Esteqlal EyingTeraktor’s Top Spot

Teraktorsazi beat Naft Abadan 1-0 to jump to the top spot of the Iran’s Premier League (IPL).
According to Mehr News Agency, Mehdi Seyyed Salehi scored the sole goal of game in the 51st minute of the match.
Thanks to the away win, the Tabriz-based club with 41 points stands on top of the standings.
In Tehran, popular club Persepolis managed to roll over its guest with a minimum goal from the penalty spot to jump threes spots in the 18-team league table.
Persepolis has collected 29 points so far and stands in the middle of the table.
The title holder Sepahan blanks Saipa to stand 4th in the IPL table with 37 points.
In the other game of the day, Rah Ahan roll over Aluminum with three goals and moved up to 6 place with 32 points.
Sepasi finished 1-1 against Saba, Naft Tehran beat Paykan 3-1, while Zob Ahan downed newly promoted Gahar Doroud.
Tehran’s popular club Esteqlal is scheduled to meet Malavan in Anzali. Also on Esteqlal, FIFA has decided to impose a deduction of six points on the team because of unpaid wages to Rinaldo Cruzado.
The Peruvian midfielder joined Esteqlal in 2009 and left the Iranian popular team for Alianza Lima after one year.
Esteqlal has $100,000 debt to Rynaldo and FIFA will impose a deduction of six points if the team doesn’t pay the remaining to the player.
Persepolis, another Iranian football team, was also docked six points by FIFA because of unpaid wages to a number of its players in 2008.

Iran, Czech in Group B of FIBA U-19

Iran has been pitted against host Czech Republic, Lithuania and Argentina in Group B of the 2013 FIBA U-19 World Championship.
The competitions will take place in Prague, Czech Republic from 27 June to 7 July.
“We’ve been drawn in a strong group with favorites like host Czech and defending champion Lithuania. I cannot guarantee that Iran will qualify for the next round,” Iran coach Mehran Hatami said.
The 16 teams, representing all five of FIBA’s Continental Zones, are divided into four groups of four teams for the preliminary round.

Groups
Group A: Croatia, Spain, Canada, South Korea
Group B: Iran, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Argentina
Group C: Senegal, Serbia, Brazil, Australia
Group D: China, Ivory Coast, US, Russia

The top three teams will advance to the knockout stage, which consists of two groups of six. In this round, each team will face the three new teams in their group.
Lithuania is defending champion, having won the gold medal at the 2011 tournament in Latvia.
The FIBA U-19 World Championship is a men’s U-19 only basketball competition organized by FIBA. From its inauguration in 1979 until 2007 it was held every four years. From 2007 onwards it will be held biannually.

Armstrong Sorry For Doping

From Page 1
In response the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) called for Armstrong to detail “under oath” the full extent of his doping.
Cycling’s governing body the UCI welcomed Armstrong’s decision “to come clean and confess”, and said the interview had confirmed it was not part of a “collusion or conspiracy”.
Last year Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles after being labeled a “serial cheat” by USADA.
In a detailed report, the body said he led “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program sport has ever seen”.
The Texan decided not to contest the charges, saying last year he was tired of fighting the allegations. He had always strongly denied doping. That all changed within seconds of an explosive opening to the interview when Winfrey, one of America’s top chat show hosts, demanded yes or no answers.
“Did you ever take banned substances to enhance cycling performance?”
“Yes.”
“Was one of those substances EPO?”
“Yes.”
“Did you use any other banned substances?”
“Yes.”
In the interview, broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the UK, Armstrong then admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs Erythropoietin (EPO), testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone as well as having blood transfusions.

Sharapova Hammers Venus

Second seed Maria Sharapova thrashed Venus Williams in the first heavyweight clash of this year’s Australian Open.
The Russian, 25, hammered the American seven-time Grand Slam champion 6-1 6-3 in only 76 minutes, and has lost just four games in three rounds.
Next she will meet Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in the last 16, BBC wrote.
“I was a really determined player out there because I knew the tennis that she’s capable of producing and playing,” said Sharapova.
“Despite what she’s ranked or seeded, it doesn’t matter when you go out on the court. She’s been there.
“She’s experienced enough to know no matter if you’re playing the third round, the quarters, or the final, you have to be ready. I certainly was. Since the draw came out, I was really looking forward to that match-up.”
The one-sided nature of the contest was a marked contrast to the previous night’s epic between Laura Robson and Petra Kvitova, as Sharapova was ruthless from the outset.
Williams, 32, might be a fading force in terms of Grand Slam results but she actually rose from outside the top 100 to end 2012 ranked 24th, having comeback from a seven-month absence due to Sjogren’s Syndrome.
Taking on the world number two and French Open champion at a Grand Slam showed just how far she has fallen behind the very best, however.
“She played very well,” said Williams. “I expect her to play well.
I was definitely not my best day today but, you know, there’s always other days to play better. I just had a lot of errors. That never helps.”
In a positively chilly 21C, compared to highs of 40C on Thursday, Sharapova stormed into a 4-0 lead.
That made it 28 games without reply for 2008 champion, following back-to-back 6-0 6-0 wins in the first two rounds.

LeBron’s Heat Holds Off Kobe’s Lakers

For a few exciting minutes in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers resembled the championship-caliber dynamo everybody expected this season, making a big run and surging past the Miami Heat.
And then LeBron James calmly demonstrated why the Heat are the defending NBA champions and the Lakers are in 11th place in the Western Conference.
James had 39 points and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 27 points on his 31st birthday and the Heat held off the Lakers 99-90 Thursday night, scoring the final nine points to finish their six-game road trip in style, AP wrote.
‘’We closed out the trip the right way, and we want to build from it,’’ James said. ‘’We wanted to do much better, of course, after the way we started, losing to Indiana and Portland.’’
They finished up just fine at Staples Center, getting their second win in their last eight games here against the Lakers. Ray Allen scored seven of his nine points in the final 5 minutes as the Heat repelled a late charge by the Lakers, who lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Lakers challenged the champs, but James closed out the Heat’s sixth road game in 10 days with a flurry of clutch baskets and solid defensive play, often against Bryant.
‘’I thought we played well enough to beat them,’’ Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. ‘’That’s a championship team. They turned on all the juices, so it’s a good measuring stick. That’s what they do, and we have to get better. We’ve got to get smoother.’’

Beckham Backed for Monaco

Bookmaker Sky Bet have slashed the odds on David Beckham to join Monaco from 20/1 to 4/5 on after receiving a flood of bets on Friday.
The former England captain, a free agent since leaving LA Galaxy in December, is believed to be weighing up a number of offers for his services, with Monaco boss Claudio Ranieri previously stating his desire to snap Beckham up, Sky Sport reported.
Although Monaco now compete in Ligue 2, French football’s second tier, the finer lifestyle for which the principality is famed is thought to be of great appeal to Beckham and his family.
His former club AC Milan had been pushed in to favorites earlier this month on the back of a steady flow of wagers on the move, but have since drifted out from 6/4 to 9/4 second favorites.
Money on a return to the San Siro is still being placed at a steady rate, but an explosion of interest in Monaco’s odds has forced Sky Bet to revamp their odds.

Ajax Fined After Fans’ Protest

Ajax Amsterdam have been fined by UEFA after their supporters protested against “modern football” during their Champions League match at home to Manchester City in October.
Fans held a lot one banner saying “against modern football” and another which depicted a sheikh holding a bag with a dollar sign, with a red line drawn across it, Reuters reported.
Another banner said “80 euros for the away section is ridiculous” and other supporters displayed banners with offensive messages aimed at Manchester City, Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig.
UEFA said the Dutch club had been fined 10,000 euros ($11,000) for “display of a provocative and inappropriate banner.”
City are bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, while Chelsea are financed by Russia’s Roman Abramovich.
Ajax won the old European Cup four times, the last in 1995, but have been unable to compete with the financial clout of newly-rich clubs.
The Dutch side were knocked out in the group stage of this year’s Champions League along with City.

Karginov Scoops Stage Win

Andrey Karginov secured another victory in the truck category of the 2013 Dakar Rally with an impressive drive on stage 12.
Aryat Mardeev, his Kamaz team-mate, came through in second place on the route between Fiambala and Copiapo as the Russian team continued their dominance, Eurosport reported.
With two stages to go, Kamaz occupy the top three places the overall standings, with Karginov and Mardeev third and second to Eduard Nikolaev.
Nikolaev was down in seventh, but just six minutes and 27 seconds adrift of the leading time, protecting a half-hour advantage over the field.
Gerard de Rooy, who was trying to chase down the Kamaz racers, was left to rue a puncture.
“It was supposed to be a good day, but after about 15 or 20 minutes we already got a puncture,” he said. “We went down a hill and we couldn’t avoid a big rock. Yeah, it was stupid, but the rest went great.”

Wembley ‘to Be Renamed After Sponsorship Deal’

Wembley Stadium will incorporate a sponsor’s name for the first time after the FA agreed a deal with mobile phone network EE.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the deal has been agreed with the 4G provider and that the stadium will now be known as “Wembley Stadium in association with EE,” “Wembley Stadium supported by EE” or another similar construction, Eurosport wrote.
The paper reported that the FA hoped to raise £8 million-a-year for the naming rights to the ground.
Such deals have increased in recent seasons in the UK with Manchester City’s Eithad Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates among the more high profile examples.
However, football has become the first of the country’s big three team sports the sell the naming rights to their HQ venue.
Lord’s for cricket and Twickenham for rugby have not sold, nor sought, any naming rights, although The Oval, which has also hosted many of England’s Tests matches, has had three difference names since first selling their naming rights and is currently called the Kia Oval.
The FA sees the Wembley deal as similar to the one they currently have for the FA Cup which is officially known as the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser.
Wembley itself also has a number of commercial deals but until now, no lead sponsor.
EE was formed in 2010 after a merger between Orange and T-Mobile.

Southampton Sack Manager Adkins

Premier League club Southampton sacked manager Nigel Adkins on Friday and replaced him with Argentine Mauricio Pochettino.