Sports Roundup

Second in Asia
Iran's national soccer team has moved up 11 places, reaching the 37th position in the recently released FIFA rankings. The team moved from 48th to 37th place with 689 points, 56 point shy of Japan, -the best Asian squad according to the rankings- which stands at the 36th place with 745 points.
The FIFA ranking, which was released on Wednesday, is based on international results over the past four years with more points awarded for wins in major tournaments. Australia and Saudi Arabia ranked third and fourth, respectively, under the category of Asian teams, while South Korea's FIFA rankings fell by eight notches to 53rd.
Euro 2008 champion Spain ranked top with 1557 points to depose Argentina, who previously held the first place. Italy was ranked second, followed by Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands.
Iran, which had qualified for the 1978, 1998 and 2006 World Cups, finished first in Group 5 of the first qualifying round with 9 points, followed by UAE with 8 points. The next FIFA World Ranking will be published on August 6, 2008.

Belgium Chess Draw
Iranian chess grandmaster Elshan Moradi has tied with his Belgian rival in the fourth round of International Chess Tournament in Paris. Moradi, 23, made the draw with Vadim Malakhatko from Belgium, playing on the chess table no.2, on Wednesday.
The Iranian, controlling the white pieces, defeated his French in the third round of the competition. Some 52 international chess players including 14 grand masters, 15 international masters and 10 FIDE masters have taken part in the French capital to compete in nine rounds.
Moradi tied with his French opponent in the fifth round of International Chess Tournament in Paris. The 23-year-old Moradi made the draw with the French FIDE master on Thursday and now has 3.5 points. The Iranian grandmaster has so far won two of his opponents and tied with three other contenders. This is the third time the Iranian player has tied with his opponents in the competition.
Moradi is to play against a grandmaster from Russia on chess table No. 5 in the sixth round of the competition. Some 52 international chess players including 14 grandmasters, 15 international masters and 10 FIDE masters have taken part in the French capital to compete in nine rounds.

Saei to Represent Iran
The Iranian Taekwondo Federation has selected Hadi Saei and Reza Naderian to represent Iran at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Technical Committee of the Iranian Taekwondo Federation made the final decision Thursday morning.
"Saei and Naderian have been selected to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the under-80 kg and under-58 kg categories respectively," the coach of Iran's Taekwondo team, Reza Mehmandoust, told reporters on Thursday.
Saei was scheduled to compete with Yusef Karami, in three games, to get the Olympic qualification. Of the first two fights each athlete came out as the winner once two weeks ago. The decisive fight scheduled for Thursday was cancelled due to Saei's injury; however ITF named him as Iran's representative to the Olympics.
The Iranian athlete has been World Champion in the Taekwondo World Championships 7 times and was recently awarded the title of 'Best Taekwondo fighter of all Time' by the International Board. This is the third time Saei will participate in the Olympic Games. He won the bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and snatched the gold at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.


Volleyball Team Due in Almaty

The Iranian junior volleyball team is to travel to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to take part in the President's Cup Volleyball Championship. The Iranian national outfit will leave for Kazakhstan July 7.
Apart from Iran and the host, Tunisia, Pakistan, Estonia and Russia will take part in the competition. Iran recently clinched victory over Turkey in three friendly matches at Tehran's Azadi complex.
Iran's junior volleyball team is currently preparing to take part in the Asian Youth Volleyball Championship to be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in September. The Iranian team won the Youth World Volleyball Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2007.
 

Kayhan Int’l Sports Desk
Qotbi Back to Perspolis

TEHRAN, July 4 - Tehran's Perspolis head coach Afshin Qotbi has returned to the club after he left the Iranian Premier League champion last season.
Majid Farrokhzadi, Perspolis spokesman said on Thursday that Qotbi would come to Tehran in the next 24 hours to sign a contract. The club officials accepted Qotbi's new conditions in a meeting held in Dubai on Thursday.
He resigned in late May after announcing that the organization needed some basic changes which are not possible for the time being.
"Perspolis is my favorite team in Iran. I am back to perform my duty to my country and the fans of the club," he said.
The 44-year-old Qotbi worked for the Korean national team as a technical analyst and assistant under Dutchman Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat.
Afshin Qotbi
 

Yankees Urged to End Rex Sox Skid

NEW YORK, July 4 (AFP) - Jon Lester tossed a complete-game shutout to help the visiting Boston Red Sox beat their arch-rival New York Yankees 7-0 and end a five-game losing streak on Thursday.
In the first clash of a four-game series, the Red Sox left-hander struck out eight New York batters and allowed just five hits to record his seventh victory of the season. "I think it was a good all-around team win tonight," Lester told reporters. "We definitely needed it."
The Yankees were shut out just one day after their offense exploded for 18 runs against the Texas Rangers, responding to owner Hank Steinbrenner's criticism of the team's hitting. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera had two hits apiece in New York's quiet day at the plate.
Boston (51-37) jumped on Yankees starter Andy Pettitte from the outset, scoring two runs apiece in the first two innings. Pettitte lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs. Red Sox left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury came through with a two-run double in the second to put his team out front 4-0.
J.D. Drew, named the American League Player of the Month in June, continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Center fielder Coco Crisp added two hits for Boston and Jason Varitek, mired in a recent 0-for-17 slump, had an RBI single in the eighth inning.
The Yankees fell to 45-41, dropping back to eight games behind the first-place Tampa Rays in the American League East Division. New York manager Joe Girardi had a closed-door meeting with his team after the game, declining to divulge exactly what was discussed.
"We have to get better, that's the bottom line," Girardi said. "Everybody has to get better and it starts with me. We're a much better team than we played."
 Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester
 

Merritt Stuns Wariner, Richards Romps at Trials

EUGENE, July 4 (AP) - LaShawn Merritt held off Olympic and world 400-meter champion Jeremy Wariner in the final straightaway to upset his long-time nemesis and seize bragging rights for the Beijing Olympics.
Merritt had lost 11 of 13 prior races to Wariner but edged him June 1 at Berlin, inflicting Wariner's first loss in a race he finished since 2005, and won again here Thursday at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.
"I've been coming in second in the US for the past couple of years but after today this moment is over," Merritt said.
On a night that also saw Sanya Richards book her Beijing berth by capturing the women's 400 crown, Merritt grabbed the lead early and held off Wariner's kick in the final 100 meters to win in 44.00 with Wariner second in 44.20.
"I stepped on the track pretty confident. I came into the finals knowing that now was the time to do what I needed to do," Merritt said. "When I got to the curve I was smelling Beijing and victory so I just wanted to bring it home."
Wariner refused to surrender Beijing bragging rights despite the defeat.
"I think I'm still the favorite. I've been there before and I know what it takes to win," Wariner said. "I'm not real disappointed, but I am disappointed in how I ran the race. I just didn't run how I should have. I need to stay focused on my race. I didn't execute the way I wanted to. I know what I need to do."
Wariner plans to use to loss as a wake-up call on his way to meets at Rome, Paris and Stockholm before he meets Merritt again next month in Beijing.
"This motivates me and I know I need to train harder. I got to 200 meters and let him get me in the end. I didn't execute right. You win some, you lose some."
Jamaican-born Richards won the women's 400 in 49.89, pulling away around the final curve to defeat runner-up Mary Wineberg by .96 of a second with Dee Dee Trotter third in 50.88.
"I wanted to win here and go into Beijing as the heavy favorite," Richards said. "I'm feeling like all my hard work is paying off and I definitely felt like the strongest."
Richards won on the 2004 Olympic gold medal US 4x400 relay but has never won an individual world or Olympic gold at the distance.
"I've been thinking about Beijing all year, but I knew this was going to be the most important step to get there," Richards said. "I tried to contain all the nerves and the anxiety and execute a perfect race and I almost did."

Lopez Lomong (L) celebrates as he crosses the finish line.
 

Arenas in Extension Deal With Wizards

WASHINGTON, July 4 (AFP) - Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas agreed to a six-year, 111 million dollar contract on Thursday, according to the Washington Times.
The deal, which will keep the star guard with the Wizards until 2014, cannot become official until a league moratorium concludes July 9.
Arenas opted out of the final year of his contract earlier this off-season and was offered a six-year, 127 million dollar deal Tuesday - the first day of free agency.
According to the Times, Arenas took less money because he did not want to be a burden on the team's salary cap.
 Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas
 

All-Williams Final at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, July 4 (BBC) - A spot in her seventh Wimbledon final already secured, Venus Williams headed back to Centre Court to catch the end of the next match.
Scouting? Not really. More like rooting. And when Thursday's second semifinal ended, Williams stood, smiling and applauding for the woman who won, the woman she will have to beat to earn a fifth championship at the All England Club: her younger sister, Serena.
The most unusual and, at times, uncomfortable rivalry in tennis is once more in the spotlight at the pinnacle of the sport: Venus will play Serena in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon final Saturday.
It's their seventh Grand Slam title match — Serena holds a 5-1 edge over her sister — but first final at any tournament since 2003.
While there are, of course, differences in personality (Venus calls herself a nerd; Serena is more extroverted) and game (Venus' serve is faster, for example, and Serena's return is considered better), the siblings' paths to what will be their 16th head-to-head matchup were remarkably similar.
Neither has lost a set in the tournament, and Venus won her semifinal 6-1, 7-6 (3) over fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-1, 7-6 (3), before Serena hit 14 aces in a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China 6-2, 7-6 (5). Coincidentally, each Williams won 80 of the 141 points in her match.
How unsurprising were Thursday's results? Consider this: The sisters are now a combined 100-13 at Wimbledon for their careers; Dementieva and Zheng are a combined 29-13.
"We've both been working extremely hard," said Serena, who holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus. "It's just coming together."
Both have been ranked No. 1, but a combination of injuries and inactivity contributed to Venus being No. 7 now, and Serena No. 6. All of the top four-seeded women were gone by the quarterfinals, the first time that's ever happened at Wimbledon, which cleared the way a bit for the sisters.
Then again, they way they've been playing over these two weeks, and the way they always seem to play on grass, who's to say it would have made a difference?
Back on May 30, when the city was Paris and the surface clay, first Serena, then Venus, lost in the third round at the French Open.
 

McNamee to Dismiss Clemens Suit

NEW YORK, July 4 (BBC) - Brian McNamee's lawyer has filed a new motion to dismiss Roger Clemens' defamation suit against him or have it moved to New York.
Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young winner, filed the defamation suit in January after McNamee, his former personal trainer, testified to US Congress that the legendary pitcher had used performance-enhancing drugs.
The brief, which was filed on Tuesday, stated that the syringes and other steroid paraphernalia that McNamee presented to federal agent Jeff Novitzky in January will test positive for Clemens' DNA and therefore prove that McNamee is being truthful.
"We believe there will be Clemens' DNA evidence on them," McNamee's lawyer Earl Ward said. Ward also said there is no timetable for US judge Keith Ellison to rule on the motion.