File photo shows IranÕs basketball team celebrating victory over Japan in the menÕs basketball quarterfinals during the 15th Asian Games in Doha December 2006.

Lots were drawn in Beijing to determine the preliminary groupings for Olympic basketball tournament.
Iran, Lithuania, Argentina, Russia, Australia, and one qualifier to be determined in Greece from the Olympic qualifying tournament were drawn in Group A while China, Angola, Spain, USA, and two qualifiers from Olympic qualifying tournaments were selected to play in Group B. According to ISNA, it is noteworthy that the Iranian team has been placed in a group in which each team has vast credibility and experience.
After winning the Asian championships, Iranian players saw their longtime dream come true and were selected to play in Beijing Olympics along with global powerhouses such as Greece, Italy, Germany, Canada, Lebanon and South Korea.
Olympic basketball competitions will be played August 9-24 at Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing. The Iranian team will experience its first presence in Olympic competitions in the past 50 years, to play against the US, Spain and Angola or Argentina, Lithuania and Russia.
One of the leading teams in Group A is Argentina. According to the latest international rankings, Argentina is the world’s number two team. Argentina is the second best team in the Americas and the winner of the 2004 Athens Olympics. In fact, Argentina has experienced memorable days due to the outstanding performances of Manu Ginobili and Louis Scola who along with big shots such as Carlos Delfino, Fabrizio Oberto and Andersen Nocioni play for NBA.
Lithuania is the fifth team in the world based on the latest rankings.
The best player of Lithuania is Saronnese Jessica. On the average his score is 14 points in each game. After the fall of the former Soviet Union, Lithuania ranked third in 1992 Barcelona Olympic after the US and Croatia.
Australia has always been among the top seven teams of the world. In 2005, it ranked as the fourth in the world.
Russia actually has a lower ranking than the other Group A teams. However its championship in the European competition in 2007 has sounded a note of alarm for its rivals.

Michael Ballack

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack breathed new life into the Premier League title race as his late penalty clinched a dramatic 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday.
Avram Grant’s side are now level on points with leaders United with two games to play after Ballack’s double strike settled a thrilling clash at Stamford Bridge, Reuters said.
Ballack opened the scoring in the first half before Wayne Rooney punished a horrendous mistake by Ricardo Carvalho to equalize after the break.
United had one hand on the title at that stage but Michael Carrick gifted Chelsea a lifeline when he handled in the penalty area with four minutes left and Ballack took full advantage.
Alex Ferguson’s reigning champions still hold the advantage thanks to their vastly superior goal difference and wins at home to West Ham and at Wigan will guarantee them a 17th English league crown.
But Chelsea has at least ensured the battle will go down to the wire thanks to Ballack’s heroics.
With United able to afford a defeat at Stamford Bridge and still stay top on goal difference, Ferguson opted to give priority to next Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the ’best player in the Premier League’ but needs to win a trophy in order to be crowned player of the year, fellow Portuguese Jose Mourinho said on Saturday.
The Manchester United winger is the favorite to win the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) award on Sunday after a stunning season which has seen him score 38 goals.
The 23-year-old has played a key role in United’s campaign which sees them in the running for both the Premier League and Champions League.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho believes Ronaldo has been ’magnificent’ but thinks it is too soon to be crowned.
Mourinho told BBC Radio Five Live, “I think the player of the year must be the best of the year but also a winner of the year. I don’t think it can be a player without a big trophy.
“Clearly, what Ronaldo did this year have been magnificent and by some distance he has been the best player in the Premier League.
“For me the best is always a winner because football is a collective sport.
“So, if Manchester United does something important by winning the Premier League or Champions League I, and not just me but the whole football world, would give him the Golden Boot.“

Ivan Klasnic

Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic has launched a Û1.5 million ($2.3 million) lawsuit against two Bremen doctors for ’gross mishandling’ of his kidney complaint which led to a transplant.
Klasnic, 28, became the first professional footballer to return to international competition after he had a kidney transplant in March 2007.
According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the Croat’s lawyer has started legal proceedings against sports doctor Goetz Dimanski and cardiologist Manju Guha, who were both working on behalf of Werder
Bremen.
Hamburg lawyer Matthias Teichner says the pair failed to recognize signs Klasnic’s kidney was failing as early as 2001 when he joined Bremen.
Teichner has collected medical evidence to show the player’s kidney was only 67 percent effective when he signed for Bremen from St. Pauli in 2001.
Had the problem been identified at the time, surgery could be been delayed by several years, claims Teichner.
After suffering renal failure, Klasnic had a first kidney transplant in January 2007 after his mother donated an organ, but his body later rejected it.