|
ZURICH, Switzerland -- Two footballers in El Salvador and another in Moldova have had their domestic suspensions for match-fixing extended worldwide. The players from El Salvador, whose names havent been disclosed, were banned for six months and five years, respectively, for manipulating international matches at senior, "A" team and under-20 level in 2010. Mouldovan player Serhiy Lashchenkov was suspended for five years by Ukraines football federation in 2010 following an investigation into fixing during a Ukrainian league match between Metalist Kharkiv and Karpaty Lviv in the 2007-08 season. FIFA says in a statement it has banned all three players from "all football-related activity" worldwide. . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened.SEATTLE - When Richard Sherman gave Michael Crabtree a pat on the backside, got shoved in the face and made a choke sign toward the San Francisco bench, he was just getting warmed up. Get ready for two more weeks of the unfiltered Sherman with the Seattle Seahawks headed to the Super Bowl. "I hadnt gotten many opportunities all game and Im happy. Im happy about that," Sherman said. " Im sure if our team knew it was going to come down to a play like that they would be pretty confident going into it." Sherman stole the attention on Sunday, first by deflecting a pass intended for Crabtree in the corner of the end zone with less than a minute left, right into the arms of Seattle teammate Malcolm Smith to seal the Seahawks 23-17 win. But then came the antics and Shermans words that revealed a deep dislike for Crabtree and satisfaction in Seattle knocking off its division rivals to reach the Super Bowl. While Smith was celebrating the interception, Sherman exchanged words with Crabtree, got shoved in the face as a rebuttal then made a choking gesture toward the San Francisco bench that he said was intended for quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Asked about the incident afterward by Fox reporter Erin Andrews, Sherman lit up Twitter with a rant that began: "Im the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, thats the result you gonna get. Dont you ever talk about me!" Sherman didnt back down even after getting some time to collect his thoughts. He apologized to Andrews, then proceeded to call Crabtree "mediocre," making sure to annunciate each syllable of the word. "I was making sure everybody knew Crabtree was a mediocre receiver," Sherman said. "And when you try the best corner in the game with a mediocre receiver thats what happens." It was a fiery, emotional rant from Sherman, who celebrated his first conference title by racing around the field after Russell Wilson toook the final knee, then leaping into the first row of seats in the south end zone to celebrate with fans.dddddddddddd "I know how passionate he is about the game of football. He said to me before the game its going to come down to us making big plays. Weve got to do it. Somehow weve got to find a way to make big plays," said teammate Doug Baldwin. "(Sherman) has been doing it all season. He is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL. They were trying to stay away from him the whole game. Eventually they were going to have to go his way and eventually they did and they made a mistake." Sherman was rarely targeted by San Francisco, with most of the throws going toward Shermans teammate Byron Maxwell. But when Kaepernick had to make a throw in the final seconds, he decided to challenge the All-Pro. Sherman stayed with Crabtree, leaped and batted the ball into the air with his left hand. That allowed Smith to run underneath and make the interception that clinched the victory. It was San Franciscos third turnover in the fourth quarter. "I knew if I tipped it high enough someone would get there," Sherman said. Sherman then ran over to Crabtree and gave him a pat on the backside, then appeared to extend his arm for a handshake. Instead, Sherman got shoved in the face before picking up his personal foul as his celebration continued. "Sherman made a good play. Thats probably the only play he made all game," Crabtree said. "I aint getting into that, he knows what time it is. When were on the field, he aint doing nothin. Thats one play, you know what Im saying? ... Hes a TV guy, Im not a TV guy. I play ball." Sherman said his issues with Crabtree go back to something that happened during the off-season. He would not go into detail about what happened. "He said something personal face to face," Sherman said. "He knows what he said and he knows Im going to be tough on him the rest of his career." ' ' '
|
