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Platini
renews call for 2022 World Cup in winter
 PARIS(AFP) -- European football chief Michel Platini has
renewed his calls for the 2022 World Cup to be staged in the
middle of the European winter to avoid the searing summer
heat of Qatar.
UEFA supremo Platini, widely regarded as the heir apparent
to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, indicated in an interview
with The Daily Telegraph he plans to push for the tournament
to be moved from its traditional slot in June and July.
Any move to reschedule the World Cup is likely to meet with
strong resistance from top leagues across Europe, which have
estimated it will bring scheduling problems for three years
leading into the tournament.
Platini remains adamant that the tournament in Qatar can be
slotted into a mid-winter date with a minimum of disruption.
"The World Cup is the most important moment for the game
every four years, but where does it say we always have to
play in June? I don’t see the problem of playing in
December," Platini told The Telegraph.
"What is the problem for the Premier League to finish at the
end of May instead of the beginning, and recuperate the time
in December? We have to put the World Cup and the fans
first."
Platini also defended his decision to support Qatar at the
controversial World Cup ballot in December 2010, insisting
there was no contradiction between his vote for the Gulf
state and his desire to move the date.
He also denied his support for Qatar had been influenced by
French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"The vote and the summer are two different things," argued
Platini. "I voted for a region that never received the World
Cup, that was my philosophy, not because Sarkozy had lunch
with me.
"I have enough personality to decide what is good for
football, not for the president of France or the prime
minister of Great Britain, who also wanted my vote.
"But I thought, after South Africa 2010, where it was zero
degrees at 5pm and there was no life for the fans, how can
we ask the fans and players to go to this country when it is
50 or 60 degrees in July? I think the best time to play is
winter."
Meanwhile Platini revealed he does not plan to attend
France's Euro 2012 clash with England in Ukraine in June.
"People will say I am there to talk to the referee," he
said.
European football chief Michel Platini
Celtics Rally to Shock Magic
 BOSTON (AFP) --The Boston Celtics rallied from a 21-point
halftime deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 91-83 behind a
balanced attack led by veteran forward Paul Pierce.
Pierce was one of five Celtics to reach double figures,
finishing with 24 points. Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 10
rebounds for Boston, who trailed by as much as 27 points in
the first half.
The Celtics have won three consecutive games and four of
five contests.
Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds for
Orlando, who have lost three of their last five.
The Magic shot just 22.9 percent from the floor in the
second half.
File photo of Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics
rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to beat the Orlando
Magic 91-83 behind a balanced attack led by veteran forward
Paul Pierce.
Djokovic Edges Murray, Sets Up
Final Vs Nadal
 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion
Novak Djokovic moved into an Australian Open final against
Rafael Nadal after edging Andy Murray in a five-set, almost
five-hour semifinal late Friday night.
Despite appearing tired and sore from the second set,
Djokovic rallied to beat Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5
in a rematch of the 2011 final at Melbourne Park to reach
his third consecutive Grand Slam final.
After wasting a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the
fifth and letting Murray back into the contest, Djokovic
cashed in his first match point when the Scottish player
missed a forehand after four hours, 50 minutes.
Djokovic dropped onto his back, fully laid out on the court.
He got up and shook hands with Murray, before jogging back
out onto the court like a boxer, dropping to his knees and
crossing himself.
It was already after 12:30 a.m. Saturday when he got up
again and pumped his arms triumphantly.
"Andy deserves the credit to come back from 2-5 down. He was
fighting. I was fighting," Djokovic said. "Not many words
that can describe the feeling of the match.
"Evidently it was a physical match ... it was one of the
best matches I played. Emotionally and mentally it was
equally hard."
It was a bitter setback for Murray, who lost the previous
two Australian finals.
Djokovic finished last year at No. 1 after winning three of
the four majors, including a straight-sets win over Murray
in the Australian final. His only loss at a Grand Slam in
2011 was against Roger Federer in the French Open
semifinals.
It was phenomenal season after previously only winning one
major — the 2008 Australian Open — and not returning to a
final for 11 Grand Slams.
"To be honest, I think I matured as a player. I started to
believe on the court I could win majors," he said. "Rafa and
Roger are the most dominant players for the last seven,
eight years. ... It was very hard to take away the titles
from them. They will not give you the titles. You have to
earn it."
He is now aiming to be only the fifth man in the Open Era
started in 1968 to win three straight majors — only Rod
Laver, Pete Sampras, Federer and Nadal have achieved it
before him, with only Laver going on to complete the Grand
Slam by winning all four majors in a season.
The Australian great was in the arena named in his honor to
watch Friday night's semifinal, as he had been when 2009
Australian Open winner Nadal came back from a set and a
break down to beat four-time champion Federer in four sets
the previous night.
Djokovic's 70-6 win-loss record in 2011 included six wins
over Nadal — all in finals.
Both players had their form dips, but Djokovic's were more
obvious. He led by a set and a break before Murray started
coming back at him. Then Djokovic started walking gingerly
and appeared to be struggling for breath — just as he had
been in his straights sets quarterfinal win over No.
5-ranked David Ferrer.
At one point, he pointed to his nose and seemed to indicate
to his support group that he was having trouble breathing.
He stayed in the points, despite Murray scrambling and
trying to get him involved in long rallies.
After losing a tight tiebreaker and virtually conceding the
fourth set, Murray rallied again after slipping behind 5-2
in the fifth. He broke Djokovic at love when the Serb was
serving for the match on a three-game streak that put all
the pressure back on the defending champion.
But Djokovic composed himself and seemed to be gathering
energy as the match wore on. He held serve and then broke
Murray to finish it off.
"I'm extremely delighted to be in the final," Djokovic said.
"What can be a bigger challenge than playing against Rafa
Nadal, one of the greatest players ever.
"I'm going to try to recover. Obviously it's going to be
physical as well. So I need to do some push-ups tonight."
Despite being friends and childhood rivals, this was only
the second meeting between Djokovic and Murray at a Grand
Slam. Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011 Australian final and
had a 6-4 lead in their overall head-to-heads at tour level.
Murray won the Brisbane International and came into the
semifinal on a 10-match winning streak and with new coach,
eight-time major winner Ivan Lendl, in his support crew.
The blue-and-white crossed Scottish flags fluttered in the
crowd, held by fans with the flag painted on their faces and
some wearing their tartan Tam hats. The support was evenly
split at Rod Laver Arena, encouraging both players in the
tense final set.
The Maria Sharapova vs. Victoria Azarenka women's final on
Saturday night is being previewed in the local media as a
battle of the two loudest grunters on the tour. Azarenka,
who won the Sydney International title the weekend before
the season's first major, is bidding to continue her winning
shriek.
Sharapova has won three majors, but none since the 2008
Australian Open. Azarenka will be playing her first Grand
Slam final.
The winner will move to the top of the women's rankings.
Caroline Wozniacki, who came into the tournament as No. 1,
will drop three places after her quarterfinal loss to 2011
champion Kim Clijsters.
Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva won the
women's doubles final on Friday with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory
over the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau
advanced to the mixed doubles final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over
Indian pair Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi.
In the men's doubles final Saturday, American twins Bob and
Mike Bryan are aiming for a Grand Slam record 12th major
when they take on Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek.
1. Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy
Murray of Britain during their semifinal at the Australian
Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.
Vonn Wins World Cup Super-Combined
Event
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup
super-combined event Friday to extend her lead in the
overall standings against second-place Tina Maze.
The American defended her lead from the morning downhill
with a solid slalom leg to clock a combined two-run time of
2 minutes, 28.35 seconds.
"It was a really satisfying win. I was happy with my
downhill run but I knew it was going to be tough to hang
on," Vonn said.
Maze of Slovenia was 0.41 seconds back and third-place
Nicole Hosp of Austria trailed Vonn by 0.58.
Vonn earned 100 World Cup points for her 48th career World
Cup victory and leads Maze by 302.
Vonn won the super-combined title the past two years. She
has seven victories this season in her quest to regain the
overall crown.
"It was really important today," Vonn said. "If I were to go
out (in slalom), I knew that Tina would be within striking
distance, so I had to stay on the podium. I tried to ski
smart."
Maze trailed Vonn by 1.41 seconds in downhill.
"I tried to be fast and be close to Lindsey," she said. "I
lost too much time. Super-combined is like that, and if you
don't do well in one (discipline), you lose."
Vonn held her nerve when Maze and Hosp put down the two
fastest slalom runs after they finished the downhill sixth
and seventh, respectively.
"It definitely wasn't pretty skiing, but I made it," Vonn
said. "There aren't many parts of slalom I'm good at, but on
the flats is one of them."
Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was second in downhill, 0.61
behind Vonn, but skied out in the slalom.
Defending overall champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany had
a big mistake midway down the slalom and hiked up the
mountain to resume her run. She finished 21st, more than
five seconds behind the leader.
The Olympic champion in super-combined was third after the
morning run.
Hoefl-Riesch is winless this season after denying Vonn a
fourth straight giant crystal globe last year.
Hosp won the overall crown in 2006-07 before Vonn's winning
streak began, but has sustained a series of injuries since.
The 28-year-old Austrian got her first podium finish this
season, and just her second since March 2009.
American teammates Leanne Smith and Julia Mancuso dropped in
the standings after being fourth- and fifth-fastest in
downhill.
Mancuso, the Olympic silver medalist in super-combined,
finished 13th, 3.82 behind Vonn. Smith placed 18th, 4.74
back.
Both were upbeat about their prospects in Saturday's marquee
downhill race.
"I tried to push it today to see where I can be perfect for
(Saturday)," said Mancuso, who is seventh in the overall
standings. "I'm happy with where I am."
Smith said her form was heading "definitely in the right
direction."
"I know I have the speed, but there's still a few things to
fix," Smith said. "I just need to be cleaner in a couple of
places."
The St. Moritz event ends Sunday with the second of the
season's three scheduled super-combined events. The super-G
and slalom legs are a makeup for a canceled race last month
at Val d'Isere, France.
Gachinski Upstages Plushenko at
Europeans
SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — Evgeni Plushenko got upstaged by
his own training partner.
Artur Gachinski snatched the lead from the 2006 Olympic
champion at the European figure skating championships
Thursday after Plushenko opted not to do a quadruple jump in
the short program.
Gachinski completed a quad and finished with 84.80 points, a
mere 0.09 points ahead of Plushenko. Tomas Verner of the
Czech Republic, the 2008 European champion, was third (81.14
points), just ahead of emerging star Javier Fernandez of
Spain (80.11).
"I think this was my best ever skate. I did all the jumps,
the spins and the footwork as I had planned," said
Gachinski, whose eye-catching shock of blond hair bears
striking resemblance to Plushenko's.
In the pairs competition, overnight leaders Tatiana
Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov's sublime performance to the
"Black Swan" soundtrack gave them the gold and their first
major title.
Volosozhar and Trankov finished with 210.45 points to lead a
Russian sweep. Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov were second
(193.79), followed by Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov
(171.81 points).
Russia has been looking for someone to replace Plushenko, a
triple Olympic medalist and three-time world champion, and
it might have found him in Gachinski.
After winning the bronze at last year's world championships
— Russia's first medal since Plushenko won the last of his
three world titles in 2004 — Gachinski is poised to claim
his first major title.
The 18-year-old was the only one of the top men to do a
clean quad, and he thrilled the crowd with a mixture of
poise, exuberance and fancy footwork in an ebullient
performance to "Saint Louis Blues."
Hampered by injury, Plushenko said he couldn't have done any
more in his showy routine set to the emotional "Storm" by
Yanni.
"I'm pleased with the performance considering the
circumstances. A program without a quad was like a trip into
the past," the 29-year-old Plushenko said.
Plushenko has been highly critical of rivals who fail to
attempt a quad, famously criticizing Evan Lysacek after the
American beat him for the gold medal at the Vancouver
Olympics.
"If the Olympic champion doesn't know how to jump a quad, I
don't know," Plushenko said at the time. "Now it's not men's
figure skating, now it's dancing."
Yet Plushenko was in no shape to practice what he preaches
at Europeans.
"It was either doing a program without the quad or not
competing, and I want to finish this competition," Plushenko
said.
That he is still in contention for yet another European gold
is testament to his enduring class — and the struggles of
his challengers.
A master at thrilling audiences for the past decade,
Plushenko hasn't lost the art of playing the showman.
Enticing the judges by circling in front of them before his
routine, he was all smiles as he gave a performance full of
energy and expression. At one point, he aimed a kick in
front of a TV camera at the end of the rink, with his mouth
wide open.
His jumps were largely spot on, too, with a triple axel
particularly impressing the judges. There was no quad toe
loop, however, as Plushenko — not wanting to aggravate his
injuries — decided to start off with a triple lutz instead.
"When I do the quad toe, I need three or four minutes to
recover from the pain," Plushenko said.
The bouquets rained down on the ice and many in the crowd
rose to their feet as Plushenko lapped up the applause,
despite scoring around six points fewer than his
short-program total at the 2010 Olympics — his last major
tournament.
That gave his rivals a chance to keep pace. But, one by one,
they faltered.
Defending champion Florent Amodio of France wobbled after a
quad salchow and is fifth. Brian Joubert, the 2007 world
champion, fell on a quad toe and is 10th, likely out of
contention for the podium.
Fernandez tumbled after a triple axel and stumbled after a
triple lutz. Michal Brezina, fourth at the 2011 worlds,
under-rotated on a quad salchow.
"To be honest, I think my rivals gave me a big present
today," Plushenko said.
Gachinski was the only one to capitalize.
Not only did the teenager score 15.83 from his opening quad
toe-triple toe combination, the bronze medalist from the
2011 worlds also received level-4 scores from judges for his
spins.
"Today I am happy about Artur but especially happy about
Evgeni — after one or two years away, he is able to compete
again, with just one leg," said Alexei Mishin, who coaches
both Gachinski and Plushenko.
Volosozhar and Trankov led by almost six points after the
short program, and built on that advantage by top-scoring in
the free skate. Their score of 137.65 points gave Bazarova
and Larionov — who skated last — little chance of making up
the deficit.
The three Russian teams took full advantage of the absence
of world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of
Germany.
Savchenko and Szolkowy were heavy favorites to retain their
European title, but were forced to pull out before
Wednesday's short program after she aggravated a thigh
injury.
Russia's Evgeni Plushenko performs during the Men's short program at the
European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England,
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 |
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