MUNICH - Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness was found guilty Thursday and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for evading millions of euros (dollars) in tax through an undeclared Swiss bank account. The 62-year-old Hoeness, one of the most powerful figures in German soccer, was initially charged with dodging 3.5 million euros ($4.85 million) in taxes through the Swiss account. But when his trial opened Monday he admitted to avoiding 15 million euros more. Then it came out through an examination of documents he provided to investigators shortly before the trial that he owed 27.2 million euros in total — a number Hoeness did not dispute. Hoeness had faced up to 10 years in prison, and the sentence came between the 5 1/2 years suggested by the prosecution and the defences plea for probation, based on the fact that he had turned himself in for tax evasion and provided details to the court, the dpa news agency reported. Following the verdict, defence attorney Hanns Feigen said he would appeal the decision to see how a higher court would value Hoeness "not ideal" confession. He added that he was convinced the appeals court would come to a "better result" than the Munich state court did. Hoeness will remain free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal. German authorities have been cracking down on tax evaders in recent years, and have recovered hundreds of millions of euros. Their widely-publicized purchase of leaked account information on thousands of investors, as well as high-profile cases such as that against Hoeness and former Deutsche Post AG CEO Klaus Zumwinkel, has led to thousands of people turning themselves in. Hoeness, who also is part owner of a Nuremberg sausage factory, reported himself to the tax authorities last April — around the same time that German media were investigating reports of high-profile tax evaders. News of the case against the national icon prompted even Chancellor Angela Merkels spokesman to weigh in and say the countrys leader was disappointed in him. As a player, Hoeness was a Bayern star who won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup with West Germany and three straight European Cups — the predecessor of the Champions League — before retiring in 1979 with chronic knee problems. He became the Bundesligas youngest coach when he was 27. Bayern has been enjoying unprecedented success under Hoeness presidency. The club stood by him during the investigation, and its supervisory board was expected to meet following the verdict to see what steps to take next. Bayern Munich said it would issue a statement later Thursday. In three decades as manager and president of Bayern, Hoeness conducted a prudent financial policy that left the club not only without debts but with a fat bank account. Hoeness refused to spend lavishly on foreign superstars but brought in the best of German talent. In recent years, Bayern started spending more on players and the result was its first treble last season, when it won the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup. The club is on course to win the Bundesliga again — perhaps even undefeated — and could become the first team to defend the Champions League title. Bayern could accomplish the treble again. Hoeness was also instrumental in signing coach Pep Guardiola. With three "strategic partners" — Adidas, Audi and Allianz, which each have an 8.33-per cent stake in the club — Bayern has some of Germanys best known companies behind it. The club has also paid off its stadium. . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin. . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said.
http://www.cheapnuggetsjerseysauthentic ... lsh-jersey. Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward. . 15 in Hamburg. The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6 but had to be postponed after Klitschko tore a bicep in sparring and was forced to miss four weeks of training. . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf has been shooting the puck more this season, and its been paying off for himself and his teammates. Getzlaf put Anaheim ahead to stay in the final minute of the first period with his career-high 26th goal, and Corey Perry, Patrick Maroon and Daniel Winnik also scored as the Ducks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 Thursday night. Getzlaf, in the first season of an eight-year, $66 million contract extension he signed last March, scored 25 goals during the Ducks 2006-07 Stanley Cup championship season and matched that total in 2008-09. "If he shoots the puck, hes going to score. And he shoots the puck a lot -- a lot more than hes done in the past. So consequently, hes getting goals," coach Bruce Boudreau said in reference to Getzlafs 136 shots on net. The Ducks captain also recorded his second career "Gordie Howe hat trick" -- a goal, an assist, and a fight with Steve Downie. "He said to me earlier that I owed him one from that first game of the season when we fought and he was with Colorado," Getzlaf said. "So he asked me to go, and I thought it an OK time for me to do it." Saku Koivu added an empty-net goal and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves, helping the Ducks improve their NHL-leading record to 40-11-5 and their home mark to 22-2-2. They have won 22 of their last 26 games, and are off to the best start in franchise history. Winnik gave Anaheim a 4-2 lead with a short-handed goal, the ninth allowed this season by the Flyers -- tying Edmonton for the league lead. Koivu broke up a pass in the Ducks zone and went off on a 2-on-1 break with Winnik, who beat Steve Mason to the glove side with 7:34 remaining while teammate Hampus Lindholm was off for high-sticking Claude Giroux. "The way they play on the power play, they get four guys down below the hash marks after a shot," Winnik said after his first goal since Oct. 10. "It was something we knew going into the game, so we felt there could be chances that way and we were fortunate to get one tonight. It felt really good. It was a long time coming. Its nice to get that pressure off me." Andersen is 13-2-0 in his first 15 NHL starts, and hasnt allowed more than three goals in any of them. He has a 1.94 goals-against average, including a two-period relief stint in his NHL debut on Oct. 20, when he earned a 6-3 win in relief against Dallas by stopping all 24 shots he faced after Jonas Hiller left with a 3-1 deficit. "Our depth at goaltending has been outstanding, and when Freddies played hes been unbelievable," Getzlaf said. "Hes a big kid and for a young guy, he plays really calm in the net. Hes not too active, and thats a good sign. Hes a goalie that setttles things down back there.dddddddddddd" Vincent Lecavalier, Matt Read and Michael Raffl scored for the Flyers, and Mason stopped 23 shots following his 33-save shutout against Detroit on Tuesday at Philadelphia. The Flyers are 3-6-2 in their last 11 games following a 7-1-0 stretch. "It was a pretty physical game," Boudreau said. "They were trying to push us around, but I thought we did a pretty good job of standing up for ourselves." Philadelphia came in averaging a league-worst 15.9 penalty minutes, but it was the Ducks who couldnt stay out of the box during the first period as the Flyers cashed in on one of three power plays. Lecavalier beat Andersen through the pads with a 25-foot wrist shot from the right circle, tying it at 1 with 3 seconds left on Matt Beleskeys interference penalty. Getzlaf regained the lead for Anaheim parking himself at the edge of the crease and redirecting Lindholms 50-foot slap shot past Mason with 36 seconds left in the period. Perry made it 3-1 at 10:29 of the second, beating Mason to the glove side from the low slot after getting a cross-ice pass from Getzlaf. The Ducks are 9-0-1 this season when Getzlaf and Perry score goals in the same game, and 23-3-4 under those circumstances since Feb. 1, 2010. "There wasnt a single clean shot from the point the entire night," Mason said. "They did a great job of getting sticks on it, bodies in front. When you have a team like that, it makes it difficult to stop pucks. We controlled a lot of the play, but they were able to get two deflections in there. For the most part, we did a pretty good job." Read scored his 14th goal with 14:12 remaining, after Mark Streits sharp-angle shot from the left corner struck Andersen in the chest and bounced into the net off Reads right leg. NOTES: C Nick Bonino, one of four players to appear in all 56 games for Anaheim, went to the dressing room with an upper-body injury after an open-ice hit from C Zac Rinaldo at 12:38 of the opening period. He played four shifts in the second period before calling it a night. ... Rinaldo returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a high left ankle sprain. ... Lindholm leads all rookies with a plus-minus figure of plus-25. He was a plus-2 against the Flyers. ... Winniks goal was his second this season and third in his last 96 games. ... The Flyers have connected on the power play in five straight games and 11 of the last 14. ... The Flyers are 26-20-6 since Craig Berube replaced Peter Laviolette as head coach following the teams second consecutive 0-3 start. ... The Ducks are 32-1-2 when scoring three or more goals, and 31-0-2 when allowing fewer than three. They also are 30-1-2 when leading after two periods. ' ' '
