russian by winning six out of the next seven games to set up a semifinal against a player she has opposed five times for the loss of just one set.

Straight-forward enough on the face of it, but Williams is wary of a player who rarely, if ever, disappoints on the claycourts, having reached the final in Paris last year before losing to Sharapova.

"It's going to be a really good match," the top seed said.

"You've got to appreciate how consistent she is. We had a pretty tough match in Madrid (7-5, 6-2 last month). I'm going to be ready.

"I'm glad I played her in Madrid because I know she's here to play and she's here to compete. She's so serious. I can be ready for that."

Errani, at 1.64 meters and 60 kilograms an Italian lightweight in a world of towering young women, will rely on her work ethic, claycourt expertise and mental fortitude to try to make a match out if it.

She showed all those qualities in defeating fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals and she is fully prepared for a David against Goliath showdown on Thursday.

"For sure it will be very difficult because she's very strong," she said.

"Physically, she's an incredible athlete, so is not easy to play against her because of this because she has a lot of power.

"So it will be tough, but maybe on clay is a bit better(for me) than the other surfaces. But very tough."

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page24)

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates his 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Switzerland's Roger Federer at the end of their French Open quarterfinal match on Tuesday. Patrick Kovarik / Agence France-Presse

Loss to Tsonga has Swiss looking ahead to Wimbledon defense

Roger Federer will call upon the golden memory of his Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon 10 years ago to fuel his belief that he is still a contender in the majors.

The 31-year-old Swiss suffered a humbling 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 defeat in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a loss that was his cue to head to the grass courts of Halle and then Wimbledon.

It was in 2003 at the All England Club that the world No 2 won the first of his record 17 Grand Slam titles, and he will return to London in just over two weeks as defending champion.

"I love the grass court season, especially it's been 10 years since my first Wimbledon victory. So I'm looking forward to coming back to Halle and Wimbledon where I did the double 10 years ago, so I'm sure it's going to be a nice swing," Federer said.

Federer arrived in Paris having not won a title in the year for the first time in 13 years.

His loss on Tuesday means that his runner-up finish to Rafael Nadal in Rome last month is his only appearance in a final in 2013.

And with his 32nd birthday approaching in August, Federer knows that a failure to defend his title at Wimbledon, where he has won seven times, will only increase the suspicion that his best days are behind him.

"There's always some pressure because I expect a lot from myself, but nobody can really prepare well on the grass because the season is so short," he added.

"What's happened in Paris is already pretty much past now. I have no choice but to move on. I have so many more things to worry about right now other than just this.

"This is obviously a crushing loss and I am disappointed about it, but now I look forward to other things."

Federer has been here before.

In the French Open final in 2008, Rafael Nadal allowed him just four games - that was his previous worst defeat in straight sets at a major.

But he recovered from what could have been a shattering loss to add further major titles to his collection at the 2008 US Open, 2009 Roland Garros, 2009 Wimbledon, the Australian Open in 2010 and Wimbledon again last year.

"If you lose in five sets or straight sets or if you play good or bad, at the end of the day you're out of the tournament. That, to me, is what matters really," Federer said.

"I care more about the result than how I played because it gives me another opportunity to play well in the next match. Today I didn't do that, so I'm sent packing home.

"That's OK. But it's easier when you change surface. That definitely helps. You have something else to look forward to."

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page24)

Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a return to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during their women's singles quarter-final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Thoughts of her humiliating defeat at Wimbledon by Serena Williams last year returned as the misfiring Sharapova surrendered the first set of her quarter-final against Jelena Jankovic in 28 minutes before recovering to win 0-6 6-4 6-3.

All the women's last-eight ties have been tightly contested, even Victoria Azarenka's 7-6 6-2 defeat of Maria Kirilenko which featured a 76-minute opening set.

That Sharapova pulled round a match in which she managed just 14 points in a first set to move through to a juicy-looking semi-final against Azarenka spoke volumes for the fighting spirit of the four-times grand slam champion.

SIZZLING WINNERS

"I wanted to put that chapter behind me," Sharapova said.

"It was certainly nice to change that around, because I wasn't doing much in that first six games."

World number two Sharapova will be wary of making such a slow start against Azarenka on Thursday.

The Belarussian enjoys a 7-5 career record against Sharapova and says she is beginning to fall in love with clay after reaching her first semi-final at Roland Garros.

"I still don't have any ring on my finger," she said when quizzed about her relationship with the Parisian clay courts.

"But I feel like we made a step forward."

Sharapova made 45 unforced errors against the feisty Jankovic but having worked her way back into the match she showed her class with some sizzling winners when it mattered.

At 3-3 in the third set she stretched her long limbs to hook an impossible-looking backhand winner and then broke serve with a piercing forehand down the line, holding her celebratory fist-clenched salute as courtside cameras clicked their appreciation.

She then fought off a break point in the next game with a nerveless swinging volley off a Jankovic moon ball, breaking the Serbian's spirit in the process as she moved on to reach the semi-finals here for the fourth time in 11 attempts.

"Sometimes you just have to get the job done, and I did today," Sharapova said.

Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates defeating Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in their women's singles quarter-final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

If the world number one still had nightmares about his mauling by Haas just over two months ago in Miami, he hid those fears well to set up a semi-final blockbuster with seven-times champion Rafa Nadal.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates defeating Tommy Haas of Germany in their men's singles quarter-final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

"Playing Rafa at Roland Garros is the biggest challenge on clay. I am ready to play five sets," Djokovic said as he chases the one grand slam trophy missing from his collection.

Haas was one of four 30-somethings to reach the men's quarter-finals but youth won out as only David Ferrer, who beat fellow 31-year-old Tommy Robredo on Tuesday, made it past the last-eight stage.

Just how much difference younger legs make was in evidence on a sun-drenched Suzanne Lenglen Court as Djokovic took full advantage of the nine-year age gap to come out on top in almost every department.

He had more aces (11-4), more points on first serve (82 percent-65 percent), more points on second serve (78 percent-42 percent), more winners (46-19) and more points won (116-84).

Cries of "Tomeeeeeeeeeeeee, Tomeeeeeeeeeeeee, Tomeeeeeeeeeeeee" rang around the court but it failed to lift the fortunes of the fan favorite.

After Djokovic outplayed the German warrior in the first set, Haas went toe-to-toe with the Serbian in the second. Three times the 12th seed went ahead with a mini-break in the tiebreak but each time Djokovic fought back.

When Djokovic brought up set point by finishing off a 24-shot rally with a breathtaking crosscourt backhand winner, the damage was done and there was no way back into the set for Haas who was looking to become the oldest men's semi-finalist in Paris since 1968.

That left Haas slapping his chest in frustration, toying with the prospect of slamming his racket into the ground and hurling abuse at himself in German.

He desperately wanted to win the match as it would have given him a 100th grand slam match victory but, watched on by Titanic actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Djokovic sunk the German's hopes in little over two hours.

Haas enjoyed one final hurrah in the third set, breaking the top seed when he was serving for the match at 5-4 but it was soon evident he was running on empty as he lost the next two games and the match when Djokovic whacked a backhand winner into the corner of the court.

"Today's opponent is tough," Djokovic said. "He has a precise serve, has an aggressive game, has variety in his shots, can play really well on defense, offence, and come to the net.

"So, yeah, it was a good performance for me in general. On the important points I came up with some good shots."

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates defeating Tommy Haas of Germany in their men's singles quarter-final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

After huffing and puffing through the opening week of the claycourt grand slam, the Spanish third seed was at his awe-inspiring best to set up a meeting with world number one Novak Djokovic in a rematch of last year's final.

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their men's singles quarter-final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

"It's always been the case. The deeper I go the better I play usually. It's always been the case. It's the same this year. It's the same old story," Nadal told a news conference.

Djokovic, who subdued German 12th seed Tommy Haas in straight sets, beat Nadal in their last clash when the Serbian ended his rival's eight-year reign at the Monte Carlo Masters in the final in April.

Nadal, however, made it clear that Friday's clash would be nothing more than a semi-final match, even if the winner will be the hot favourite to lift the Musketeers Cup on Sunday.

"This is semi-finals, not finals. The one who wins this match to come will go through to the final, full stop. The others are Tsonga and Ferrer, full stop. End of story," he said.

Nadal, who has lost only one match at Roland Garros and has won five titles on clay this season on his return from a lengthy injury layoff, marched through the opening set, conceding no break points against a tiring Wawrinka.

The Swiss, who survived a five-set thriller in the previous round, ran out of steam and ideas, bowing out on the first match point after less than two hours.

"Today I played my best match of the tournament, it's very positive," a beaming Nadal, who finally enjoyed dry and warm weather conditions, said in a courtside interview.

SIMPLY UNBEATABLE

Wawrinka agreed that Nadal was simply unbeatable.

"It's the most difficult challenge to defeat Rafa at the French Open on the central court and with these conditions. They're excellent for him," he told a news conference.

"It's a lot faster and he can really have high balls on my backhand."

Nadal was asked why he always seems to peak as the Paris final looms.

"I don't control that, nobody does, it was not an easy first week," he said.

"I played better a bit against (Kei) Nishikori (in the fourth round) and today very well."

After dropping sets against German Daniel Brands and Slovakian Martin Klizan in the first two rounds, Nadal gradually found his best form.

It all went too fast for a red-faced Wawrinka on a sun-drenched Court Philippe Chatrier as Nadal showed his full array of massive pounding groundstrokes and high-bouncing top-spin shots.

Nadal, an 11-times grand-slam champion, had no mercy for Wawrinka, whose one-handed backhand seemed weak compared to the drilling shots of the Spaniard who bagged the first set with a commanding ace.

Wawrinka, who has not taken a set from Nadal in 10 matches, made his only break of the match in the second set, but it came after he had already lost his serve.

The fickle Paris crowd, supporting the ninth seed over their seven-times champion, love nothing more than an upset and they pretended they were smelling one, roaring their support for Wawrinka.

The defending champion quickly sealed a second break and Wawrinka struggled to even stay in his slipstream.

With sweat streaming down his face, Nadal made only two unforced errors as he blitzed through the final set.

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates defeating Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in their men's singles quarter-final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The San Antonio Spurs refuse to let talk of them being too old get in the way of their NBA championship dreams.

In what has become a familiar refrain, the Spurs opened yet another NBA campaign to waves of doubt as critics dismissed them as too old and slow to handle an 82-game regular season and four grueling best-of-seven playoff series.

But the Spurs, powered by a seemingly ageless Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, have proved the doubters wrong by reaching this year's NBA Finals for the first time since 2007, the last time they won the title.

"We've been old for probably eight years now," said Ginobili. "I remember in 2007, our last championship, they were saying that we were old, and it's all right.

"I guess we are. But we play well, we play together and every year we are out there contending. That's a great thing."

Duncan, 37, Manu Ginobili, 35, and Tony Parker, 31, will again lead the way for the Spurs when the NBA Finals open on Thursday in Florida against a Miami Heat team powered by 28-year-old four-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James.

The Spurs won NBA titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 during a remarkable stretch for a 46-year-old franchise that began as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association.

After some lean years, a relocation and name change, the Spurs started to come together and, in 1979, just their third year in the NBA, they made it to the conference finals where they lost after squandering a 3-1 series lead.

Reuters

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page22)

Defending NBA champion Heat face off with Spurs, who have won four times since 1999, AFP writes.

LeBron James has a chance for revenge against the team that spoiled his first trip to the NBA Finals when the Miami Heat meet the San Antonio Spurs in this year's championship series starting on Thursday.

James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, will lead defending champion Miami into the best-of-seven showdown with the veteran Spurs, who won four titles from 1999 through 2007 but have not returned to the NBA Finals since.

"They have got a bunch of Hall of Famers, so I look forward to the challenge," James said.

"This is an opportunity for us again to be able to win a championship. I have a lot of work to still do, but it's a great thing to be in this position."

James, likely destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame himself, first reached the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2007, when the Spurs swept the Cavaliers to claim the crown.

Three years later, James took his talents to Miami to play alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and the Heat have reached the NBA Finals ever since, losing to Dallas in 2011 before beating Oklahoma City last year to give James his first NBA title.

"Our team is more experienced," James said. "My Cleveland team, we were very young and we went up against a very experienced, well-coached team. And they took advantage of everything that we did.

"This is our third year advancing to the finals, so we're very experienced as well. We're not young. We're not inexperienced. We understand the opportunity that we have.

"And I'm a much better player. I'm 20, 40, 50 times better than I was in the '07 Finals. We're all better."

The Spurs have not sat on their laurels either, although they will have been off 10 days before the opener since sweeping Memphis in the Western Conference final, while Indiana took the Heat to seven games in the East final.

"They are going to be more in a rhythm than us, but hopefully we'll be rusty (only) in the first quarter, first half," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "Hopefully we'll be better in the second half."

French playmaker Parker, the 2007 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, said the rest will help coach Gregg Popovich's bruised squad heal, especially big man Tim Duncan and Argentine guard Manu Ginobili.

"It's an honor to be the guy for a franchise like the Spurs," Parker said. "You have Timmy and Manu and all my teammates, they're counting on me, and Pop shows so much confidence that it makes me want to play great. My teammates, they push me to get better."

Six years after winning his last title, Parker hungers for another.

"It's an unbelievable feeling because it's really hard to go to the Finals, to win a championship. I was 21 when I won my first one, and you think it's easy and you're going to go back every year.

"Every team wants to beat you, and that's why it makes it even more special to go back after all those years playing at a high level with the same coach, with the same big three.

"If we go all the way it'll definitely be my favorite because it gets harder and harder."

The Heat went a league-best 66-16 this season to earn a home-court edge, including a 27-game win streak, the second-longest in NBA history. The Spurs went 58-24.

"That's a hell of a team over there," Wade said. "We're going to have to make adjustments every game throughout the series. We're going to see something different that we ain't seen."

Miami boasts James, Wade and Bosh, while the Spurs are led by Parker, Ginobili and Duncan, a three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player who averaged 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. He seeks a fifth career NBA crown.

"They are still the defending champs," Duncan said. "They are still the best in the regular season."

Wade and Bosh have struggled at times in the playoffs but they will need to be on their game to face the challenge San Antonio provides.

"Obviously we're a much better team when we have everyone clicking at the same time. That's obvious," James said. "We've had more games where everyone was clicking than not so."

Wade had gone six weeks without netting 20 points in a game until the clincher over Indiana, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra warned that it would be dangerous for the Spurs to ignore the threat he poses.

"When you count Dwyane out, he has an uncanny way in big games of getting bigger," Spoelstra said.

(China Daily 06/06/2013 page22)

The regulation, introduced on Tuesday, states that all facilities should be open throughout the year, except on days when there are sponsored contests, when maintenance is being carried out, or when "improper" climate and safety conditions are encountered.

The new rule also states that customers should pay to use the facilities. Children, students, the elderly and disabled people can use them at certain times free of charge.

The Olympic gold winner was missing from China's swimming team, which arrived in Beijing for intense training. The team was led by Coach Zhu, whose fallout with Sun Yang was in the spotlight.

Sun has been training on his own at Zhejiang Vocational College of Sports, said Zhang Yadong, the school's vice president. It's uncertain when Sun Yang will join his teammates, Zhang added.

Sun Yang has asked for a new coach. He has been training by himself until a new coach can be appointed.

The duo made a public gesture by hugging in the limelight on March 4, indicating that the conflict was over. However, that seems far from the end of the story.

Sun shot to fame after winning the 400m, 1,500m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay at the London Olympics. His spat with his coach, who has been with him for 10 years and led him to Olympic glory, surfaced after the two failed to reach agreement on Sun's commercial activities schedule and relationship with his girlfriend.

The drama caused a stir among sports fans, who have already started to worry about Sun Yang's performance at the Barcelona tournament, which is slated to be held in July.

In the military individual category, Wang Zhanjun of China scored a winning 1062 points. China's Zhang Yong scored 1050 points for second while Oleg Polischak of Ukraine was third on 1023 points.

Wang and Zhang also won the military team event with a combined score of 2112 points. Vasily Marudenko and Aliaksandr Kaliada of Belarus, and Polischak and Oleksandr Dzhura of Ukraine shared the second place with the identical score of 1952.

Alexey Baraev of Russia won the police individual event with 1104 points, the highest score in the entire competition. Baraev's winning score also earned him a second top spot as best overall individual shooter. China's Chen Jun came second with 1064 points, while Vasyl Kovalov of Ukraine placed third on 1033 points.

Baraev and Dmitriy Perkov of Russia also won the police team category with a score of 2002 points. Denys Volochaiev and Yurii Muzyka of Ukraine came second while Chen Jun and Zhang Hao of China finished third.

The 3-day competition attracted 152 participants from 20 countries.

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their men's singles quarter-final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 4, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - A shot fired straight into Roger Federer's armpit demonstrated just how badly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wanted to reach the French Open semifinals.

Federer was left wide-eyed and wincing when the ball bounced off his sweat-soaked shirt. But that momentary pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish the Swiss was feeling two games later as reality hit and he realized he would not be in the semifinals of the French Open for only the second time in nine years.

Twelve months after blowing four match points at the same stage against Novak Djokovic, Tsonga produced a rip-roaring performance to beat the Swiss 7-5 6-3 6-3. As wild celebrations erupted among the packed house on Philippe Chatrier Court after Tsonga reached the last four here for the first time, Federer made a rapid exit from the arena where he had held aloft the Musketeers' Cup in 2009.

"This is obviously a crushing loss," Federer told reporters following a quick shirt change. "I struggled a little bit everywhere. Personally, I'm pretty sad about the match and the way I played.

"Jo-Willy played great today. He was better than me in all areas today. He returned better than I did, served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.

"I'm just disappointed I couldn't put in a better match today."

Federer did not even have to look at the statistics to know just how badly his day had gone.

For the record he produced zero aces, three double faults - including one on break point - 34 unforced errors and won only 58 percent of points on his first serve.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France hits a return to Roger Federer of Switzerland during their men's singles quarter-final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 4, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Federer gasping

Roger Federer of Switzerland leaves the court after losing his men's singles quarter-final match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 4, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The numbers were certainly not adding up for a man who has lit up the world stage for a decade sweeping up a record 17 Grand Slam trophies in the process.

The Swiss counts "Jo Willy" as one of his close friends on the tour and if he was looking for any favors on Tuesday, they were in short supply.

Tsonga goaded Federer with some aerial shots that the Swiss could only smash into the net. He tormented Federer by nulifying his serve-and-volly tactics with his whipped returns. And he finally delivered the killer shot-into-the-body blow which left Federer gasping.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France celebrates defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their men's singles quarter-final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 4, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

"Missing smashes goes hand in hand with missing so many other things," said Federer, who was broken six times during the contest.

"Should have never gotten broken (after being up) 4-2 (in the first set). In hindsight now that's obviously a huge game for me, and things didn't go well from then on for me today."

That was an accurate assessment as he went on to lose eight of the next nine games.

If that run was bad, things got really desperate in the seventh game of the third set. He contemplated smashing his racket at 15-15, smashed the ball into the net to go down 15-30 before Tsonga slammed the ball into him to break for a 4-3 lead.

While Federer was left to digest everything that went wrong for him on Tuesday, Tsonga rejoiced in setting up a last-four date with David Ferrer without dropping a set.

A backhand long from Federer on match point allowed Tsonga to bury memories of the "tragic near miss" against Djokovic and dream about the possibility of becoming the first Frenchman in the final since Henri Leconte in 1988.

"I played very well against a champion who has won everything," said a beaming Tsonga.

"But even if you play the best player in the world...you have a chance because the guy in front of you has two legs, two arms, one head. That's it. And today I proved it.

"I hope I can come back here in three days and do something big."

Age: 50

Date of birth: January 26, 1963

Place of birth: Setubal, Portugal

Playing career

Position: central midfielder

Teams: Rio Ave (1980-1982), Belenenses (1982-1983), Sesimbra (1983-1985), Comerico e Industria (1985-1987)

Managerial career

Teams: Benfica (2000), Uniao de Leiria (2001-2002), Porto (2002-2004), Chelsea (2004-2007), Inter Milan (2008-2010), Real Madrid 2010-2013), Chelsea (2013-)

Managerial honors

Porto

Primeira Liga (2): 2002-03, 2003-04

Taca de Portugal (1): 2002-03

Supertaca Candido de Oliveira (1): 2003

UEFA Champions League (1): 2003-04

UEFA Cup (1): 2002-03

Chelsea

Premier League (2): 2004-05, 2005-06

FA Cup (1): 2006-07

League Cup (2): 2004-05, 2006-07

Community Shield (1): 2005

Inter Milan

Serie A (2): 2008-09, 2009-10

Coppa Italia (1): 2009-10

Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2008

UEFA Champions League (1): 2009-10

Real Madrid

La Liga (1): 2011-12

Copa del Rey (1): 2010-11

Supercopa de Espana (1): 2012

Individual

FIFA World Coach of the Year: 2010

Primeira Liga Manager of the Year: 2002-03, 2003-04

Premier League Manager of the Year: 2004-05, 2005-06

Serie A Manager of the Year: 2008-09, 2009-10

UEFA Manager of the Year: 2002-03, 2003-04

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2005

Other

Officer of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique: 2006

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 06/05/2013 page23)

Rafael Nadal proved a clay court bridge too far for Kei Nishikori on Monday at the French Open, but predicted the Japanese will be a top 10 player soon.

The Spaniard was celebrating his 27th birthday.

And Nishikori (pictured) was unable to spoil the Mallorcan's center court party as the 23-year-old from Shimane could manage only eight games in going down to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 defeat.

Yet Nadal still had praise for his efforts and offered some crumbs of comfort.

"He's a player with a lot of talent," said the Mallorcan. "Now he's in the top of the ranking and he's improving; playing round of 16 here in Roland Garros is great. He had a good tournament in Madrid, too, quarterfinals. I think he's a candidate to be top 10 without any doubt."

Nishikori failed in his quest to become just the second Japanese man to reach the last eight after Jiro Satoh, who made the quarterfinals in 1931 and 1933.

He said afterward he wished he had been more aggressive.

"The second set, I think I was a little bit, you know, too passive or like defensive. He was hitting more fore-hands. I was running side to side more than the first set," he said.

Nishikori, who last year became the first Japanese man to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in 80 years before falling to Andy Murray, became Nadal's 56th victim in 57 matches at Roland Garros as the 13th-seed proved unable to go one better than Fumiteru Nakano, who reached the last 16 on the Parisian clay in 1938.

Despite his loss, Nishikori, whose Australian exploit saw him emulate 1995 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Shuzo Matsuoka as the only Japanese man to reach the last eight at a Slam, improved greatly on two previous second round losses in Paris.

Reuters

(China Daily 06/05/2013 page24)

James has 32 points and eight rebounds and Wade adds 21, lifting Miami in decisive Game 7

The NBA Finals matchup is finally set, and the Miami Heat will either win a second straight title or the San Antonio Spurs will deny LeBron James a championship ring for the second time.

The Heat earned their third consecutive Eastern Conference title on Monday, beating the Indiana Pacers 99-76 in Game 7 of their series. So it's Heat vs. Spurs for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, a series that will begin on Thursday in Miami, on the same floor where the Heat and James finished off Oklahoma City to win last season's title.

Miami is looking for its third championship, San Antonio its fifth. And for James, it's a chance to erase a memory that has stung him for six years.

His first trip to the finals came when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007, and it was ugly - the Spurs winning in a four-game sweep for what was their fourth title. San Antonio has not won the West since, so maybe it's fitting that its return comes against James, albeit with the now four-time Most Valuable Player in a different uniform.

"Obviously, I needed more," James said. "Our team, we were really good, but we weren't great. And that was a great team. We lost to a better team. So I understand that we needed more. We continued to get better over the years, but we never got to that level."

When that series was over, Spurs forward Tim Duncan approached James in a quiet moment and offered some words of encouragement about his budding superstardom.

Four MVPs, two more finals trips and one ring - and counting - later, James' star level is now meteoric. He'll have a chance to not only win consecutive championships, but consecutive regular-season and finals MVPs as well.

"The best player in the world," is how Indiana coach Frank Vogel described James.

When the Heat and Spurs play on Thursday night, it will mark their third meeting of the season. It may as well be the first.

Miami won both games this season, though it's doubtful much of anything worthwhile could be gleaned for the scouting reports from those contests. The Spurs sat four regulars in the first meeting, and drew a $250,000 fine from the NBA after coach Gregg Popovich's decision to send Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Tony Parker home before the game and at the end of a long road trip.

Predictably, Popovich's decision was immediately subject to scrutiny, and he even joked in his pregame media availability that night that the crowd of journalists around him resembled what he'd see in an NBA Finals setting.

Which, come Wednesday when both teams will practice in Miami, is exactly what Popovich will see. It'll be a finals that have a clash of on-court, off-court and even cultural styles. The Heat play a flashier brand of basketball, have stars who are some of the world's best-known - and best-paid - endorsers of products, and have had no choice but to embrace a constant spotlight.

The Spurs, meanwhile, seem to revel in shunning any sort of extra attention.

"I wouldn't say we avoid the attention, but I don't think we're out seeking it," Spurs forward Matt Bonner said. "Our team culture starts with our leadership, guys like Timmy and Coach Pop, that we focus on ourselves and what we need to do to complete the task, get the job done. Whatever attention we get outside of that, I don't think we run from it, but we're not out seeking it. At least, I think so. I hope so."

When the teams met in San Antonio in late March, Miami's 27-game winning streak - the second-best run in NBA history - had just ended, so the Heat kept James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers out while dealing with injuries. And Miami prevailed anyway behind Chris Bosh, who hit a late 3-pointer to seal an 88-86 victory.

Nobody will be resting anybody on Thursday night. The Spurs, who will have been idle for more than a week by the time Game 1 starts, finally know who stands in their way.

"I think the latter part of these days are kind of getting kind of long," Duncan said Monday. "But good preparation, good recovery time, all that stuff. Just anxious to know our opponent and start preparing for them."

The Spurs have been going live in practice, trying their best to stay sharp.

"It's just long. It's long," Parker said of the layoff. "Wish we could play like right now."

Soon enough, he'll get his wish.

(China Daily 06/05/2013 page24)

The CGA-HSBC China Junior Golf Program is designed to support junior golf players and further promote the sport among the general public.

"Since the program started in 2007, we have seen 440,000 teenagers experience the sport," said Helen Wong, president and CEO of HSBC China.

Thanks to the program, more junior golf players have shone on the international golf circuit in recent years. Guan Tianlang, Ye Wocheng, Liu Yu, Feng Shanshan and Shi Yuting are all young golf players that are making the world take a fresh look at Chinese golf.

Li Dazheng, vice-president of the China Golf Association and deputy director of the Multi Ball Games Administrative Center under the General Administration of Sport, said he appreciates the success Chinese junior players achieved in golf, but had concerns about their future development.

"Junior golf players don't have too much pressure compared with adult players, but they need to learn how to face the pressure soon," Li said.

Eriksson's move was confirmed by the Chinese super league club Tuesday afternoon and the 64-year-old Swede will coach Guangzhou until December 2014, according to the club's official account on Sina Weibo. 

Eriksson's long career includes a five-year stint as England coach. He has also managed Fiorentina, Roma, Lazio, Benfica, Manchester City, Mexico and Cote d'Ivoire. In the past two years, he has held several short-term posts, managing English second-tier side Leicester, advising a Thai club and now lasting five months in the UAE.

Guangzhou R&F, based in the same city with big-spending CSL champion Guangzhou Evergrande, currently ranked 13th in the 16-team football league. 

Sven Goran Eriksson in this Feb 2, 2010 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

The basketball coach of IMG Academy Bradenton in Florida was speaking of 18-year-old Meng Xiangyu from China, who enrolled at the school in 2011 in hope of a possible NBA career.

The 2.18-metre school boy from China's Liaoning province was reported as receiving "very slow" progress in training in the school despite starring his career domestically training with and playing for the national U15 team and provincial U16 team.

"We are training him with every caution…we will reduce the workout if he feels pain in foot..." said the coach, adding the boy is a hopeful center for NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), or even NBA, but it will not be quick to reach that high.

The school team faculty said Meng's bone is not yet able to carry his body and bear training as intensive as that of his US counterparts. In Europe, some teenager players were reported to retreat from professional training college because of premature high intensive training at a very young age.

"I am here to learn their playing style, instead of rushing for a quick result," said Meng, who stormed onto Sports headlines earlier in May with his tall figure and pursuit to NBA. "I am making progress these days…I am playing more one-to-ones instead of jumpers that I did when I firstly came here."

Dodd, 48, will be co-opted as the first ever Australian to the FIFA executive committee.

Dodd has been on the Football Federation of Australia board since 2007 and was elected Vice-President of the Asian Football Confederation in 2009, representing Australian football across Asia.

"Australian Football is expanding at a rapid rate and it is fantastic that Australia will have a voice in one of the world's most powerful sporting bodies," the prime minister said in the joint press release with Minister Lundy.

Dodd joins 22 men and two other women at football's top governing body, representing the six confederations made up of the 209 football playing nations.

Local newspaper Sydney Morning Herald reported that Dodd's biggest achievement was her role in the overturning last year of FIFA's headscarf rule, which had prevented Muslim women playing football.

Dodd told the FIFA Congress that "I love working for football" and mentioned her plans for the commercialization of women's football "so that every little girl in the world can dream of being a footballer".

It is positive to see barriers for women on sporting governing bodies being broken down not only in Australia but also internationally. So many women are passionate about sport and this is great news for those who dream of a career in sporting administration, said Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Lundy, who are both women.

Dodd grew up in Adelaide and made her senior playing debut for Port Adelaide when she was 12. She was a vice-captain of the Matildas and participated in the first ever women's international tournament in 1988 in China.

She has an MBA and works as a solicitor for Gilbert & Tobin lawyers in Sydney. She continues to play football in an over-35s competition.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Sherchan said his obsession with the tallest peak on earth (8,848 m), which also known as Mount Everest in the West, is not over yet and that some technicalities forced him to abandon his bid this time.

"You cannot just write me off. I have reserved my strength and stamina to scale Mt Qomolongma until I turn 84. So, I have 2-3 more years to go," said Sherchan, who was rescued from the base camp (5, 300 m) by a helicopter on May 28 mainly due to heavy snowfall and rain.

In 2008, Sherchan, then 76, set the world record of the oldest climber on  Qomolongma and held the record for five years until it was broken by Japanese Yuichiro Miura, 80, on May 23 this climbing season.

Miura, in a post-summit press meet, extended best wishes to his Nepali competitor, but also cautioned him about the harsh weather conditions, to which Sherchan ultimately fell victim to.

"I have heard that Miura has set the new record. But, it has to be minutely studied and verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, before his ascent is officially certified," Sherchan opined about his Japanese competitor Miura, who has vowed not to ascend the highest peak again following three successful attempts in 2003, 2008 and 2013.

Sherchan was basically vocal to figure out that he did not receive adequate support from the government of Nepal and that the support was "too late" for him to make his expedition fruitful.

Generally, a permit is given 72 days prior to the ascent, as it needs a lot of preparations and acclimatization.

In Sherchan's case, he received the permit on May 23, only 6 days before his planned ascent on May 29, the day when New Zealand's Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Tenzing Norgay first scaled Qomolongma in 1953.

"I was betrayed. Many mountaineers had already left the Qomolongma region by May 23. Weather was deteriorating. On May 27, I was forced to return from Camp I (5,800 m) to the base camp only to be airlifted on May 28," Sherchan revealed.

The government announced a financial aid of Rs 1 million (around $11,000) for Sherchan on May 23, but only when Japanese Miura set the new world record of the oldest climber.

Had the Japanese failed to make the record, the government would not have provided a single penny to Sherchan, according to him.

"I feel sad the way I was treated. But, I will have no grievance if the government fulfills two things for me," Sherchan said.

"First, I request them to deposit the already-declared assistance of Rs 1 million to me in an account for my next Qomolongma expedition and second, renew my this year's permit for the next year, so that I can scale Mt Qomolongma again," he said.

The camera-based system was scheduled to be formally introduced in the Indonesia Open this month after testing in the Malaysia Open and the Sudirman Cup last month, but BWF said it would undertake more testing in an effort to resolve some last-minute issues which arose during the recent testing at the Sudirman Cup.

"We have undergone some really good testing at both the Malaysia Open and the Sudirman Cup and, though we envisaged being ready to go live with an instant review system at the BWF Superseries Premier in Indonesia, we have determined it best to delay its introduction. We want to revisit some technical aspects and engage in further testing," BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said in a statement.

"So instead of allowing players to challenge line calls at the Indonesia Open, we will use that Superseries Premier event as another testing ground."

While assuring shuttlers that "instant reviews are coming", Lund said the world badminton governing body "cannot give a date right now as we would prefer to be sure we have any issues resolved before announcing again that we are implementing a challenge system."

The system is designed to protect the players and the integrity of the game, so we feel it is only prudent to be sure we can guarantee that the system will perform perfectly," he added.

Lund stressed that BWF is still considering various systems while reaffirming it will be using camera-based technology, allowing line-call referees to reassess the call under review.

"Our priority is to ensure we get the mechanics of this operation working properly and we just need some additional time to do so and to look at the technologies available," he said.

MIAMI  — Their season, their legacy, their reign atop the NBA was all at stake, and the Miami Heat responded to all of that in a manner befitting champions.

With a blowout.

It's onto the NBA Finals for the Heat after they put away the Indiana Pacers, who saw their hopes of a storybook upset simply fall apart in a hurry.

LeBron James scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, ailing Dwyane Wade matched his postseason high with 21 points, and the Heat ran away from the Pacers 99-76 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night.

The Heat earned the right to play the San Antonio Spurs in a series that starts Thursday night in Miami.

Miami led by as many as 28 points, a shocking amount for a series that had an aggregate score of Heat 569, Pacers 564 entering Monday night. The Heat actually trailed by six in the early going, were still down 21-19 after the first quarter and it was starting to look like it was going to be one of those down-to-the-wire nights.

Not even close.

James exited with 5:08 left, shaking retired soccer star David Beckham's hand as he made his way to the Heat bench for a relatively subdued celebration. Not long afterward, security personnel started what's become a familiar task in Miami — surrounding the court and stretching out a yellow rope, preparing to hold people at bay for the looming on-court trophy presentation.

More than a few people didn't stick around to see the East title formally presented. After all, it's an all-or-nothing season for the Heat — and this trophy isn't the one that will satisfy the Heat.

Ray Allen added 10 points for Miami, which won its 78th game of the season, matching the 11th-best, single-season total in NBA history.

Roy Hibbert scored 18 points for the Pacers, who got 14 from David West, 13 from George Hill and 10 from Lance Stephenson. All-Star Paul George was held to seven points on 2-for-9 shooting and fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Beckham in Miami

In this undated photo released by Miami-Dade County, former soccer star David Beckham poses for a photo with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, in Miami. Beckham may be setting his sights on a new sports venture: A professional soccer team in Miami. The newly retired Beckham toured Sun Life and Florida International University stadiums and met with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Saturday. [Photo/Agencies]

Soccer star David Beckham may be setting his sights on a new sports venture: a professional soccer team in Miami.

The newly retired Beckham toured Sun Life and Florida International University stadiums and met with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Saturday.

"We're ready and we're excited about the possibility of having top-flight professional soccer back in Miami," Gimenez said. "With people from all over the world living in our community, this is an ideal market for MLS and David Beckham is the right person to make it happen."

Miami has had a Major League Soccer team before; the Miami Fusion held matches in Fort Lauderdale from 1998 to 2001, before shutting down because of poor attendance.

This time around, city officials hope a team would succeed.

"The whole community loves soccer down here," FIU Executive Director for Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia said.

Garcia said university officials delivered a presentation to Beckham and Marcelo Claure, president and CEO of Brightstar Corp. and a member of the FIU Board of Trustees, explaining the draw of a professional team in Miami. He said FIU officials hope Beckham and Claure will start an MLS team and choose FIU as their stadium.

"Our stadium is state of the art, brand new, and it's made for soccer," Garcia said.

He also noted that a majority of the university's 52,000 students are Hispanic, and many of them avid soccer fans.

"I know it would be successful now," he said.

Beckham started his career with Manchester United and also played for Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. He became a global superstar not only in the sports world, but also through fashion and his marriage to a pop star wife, former "Spice Girls" singer Victoria.

Brazilian soccer player Neymar looks on during his presentation after signing a five-year contract with FC Barcelona, at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, June 3, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Neymar signed a five-year contract with club president Sandro Rosell after choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid in an intense two-year bidding war between the fierce Spanish rivals.

Barcelona vice president Josep Bartomeu revealed the club had expected to pay about 40 million euros, but that "the interference of other clubs" inflated the price, an allusion to Madrid.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Luis Figo, Hulk and Fernando Torres have cost a club more than Neymar.

Barcelona's previous most expensive transfer was when it paid 45 million euros (then $64 million) to Inter Milan for Ibrahimovic in 2009 plus sent striker Samuel Eto'o the other way.

Neymar, whose contract includes a buyout clause worth (euro) 190 million ($249 million), laughed shyly when asked if he was worth the price paid for him.

"No, but I am very grateful that Barcelona did what it had to do complete my childhood, to be with my idols," he said.

Formalities done after signing his contract, the 21-year-old striker jogged onto the Camp Nou pitch for the first time in his new Barcelona kit bearing the name "Neymar Jr" on the back.

"I am very happy, very moved to be a Barcelona player and fulfill my dream," Neymar told the 56,500 fans who turned out to welcome him.

Neymar quickly made it clear that he knows that he will have to play second fiddle to Messi.

"I want to help the team," he said. "I have come to add my part so that Lionel Messi continues to be the best player in the world."

Neymar's flight from Brazil arrived an hour behind schedule at about 1 p.m. local time. Decked out in black with sunglasses and a baseball cap, he took a chartered bus straight to Camp Nou and had his first photograph taken in front of the blue-and-burgundy club insignia.

During the traditional thumbs-up welcome shoot Neymar stepped forward and waved over the mob of photographers to the hundreds of fans who had gathered wearing Brazil and Barcelona jerseys and chanting his name. He was then rushed through two medical tests and back to the office to sign the deal.

Neymar later told a packed press hall that he had "followed his heart" when he opted to come to Barcelona and play alongside not only Messi, but the rest of Barcelona's playmakers.

"I'm very excited to have the chance to play with all these great players that I have admired since I was a child: Messi, Xavi (Hernandez), (Andres) Iniesta," he said. "It's a great opportunity for me to learn and evolve."

Brazilian soccer player Neymar waves to Barcelona's supporters at his presentation after signing a five-year contract with the club, at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, June 3, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Even before making it official, Neymar's new teammates had given him their vote of confidence.

Earlier Monday, Iniesta said he expects Neymar to become even better when paired in attack with Messi, the four-time world player of the year.

"He is coming to the best possible place for him," Iniesta said. "Let him do what he does best, that is enough. It is great news that we can count on him. Surrounded by the people he will have here, he will get better and better.

"Great players always understand one another. Leo will be make Neymar better, and Neymar will make Leo better."

Dani Alves, whom Neymar said played a key role in persuading him to come to Barcelona, recalled the long line of Brazilian forwards who have triumphed at Barcelona, including Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.

"He will give us a Brazilian touch," countryman Dani Alves said of Neymar. "The others left their mark. I am sure he will, too."

Neymar flew to the Mediterranean city on a private jet with a small entourage, including his father Neymar Silva Santos, that left Rio de Janeiro after the national side's 2-2 draw with England on Sunday. He will return to his home country for the upcoming Confederations Cup, which Brazil is hosting in preparation for the 2014 World Cup.

Neymar led Santos on its greatest run since Pele stopped playing for the Brazilian club in the 1970s. He helped Santos win the 2010 Brazilian Cup, the 2011 Copa Libertadores and three straight Sao Paulo state championships, becoming the team's leading scorer in the post-Pele era with 138 goals in 230 matches.

Brazilian soccer player Neymar (C) poses with his new jersey next to sports director Andoni Zubizarreta (R) and vice-president Ferran Bartomeu (L) after signing a five-year contract in Barcelona, June 3, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Bruna Marquezine (C), actress and girlfriend of Brazilian soccer player Neymar, poses for a picture with friends as Neymar signs his contract with the club, in front of FC Barcelona's offices, close to Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, June 3, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - All Rafael Nadal wanted for his 27th birthday at the French Open on Monday was his forehand back and he got his wish as the Spaniard's most feared weapon demolished Japan's Kei Nishikori and sent the defending champion into the quarter-finals.

The left-hander, bidding to become the first man to win one of the sport's grand slams eight times, played his most impressive tennis of the tournament so far to claim a 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory.

Nadal had looked like cartoon character Popeye without his spinach as his forehand misfired in his three previous matches but it returned with a vengeance to give 13th seed Nishikori little chance of making any impression.

"That's the real thing," Nadal, who was presented with a huge birthday cake on court after completing his 56th victory at Roland Garros, told reporters.

"I played much better today than the first three matches, no doubt about that. I started to have feelings with my forehand when I had a chance to hit it.

"I started to feel that I can hit the ball longer and having more confidence in every stroke."

Nadal has built his glittering career around the forehand, a stroke that at its best strikes fear into opponents as good even as Roger Federer, but in his first two matches against Germany's Daniel Brands and then Martin Klizan, it lacked its usual ferocity and depth.

A Sunday off, when he took to the practice courts to re-boot his game, appeared to work wonders as this was more like the Nadal who has lost only one match at the claycourt slam.

"My feeling today when I was hitting my forehand was that I wasn't going to miss," he said. "The first few days when I was hitting my forehand my feeling was I don't know if the ball was going to go in or out.

"I said the other day I needed to improve. Seriously, if you told me two days ago I will play like this today, I would have signed for that."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The forehand will be a key factor in Nadal's quarter-final against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka who hit nearly 100 winners, many with his lethal single-handed backhand, in a five-set victory over Richard Gasquet.

Nishikori, who also owns a single-handed backhand, often found himself pinned back and hopelessly out of position as Nadal's forehand reared up way over his shoulder.

Nadal's early performances here also raised doubts over his physical condition after a long, hard claycourt season so soon after returning from a seven-month break while his knee healed.

There was a real spring in his step on Monday though.

"My movements were much more serene. I was more powerful when I was on the back foot," he said.

"I arrived on the court in a better sort of condition and that's why I was confident and calm.

"I knew that things were going to go very well and I went out on the court happy."

Only in the first set did Nishikori, looking to become just the second Japanese man to reach the last eight in Paris, offer any sort of challenge.

Nadal broke serve with the aid of a fortunate net cord in the fifth game of the opener and that proved enough for him to take the first set.

Nishikori had a glimmer of a chance when he had a break point in the second game of set two but failed to convert it and was broken in the next game when he flailed a high backhand volley into the tramlines.

From then on Nadal was in total command and finished the match by hooking a forehand winner down the line after a little over two hours before waving to the crowd as they sang 'Happy Birthday' to the king of clay.

"To celebrate my birthday here on centre court in Paris is a very special moment for me," Nadal said courtside as the huge birthday cake was wheeled on.

Wawrinka's best hope may be that Nadal eats too much of it.

New York Knicks' Jason Kidd (R) pushes off Chicago Bulls' Nate Robinson during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Chicago, Illinois, in this April 11, 2013, file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK - Jason Kidd retired Monday from the NBA after 19 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers for a point guard in league history.

Kidd won an NBA title and two Olympic gold medals, is second on the career list in assists and steals, and was a 10-time All-Star. But he struggled badly in the playoffs for the New York Knicks shortly after turning 40 and decided to walk away with two years and more than $6 million left on the deal he signed last summer.

"My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years," Kidd said in a statement released by the Knicks. "As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court."

His retirement comes two days after fellow 40-year-old Grant Hill, with whom Kidd shared Rookie of the Year honors in 1995, announced his retirement.

Kidd went on from there to have big impacts on every team he joined. He led the longtime-losing Nets to two NBA Finals in 2002-03, helped the Dallas Mavericks win the 2011 title, and was on the first Knicks team to reach the second round of the playoffs since 2000.

He averaged 12.6 points, 8.7 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.93 steals in a career that also included a stop in Phoenix. Kidd had numerous ways to make his mark on games, ranking third on the career list with 107 triple-doubles while finishing third all-time in 3-pointers made, despite being considered a poor outside shooter when he came into the league.

"Jason's value to the Knicks and the National Basketball Association cannot be quantified by statistics alone," Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said. "Everyone here in New York saw firsthand what a tremendous competitor he is and why Jason is considered to be one of the best point guards, and leaders, the game has ever seen."

New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd looks on against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second quarter of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, in this Feb 1, 2013, file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

In match that nearly got canceled, Brits manage a 2-2 result in Rio

England coach Roy Hodgson lamented a win that got away after his side gave World Cup host Brazil a fright on Sunday in holding the five-time world champion to an entertaining 2-2 draw in a prestige friendly in Rio de Janeiro.

The visitors, victorious on their last visit back in 1984, when John Barnes famously clinched the win with a solo effort, were on the ropes in an absorbing first half that Brazil largely dominated, but held their own until 12 minutes after the restart, when Fred scored for the South American giants.

But a neat strike from substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and then a rasping drive from Wayne Rooney turned the match on its head before Paulinho volleyed in eight minutes from time to level a contest held to mark the multi-million dollar refurbishment of the Maracana stadium.

"Some draws can be labeled victories and some draws can be labeled defeats," said Hodgson afterwards.

"We played so well in the second half I thought we might hold on for the win, but we were scotched by a wonder strike. We didn't play anywhere near like we wanted to in the first half and Brazil did, so it was a fair result."

England beat Brazil in a Wembley friendly back in February that marked the return to the dugout of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilians' 2002 World Cup-winning coach.

But the pressure has been heaped on Scolari, who has managed only a win over Bolivia in half a dozen matches during this second spell in charge, while the World Cup hosts have slid to 19th in the FIFA rankings - an all-time low.

In addition, Brazil has been embarrassed by a series of glitches in preparations for not just the World Cup in 13 months, but also the Confederations Cup, which starts on June 15 in six venues across the country amid infrastructural problems that have dogged the host.

Sunday's match was even set to be called off after a local judge ruled on Thursday that the game could not go ahead as the Maracana did not, in her view, meet minimum safety requirements.

The decision was overturned after city authorities scrambled an appeal before the Rio State government explained that a mandatory safety report had not been sent to the relevant local authority due to a "bureaucratic failure".

But once the green light was given, a crowd of 66,000 turned out to see if Brazil could shine in a dress rehearsal for their Confederations Cup opener against Japan.

And after failing to make its superiority in terms of possession in the opening period pay off with a goal, the home side did not disappoint as Fred, also on target at Wembley, latched on to a rebound after Hernanes saw a piledriver come back off the crossbar with keeper Joe Hart beaten.

Hart had already been a busy man in the opening half as he smothered an early chance from close range for Barcelona-bound Neymar and then saved well from Bruno Alves and Oscar.

But no sooner had Fred broken the deadlock on 57 minutes than England suddenly sparked to life after its defense had finally been breached.

And 10 minutes later Roy Hodgson's side were level through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had barely entered the action as a substitute in place of Glen Johnson.

Frank Lampard combined with Rooney and Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose father Mark played in the 1984 England success, fired in a low effort.

Rooney then struck a tremendous second with 11 minutes remaining, his 25-meter effort flicking off Fernando to leave Brazil facing its first home loss to European opposition since Barnes and Chamberlain's exploits of three decades earlier.

Indeed, the Samba stars had not lost any match on home soil in a decade and they managed to salvage their record as Paulinho volleyed powerfully home after Lucas Moura had teed him up with a cross from the right.

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page23)

Chelsea welcomed back Jose Mourinho, its 'Special One', as manager for the second time on a four-year contract on Monday.

The Portuguese, who left Real Madrid last weekend, won the 2005 and 2006 Premier League titles in his first spell with the London club but departed in 2007 after falling out with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

"I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate," said chief executive Ron Gourlay in a club statement.

"It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.

"He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again."

"I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that," said the 50-year-old, who first joined Chelsea in 2004.

Reuters

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page23)

Germany's Tommy Hass returns to Russia's Mikhail Youzhny during their fourth-round match of the French Open at Roland Garros on Monday in Paris. Haas won 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals at the age of 35, the third-oldest in history. Christophe Ena / Associated Press

Mikhail Youzhny of Russia looks at his broken racket after smashing it on a chair until it was mangled following a lost point during his match against Tommy Haas of Germany on Monday. Stephane Mahe / Reuters

Is third oldest overall, first from nation in 17 years to make quarters

Tommy Haas became the third oldest man, and the first German in 17 years, to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Monday when he swept past racquet-smashing Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Haas, 35, is also the oldest man to make a last eight at any Grand Slam since Andre Agassi at the 2005 US Open.

The 12th seed, who made history in the third round when he needed a record 13 match points to beat John Isner, eased past Youzhny, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in just 84 minutes.

"It was a pretty good performance. I was broken in the first game but I got my bearings, got into the groove," said Haas, who is enjoying a renaissance in a career that has been decimated by a series of injuries.

"He gave me a lot of unforced errors, so I just kept doing what I was doing."

Only Pancho Gonzales, who was over 40 when he made the last eight in 1968, and 39-year-old Istvan Gulyas in 1971, have got this far at Haas' age in the tournament.

"The oldest since 1971? I never thought it would be possible to have this success."

Former world No 2 Haas lost on clay in straight sets to Youzhny in Rome last month.

But he was never troubled on Monday, winning 10 games in succession after losing the opener.

Such was Youzhny's frustration that he smashed his racket nine times against his courtside chair, sending splinters spiralling into the air at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

The violence of his outburst made him an instant YouTube hit even as the match was still being played.

Haas will be the first German in the last eight in Paris since Michael Stich and Bernd Karbacher in 1996.

He will face top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia for a spot in the semifinals. Djokovic lost the first set but came back to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

The Volatile Youzhny smashed sent splinters spiralling into the air and ball boys running for cover in a stunning meltdown.

Youzhny boiled over after he slipped a set and 3-0 down to Haas.

"You try and do all you can to help yourself. I tried it this way, but it doesn't help really," said 29-year-old Youzhny.

Youzhny is notorious on tour for his hair-trigger temper.

At Miami in 2008, playing Spain's Nicolas Almagro, he smashed his racket on his head so violently that blood poured onto the court.

Last year, as he suffered a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 thrashing by Spain's David Ferrer at Roland Garros, Youzhny wrote "SORRY!" with his racket on the red clay, in apology to the spectators.

On the women's side, third seed Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals for the third time with a 6-3, 6-0 win over 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone.

The Australian Open champion will face Russian 12th seed Maria Kirilenko, who defeated unseeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States 7-5, 6-4, for a semifinal place.

"I think it was the most composed and the most consistent match so far," Azarenka said.

"The beginning was back and forth. I feel like I didn't take all of the opportunities, but there was kind of a build-up to later on that I was doing the right thing."

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page24)

Roger Federer will only admire his record-breaking achievements when he quits tennis as he concentrates on plotting a path past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Tuesday's French Open quarterfinals.

Federer racked up his 900th career win in dramatic circumstances when he reached a 36th consecutive Grand Slam last-eight with a 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over French 15th seed Gilles Simon.

It was the 31-year-old's record-equaling 58th win at Roland Garros, although he did it the hard way, briefly staring at his earliest exit at a major since losing to Gustavo Kuerten in Paris in the third round in 2004.

The 2009 champion, the holder of 17 Grand Slam titles, will tackle French sixth seed Tsonga for a place in an eighth Roland Garros semifinal.

Beating Tsonga for the 10th time in 13 meetings is the Swiss star's most pressing concern after a roller-coaster last-16 clash with Simon that saw him bedeviled by 56 unforced errors.

"Records I will look back on when I'm not playing anymore, and go like, that was incredible that I was able to achieve this," said Federer, playing in a 54th straight Grand Slam.

"Because this isn't just a one-week thing or one year-thing. This is such a long period of time that I had to fight through matches."

Federer won his first match on tour back in September 1998 when, at 17, he defeated another French player, Guillaume Raoux in Toulouse.

His 900 wins, however, still lag behind Jimmy Connors' all-time mark of 1,156 and second-place Ivan Lendl's 1,068 although Guillermo Vilas' 940 is within his sights.

"The number (of 34 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals) is unbelievable. I probably would have been happy with one at one point in my career, when I was younger and eventually you raise the bar and say, OK, hopefully I can reach my first semifinals, like in 2003 at Wimbledon.

"I went on to win the tournament. It's been an amazing run, and I'm happy I'm still on it."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page24)

The United States can head into a key stretch with some added confidence.

Clint Dempsey scored twice in a five-minute span of the second half and moved into second place on the US career scoring list, helping the Americans edge a second-string Germany team, 4-3, in an exhibition game on Sunday.

Preparing for three World Cup qualifiers in a 12-day span beginning on Friday, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann watched the Americans take a 4-1 lead and hang on to beat the team he helped win the 1990 World Cup as a player and coached to the 2006 semifinals.

The match, which drew 47,359 to RFK Stadium, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the US Soccer Federation and followed a 4-2 loss on Wednesday to a first-string Belgium in Cleveland.

"The feel-good factor is amazing," US goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "The crowd was great, on the centennial anniversary. It was amazing to be a part of that game, and obviously to beat Germany was special."

Jozy Altidore put the Americans ahead in the 13th minute with his first international goal in 1 1/2 years, and the lead widened to 2-0 three minutes later on an own goal by No 4 Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who misjudged a backpass.

Heiko Westermann cut the deficit for the three-time world champion Germans in the 51st, and Dempsey made it 4-1 with goals in the 60th and 65th. The Americans' defensive frailties were exposed late when Max Kruse and Julian Draxler scored their first international goals.

With 35 international goals, Dempsey moved one past Eric Wynalda on the American career list and pulled within 14 of Landon Donovan.

"You're going to look back on the career and be proud of what you've done," Dempsey said. "But at the same time ... your teammates help you. They put you in positions, and they help create chances for you, and you've just got to finish them off."

Dempsey has five goals for the US this year and 13 since Klinsmann took over as coach in July 2011.

"He has the drive. He has the hunger," Klinsmann said. "He's not satisfied today scoring two goals against Germany because he won't be satisfied if he doesn't score against Jamaica."

The Americans play on Friday at Jamaica, on June 11 against Panama in Seattle and on June 18 versus Honduras in Sandy, Utah. The US (1-1-1) is third in the six-nation final round of North and Central America and the Caribbean with four points, one behind Panama (1-0-2) and trailing Costa Rica (1-1-1) on goal difference. Honduras (1-1-1) is behind the US on goal difference, while Mexico (0-0-3) has three points and Jamaica (0-1-2) two.

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page23)

Tiger Woods ended a largely forgettable week at the Memorial Tournament, languishing tied for 65th in a field of 73, and conceding that he needs to clean up every aspect of his game before the upcoming US Open.

A five-time winner at Muirfield Village Golf Club where he was the defending champion, Woods struggled with his putting on lightning-fast greens for all four rounds as he finished up a distant 20 strokes behind winner Matt Kuchar.

Though his accuracy off the tee was surprisingly good throughout the tournament, Woods totaled 119 putts during the week and paid a hefty price after running up big numbers on certain holes at a venue he knows as well as anyone.

"It happens," Woods told reporters after closing with an even-par 72 at Muirfield Village to finish at 8-over 296, the second-highest score of his career. His highest in a 72-hole event was 298 at the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

"It happens to us all," said world No 1 Woods, who had triumphed three times in his previous four starts on the PGA Tour. "I will go home next week and practice.

"It's just one of those weeks. This week I obviously didn't putt well. I had bad speed all week. I thought the greens didn't look that fast, but they were putting fast. I could never get the speed of them."

The second major of the year, the June 13-16 US Open at Merion in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, is fast approaching, and Woods gave a succinct reply when asked which areas of his game needed improving.

"Everything," said the 37-year-old American, who won the most recent of his 14 major titles at the 2008 US Open.

"You want everything clicking on all cylinders, especially at the US Open, because everything is tested in the US Open."

Woods began the final round among the back-markers for a second day in a row and ran into trouble when he triple-bogeyed the par-three 12th after taking two shots to escape from a terrible lie in a greenside bunker, then three-putted.

"I was just trying to put the ball against the face on the up-slope on the other side so I had a chance to spin the next one," he said of his first bunker shot.

"And it actually rolled back on the bottom where there's no sand. I hit a decent shot and obviously it skipped by. And the first putt was awful, just bad speed. The second putt I pulled as well."

Woods dropped another stroke at the par-four 14th before finally being rewarded with a birdie at the par-five 15th where he struck a wedge to four foot and buried the putt.

Woods had astonishingly recorded a bogey and two doubles there in the three previous rounds.

"I birdied in a conventional way, I guess," he said of the 15th. "With a wedge in there to about three-and-a-half feet behind it.

"Other times (this week) I had a chance to go for (the green in two) and knock it on there and I didn't make very good shots."

He also bogeyed the 14th before picking up his first shots of the day at the 15th and 17th to reach the turn in 2-over 38.

Woods fared a lot better on his back nine, sandwiching birdies at the second, fourth and fifth around a lone bogey at the third to come home in two-under 34.

"It wasn't like it was that far off today," he said of his overall game, having hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. "It was just one hole that cost me obviously a few shots."

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page24)

Indiana center Roy Hibbert [Photo/Agencies]

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert was fined $75,000 by the NBA on Sunday after a post-game news conference outburst that included an anti-gay slur.

Hibbert scored 24 points as the Pacers beat the Miami Heat 91-77 on Saturday to force a deciding Game 7 in South Florida on Monday, but the 26-year-old responded with a rant in the televised press conference.

Hibbert used the phrase "no homo" to describe his play and also attacked the media, using foul language when asked to discuss his low place in voting for the Defensive Player of the Year.

The league said in a statement that Hibbert had used "inappropriate and vulgar language".

Before the fine, Hibbert had issued an apology on the Pacer's official website.

"I am apologizing for insensitive remarks made during the postgame press conference after our victory over Miami Saturday night," read Hibbert's statement.

"They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views. I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television.

"I apologize to those who I have offended, to our fans and to the Pacers' organization. I sincerely have deep regret over my choice of words last night."

The NBA noted Hibbert's statement but said he still deserved a fine.

"While Roy has issued an apology, which is no doubt sincere, a fine is necessary to reinforce that such offensive comments will not be tolerated by the NBA," said commissioner David Stern.

After the press conference, Hibbert sent a tweet to fellow NBA player Jason Collins, who in April became the first active player in the league to come out as a gay.

(China Daily 06/04/2013 page24)

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Track and Field Championships in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on Sunday, Sun said that the 30-year-old sprinter, plagued by injuries to his right Achilles tendon, is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Liu is in the final period of rehabilitation, and his doctors have allowed him to return to China in August, Sun said. But it's still a long way off before the sprinter restart full track training.

It's still too early to say when he can compete again, Sun said. They will only launch technical training, including jogging, when he comes back to Shanghai, Sun said.

Talking about the possibility about Liu retiring, the coach said it's a choice for Liu.

This is the first time that Arena Football League (AFL) comes to China to hold a professional training camp, and which marks American Arena Football is officially coming to China.

"I've seen seven international camps including this one. I have to say that this one is the best among all. China has a lot of quite good potential players," said AFL commissioner Jerry B. Kurz, who aimed to promote American arena football into the Olympic Games in the future.

According to Kurz, the game between the eight-people system American arena football and American national football are basically the same, besides, arena football is more worth watching for its compact field, fast transition and high score.

The Chinese trainees of the first training camp are all professional coaches and referees from six sports universities (Beijing Sports University, Tianjin University of Sport, Hebei Institute of Physical Education, Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, Shandong Sport University, Xi'an Physical Education University) around China.

"It's my first time to learn this game and I found it so interesting that I can't wait to go back and teach my students," quoted Li Hongqiang, a basketball coach in Xi'an Physical Education University.

After the training camp, trainers from America will go to the universities above to select players and guide the training course. Based on the plan that made by the expert group, the first six teams will accomplish the team set-up, then the professional systematic training.

Universities can compete with each other when conditions permit. It will lay the foundation for the football league between universities and the development of the professional clubs.

National women coach David Lung'aho, will be eying to be second time lucky and secure Kenya the ticket to the finals, which will be held in Italy next year.

On the other side, Gedion Chenge, who is in charge of the men team, wants to break the jinx and clinch the single ticket for Africa teams at the biggest stage in the sport, which will be held in Poland.

"We have the experience of playing at the international level. But the other teams in the region have been narrowing the gap and it will be hard for Kenyan players to expect to pick the Africa berth without a fight," said Lung'aho, Friday in Nairobi.

Kenya will host the women qualifiers, for the Eastern region, which will bring together teams from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and Somalia. The men tournament will be held in Kampala, Uganda.

Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Chairman Waithaka Kioni said the qualification campaign will be in three phases.

The first will be on regional level, where the winner will proceed to the second round, at zone stage. Winners of the zones will clash in the final round where the champion will represent Africa in Italy (Women) and Poland (Men).

To show intend, Kenya men coach, has asked the federation to seek the service of five foreign based stars to boost the country's chances to secure the ticket to Poland.

Chenge has called in Philip Maiyo (Turkey), a leading right attacker, alongside Oman based Evans Bera. Others are Japan based trio Silas Kipruto, James Ontere and Michael Chemos.

On the women side, Lung'aho, who has successfully led Kenya prisons to win five Africa club Championships, has opted to drop veteran receiver Judith Tarus for the youthful Agripina Kundu and Elizabeth Nafula in the Libero position.

Tarus has played second fiddle to Nafula at the club level from late last year when she was axed from Prisons team to the FIVB World Club Championship held in Doha, Qatar.

Save for a few nagging injuries, the women team will have little change.

Captain Bracksedes Agala and veteran Diana Khisa have little knee bruises, which they picked during the local league matches.

It is a concern that the coach will overlook as he seeks to build a winning team for the assignment.

Setter Jane Wacu, who was suspended together with Mildred Odwako are back after serving their bans. There is also Janet Wanja, Mercy Moim, Evelyn, Makuto, Asha Makuto, Monica Biama, Violet Makuto and Loice Chelegat.

The World Cup will feature 24 teams. One place was allocated to the hosts, Poland and Italy, but no automatic place is given to the defending champions, Brazil (men) and Italy (women).

The remaining 23 places will be determined by a qualification process, in which entrants from among the other teams from the five FIVB confederations will compete.

For Africa, five teams have got a bye to the final round qualification. They are Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

For the women team, hosts Italy are granted automatic qualification. Continental governing bodies were allocated the remaining 23 spots.

Africa was granted two, Asia four, North America six, South America two, and Europe 10 places.