Nadal’s Comeback Delayed by Sickness

Rafael Nadal’s long-awaited comeback from a knee injury has had to be postponed because of illness.
The former world number one wrote on his Facebook page that he had been advised to rest while he recovers from a fever caused by a stomach infection, BBC wrote.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, who has been out of action with tendonitis in his left knee since Wimbledon, had been due to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on 27 December.
Nadal has won 11 Grand Slam events.
After suffering a shock second-round loss at Wimbledon to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol, Nadal pulled out of both London 2012 and the US Open because of the injury.
“I am very disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year in Abu Dhabi,” the world number four said in a statement.
“My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing. Unfortunately doctors have informed me that my body needs to rest in order to fight this stomach virus.
“I would like to say sorry to all my fans in the United Arab Emirates and around the world, but I hope to play and win in Abu Dhabi again next year.”
The event still features the world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic as well as four other top-10 players - Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomas Berdych.
Nadal is now expected to return at the Qatar Open, which starts on 31 December.
The first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, is due to begin in Melbourne on 14 January.

James Leads Heat Past Thunder in Finals Rematch

LeBron James scored 29 points and flirted with a triple-double as the Miami Heat claimed a 103-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a rematch of last season’s NBA finals on a Christmas Day schedule of five games.
The Thunder, the NBA’s top team and the Heat, the Eastern Conference leaders clashed in a physical contest that was thick with playoff intensity, Reuters reported.
“We’re two teams that have the same aspirations and that’s to try and win a championship,” James said after the game. “Both teams are not going to short cut anything and just try to get better each and every day.
“It was good fight by both teams.”
James added nine assists and eight rebounds to go along with his 29 points while Dwyane Wade had 21 and Mario Chalmers contributed a season-high 20 as the Heat stretched their winning streak to five games.
The Thunder received a 33-point effort from Kevin Durant while Russell Westbrook had 21 but both missed potential game-tying three pointers in the dying seconds.
Led by a 34-point performance from the NBA’s leading scorer Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers also extended their winning run to a season-high five games getting their record back to .500 (14-14) with a 100-94 win over the New York Knicks.
Playing in his record 15th Christmas Day game, Bryant passed Oscar Robertson as the NBA’s all-time Christmas Day scorer with 383 points.

Esteqlal Downs Aluminum for Top Spot

Sports Desk

Tehran’s Popular club Esteqlal defeated newly promoted Aluminum Hormuzgan 2-0 on Wednesday.
According to Mehr News Agency, newly signed Iman Mousavi scored the first goal of the match in the 15th minute of the match.
Newly hired Farzad Hatami, who joined the Blues from Teraktorsazi, doubled the team’s tally four minutes before the final whistle.
Thanks to the away win Esteqlal will stand on top of the 18-team league table with 34 points, 3 points more than the title holder Sepahan, which is second.
In another game of the day Saipa and Teraktorsazi finished 2-2.
On Tuesday, the bottom club Naft Abadan came from behind to tie the match against popular club Persepolis at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.
The capital-based club under new coach Yahya Golmohmmadi started the game with full power. Just five minutes after the kick off Asian wizard scored the opener for the Reds. In the beginning of the game Persepolis dominance was clear as Mohammad Nouri doubled his team tally in the 10th minute of the match.
In the second half, Persepolis didn’t show a good performance and the team’s players missed the opportunities one after the other.]
Six minutes before the hour mark Reza Khaleqifard pulled one back for the visitor and finally in the 84th minute of the match Rouhollah Arab tied the match for Naft Abadan.
In the other games of this round, Foulad and Damash finished 2-2, Zob Ahan edged out Sepasi 1-0, Saba trounced Peikan 4-1, Naft Tehran edged past Rah Ahan 1-0, Malavan drew with Gahar 1-1, and Mes defeated Sepahan 1-0.

Nekounam’s Goal Spectacular

From Page 1
With so much at stake, Nekounam eased a nation’s worries by taking hold of a clearance to grab the match-winning goal.

The Match
Australia 1-1 Japan, 12 June 2012, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
It’s likely most would agree that the rematch of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final represented some of the premier class of the continent. Resuming their fast-grown rivalry on match day 3, Asian champions Japan and continental runners-up Australia produced a 1-1 draw which saw two red cards and a penalty amidst much drama.
Arriving in Brisbane with two victories already under their belt, Alberto Zaccheroni’s charges were keen to record a third win and strengthen their grip on top spot. The visitors did their utmost to grab all three points, showcasing their trademark passing and attacking flair, with Yuzo Kurihara tapping in Keisuke Honda’s cross to break the deadlock on 65 minutes.
Coach Holger Osieck’s hosts, meanwhile, emerged a different team from the squad that had played out a goalless draw against Oman in their opener, carving out better chances than the Japanese in a much improved display. Even with one man short and a goal down, they maintained the pressure on the opponents, equalizing just five minutes after going behind courtesy of Luke Wilkshire’s spot-kick. The precious point provided the Australians with a timely morale-booster as the Japanese had to be content to return home unscathed with a share of the spoils.

The Sat
Japan have proved to be the campaign’s top-scorers so far, managing 13 goals across five outings and scored by seven different players, with Ryoichi Maeda’s tally of five the biggest individual haul.
The Quote
“What people suggest, I don’t actually care. I’m not listening to any of the critics because I work closely with the team and I know what the players can do. It is my assessment and I know who is ready and who still needs to put in a lot more effort,” Australia coach Holger Osieck

Conclusions
Group B is likely to be a three-way battle for the second place behind runaway leaders Japan, who are within touching distance of qualification with just three matches left. Australia, albeit level with Iraq and Oman on five points, have a game in hand and can count on home support in three of the four remaining games--even bottom side Jordan can’t be ruled out. The debutants can at least secure third place and a spot in the Asian playoff, should they relive the form which saw them dispatch Australia 2-1. The same can be said of Group A’s Lebanon, who stunned Iran 1-0 at home in their maiden final qualifying round campaign. However, it is Uzbekistan who are most likely to book their first-ever qualification, having swept past Qatar and Iran to top the section. Second-placed South Korea, with a game in hand, are still favorites to make it through, while both Team Melli and Qatar have their share of chances level with the Taeguk Warriors on points.

Pakistan Beat India in Opening Twenty20 International

Pakistan recovered superbly to edge out India by five wickets in a thrilling first Twenty20 International.
Chasing India’s modest 133-9 in Bangalore, the visitors recovered from 12-3 and appeared to be cruising to victory before a late wobble resulted in them needing 10 from the final over, BBC wrote.
But Shoaib Malik (57 from 50 balls) clobbered a straight six to see Pakistan home with two balls to spare.
This is the first bilateral series between the countries for five years.
After bowling well to restrict India to a below-par total, Pakistan’s chances of a first Twenty20 victory over their hosts appeared slim when debutant seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-9) ripped through their top order.
But a fine 116-run partnership between Malik and his captain Mohammad Hafeez (61) put them firmly in control.
When Hafeez, whose 44-ball knock included a pair of sixes and six fours, fell with the score on 118-4, Pakistan were in the driving seat, needing 16 from 17 balls.

Sterling Committed to England

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling has pledged his international future to England, ruling out switching his allegiance to Jamaica.
The 18-year-old, who holds dual nationality after being born in Kingston to Jamaican parents, has represented England at every level from under-16 onwards and won his first senior cap for Roy Hodgson’s side in last month’s 4-2 defeat in Sweden, PA Sport wrote.
He remains eligible to play for the country of his birth as the Stockholm fixture was only a friendly, but has no plans to abandon England.
Quoted in several newspapers, he said: “It was a dream come true (to play against Sweden). As a 15-year-old I can remember sitting at home and praying to get an under-16 call-up, so to be getting a senior call-up a few years later was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I want to keep driving on and do a bit more.”
He added: “Obviously I’ve got Jamaican roots but no-one tried to put any pressure on me, which was the good thing. But I couldn’t turn my back on England because I’ve grown up through the English youth system and progressed from there.
“I couldn’t just switch over. So it was a good thing for me to be called up and make my debut. It’s 100 per cent going to be England from now on.”

UEFA to Appeals Against U-21 Bans

UEFA has appealed against the sanctions that its own control and disciplinary body imposed on Serbia and England for incidents in an Under-21 match in October, European soccer’s governing body said on Wednesday.
“Having reviewed the motivated decisions for the sanctions imposed in this specific case... the UEFA disciplinary inspector felt it necessary to immediately confirm his intention to appeal on UEFA’s behalf,” UEFA said in a statement.
UEFA has the right to appeal against decisions made by its own disciplinary committee and to ask for tougher sanctions if it considers they are too lenient.
The English FA criticized UEFA for not sending a “strong enough message” on racism after the Serbia FA was fined 80,000 euros ($104,700) by UEFA and told it must stage its next Under-21 home match behind closed doors after its players and fans were found guilty of improper conduct.
The punishments followed England’s 1-0 victory in the European Under-21 championship playoff on Oct. 16 in Krusevac when visiting fullback Danny Rose complained he was racially abused by Serbia supporters before, during and after the game.
England scored with the last kick of the match and fighting broke out between players and officials immediately after the final whistle.
Two Serbia coaches, four Serbia players and two England players were suspended by UEFA following the altercations.

Button: Pace Cost Titles, Not Glitches

Jenson Button is sure that McLaren’s early-summer slump was more damaging to its 2012 Formula 1 title bid than reliability or pitstop problems.
McLaren only finished third in the constructors’ standings despite having the pacesetting car at several junctures this season, while drivers Lewis Hamilton and Button had to settle for fourth and fifth in a championship both had led at times, AutoSport reported.
Although the team had several well-publicized technical failures and pit delays, Button believes the spells when McLaren was too slow to fight for wins should not be underestimated.
“Sometimes you do get failures and you’ve got to rectify the issue,” he said.
“But the most difficult part for us was before the summer break when we just didn’t have the pace. “The reason why we were not fighting for the title isn’t just the reliability issues, the pace in that period of time wasn’t good enough compared to our competitors.”
He feels the mechanical glitches attracted more attention due to their timing.
“We have had reliability issues, but when you actually look at it, the problems have all been at weekends,” Button said.
“We did 1400 kilometers at the young driver test and didn’t have one issue at all, so we have been a little bit unlucky, I think.”
From May to July, Button endured a string of races where he could manage no better than lower top-10 places, but he thinks the team ultimately benefited from his difficulties.

Ukraine Pick Fomenko Over Eriksson

Ukraine have named Mykhailo Fomenko as national team coach, picking him over Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson in a unanimous vote, the country’s football federation said on Wednesday.
Fomenko, 64, played for Dynamo Kiev as defender in the 1970s and has managed a number of Ukrainian clubs including Metalist Kharkiv, as well the Guinea national team in 1994, Reuters reported.
Former England manager Eriksson, who visited Kiev last week with his agent and laid out the terms of a potential contract, was not present at the meeting on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s previous manager Oleg Blokhin resigned in late September after failing to lead the team out of the group stages at the European Championship, which Ukraine co-hosted this year, and accepted the job of head coach at Dynamo Kiev.
Ukraine approached Englishman Harry Redknapp about the job but he decided to join Premier league club Queens Park Rangers.