Florida Gators, inspired by basketball coach Billy Donovan, rout Georgia Bulldogs in football 41-17

JACKSONVILLE — Three months into the season, Florida football players have tired of hearing head coach Urban Meyer speak about sticking together and overcoming adversity.

So to help get the Gators out of their recent funk, Meyer turned Thursday to a man who knows about defending a national title: UF men's basketball coach Billy Donovan, whose teams won it all in 2006 and 2007. He talked with the team's leaders about 6and not letting outsiders ruin the Gators' season.

"He was very inspiring," Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. "It was very motivating for a lot of us."

Inspired by Donovan's message, the Gators defeated arch-rival Georgia 41-17 on Saturday in their most complete victory of the season.

"One of the best team wins we've had at Florida," said Meyer, who gave Donovan credit for the win.

"To have a resource like that an eighth of a mile from my office, it's kind of cool," Meyer said.

After sloppy victories over Arkansas and Mississippi State, the Gators finally held on to the ball (zero turnovers), scored from inside the Red Zone (2-of-3 opportunities) and expertly executed the offensive game plan.

The Gators improved to 17-3 over Georgia over the past 20 years, and Meyer improved to 14-1 in rivalry games against Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami. And with Tennessee beating South Carolina 31-13 Saturday night, the Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) clinched the SEC East division title with two conference games to play.

Meyer and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio devised a game plan that allowed Florida's offense to gain 374 yards and score 34 points. Meyer also challenged the players during practice this week to start performing like the No. 1 team in the country, capped by an emotional speech to the team Friday night.

"We weren't living up to our potential or executing as well as we should have been," Tebow said.

Tebow had a memorable performance playing in front of his hometown crowd for the final time in his college career. He completed 15 of 21 passes for two touchdowns and rushed for 85 yards and another two touchdowns, his first multiple-touchdown game since Sept. 26 against Kentucky. More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over and took only two sacks.

Tebow's first rushing touchdown, a 23-yarder late in the first half, gave him 50 for his career, breaking Herschel Walker's official SEC record. Walker, however, scored five touchdowns in bowl games that SEC officials do not count, so technically, Tebow's 51 career touchdowns are still three short of Walker's career total.

"Just to be mentioned in the same breath as Herschel Walker, it's extremely humbling," Tebow said.

Florida may finally have clicked on offense, but the defense once again stole the show. The Gators held Georgia to 286 yards of offense and intercepted four Bulldogs passes. Linebacker A.J. Jones took two away, while linebackers Ryan Stamper and Brandon Spikes snagged one each.

Spikes returned his interception 5 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown to punctuate the blowout and send the Georgia half of the stadium home early.

For Meyer and his players, it was the perfect ending to a tough week.

"There's only one way to have fun around here," Meyer said, "and that's singing the fight song after the game."

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College basketball countdown: No. 9 Villanova

As a youngster growing up in Herndon, Va., Villanova senior Scottie Reynolds rooted for the Maryland Terrapins, so naturally his favorite buzzer-beater was Drew Nicholas' fadeaway 3-pointer that beat UNC Wilmington in an NCAA first-round game in 2003.

Now Reynolds has a new No. 1 buzzer-beater: his own shining moment in the NCAA Tournament. Reynolds' thrilling length-of-the-court-drive through the Pitt defense last season sent the Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.

"It's a lot different around here now," said Reynolds of life on the Villanova campus. "Everyone has embraced us like we won the national championship. The buzz is still that strong."

Villanova is among the favorites to make a return trip to the Final Four this season, and Reynolds is a big reason why. The 6-2 guard decided to come back for a senior season after withdrawing his name from the NBA draft in June. There were a lot of reasons Reynolds wanted to return to school, and one of them was the chance to make another Final Four and have a chance to win the national championship that eluded him last season when the Wildcats were knocked off by North Carolina in a national semifinal.

"I love this group of guys," Reynolds said. "(Last season's seniors) Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark motivated me to lead the team and wanting that challenge. We want to keep this thing at a high level. We want this team to reach its potential."

And Villanova has plenty of potential. Coach Jay Wright returns four players with starting experience and has added three of the top 30 freshmen in the country.

Reynolds (15.2 ppg) is the undisputed leader. He scored 20 points or more in nine games last year and led the team with 3.4 assists per game. He's a three-year starter and on pace to score 2,000 points for his career.

Junior guard Corey Fisher (10.8 ppg) earned the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year after assuming a reserve role midway through the season. He was the team's third-leading scorer and reached double figures 23 times in 38 games.

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Basketball becomes bat-sketball as player swats Halloween night invader

It was with an uncanny sense of timing that a bat chose Halloween to disrupt the NBA tie between San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. What, perhaps, the creature did not count on were the quick hands of the Spurs' Manu Ginobili who, not content with scoring 13 points in his side's 113-94 win, swatted it from the air as it swooped across the court.

The bat had already sent players to the sidelines twice in the first quarter. The officials stopped the game as it circled then flew across the AT&T Center's court. First they called for a towel to catch it, then a net. But Ginobili took matters, literally, into his own hands. When the bat returned he simply smacked it to the ground before calmly carrying it off court to thunderous applause.

After a brief squirt of disinfectant from a trainer, and with the theme from Batman ringing in his ears over the venue's PA, the Argentinian player carried on much as if nothing had happened. "When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," he said afterwards. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal. Then the whole arena started chanting my name."

It was his team-mate, Tony Parker, who led the Spurs' victory with 24 points and seven assists, however it was Ginobili's bat-slapping exploits that grabbed the attention. "That was amazing," said Parker. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. He's always doing crazy stuff."

It was something his coach, Gregg Popovich confirmed: "The drummer that he marches to sometimes is a little bit different. He never ceases to amaze me and he just did it again. The legend grows. It's incredible on Halloween night. You would call someone a liar if they told you that story."

"I guess in Argentina, bat hunting is part of everyday life," the Kings centre Spencer Hawes said. "Somebody had to do it, and it wasn't going to be me."

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Federer disappointed by Agassi drug admission

ZURICH — World number one Roger Federer on Thursday voiced disappointment at Andre Agassi's bombshell admission that he had taken drugs in 1997 and then lied to the ATP to avoid a ban.

"It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future," Federer said at a sponsors meeting at Kilchberg near Zurich.

But Federer also noted that Agassi "has done a lot for tennis, both as a player and as a human being".

"Today, he raises millions of dollars for his foundation for disadvantaged children," the Swiss commented.

Agassi, one of just six men to have won all four Grand Slam titles and widely regarded as one of the sport's finest players, stunned tennis this week by revealing he'd taken the highly-addictive drug crystal methamphetamine in 1997.

The American, now 39, also admitted that he lied to the governing body of the ATP to escape a ban.

Federer noted that today, players must make themselves available for dope tests between 20 and 30 times a year.

"Our sport must stay clean," he stressed.

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How tennis world reacted to Andre Agassi’s admission of taking crystal meth

Andre Agassi’s autobiography, ‘Open’, has been the talk of tennis since extracts were published in which he admitted to using crystal meth, with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and many others having an opinion.

Rafa Nadal:

“If the ATP covered for Agassi then I think that’s dreadful. If they covered for the player and punished others for doing the same kind of thing then that would seem to me to be a lack of respect for all sportsmen.”

Roger Federer:

“It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future.”

Darren Cahill (Agassi’s last professional coach):

“[Agassi is] extremely proud of the book and I’m proud of him for giving such an honest and revealing look at his life”.

Boris Becker:

“I’m the last person to throw stones, as there have been some difficult times in my own life, but to hear that he took crystal meth, that certainly puts a whole new light on Andre and it’s not a beautiful light.

“I’m struggling to get my head around why Andre would want to confess to something so damaging as taking drugs and then getting away with it? Why would he want to be so brutally honest?

“I’m really surprised that he would want to discuss such a private part of his life, to talk about such a bad period in his life. I’m sure this will help to sell his book. He doesn’t need the money, though. He’s a rich man.”

Andy Roddick:

“Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for the better.

“If anything we (the top players) are subjected to way more testing and attention. That’s just a fact. And, to be fair, when Andre wrote the reported letter (which deceived the authorities), he was well outside the top 100 and widely viewed as on the way out.”

Venus Williams:

“I’m sure his book will sell. But I can’t say anything about Andre Agassi’s life.”

Serena Williams:

“I don’t know what crystal meth is, that’s my reaction,” said the newly-crowned year-end world number one. I haven’t read anything about his book.”

Martina Navratilova:

“Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it.

“Andre lied and got away with it. You can’t correct that now. Do you take away a title he wouldn’t have won if he had been suspended? He beat some people when he should have been suspended.”

Nick Bollettieri (Agassi’s former coach):

“I don’t condone what he did – I’ve made mistakes too, but I’ve done more good than bad.

“Let’s look at what Andre has done, he funds a school for 400 kids from the inner-city. I know underneath he’s a hell of guy.”

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Serena Williams withdraws from next week's Fed Cup Finals

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the U.S. vs. Italy Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Final set to take place November 7-8 in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Williams will be replaced by Vania King. King will be making her sixth appearance on the U.S. Fed Cup team.

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Hussey guides Aussies to 229-5 against India

Sunday, November 01, 2009
NEW DELHI: Michael Hussey top-scored with an unbeaten 81 as Australia posted 229-5 in the third One-day International against India here on Saturday.

Hussey, 34, hit his third half-century of the series and shared 56 runs with captain Ricky Ponting (59) after the world champions won the toss and elected to bat on a slow track at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.

Opener Shane Watson made up for his disappointing batting in the first two matches, making a fine 41 off 59 balls with five fours in the day-night encounter.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja impressed the most among the bowlers on the tricky track, picking 2-41 off nine overs.

The seven-match series is tied 1-1 after India won the second match at Nagpur by 99 runs. Australia had clinched the opener at Vadodara by four runs.

The visitors were off to a steady start with Ponting — opening the innings in the absence of the injured Tim Paine — putting on 72 runs with Watson off 98 balls.

The Australian captain, taking the opener’s role for only the second time in his 327-match one-day cricket career, completed his 72nd one-day half-century off 74 balls before falling to Jadeja.

Ponting tried to clip the spinner across the line but the ball hit the base of the pads right in front of the stumps. He hit four fours in his measured 92-ball knock.

Hussey, who scored 73 at Vadodara and followed it up with a 53-run knock at Nagpur, accumulated his runs through some hard running between the wickets. He hit just three fours and one six, that too in the 50th over.

India need to score at 4.6 runs an over if they are to win the match and go 2-1 up in the series.

Australia, the top-ranked one-day team, brought in Doug Bollinger and Moises Henriques in place of Ben Hilfenhaus and Shaun Marsh.

India named an unchanged side.

Score board

Australia won toss

Australia

S R Watson st Dhoni b Yuvraj Singh 41

*R T Ponting lbw b Jadeja 59

M E K Hussey not out 81

C L White c Dhoni b Raina 0

A C Voges c Kumar b Harbhajan Singh 17

M C Henriques b Jadeja 12

M G Johnson not out 9

Extras (b4, lb3, w3) 10

Total (5 wickets, 50 overs) 229

To bat: †G A Manou, N M Hauritz, P M Siddle, D E Bollinger

Fall: 1-72, 2-128, 3-129, 4-172, 5-200

Bowling: Kumar 5-1-16-0; Nehra 9-0-51-0 (1w); Sharma 5-0-24-0; Jadeja 9-1-41-2; Harbhajan Singh 10-0-37-1 (2w); Yuvraj Singh 8-0-30-1; Raina 4-0-23-1

ODI debuts: M C Henriques and G A Manou (Australia)

Series: 7-ODI series level 1-1

Umpires: S S Hazare and A M Saheba. TV umpire: S K Tarapore. Match referee: B C Broad (England)

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PFF yet to confirm AFC decision

Sunday, November 01, 2009
By our correspondent

KARACHI: Pakistan football authorities are yet to confirm about the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) decision to move the Under-19 Championship Group D Qualifiers from Lahore to any other country due to security reasons.

“I came to know through a message on the AFC website and tried to contact the secretary of the continental football governing body but he was busy in a meeting,” the secretary of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Col Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi told ‘The News’ on Saturday.

“It will be confirmed in the next two days,” he said. AFC has invited other participating member associations to host the five-team tournament, penciled in for December 8 to 16, it said. Pakistan was going all out to host the five-nation event in which apart from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Lebanon were to feature.

“It is yet to be confirmed, but if it has really happened then it is unfortunate as we were preparing with full force,” the PFF Director Operations Pervez Saeed Mir told.

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I am available: Younis Khan

Sunday, November 01, 2009
DUBAI: Pakistan skipper Younis Khan is ready to come out of his retirement from Twenty20 cricket and play in two Twenty20 matches in Dubai on November 12 and 13.

“If team needs me and since matches are to be held in Dubai, it will be nice to play here,” he remarked Saturday in Dubai.

Younis retired from Twenty20 cricket after leading Pakistan to victory in T20 World Cup in June in England. He is not named in Twenty20 squad for Dubai that is being led by Shahid Afridi.

Asked what prompted him to return to T20 cricket, he said: “A lot of people especially many youngsters told me it is important that I continue playing T20 cricket too. If they still want and if my country still needs my service for this form of game, then I am ready. I will do anything for my country and for my teammates. So you may see me in T20 cricket again.”

He had quit as captain following match fixing allegations during Champions Trophy but Pakistan Cricket Board refused to accept his resignation. Younis said about incident: “I have just come out of a huge controversy. This time my whole nation was behind me. I am happy each and every one in Pakistan backed me in the incident. Today my mind is free and I can concentrate on my captaincy and on my form as well as the team.”

He feels New Zealand will not be an easy team to beat despite absence of many of their top players due to injury. “The positive factor about New Zealand is that they play as a team. They do not depend on only one player and that is why they reached final of Champions Trophy despite injuries to their top players. It will be tough competition here,” he said.

It was New Zealand that upset Pakistan’s chances of reaching the final of Champions Trophy by beating them in the semifinal.

On whether this series would be a revenge series for Pakistan, Younis said: “It will not be a revenge series but we have desire in our mind to defeat them. We cannot easily forget defeat to New Zealand in the semifinal.”

On New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori’s remark that Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamer will be most dangerous man in team, he said: “We have many match winners and not just Mohammed Aamer alone.”

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Ronaldo wants Rooney at Madrid

Sunday, November 01, 2009
MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo believes his former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney should follow him to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford in the summer for a record £80million fee to complete a dream move to the Spanish giants and, while admitting Rooney is unlikely to leave England any time soon, he thinks the striker would fit in at the Bernabeu.

“Wayne would be a sensation out here. I think we could do with Rooney to help us out,” Ronaldo told The Sun. “He would be brilliant if he came. This is the ideal place for the world’s best players and there’s little doubt he is one of them.”

He added: “Wayne has all the skill and determination you need to make a fine career here.

“He has shown just how good he is over the last few years in England.

“And there’s no doubt he would be the same sort of player in Spain. It would be lovely to see him here one day at Real Madrid.

“I realise it would take a lot for him to move from England. “He loves the country, he loves Manchester and he is a Liverpool boy. And United is a good club for him. But you never know what could happen in the future.”

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Moment of truth for Pak as World Cup qualifiers begin

KARACHI: The moment of truth for Pakistan hockey arrives in Lille, France, on Saturday when the seventh-ranked team faces the 26th-ranked Italy at the Metropole Club in the first encounter of the World Cup qualifiers.

The national hockey team is featuring in the six-nation tournament as a consequence of losing the Asia Cup final by 0-1 to Korea in May.

The qualifiers, beginning Saturday, will conclude on Nov 8 and Pakistan have to beat all the other participating teams in order to play in the 2010 World Cup to be played in New Delhi, India, from Feb 28 to March 13.

They play their second match against 23rd-ranked Russia (Nov 1), third against 17th-ranked France (Nov 3), fourth against 14th-ranked Japan (Nov 5) and fifth against 22nd-ranked Poland (Nov 7) while the final will be played on the concluding day (Nov 8).

The team that has met several challenges in the form of dropping an important member due to fears of doping, injuries to players and visa hassles since the start of the preparatory camp for this tournament, finally reached its destination on Oct 25 to be informed by the event’s organisers that the pitch where the matches were to be played would not be ready until Oct 29.

Therefore, they had to carry out their training sessions as well as play the practice games with local clubs at an alternate venue.

Playing friendly matches with the competing teams was out anyway due to shortage of time.

The team had earlier planned to leave for Europe on Sept 24 to play three Tests with hosts France on the 27th, 28th and 30th that were to be followed by two Tests against Poland (Oct 3 and 4) and three against Belgium (Oct 6, 7 and 8).

But unable to acquire Schengen visas enabling them to freely tour through Europe, on time, they had to reschedule their programme twice. Later, they dropped Belgium to play in Poland and France alone and then it was decided that they fly directly to France.

Pakistan have never missed playing in a hockey World Cup since its inaugural tournament in Spain in 1971. Winning that title, they went on to win three more — in Argentina in 1978, in India in 1982 and in Australia in 1994.

Zeeshan Ashraf’s men may be in a do-or-die situation at the moment but they are also the favourites, according to the experts of the game.

Flying Horse Samiullah believes that the national side has a much better chance against the other competing teams who are all much lower down in world rankings.

‘There should be nothing stopping the team from winning the event provided the players play responsibly,’ he said.

Chief Coach Shahid Ali Khan said before leaving for France that they better win or they return as zeroes instead of heroes. ‘We have practiced very hard and are hoping for the best results. The boys, too, are in first-class shape. But winning is all that matters otherwise everything adds up to zero,’ he had announced.

Meanwhile, showing confidence in his boys, skipper and fullback Zeeshan Ashraf had said that they still shouldn’t underestimate the other seemingly-mediocre sides.

The team is a good combination of new talent and experience. Centre-half Wasim Ahmed, forward Rehan Butt, and goalkeeper Salman Akbar joined the team directly in France while the remaining 15 left from Lahore last Sunday.

Besides the World Cup qualifiers in France, two other qualifiers are also scheduled to take place — in New Zealand (Nov 7-15) featuring China, Malaysia, Austria, Scotland and Wales besides the hosts, and in Argentina (Nov 17-22) featuring Belgium, Ireland, USA, Czech Republic and Italy besides the hosts.

The nine teams that have already qualified for the World Cup comprise hosts India, Canada (Pan American Cup champions), Korea (Asia Cup champions), Australia (Oceania Cup champions), South Africa (Africa Cup champions), England (Euro Hockey Nations’ champions), Germany (silver medallist of Euro Hockey Nations’ Cup), Netherlands (bronze medallist of Euro Hockey Nations’ Cup) and Spain (fourth-ranked team of Euro Hockey Nations’ Cup).

Team

Goalkeepers: Salman Akbar and Nasir Ahmad.

Fullbacks: Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), Sohail Abbas and Mohammad Imran.

Halves: Mohammad Irfan, Wasim Ahmad, Sajjad Anwar, Fareed Ahmad and Mohammad Rashid.

Forwards: Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Haseem Khan, Abbas Haider, Akhtar Ali, Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool and Mohammad Zubair.

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Pakistan begin WC qualifier campaign in style

KARACHI: Penalty-corner specialist fullback Sohail Abbas lived up to expectations as Pakistan thrashed Italy 5-0 in their first match of the hockey World Cup qualifiers, played at the Metropole Club in Lille, France on Saturday.

According to the information received here, the match saw as many as three goals being scored on penalty-corners with Sohail converting two in the 31st and 47th minutes. The third was scored by fullback Mohammad Imran in the 43rd minute.

The first half score was 1-0 in favour of the favourites with four goals coming in the second half. The last two goals were both successful field attempts by forwards Mohammad Zubair and Haseem Khan in the 52nd and and 68th minutes, respectively.

Pakistan play their second match on Sunday against Russia, who beat Japan 4-0 in the first match.

Pakistan - Italy 5:0 (1:0)
PAK 31mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 1:0
PAK 43mn Muhammad IMRAN (PC) 2:0
PAK 47mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 3:0
PAK 52mn Muhammad ZUBAIR (FG) 4:0
PAK 68mn Abdul Haseem KHAN (FG) 5:0

Standings:

Pakistan 3pts
Japan 3pts
France 1pt
Poland 1pt
Russia 0pt
Italy 0pt

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