GB defeat Dutch in Fed Cup match

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Great Britain battled hard to defeat the Netherlands 2-1 in their second Fed Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group I match.

British number two Anne Keothavong lost 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to Bibiane Schoofs.
Elena Baltacha responded from being a break down in the second set to beat Michaella Krajicek 6-3 6-3 before doubles duo Heather Watson and Laura Robson secured victory 7-5 7-6 (7-5).

"I am absolutely delighted and very, very proud of them - it was a fantastic day," captain Judy Murray said.
Great Britain need to win their group if they are to qualify for the World Group play-offs and Baltacha remains confident they can achieve that.
"Today was a result of all the work that the team have put in behind the scenes," she said.

"All the analysis that Judy has been helping us with has helped enormously.
"As for the overall team win, well, what can I say? I'm so proud of our team. The girls all did brilliantly and we're just so excited."

Great Britain had won their first Group C match against Portugal on Wednesday 3-0.
They will now play Israel in their third and final match on Friday at 1400 GMT, seeking the win which will make sure they finish top of their pool and earn them a place in Saturday's promotion play-offs.
The format sees 15 nations form four round-robin pools, played from Wednesday to Friday. The nations that finish top in each pool will go through to the promotion play-offs.

The two winning teams will go through to the World Group II play-offs, while the bottom nations contest the relegation play-offs to decide which two teams are relegated to Euro/Africa Group II.





2 February 2012
Last updated at 22:51
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/16864813

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Anthony Returns, Giving Life to Ailing Offense

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Carmelo Anthony returned to the Knicks’ lineup Tuesday night, and suddenly, the ball moved quickly and crisply right from the start while shots he and his teammates have missed much of this season started to fall.

So was Anthony, who was part of the Knicks’ offensive problems before and while he sat out the previous two games with assorted injuries, part of the solution? Or was their 113-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons simply a function of the opponent? The Pistons (4-19) have lost 6 straight games, and 11 of 12 over all on the road.

The Knicks (8-13) will probably get a better read when they play their only stretch of three games in three nights this season beginning Thursday against the Chicago Bulls, with games at Boston and against the Nets to follow.

Those should be sterner tests for a team that cannot claim it is cured almost one-third of the way into this 66-game lockout-shortened season.

The Knicks ended a three-game losing streak but have won only twice in 11 games. Still, they derived plenty of confidence from Anthony, who scored 25 points, shot 9 for 14 from the field and had 6 assists in 33 minutes before sitting out the final quarter.

In his draft, Landry Fields made his first six shots, four of them 3-pointers, which were badly needed from someone shooting 22.4 percent beyond the arc entering the game. Fields finished 7 of 10 for 18 points.

Amar’e Stoudemire, who injured his ankle during a halftime mishap, scored 15, 2 fewer than Tyson Chandler. The Knicks over all shot a season-high 60 percent from the field — 10 percentage points better than their previous high.

“We made shots,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “That’s the biggest thing. Landry was phenomenal — but a lot of that is Melo. You could see he was well. He looked good.

“We play a lot off him. He draws a lot of attention, makes it easier for everybody else and he kind of puts everybody back in their roles.”

Fields said he did not feel the need to do too much (and D’Antoni agreed), the way he did while the offense struggled. Instead, he found spots for his shots and his teammates found him.

Anthony, in fact, assisted on five of Fields’s six straight baskets.

“He’s a product of the team,” D’Antoni said of Fields. “If you put him in his role and he can have confidence, he can play like he did last year.”

With Anthony on the floor with legs as fresh as they looked Tuesday, and with the same commitment to moving the ball, the Knicks believe their offense can look better than it has while producing the league’s second-worst field-goal percentage entering the game (41.4 percent).

“He’s one of the only guys who can break people down,” D’Antoni said of Anthony. “We haven’t been able to sustain it without him.”

Chandler said of Anthony’s presence: “It’s a huge difference. He’s one of the best players in the world. He demands so much respect, you can’t play off of him. He’s such a great passer. When he gets in a rhythm, he’s practically unstoppable.”

That rhythm became obvious from the start, when Anthony drained his first shot, a 3 from the right corner, en route to a 4-for-5 opening quarter.

Fields and practically everyone else fell in behind him, and the Knicks’ five starters finished the night 29 for 49.

“My thing was just to see what I could do,” said Anthony, who did not decide to play until after a pregame workout. “My legs felt great out there tonight. I felt refreshed. Taking these five days off really helped. I could feel I had my explosiveness back.”

With him, the Knicks had their offense back for at least one night. Next up is far tougher competition.

“We know the system works,” Stoudemire said. “We just have to keep playing the way we did tonight and we’ll be fine.”

REBOUNDS

Amar’e Stoudemire said he twisted his right ankle jogging back to the bench during halftime Tuesday and stepping on a jump rope. He called it “a freak accident” and said, “It didn’t feel great at the time,” but expects no problems with it Thursday and beyond. Stoudemire said he had no desire to sit out games during the lockout-compressed season. “I’m not asking for that at all,” he said. “We’ve got to win.” ... Mike D’Antoni said he did not expect the veteran point guard Baron Davis to return to the lineup until next week at the earliest. Davis has not played this season because of a herniated disk in his back.




By STEVE ADAMEK
Published: January 31, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/sports/basketball/knicks.html?_r=1&ref=basketball

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Pacers Down the Nets

Paul George is starting to make the Nets cringe whenever they play the Indiana Pacers.

George scored a career-high 24 points to lead the host Indiana Pacers in a 106-99 win over the Nets on Tuesday night.

And it’s not the first time George has spoiled things for the Nets. George, who shot 8 of 11 on Tuesday, scored 21 points to lead the Pacers to a 108-94 win against the Nets on Jan. 2.

“I just want to be effective on both sides of the ball and help this team win,” George said. “We picked up the defensive effort and just turned it up.”

Danny Granger had 21 points and 7 rebounds, and Roy Hibbert had 18 points and 14 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the year.

Deron Williams scored 34 points for the Nets, who have lost two straight over all and nine in a row against the Pacers.

George’s reverse dunk off Lou Amundson’s steal gave the Pacers an 84-72 lead at the end of the third quarter. But the Nets pulled to 3 points behind late in the fourth quarter after a 15-2 run in which Anthony Morrow scored 11 of his 28 points.

“Our team got down 12 or 14 points, but we kept battling and then we got within striking distance,” Nets Coach Avery Johnson said. “Unfortunately, the ball just popped out on us.”

CELTICS 93, CAVALIERS 90 Paul Pierce scored 20 points, Ray Allen had 12 in the third quarter and Boston avenged a disappointing loss to Cleveland two days earlier by holding off the host Cavaliers.

The Celtics, who blew an 11-point lead at home Sunday in the final four minutes and lost by a point, led by 22 late in the third quarter. However, the Cavaliers rallied again behind the rookie Kyrie Irving and pulled to 2 points behind on his twisting layup with 1 minute 18 seconds left. But Kevin Garnett dropped in a short jumper and Pierce made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left as the Celtics avoided further embarrassment.

HAWKS 100, RAPTORS 77 Joe Johnson needed only three quarters to match his season high with 30 points, Tracy McGrady scored 15 against his former team and Atlanta recorded its sixth straight victory over Toronto, which lost its third in a row at home. Johnson, Atlanta’s leading scorer, has averaged 30 points in his past four games against Toronto.

Jerryd Bayless scored 14 points for the Raptors, who have gone 5-9 while playing an N.B.A.-high 14 road games. They are only 2-6 at home.

GRIZZLIES 100, NUGGETS 97 O. J. Mayo scored 18 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime, as host Memphis ended a four-game losing streak.

Mayo’s basket gave Memphis a 98-97 lead, and two free throws by Mike Conley with 8 seconds left gave the Grizzlies the final margin. Rudy Fernandez’s potential tying 3-point attempt in the closing seconds for Denver bounced off the rim, sending the Nuggets to their second straight loss.

JACKSON PLANS MEMOIR Phil Jackson’s next title will be on the cover of his new book. Penguin Press said that Jackson, the Hall of Famer who won 11 N.B.A. titles as the coach of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, is writing his memoir, which is called “Eleven Rings.” The book is tentatively scheduled for release next year.

Jackson, 66, won 1,155 games and has a career .704 winning percentage, the best in N.B.A. history. He retired from coaching last season after the Lakers were swept in the playoffs by the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks.

BLAZERS FORWARD HURT Portland forward Nicolas Batum has a left knee bone contusion that will keep him out of Wednesday night’s game against Charlotte. Batum had to be helped off the court after sustaining the injury Monday night against Utah. He said he had thought the injury would keep him from representing France in the Olympics.





By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 31, 2012

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Michael Vaughan wants more England aggression in final Test

Ex-captain Michael Vaughan has urged England's batsmen to be more aggressive in the final Test against Pakistan after two dismal defeats in the UAE.

England have twice been bamboozled by the hosts' spin bowling to lose the series inside two Tests .
"The biggest criticism of England's second innings was that Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss let Pakistan bowl 12 overs for 15 runs," said Vaughan.
"That sent a message to the dressing room that they were playing timidly."

England were on top in the first three days of the Test, but cracked as they chased a modest 145-target to level the series - and Vaughan's advice is to up the tempo.
"Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan are aggressive players," Vaughan told Radio 5 live . "And that's the way they've got to play, even though it's Test match cricket.
"Andrew Strauss has got to go down the more aggressive route too.
"When you look at Strauss, when he's playing well, he likes to dominate the ball and get on top early."
England coach Andy Flower said on Sunday that he is not afraid to drop a batsman for the third Test, but Vaughan is unconvinced about the need for making changes at this stage of the tour.
"In terms of selection, I wouldn't panic just yet," he said. "The team that played, played well for three and a half days.

"I don't see where you are going to gain by dropping Eoin Morgan for the last game.
"Just say 'Look, we have got a trip to Sri Lanka in a month's time. If you want to be on that plane, you have got to perform in Dubai.'
"I'd stick with the same team and say you have got to play better."
After losing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, England must win the final Test on their return to Dubai to be certain of holding on to the number one spot in the Test rankings beyond 1 April, but Vaughan concedes that will now be a tough task.
"It's going to be hard in Dubai," said Vaughan. "I understand Saeed Ajmal will be harder to read there, because there's a big shadow which goes across the ground and it will be harder to see the ball coming out of their hand."





30 January 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/16801456

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Ferrari protege Jules Bianchi to be Force India reserve

Ferrari protege Jules Bianchi has joined Force India as their reserve driver for the 2012 season.
The Frenchman, 22, will take part in at least nine Friday practice sessions, and will also take part in their pre-season testing programme next month.
Force India team boss Vijay Mallya said: "We always keep an eye on young, talented drivers and his performance in GP2 certainly impressed us all."
Ferrari confirmed that Bianchi would remain part of their driver academy.
Bianchi said: "I'm obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me.
"Being regularly in a current car is the best way to learn quickly and I hope it will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat.
"The next few months will be really exciting as I get to know the team, see how they work, and prepare for my time in the car."





By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/16763535

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Champions Trophy: Crista Cullen drives Britain past China

Another dynamic Crista Cullen display helped Britain's women beat China 3-1 to earn them second place in their Champions Trophy pool in Argentina.

Cullen took advantage of tame Chinese goalkeeping to score early in the first half, then a deflected shot from the 26-year-old squeezed into the net.
Fu Baorong got China back into the game before Ashleigh Ball's neat finish.
GB finish Pool A behind the Dutch and will play South Korea in their quarter-final at 2030 GMT on Thursday.

"It's great to get another couple of goals from Crista," said GB captain Kate Walsh. "As soon as she scores the first, we always win - I think that's the stat. We need to keep her scoring."
Having played their opening two games in fierce afternoon sunshine, the clouds rolled in for this clash, providing constant rain and a slippery playing surface.
Not that China can blame the conditions for Cullen's early shot, well-struck as it was, finding a way straight through the goalkeeper.

Holding an early lead for the second time in three games, Britain saw out the first half largely untested - China had the ball in the net once, but a video referral established no Chinese stick had touched the ball inside the circle en-route.

A more intricate Cullen penalty corner then took a deflection, looping up for Alex Danson to swat at before the ball wriggled over the line. Danson was initially credited with the goal but organisers later awarded it to Leicester's Cullen, her fifth of the tournament.

Having let Fu get China back to within one goal in the second half, a superb slice of Chloe Rogers improvisation saw her chipped shot rebound off the post for Ball to convert.
"The other day it was boiling and today it poured with rain, and I think both games were slow because of it," said Walsh.

"But we grew into the game and kept the ball better in the second half."
By virtue of finishing second in their group, Britain can take advantage of scheduling which hands them a late afternoon quarter-final on Thursday, while the Netherlands - who beat Japan 4-1 - must suffer Rosario's midday heat.

Temperatures earlier in the tournament exceeded 40C during Britain's games, leading to complaints from the team at being forced to play in those conditions. However, they still recorded a comfortable win over Japan and held Olympic champions the Netherlands to a draw.

The Champions Trophy, ranked third in importance behind the Olympics and World Cup, concludes on Sunday. All GB fixtures are being shown live on the BBC red button.





By Ollie Williams
BBC Olympic sports reporter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/hockey/16823766

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Mo Farah helps Great Britain win in Glasgow

Mo Farah began Olympic year with victory in the 1500m at the indoor Aviva International Match in Glasgow.
Britain's 5,000m world champion battled through in three minutes 39.03 seconds ahead of Kenya's Agustine Choge.

There were wins for fellow Britons Jeanette Kwakye and Mark Lewis-Francis in the 60m, but Hannah England was edged into second place in the 1,500m.
Great Britain won the team event ahead of Russia, Germany, a Commonwealth Select squad and the United States.

Farah was made to fight hard by Choge, overtaking the Kenyan with 300m to go and holding on in a sprint for the line.

"This crowd was amazing and I'm really happy to win, they got behind me and I couldn't believe how much noise there was," he told BBC Sport.
"I had to stay on the inside line. I'd been told by my coach to try and run the shortest distance and keep in front of him."Kwakye ran a blistering 60m in 7.26 seconds, finishing two tenths clear of second-placed Yasmin Kwadwo of Germany.

"It's nice to perform like that because I'm still in heavy training, it feels good," said Kwakye.
"Compared to last year I felt a lot more confident in myself, the work I'm doing and my fitness. Technically we've been working on so many things, so my coach and I will pick that apart."
Lewis-Francis then beat Kim Collins by one tenth with 6.65, saying: "I kind of got my adrenaline from Jeanette. I've been up and down in training and I'm happy with that. If I can stay injury free then the world's my oyster."

England earlier looked impressive as she clocked 4:25.11 in the 1,500m, despite seeing Germany's Denise Krebs grab victory with a lean over the line to finish in 4:25.09."It was a lot of fun," said England, who has been training in Kenya with a group of athletes that includes Farah.

"I didn't want to go that early but I was back in fifth and I thought I'd just go. I've not done an awful lot of speed work and I'm excited about running the trials and then Birmingham and being a lot sharper."
After a slow start from the British athletes there was unexpected success in the 200m, as Danny Talbot beat the experienced and multi-medal winning Collins, before Margaret Adeoye set a personal best of 23.68 in the women's race."I was hoping to win," said Adeoye. "I thought 'I feel good' and I was just going to go for it, and that's what I did."

Talbot enjoyed his first international victory as he won in 21.17 ahead of Collins, saying: "It's such an honour to be on the track with him; he's a legend in athletics."Joe Thomas played his part in a surge of strong British results by winning the 800m in a personal best of 1:47.35, and Helen Clitheroe was well satisfied with a time of 8:45.59 in the 3,000m - although she finished some distance behind training partner Helen Obiri of Kenya, who ran 8:42.60."I'm very happy with that," said Clitheroe. "Obviously I wanted to win but I've run faster than I did last year. To open with my second fastest time ever is really good."
And asked about the chances of her competing at next month's World Indoor Championships, she added: "My coach and I are going to have a discussion about that after Birmingham, but if I'm in shape and think I'm going to be in contention for one of the top positions, I definitely want to go there."
There was a worrying failure for European and Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion Andy Turner in the 60m hurdles.

He struggled with a long-standing Achilles injury as he finished fifth, and last, in 7.74 behind Russia's Konstantin Shabanov (7.54).
"Every step hurts again, the same thing as last year," said Turner. "Every time I land off the hurdle I can feel it and you can't hold your position. Every step is painful. I don't know what to do.
"I'm going to have to see the doctors. They were really good last year, they sorted it out."






28 January 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/16774680

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Berdych spearheads C. Republic against Italy in Davis Cup

World number seven Tomas Berdych and 31st-ranked Radek Stepanek will spearhead the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Italy from February 10-12 at home in Ostrava.

Captain Jaroslav Navratil also named 81st-ranked Lukas Rosol and doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak in his team unveiled on Tuesday.

"If everything goes according to plan, Tomas and Radek will play all the matches," said Navratil.
Stepanek won the Australian Open doubles title last week with Indian Leander Paes, while Berdych reached the singles quarter-finals of the same tournament.





Posted on:31 Jan 2012 15:16:51
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Tennis/68703/Berdych_spearheads_C_Republic_against_Italy_in_Davis_Cup.aspx

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France unveil Davis Cup team for Canada

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Mickael Llodra and Julien Benneteau will form the France team to face Canada in the Davis Cup in Vancouver on February 10-12, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced on Tuesday.

In his final season as captain of the France team, Guy Forget will deploy Tsonga and Monfils in the singles on Friday and pair Llodra with Benneteau in Saturday's doubles, the FFT revealed.

"I don't think it's a huge surprise," said Forget, who overlooked both Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet for selection.


The winners of the World Group first-round tie will advance to the quarter-finals.





Posted on:31 Jan 2012 16:46:50
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Tennis/68702/France_unveil_Davis_Cup_team_for_Canada.aspx

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Woods upbeat after Abu Dhabi golf challenge

Tiger Woods was heading home to Florida with a mixed report card from his first foray into the 2012 golf season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
A share of third place in a tournament that boasted the top four players in the world and six out of the top 10 was, on the face of it, an encouraging performance.
But eyebrows were still raised by his inability to finish the job off when he was tied for a share of the lead going into the final round with 34-year-old Robert Rock, an Englishman ranked 117th in the world, whose sole tournament win in nine years came at last year's Italian Open.

Woods, bidding to rebound after a year mired in injuries and personal scandal involving his married life, was upbeat.
"I'm pleased at the progress I've made so far," he said of his work with new coach Sean Foley who has been helping him re-fashion his swing to accomodate the leg injuries that sidelined him for most of last year.
"Basically since Australia (in November), my stroke-play events have been pretty good.
"So I just need to keep building, keep getting more consistent and today was a day when I putted beautifully. Just didn't give myself enough looks."
The 36-year-old American has been characteristically circumspect during his season-opening week in the Gulf, with his private life strictly out of bounds and his targets for the year left deliberately vague.
But he has looked healthy and determined to continue his march back up the golfing ladder.
Having fallen outside the world top 50 due to his time on the injury sidelines, Woods had already moved up to 25th in the world rankings coming into Abu Dhabi and his performance here will nudge him back into the top 20.

Next up is his US season starter at Pebble Beach next month followed by the WGC Matchplay Championship in Arizona and the WGC Championship tournament at Doral in March.
That will lead him into what is his main priority - The Masters at Augusta National - in early April where he will be aiming to win a 15th major title, just three shy of matching Jack Nicklaus.
Most observers here agreed that Woods' ball-striking is as sharp as it has been for some time, although his putting still seems less assured than it was in his glory days.

Both Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald said they had been impressed after playing with Woods in the first two rounds and Rock, a former golf pro who prides himself on his knowledge of the golf swing, said he too had liked what he had seen.

"He's definitely playing better," he said.
"Maybe he didn't play as well as he would have liked to today, but his stats earlier in the week, his driving accracy was good, his greens in regulation was good and he was hitting the ball well. So there's no doubt about that I think."





Posted on:30 Jan 2012 03:16:51
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Golf/68593/Woods_upbeat_after_Abu_Dhabi_golf_challenge.aspx

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