Oral Roberts beats depleted No. 8 Xavier 64-42

Latest News - All the three players could do was sit and watch one of the worst moments in Xavier’s recent history.

Dominique Morrison scored 19 points Sunday, leading Oral Roberts to a 64-42 victory over previously unbeaten Xavier, which couldn’t do much with three of its starters sitting on the bench because of suspensions.

The eighth-ranked Musketeers (8-1) didn’t have point guard Tu Holloway, shooting guard Mark Lyons or freshman forward Dez Wells, who account for 40 percent of their points. The trio was suspended for a brawl eight days earlier against crosstown rival Cincinnati.

The players began paying the price on Sunday—their first loss of the season.

“We just weren’t ourselves today on both offense and defense,” coach Chris Mack said.

The depleted lineup couldn’t get in sync or keep up with the experienced Golden Eagles (8-4), who start three seniors and two juniors and knew they had a good opportunity with Xavier so short-handed.

“Full-strength it might have been a different game, but they weren’t here to play so we don’t know,” Morrison said. “We can’t control what happened last week. We could only control what happened on the court today.”

They were fully in control after the opening minutes.

Travis Taylor scored 11 points for Xavier, which lost for only the second time in the last 46 games at the Cintas Center. It was the Musketeers’ worst loss at Cintas, which opened for the 2000-01 season, and their worst home loss overall since an 80-49 defeat to La Salle on Jan. 23, 2000 at Cincinnati Gardens.

Xavier had the week off since its 76-53 win over Cincinnati on the Musketeers’ home court. The game was called with 9.4 seconds left when a brawl broke out. Each team suspended four players.

Holloway, one of the nation’s top point guards, got a one-game suspension for instigating the brawl with his trash talking. Lyons got two games and will also miss Xavier’s opening game against Long Beach State in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii on Thursday.

Wells got a four-game suspension, along with walk-on Landen Amos. They were all in street clothes on the bench for the game. Holloway was the last one out of the locker room, walking slowly across the court by himself in a yellow button-down shirt.

Mack went to midcourt and spoke for 55 seconds before the player introductions, wanting to address the fans directly.

“We were all embarrassed by our behavior last weekend,” he told the crowd of 9,678. “It’s extremely disappointing and in no way was a representation of what our university and our basketball program is all about.”

Junior guard Brad Redford and freshman point guard Dee Davis made their first career starts for the Musketeers, who were missing their top two scorers in Holloway (17.6 points) and Lyons (17.4). Davis had 10 points, Redford two.

Xavier center Kenny Frease played with a prominent cut and bruise below his left eye, caused by a punch from Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates during the brawl. Frease needed seven stitches. He finished with four points on 2 of 9 shooting.

“A lot of things broke down,” Frease said. “It wasn’t just one thing that they did better than us.”

Frease had Xavier’s first field goal, a bank shot that fueled a 5-1 opening spurt against Oral Roberts, which was coming off a 67-61 loss at Gonzaga on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles then patiently took advantage of the Musketeers’ inexperience on the court in every way.

“Well, it was a tough week for our program, even tougher today,” Mack said. “It’s disappointing. From tough times, tough people last, and we certainly have to get better and improve. Some of the reserves on our team didn’t play particularly well, and I didn’t coach particularly well.”

Damen Bell-Holter got open under the basket for two uncontested layups during a 12-0 run that put the Golden Eagles ahead to stay, 16-7. Xavier missed seven of its first 10 shots and couldn’t get into a flow offensively without its top two ball handlers.

The defense was a problem, too, with Golden Eagles getting wide open.

“As a team, we didn’t step up to the challenge of guarding every play like it was the last play we’d ever play,” Xavier forward Andre Walker said. “They didn’t do anything differently. Our defensive coverage would break down, one guy wasn’t sure what the other would do. Then we were just frazzled for the rest of the game.”

Warren Niles hit a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper during a 10-point run that pushed it to 31-14. Xavier shot only 36 percent from the field and had 12 turnovers in the half, which ended with the Golden Eagles up 36-19—Xavier’s lowest-scoring first half in more than a year.

Xavier never got closer than 16 points in the second half, with the lead getting as high as 30 points.

Posted on 1:58 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Dawkins out against Patriots with neck injury

Latest News - Broncos safety Brian Dawkins will miss the game Sunday against the New England Patriots with a neck injury.

Dawkins was hurt while making a tackle last weekend in a win over the Chicago Bears.

The Patriots are without receiver Deion Branch (groin), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee), offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot), running back Shane Vereen (hamstring) and safety Patrick Chung (foot).

With Dawkins sidelined, the Broncos altered their secondary. Rookie Quinton Carter will slide over and play strong safety while fellow rookie Rahim Moore takes over at free safety.

Denver also was without special teams standout David Bruton (Achilles).

Cornerback Andre’ Goodman was cleared to play after sustaining a concussion last Sunday.

Posted on 1:58 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Penn St. coach says he saw, reported molestation

Latest News - As soon as he walked into the Penn State locker room, Mike McQueary heard running water and rhythmic, slapping sounds of “skin on skin.” He looked in a mirror and saw a naked Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach, holding a young boy by the waist from behind, up against the wall in the campus shower.

“I just saw Coach Sandusky in the showers with a boy and what I saw was wrong and sexual,” McQueary recalled telling his father that night in 2002. He repeated it the next morning to coach Joe Paterno, who slumped deep into his chair at his kitchen table.

“He said, `I’m sorry you had to see that,”’ McQueary said.

McQueary’s testimony Friday at a preliminary hearing for two Penn State officials accused of covering up the story was the most detailed, public account yet of the child sex abuse allegations that have upended the university’s football program and the entire central Pennsylvania campus. Paterno and the university president have lost their jobs, and officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz are accused of lying to a grand jury about what McQueary told them.

A Pennsylvania judge on Friday held Curley, the university’s athletic director, and Schultz, a retired senior vice president, for trial after the daylong hearing.

Curley said that McQueary never relayed the seriousness of what he saw, and said he was only told that Sandusky was “horsing around” with a boy but that his conduct wasn’t sexual.

He said he told the university president about the episode and the top official at a children’s charity that Sandusky founded, but never told university police. “I didn’t see any reason because I didn’t think at the time it was a crime,” he told the grand jury, according to testimony read into the record on Friday.

Curley, Schultz and Paterno have been criticized for never telling police about the 2002 charges. Prosecutors say Sandusky continued to abuse boys for six more years. Sandusky has denied having inappropriate sexual contact with boys.

In about two hours on the witness stand, McQueary said again and again that what he saw was a sexual act, although he stopped short of saying he was sure that Sandusky, now 67, had raped the boy.

“I believe Jerry was sexually molesting him and having some type of sexual intercourse with him,” McQueary said on Friday. He said later he “can’t say 100 percent” that Sandusky and the boy were having intercourse because he was seeing Sandusky from behind.

He said after talking to his father, he went over to Paterno’s home the next morning and said that what he had seen “was way over the lines, it was extremely sexual in nature.” He said he would not have used words like sodomy or intercourse with Paterno; he did not get into that much detail out of respect for the coach, he said.

Paterno told the grand jury that McQueary said he saw Sandusky doing something of a “sexual nature” with the youngster but that he didn’t press for details.

“I didn’t push Mike … because he was very upset,” Paterno said. “I knew Mike was upset, and I knew some kind of inappropriate action was being taken by Jerry Sandusky with a youngster.”

Paterno told McQueary he would talk to others about what he’d reported.

McQueary said he met nine or 10 days later with Curley and Schultz and told them he’d seen Sandusky and a boy, both naked, in the shower after hearing skin-on-skin slapping sounds.

“I would have described that it was extremely sexual and I thought that some kind of intercourse was going on,” said McQueary.

McQueary said he was left with the impression both men took his report seriously. When asked why he didn’t go to police, he referenced Schultz’s position as a vice president at the university who had overseen the campus police

“I thought I was talking to the head of the police, to be frank with you,” he said. “In my mind it was like speaking to a (district attorney). It was someone who police reported to and would know what to do with it.”

The square-jawed, red-haired assistant coach spoke in a steady voice in his first public account of the alleged abuse, sometimes turning his seat and leaning toward defense lawyers to answer questions. His voice rose a few times and he blushed once when describing the sexual encounter in the shower.

Defense lawyers for Curley and Schultz argued that a perjury charge should not be based solely on a person’s testimony under oath contradicting someone else’s testimony. The defense said uncorroborated testimony from McQueary is not enough and sought to pick apart the ways he described the shower scene differently to different people.

The defense noted that McQueary admitted changing his description of the shower encounter when speaking with Paterno—enough so that the coach didn’t believe a crime had occurred.

McQueary said he had stopped by a campus football locker room to drop off a pair of sneakers in the spring of 2002 when he saw Sandusky with the boy, who he estimated was 10 or 12 years old.

McQueary, 37, said he has never described what he saw as anal rape or anal intercourse and couldn’t see Sandusky’s genitals, but that “it was very clear that it looked like there was intercourse going on.”

In its report last month, the grand jury summarized McQueary’s testimony as saying he “saw a naked boy … with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky.”

McQueary said he peeked into the shower three times—the first via a mirror, the other two times directly. The last time he looked in, Sandusky and the boy had separated, he said. He said he didn’t say anything, but “I know they saw me. They looked directly in my eye, both of them.”

McQueary said the entire encounter—from when he first entered the locker room to when he retreated to his office—lasted about 45 seconds.

Curley told the grand jury that he couldn’t recall his specific conversation with McQueary, but McQueary never reported seeing anal intercourse or other sexual conduct. He said he spoke to Sandusky about it, who first denied having been in the shower with a boy, but later changed his story.

Schultz said he remembered McQueary and Paterno describing what the younger coach saw only in a very general way.

“I had the impression it was inappropriate,” Schultz told the grand jury. “I had the feeling it was some kind of wrestling activity and maybe Jerry might have grabbed a young boy’s genitals.”

Under cross-examination, McQueary said he considered what he saw a crime but didn’t call police because “it was delicate in nature.”

“I tried to use my best judgment,” he said. “I was sure the act was over.” He said he never tried to find the boy.

Paterno, Schultz and Curley didn’t testify, but District Judge William C. Wenner read their grand jury testimony from January at the Dauphin County hearing.

Curley’s attorney, Caroline Roberto, said prosecutors “will never be able to reach their burden of proof at a trial.”

Schultz’s attorney, Tom Farrell, predicted his client would be acquitted.

He also took a shot at Paterno, saying, “I’m an Italian from Brooklyn, and he may not have called the police but he may have done what I would have done, which is get the boys in the car with a few baseball bats and crowbars and take it to the fellow.”

Sandusky says he is innocent of 52 criminal charges stemming from what authorities say were sexual assaults over 12 years on 10 boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere.

Curley, 57, was placed on leave by the university after his arrest. Schultz, 62, returned to retirement after spending about four decades at the school, most recently as senior vice president for business and finance, and treasurer.

Posted on 11:44 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Pujols, Angels reach $254 million, 10-year deal

Latest News - Albert Pujols could have been a wealthy Cardinal for life, planning for the day his statue would be erected outside Busch Stadium next to those of Stan Musial, Bob Gibson and the other St. Louis greats.

Instead, exactly six weeks after leading the Cardinals to a second title in one of the most thrilling World Series ever, he decided to accept the second-highest contract in baseball history for a new future in southern California with the Los Angeles Angels.

The three-time NL MVP agreed Thursday to a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Angels, leaving behind a heartbroken fan base by jilting one of the sport’s traditional teams for an expansion club with only one championship in its half-century.

Many top stars have changed teams in their careers, from Babe Ruth to Willie Mays to Barry Bonds. But this is perhaps the best player in the game over the past decade, exiting shortly after one of the great postseason power shows.

A big and burly offensive force with a shaved head, the nine-time All-Star has a room full of honors, winning the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year award, NL MVPs in 2005, 2008 and 2009, a batting title in 2003 and a pair of Gold Gloves at first base. Who would have predicted that when the Cardinals selected him in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft with the 402nd overall selection?

And now, he’s going West.

As his deal fell into place on the final day of the winter meetings, the Angels struck another big agreement, a $77.5 million, five-year contract with left-hander C.J. Wilson, the ace whose Texas Rangers lost to the Cardinals in the seven-game World Series.

“This is obviously the moment where we have thrown our hat in the ring,” new Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said.

Had he stayed in St. Louis before packed, adoring crowds, Pujols would’ve established a Cal Ripken-like legacy of loyalty, a rare modern star who remained with a franchise from first at-bat to final swing.

Instead, some of his former fans will see him as a sellout.

Pujols rejected a multiyear extension last offseason that was said to include a small percentage of the franchise and cut off negotiations a day before he arrived at spring training. St. Louis also offered the slugger a 10-year deal that chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said was in excess of $200 million.

“I would like our fans to know that we tried our best to make Albert a lifetime Cardinal,” he said in a statement, adding later in a telephone interview: “They were substantially higher than our bid.”

In St. Louis, Pujols has accomplished so much that he would have been beloved no matter his future performance. But in Anaheim, he will have to prove himself anew.

“I think his body’s going to start breaking down and he’s not going to be good for 10 years,” said Katie Coyle, fitness coordinator at the Webster-Kirkwood YMCA in Missouri, a die-hard fan who wore team colors to work during the playoffs. “I think he’s going to regret leaving here. If he’d have stayed here and signed a long-term deal with the Cardinals, they’d have had compassion for him because they’ve seen him at his best.”

Pujols’ contract, which like Wilson’s is subject to a physical, is only the third to break the $200 million barrier, following Alex Rodriguez’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas before the 2001 season and A-Rod’s $275 million, 10-year agreement with the Yankees before the 2008 season.

“This is a monumental day for Angel fans and I could not be more excited,” said owner Arte Moreno, who bought the team for $184 million from The Walt Disney Co. in 2003, a year after its only title.

Despite a top-four payroll this year, the Angels languished to a second-place finish behind Texas in the AL West. They spent $331.5 million on just two players, capping an unusual winter meetings in which the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox watched while the Angels and Miami Marlins spent as if they were the sport’s financial elite.

Moving into a new ballpark next season, the Marlins failed to reel in Pujols but acquired All-Star closer Heath Bell, All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes and left-hander Mark Buehrle for $191 million, meaning the two clubs committed $522.5 million to just five free agents.

“I think baseball needs to have a steroid-testing policy for owners,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economics professor at Smith College.

At the very same hotel 11 years earlier, teams spent $738.95 million on 24 free agents and none of the three big deals worked out as planned. Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez ($160 million over eight years with Boston) and Mike Hampton ($121 million over eight years with Colorado) all were traded during their contracts.

Pujols became the first player to hit 30 home runs in his first 11 seasons and the second after Al Simmons (1924-34) to reach 100 RBIs in his first 10. He has a .338 average with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBIs to become a franchise icon second only to Musial, and is fourth in career slugging percentage at .617, trailing only Hall of Famers Ruth (.690), Ted Williams (.634) and Lou Gehrig (.632).

But Pujols’ numbers in nearly every major offensive category are on a three-year decline. He had his poorest season in 2011 with a .299 average, 37 homers and 99 RBIs. He batted just .240 in the Series but had a night for the ages in Game 3, joining Ruth and Reggie Jackson as only the third player to hit three home runs in a Series game.

“We understand that players will go through peaks and valleys of sort,” Dipoto said. “Albert has spent many years operating at peak, and if we want to call a decline going from superhuman to just great, I don’t think we’ve seen the last great days of Albert Pujols, obviously, or we wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

Some have speculated he is older than the listed 31 and he could be a full-time designated hitter within a few years. “Albert Pujols’ age to me is not a concern,” Dipoto said. “I’m not a scientist. I can’t tell you where he is, but I can tell you he hits like he’s 27.”

The Angels made the move as the financially troubled Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of being sold by Frank McCourt in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, a deal that could give the region’s NL team a new, wealthy owner. The Dodgers could aggressively bid for talent a year from now, giving them a boost in the regional competition for fans’ attention.

“Winning breeds interest, and we are setting ourselves up to start next season with an opportunity to get good,” Dipoto said.

Pujols agreed in 2004 to a $100 million, seven-year contract, a deal that— with a 2011 option and bonuses—wound up paying him $112.55 million over eight years.

Cardinals fans already lamenting the retirement of manager Tony La Russa won’t get to see Pujols up close for a while—his old and new teams don’t meet in interleague play next season.

“He left a pretty good impact over there. I don’t think fans will soon forget what his contributions were,” said former Cardinals manager and star Joe Torre, now an executive with Major League Baseball. “I still think the St. Louis fans are going to be more appreciative than angry.”

Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano, split off last year from the Beverly Hills Sports Council to form his own agency, and Pujols’ negotiations seemed like an attempt to surpass A-Rod’s landmark first big deal.

“This is a footprint contract, because it follows the footprint laid by other great players,” said agent Scott Boras, who negotiated Rodriguez’s agreements. “Putting a hitter like Albert Pujols in a big market, where he can be a DH, I think it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Other teams were somewhat surprised by his decision, but not shocked in a sport that has often seen stars shift for larger salaries. Reaction depended on the league.

“For 2012, two wilds cards and no Albert Pujols,” New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “I’m happy.”

Posted on 10:46 PM / 0 comments / Read More

No. 3 Okla St makes BCS case in 44-10 win over OU

Latest News - Mike Gundy didn’t feel comfortable campaigning for No. 3 Oklahoma State to play for the national title until his Cowboys had at least won a conference crown.

His team made a better case than anything he could have ever said.

Joseph Randle ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, Richetti Jones returned a fumble for a score and No. 3 Oklahoma State throttled No. 13 Oklahoma 44-10 Saturday night to win the Big 12 championship and make its case to play for the BCS national title.

“I don’t think there’s any question Oklahoma State should play in the big game,” Gundy said.

The Cowboys (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) snapped an eight-game losing streak in the Bedlam rivalry and won their first outright conference title since 1948 in the three-team Missouri Valley.

Oklahoma State’s defense, badmouthed much of the season while giving up big yardage but leading the nation in takeaways, forced the Sooners (9-3, 6-3) into five turnovers—four of them by quarterback Landry Jones.

Fans started chanting “L-S-U!” midway through the fourth quarter with the victory well in hand, then stormed the field and tore down the goal posts when it was over.

The top-ranked Tigers could be next up for the Pokes, but only with a boost in the BCS standings due out Sunday night.

“If that’s the way it works out, absolutely. We took care of what we could take care of,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said. “We had to worry about us and control what we could control, and if we were able to do that, we were conference champs.”

While the top-ranked Tigers won the SEC championship Saturday to lock up a spot in the BCS title game, No. 2 Alabama sat at home idle after finishing second in its division. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, proved itself the best team in its state and its conference. But it’s up to the voters, who had the Cowboys fifth in the coaches’ poll and Harris poll, to decide whether Oklahoma State will play for the highest stakes.

Gundy proclaimed earlier this week that he considered the Crimson Tide to be the second-best team in the nation “right now”—but that’s what he thought his team needed to hear at the time.

“I have to make that decision and I wasn’t raised that way. I’m not comfortable standing up and beating our chests and saying that we needed to play somebody when we hadn’t even won this game,” Gundy said.

“That was what we were telling the team in here every day. … I said, `Look, I’m not going to go stand up and say we need to go play somebody else until you guys beat Oklahoma.”’

Afterward, he proclaimed on the field that “there’s no question Oklahoma State should be No. 2 right now.”

“The honest answer is we didn’t deserve it. We do now,” Gundy said. “And if we’d have won this game 17-14, I don’t know if I’d have said it. … When you win by 34 points, we deserve the right.”

The Cowboys won over at least one voter: Sooners coach Bob Stoops said he’d put them at No. 2 on his ballot.

“I’m sure they’re going to have some great opportunities from here,” Stoops said. “I don’t know what will happen.”

For most of the 107 years of the Bedlam rivalry, the Sooners had the better team and more on the line.

But each of the past two years, Oklahoma came in with a lower ranking and still found a way to derail a couple of the best teams in Oklahoma State history — first dashing any hopes of a BCS at-large berth two years ago and then taking away the Cowboys’ shot at the Big 12 championship last season.

With all that history on their side, the Sooners came out looking to intimidate.

After coming onto the field, players ran into the west end zone for a pregame prayer and then lingered after it was over—right outside the gate where the Cowboys were getting ready to run out. Coaches, game officials and security officers made them get out of the way.

The Sooners couldn’t back up the pregame bluster, though.

Brandon Weeden’s 53-yard pass to Tracy Moore set up Jeremy Smith’s 9-yard touchdown run, and the Cowboys defense—which entered the game ranked 107th out of 120 teams in the nation—never needed any more than that.

Brodrick Brown outfought Jaz Reynolds to pick off Landry Jones’ pass in the end zone and prevent an Oklahoma score, and Alex Elkins stripped the ball from the quarterback on a sack to set up a TD for the Cowboys.

Jamie Blatnick picked up the fumble and returned it 59 yards to the 1-yard line, and Randle scored on the next play to make it 17-0. Randle added a 2-yard run after Sam Proctor’s holding penalty on a kickoff return backed the Sooners up, and they went three-and-out—punting it back to Oklahoma State on a shortened field.

Richetti Jones made it 34-3 after Landry Jones reached back to pass the ball and fumbled it onto the turf, with the OSU defender bobbling it and then finally controlling it for a 5-yard return.

The Sooners got their only points on Michael Hunnicutt’s 48-yard field goal at the end of the first half and Blake Bell’s 28-yard TD scamper with 2:25 left in the game.

It ended up as Oklahoma’s most lopsided defeat since losing the 2005 Orange Bowl against Southern California, and the second-biggest margin of victory for the Pokes in the series—behind only a 47-0 shutout in 1945.

“That was a convincing win over OU, who is a great team. We were in the No. 1 power-rated conference, we won it outright and we held them to 10 points,” Blatnick said.

“We beat them convincingly. What more do you need than that? I don’t think anybody wants to see another rematch with no touchdowns.”

The Tide’s only loss was at home against LSU, 9-6 in overtime. Alabama has the nation’s top defense and LSU is second, while Oklahoma State has the nation’s No. 2 offense.

“They had their opportunity. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Alabama, all the respect in the world for LSU, but we need our shot,” Gundy said. “There’s talk all year about offense in this league, defense in that league and all that. Well, let’s find out.”

Oklahoma State’s case to play against LSU in New Orleans next month will be hurt by a double-overtime loss 15 days earlier at Iowa State, which finished its season 6-6. It’ll be bolstered by five wins against teams in the BCS Top 25, compared to two for Alabama.

And, of course, the Cowboys will have the momentum from not only winning a conference title but doing it in dominating fashion against a team that was ranked No. 1 earlier this season.

“They had their shot,” Gundy said. “Give us ours.”

Posted on 1:55 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Noah says doping accusations were wake-up call

Latest News - Former French Open champion Yannick Noah says his accusations of doping being rife in Spanish sport were intended as a global wake-up call to sports authorities he feels should be doing more to catch drug cheats—yet he maintains his belief that Spain is tainted.

In an interview with a French newspaper last week, Noah accused Spanish athletes of widespread doping. He said the only way to level the playing field for struggling French and other athletes would be to allow everyone to use the “magic potion,” or banned drugs.

“If I chose this turn of phrase, it was to address the authorities … in order to start a debate,” Noah said Friday on the website of newspaper Le Monde that published his comments last week.

Those accusations drew criticism from Spanish athletes such as 10-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, and from the French Tennis Federation, which distanced itself from Noah.

“I am a bit frustrated that there are two weights and two measures in terms of doping, whether it’s Spain or another country,” Noah continued. “Of course all Spanish athletes aren’t doped … (But) are (the French) worse than the others? I don’t think so.”

Nadal said Noah should be banned from commenting in the media, while Pep Guardiola, the coach of Barcelona soccer club, told him to produce proof or stay quiet.

“I went through the same thing 30 years ago, when I was 20. I spoke about doping and drugs and everyone had a go at me,” Noah said. “I couldn’t respond to everyone. To Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle, who’s told his nephew never to say hello to me again. But what do I care if he says hello to me or not?”

Noah, whose son Joakim plays for the Chicago Bulls, refused to back down from his view that Spain remains tainted by doping.

He cited cases involving cyclist Alberto Contador’s positive doping test when he won the 2010 Tour de France, world steeplechase champion Marta Dominguez, and the Operation Puerto blood-doping investigation as examples.

“The cyclist who ate some meat that helped him pedal faster and who was cleared by his federation, the case of (Dominguez) stopped by the police and then cleared,” Noah said. “My question is the following: Is this not all orchestrated? In the Puerto case, I have the feeling that the affair has been smothered, that names have been hidden.”

Dominguez was among 14 people detained in December 2010 as part of the “Operation Galgo” doping investigation, but a Madrid court cleared her of doping and of trafficking performance-enhancing substances.

This led to an investigation into Spain’s Civil Guard for irregularities in managing her case.

Seven people linked to Puerto will stand trial in Spain, facing up to two years in prison. They include sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, former Liberty Seguros team boss Manolo Saiz and five others arrested in 2006 on suspicion of providing doping services to cyclists.

Puerto implicated more than 50 cyclists but Spanish sports bodies could not use evidence to ban athletes because of Spanish law, which has since changed.

On Thurday, sport’s highest court completed a four-day hearing into Contador’s 2010 Tour case. Hu must wait until early next year to find out if he will be stripped of his title.

Contador’s defense is that eating contaminated steak caused his positive tests for clenbuterol.

“I am against all forms of doping but I’m hypersensitive when it comes to injustice. There are too many cheats winning these days. In Spain and elsewhere,” Noah said. “At which point is an athlete considered to have doped? When he takes a product that makes him run faster, makes him stronger, helps him recover more quickly? Or when he tests positive? The answer to the question is not the same, depending on the country.”

Noah blamed the media for not being aggressive enough on doping issues.

“There are side effects which you never read about on the front pages of the newspapers,” he said. “We know there have been problems in the past with Italian footballers who are now seriously ill.”

Posted on 8:09 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Bundesliga referee recovering from suicide attempt

Latest News - The referee who attempted suicide hours before a Bundesliga game this weekend is recovering well and has been released from the hospital, the German Football Federation (DFB) said Monday.

The DFB said Babak Rafati’s condition has improved and that he has been discharged from the Cologne hospital he was taken to on Saturday.

Rafati’s lawyer told the DFB that the 41-year-old referee would continue with inpatient treatment for an undetermined period of time.

Rafati was found bleeding in his hotel bathtub before he was due to take charge of a game between Cologne and Mainz. The match was called off, and has been rescheduled for Dec. 13.

The DFB said Rafati requested “peace and quiet” and that he “now needs, above all, time and patience.”

Posted on 9:32 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Venezuela vows all-out hunt for Nationals' Ramos

Latest News - The government sent top investigators Thursday to hunt for Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, whose abduction has shaken Venezuela's elite athletes and focused attention on the nation's sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom.

The 24-year-old player, who had returned to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out "and they took him away," said Ramos' agent, Gustavo Marcano.

It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, though the relatives of some ballplayers have previously been held captive for ransom.

Police found the kidnappers' vehicle abandoned in the nearby town of Bejuma on Thursday morning, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said. He said anti-kidnapping units led by "the best investigators we have" were dispatched to the area in central Carabobo state.

He vowed to rescue Ramos and capture his abductors.

"We're taking on this investigation with everything we've got," El Aissami said.

Major League Baseball and the Nationals said the leagues' Department of Investigations was working with authorities.

"Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time," the team and the MLB said in a joint statement, adding there would be no further comment.

Ramos was outside with his father and two brothers in their working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Valencia when the SUV pulled up with four men inside, three of whom got out and seized the player, Marcano said.

"The abductors haven't made contact with the family or with anyone," said Domingo Alvarez, vice president of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. "We're worried."

At baseball games in three Venezuelan stadiums, fans and players observed a minute of silence Thursay night in support of Ramos, and prayed for him. Some held signs reading: "Free Wilson Ramos!"

Julio Franco, a Dominican former major leaguer who is manager of the Venezuelan Caribes team, grabbed a microphone and spoke to fans at a game in the eastern city of Puerto La Cruz. "Jesus, we ask you for your grace and divine power to protect our brother, Wilson Ramos," he said.

To show support, teams added green to their uniforms, some sporting a green band on one shoulder, others a green "W'' for Wilson embroidered on the chests of their jerseys.

Ramos is a key young player for the Nationals. As a rookie in 2011, he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games. He also threw out 19 of 67 runners attempting to steal a base, a 28 percent success rate that ranked third among qualifying catchers in the National League.

Washington acquired Ramos from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for All-Star relief pitcher Matt Capps in July 2010.

He is one of dozens of Venezuelans in professional baseball, and security while at home has increasingly become a concern for the players and their families as a rising wave of kidnappings has hit the wealthy as well as the middle class.

Venezuelan police said 618 kidnappings were reported in 2009, and the numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. In 1998, when President Hugo Chavez was elected, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Security experts say the real number of kidnappings today is much higher because many cases aren't reported to authorities.

The wealthy have taken steps to protect themselves. Sales of armored cars have soared in the past several years. Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to their homeland to play in the winter league.

"Every major league player has his own security, but we don't know if he had his security there at that time," Alvarez said.

Katherine Vilera, spokeswoman for Ramos' Venezuelan team, the Aragua Tigers, said on Twitter that neighbors gathered at his home and prayed.

Former Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Armas, who lives in Venezuela, said young players have been taking additional security measures due to the risk of kidnappings.

"But many of them are careless sometimes. No one seriously thinks that this can happen to us, and much less in a country like ours where people love baseball," Armas said in a telephone interview.

"Most of us came from humble families. We still have relatives who live in poor areas; we frequent those places and unfortunately the criminals are getting more soulless all the time," he said.

In November 2009, the 56-year-old mother of Victor Zambrano, who retired after a seven-year Major League career, was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after she was kidnapped. The former pitcher's cousin, Richard Mendez Zambrano, had been kidnapped a few days earlier, and was later killed.

In June 2009, Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba's 11-year-old son and brother-in-law were kidnapped and released a day later.

The mother of former player Ugueth Urbina, who was a two-time All-Star pitcher, spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.

Venezuela has one of Latin America's highest murder rates, and violent crime has worsened in recent years. As ransom kidnapping has soared, the government passed a revised law in 2009 that stiffened prison sentences for kidnapping and also allows authorities to freeze the banks accounts of victims' families to prevent them from paying ransom.

Ramos had been training and planned to start playing with his Venezuelan team next week. Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Melvin Mora, also a Venezuelan, proposed that the Venezuelan league ought to call off its games "until he appears."

But league president Jose Grasso said that won't happen. "Turning out the stadium lights isn't a solution," Grasso said, calling Ramos' abduction "an isolated event."

Posted on 10:51 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Barcelona's Pep Guardiola congratulates Sir Alex Ferguson on his 25 years at Manchester United

Latest News - Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has joined the chorus of praise for Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as the Scot celebrated his 25th year in charge of the Red Devils.

Guardiola, who is only into his third year and fourth season of first-team club management, hailed Ferguson's high level of consistency and his ability to keep the club competitive through the years despite regular changes of personnel.

"I want to congratulate him. When somebody has spent 25 years at a team like Manchester [United], the only thing you can do is stand up and take your hat off," Guardiola said.

"I would like to be able to rebuild teams, because even though you are in the same side it is always changing because when you are there for 25 years, they are all new teams, and they are always so competitive.

"He did it in the same team, but it is like a changing team, taking 11 different players, a different squad, and kept being competitive.

"Only very intuitive people can do this, people who know what they want and what they look for. I want to congratulate him and hope he still has many, many years left."

Ferguson celebrated his quarter of a century landmark at United with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Posted on 3:14 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Tour Report: Update: Van Pelt pulling away

Latest News - Bo Van Pelt has reached 20 under at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic and is now five shots clear of his nearest competitors.

Van Pelt is 4 under through 13 holes in his final round, increasing his lead over the other half of the day’s final pairing, Jeff Overton, and Cameron Tringale, who is in the clubhouse at 15 under following today’s 7-under 64.

Posted on 12:09 AM / 0 comments / Read More

FT: Man United 1 Man City 6

It's all over! Manchester City win 6-1 at Old Trafford! What a day for the visitors.

Silva plants a great pass right into Dzeko's path and he charges it down before slotting it home.

90+3 GOAL! 6-1 FOR CITY AS DZEKO SCORES ANOTHER!

90+3 It's almost over and this will go down in history for City.

90+3 That was so very nearly 6-1 as Dzeko comes close but blasts his effort into the stands. This is getting very embarrassing for United.

90+2 Three minutes of injury time have been added. The City fans are going absolutely wild!

90+1 It's just gone from bad to worse for United as Dzeko puts through Silva, who makes no mistake sliding it home.

90+1 GOAL! SILVA FOR CITY! What is going on?

90 United will be praying for the final whistle after that one. Barry gets the first header on the corner and Lescott keeps it in for Dzeko, who taps it home.

89 GOAL! DZEKO FOR MAN CITY!

89 Milner, who has been superb as was involved in two of the goals, comes off for Kolarov.

89 An error between De Gea and Ferdinand hands City a late corner. It really isn't United's day!

88 Another City chance as Yaya Toure curls a shot, looking for the far corner, but it trickles wide.

87 Rooney skips around Silva in midfield, trying to push forward. There's three United players in the box but Hart charges out to gather.

86 Smalling comes close with a headed effort in the area but is denied by the City defence. United's chances of a comeback are dwindling.

86 A blot on an otherwise superb display for Richards as he goes in the book.

85 United win a free-kick after Young is shoulder-charged by Barry. Richards then fouls Welbeck.

84 City take their time over a throw-in, which Nasri eventually sends to Dzeko. Young snatches possession but is closed down by Barry.

83 Another booking, this time for Welbeck, as he runs the superb Richards off the ball.

82 United are on the attack again until Jones makes a slip to give the ball away to Yaya Toure.

The Scotsman produces a one-two with Chicharito before unleashing a fantastic strike which slams past Hart and into the back of the net. Can that ignite a comeback for United?

81 GOAL! FLETCHER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED!

80 We're into the final 10 minutes of regular time now and City are 3-0 ahead and showing no signs of relenting. If United pulled off a comeback it would be truly remarkable.

79 Nothing comes from the set piece but City are still looking comfortable with their lead. There's another booking as Smalling sees yellow for a challenge.

78 Silva fires through Dzeko and the hitman tries a shot, which De Gea does brilliantly to save. City corner.

77 A rare smile from Balotelli on the bench as he jokes with fellow goalscorer Aguero. He's got plenty to smile about!

76 Rooney storms in with a strong challenge to win some needed possession for the hosts.

76 Nasri comes on for Aguero as City make another change.

75 The Bosnian is shown a yellow card for his troubles.

75 Dzeko commits a painful-looking challenge on Phil Jones in the City half. Looked nasty and Jones is on the ground.

74 Another chance for City as Silva tries a shot as the ball drops down into the area. He probably should have passed to Dzeko but it was worth a go.

73 United's players can't rise to reach the kick and it's headed out for a throw, which Jones takes. Welbeck tries a strike but it's blocked.

72 United win a long-range free-kick on the right of the City goal. Young lines up to take it.

71 Dzeko immediately tries a shot from close range. It's deflected off Smalling and rolls just wide as City get close once again.

70 Goalscorer Balotelli goes off for Edin Dzeko after a stunning display.

69 Micah Richards, who has been superb this afternoon, charges down the right and lofts in a cross for Aguero, who chips it home. City are cruising now!

69 GOAL! AGUERO ARRIVES WITH CITY'S THIRD! 3-0 CITY!

68 The City fans are all that can be heard at the moment as they chant Mancini's name. The home faithful have gone very quiet.

67 It's a short corner and City easily clear. Evra makes a studs-up challenge on Gareth Barry to earn a booking.

66 Hernandez makes an instant impact, winning United a corner. Can he turn this around for the home side?

65 Ferguson makes a double substitution as Anderson comes off for Phil Jones and Chicharito replaces Nani.

65 Silva hoofs in a cross meant for Balotelli from the left but Smalling is there to see off the threat.

64 United look likely to make a change as Jones gets up from the bench. Milner takes a corner for the visitors.

63 City go short with the kick and stay comfortably in possession. Richards storms forward once again and evades Rooney, who has suddenly turned left-back.

62 United's frustration is evident as Anderson fouls Aguero to earn himself a yellow card and concede a free-kick.

61 It's a Milner/Balotelli link-up once again, with Silva also playing a key role. Milner times a great run perfectly to pick up a Silva pass and crosses in for Balotelli from the right. The striker simply has to tap it home in front of goal as City take a 2-0 lead.

60 GOAL! BALOTELLI AGAIN FOR CITY!

59 Milner produces a good challenge on Young to win the ball for City just inside their own half. Evra fouls Richards, looking dangerous on the right, as United concede a free-kick.

58 Richards clears the corner but only as far as Rooney, who forces a save from Hart as he takes a shot.

57 Young passes a short corner to Nani and United try another attack until Smalling is shut down for another corner.

56 Young makes a superb challenge on Milner to the left of the City goal to win a corner for the hosts. Good spell for United.

55 More easy-on-the-eye football from City, who move the ball well in a slow-built attack. It culminates in Milner floating in a cross from the right but the advancing Aguero can't quite get a foot to it.

54 Young, set up by Fletcher, takes a couple of chances for United but is blocked by Milner the first time before firing his second wide.

54 Balotelli looks for Aguero in the middle and just outside the box but he can't get a shot away. Richards takes a wild swing inside the area seconds later but blasts it high into the stands.

53 City win a free-kick just inside their own half, which Yaya Toure takes quickly and it finds its way back to Joe Hart.

52 Rooney delivers a great long ball down the left for Welbeck and he makes the most of his pace to chase it into the box, but loses out to the City defence.

51 More drama as Richards goes down in a tangle with Anderson in the area, but Clattenburg waves for no penalty.

50 Smalling is forced to clear to shut down Silva on the left of the United box. City take a quick throw-in.

50 So United have to play this half with 10 men. Better opportunity than ever before for City to claim three points at Old Trafford.

49 That is not good news for United and they can only be relieved that Balotelli's free-kick is slammed into the wall.

48 Looked a legitimate red card after the United man tugged Balotelli down on the edge of the area. So close to being a penalty!

Evans is given his marching orders by Clattenburg!

47 City take early possession this half as Lescott rolls back to Hart. Aguero nods on Balotelli near the area and he's fouled by Evans.

46 We're back underway as City get things rolling this half. The visitors lead and there's been no half-time changes.

Thanks for all your half-time feedback, sorry I couldn't publish everyone's. Time for the second half - enjoy!

You Chelsea fans are loving Balotelli this afternoon! Ben wrote to say - "I disagree with the people that do not like Balotelli. He gives football a bit of controversy, but as long as he does the business on the pitch City fans won't mind. I'm a Chelsea fan. I hope it ends in a draw."

Shenol Mustafa is tipping the hosts to turn things around - "this game is good but man utd are out yet i think they will come back and win."

A half-time betting update for you from Sky Bet - Mario Balotelli - why always him? - is 10/1 to score the next goal. His City side are 8/11 to complete the win, while United are 4/1 for a comeback. The draw is 2/1, while a repeat of last year's scoreline - United 2-1 - is 7/1.

Sammy has some issues with Ferguson's starting XI - "very disapointed with fegies choice to start i would preffer to see jones and hernandez or berbatov."

A few of you have been asking why Balotelli got booked when he didn't take his shirt off. Honest answer? I'm not sure. Seems a little harsh.

Chelsea fan Steve is warming to the controversial striker, Tweeting - "Balotelli is fast becoming my favourite non chelsea player you gotta love him!"

David has Tweeted to say - "even when Balotelli scores a goal he still looks miserable, that boy needs to grow up. Just scored."

Get in touch with your thoughts - Tweet me @SkySportsRachG or emailrachel.griffiths@bskyb.com.

Enjoying Katy Perry's 'Firework' playing over the replays of Balotelli's strike.

It's half-time at Old Trafford and City are leading 1-0 thanks to Balotelli's goal! What did you think of that half?

45+1 Just one minute of stoppage time is added as City look to take their lead into the break.

45 Hart wins a goal-kick for City as the remaining seconds of this half trickle down. These opening 45 minutes have been highly entertaining.

44 Anderson and Nani are desperately trying to find a way through on the edge of the box. There are a couple of half-hearted penalty appeals seconds later when Rooney is felled in the area.

43 Clichy is there to intercept a Rooney pass down the right and dissolve a potential United assault. Back on the ball, Toure and Barry link up in midfield.

42 Things are really heating up now with attacks coming thick and fast at both ends. Anderson tries an optimistic shot from outside the box but is off target.

41 Vincent Kompany earns a booking for a dubious challenge on Welbeck.

40 Rooney crosses in from the right to find Evans in the box but the Northern Irishman can't latch onto the ball and City clear.

39 Welbeck gets away from Barry and finds Rooney on his left in a good position, but the striker can't quite unleash a shot. United win a corner.

39 Balotelli takes the resulting free-kick but his relatively tame effort smashes straight into the United wall.

38 Anderson makes a nasty looking challenge on Silva and gets a talking to from the ref. The United faithful are livid after a tackle by Richards went unpunished moments earlier.

37 Nani feeds Rooney on the edge of the box but the striker can't get enough power behind his shot and it goes harmlessly to the waiting Hart.

36 Y Toure can't get his head to Silva's kick as it sails high and United huff a sigh of relief. City are looking dangerous now.

35 Balotelli takes a tumble after an Evra challenge and City win a free-kick from a good position, which Silva lines up to take.

34 Young's cross is deflected behind for a United corner, their third of the match. The ex-Villa man floats it in and Hart pushes it clear. Anderson then hoofs it back in and the keeper does well to get back into position to make another block.

33 Nani's attempted cross from the right is dealt with by Clichy. United are pressing again but struggling to break into the box.

32 Richards brings down Ashley Young for a United free-kick in the middle of the park. Evans and Fletcher try to find a way through.

31 Anderson gives the ball away with an ill-judged pass. Balotelli looks threatening on the left and crosses in, but Y Toure's long-range shot is well wide.

30 Kompany has the ball in midfield and trades passes with Lescott but Anderson wins it back from Milner.

29 Milner wins a battle with Nani in the City half and earns a goal-kick for the visitors. Mancini and Balotelli take the opportunity to have a brief chat on the touchline.

28 Nani fires a cross meant for Welbeck into the box but misjudges it and it rolls straight back to the visitors. Unusually sloppy from the winger.

27 There's no one there to meet Richards as his storming run comes to nothing. Young wins a throw for United to the left of the City net. Seconds later he fires in a powerful cross-shot but it flies across the face of goal.

26 United try to regain their foothold as Evra attempts to find Young down the left but Richards reads it well and bombs off on the counter attack.

25 Aguero fires in a cross for Balotelli from the right but it skims just over the top of his head in front of goal. City are definitely in charge now.

24 A goal against the run of play for City but a superb strike nonetheless. United will have to keep their composure now...

23 Silva does well to pick out Milner on the left of goal and the City man crosses back in for Balotelli, who makes no mistake in driving it past De Gea. His undershirt reads 'Why always me?' as he's booked for his celebration.

22 GOAL! BALOTELLI FOR CITY!

22 City enjoy a spell of prolonged attack, gradually building with a series of well-placed passes.

21 Lescott is forced to concede a throw under pressure from Welbeck on the right of the City goal. Nani fires a dangerous ball into the box but Kompany is there again to clear.

20 City can't seem to get the ball away from their own goal until Fletcher boots a weak pass into the box and Joe Hart snatches it to safety.

19 Kompany performs a risky challenge on Rooney just inside the box but it pays off as he snatches possession for City to get the ball clear.

18 Welbeck survives a challenge from Kompany to keep the ball as United mount another attack, but the City defender atones when he steals it from Rooney.

17 Anderson wins the ball in the City half but gives it away to Clichy, who does well to beat Nani.

16 United took control in the early minutes but City look like they're getting into it now as the game starts to settle.

15 Milner blasts his corner high and it comes to nothing as the home side pounce back on the ball.

14 Silva makes a superb, skilful run, shrugging off several defenders, as City finally start to find their feet and the visitors win their first corner.

13 It's United applying all the pressure at the moment with a blocked chance from Young. Balotelli and Smalling collide to leave the striker on the floor and there's a pause in play, but he soon gets back to his feet.

12 Fletcher closes down Aguero in midfield after the City frontman picks up a good Kompany pass. United are working incredibly hard so far.

11 Another corner for United as the hosts make the brighter start. Nani takes it quickly, setting up Anderson. He charges towards goal but Richards is there in the box to head his cross clear.

10 Rooney rises to meet Young's free-kick from far out on the left but he's surrounded by City players and beaten to it with his header.

9 Rooney charges down the left wing to meet a long pass but Kompany gets there first as United win a throw. Another free-kick is conceded by City as Milner fouls Young, but the City man avoids an early booking.

8 Young passes a short corner to Anderson and Rooney picks up the ball on the edge of the box. He fires it back to Anderson but the Brazilian can't keep it down with a header and it goes behind.

7 Richards makes a strong challenge on Young as City concede another free-kick. Welbeck wins a corner for the home side.

6 Aguero is brought down in midfield by Anderson and the advantage goes to City. Barry and Lescott swap passes in their own end.

5 Nani takes a throw-in for the hosts on the left of the City half. United win another free-kick soon after which Smalling takes quickly, finding Young.

4 Ashley Young wins a free-kick on the left of goal for United after a tussle with Zabaleta but nothing comes of the set-piece.

3 Clichy gets away from Welbeck and knocks the ball out for a quick United throw.

3 It's City's turn for a goal-kick and Hart and Lescott exchange passes. United snatch possession in midfield and Smalling gets forward, picking out Nani on the right.

2 United get an early goal-kick which De Gea rolls to Anderson. He lofts the ball upfield with a diagonal pass but overshoots Nani.

1 The ball rolls straight out and Smalling takes a throw in midfield. It goes to Evans who rolls it back to De Gea.

1 We're underway in Manchester and United get the ball rolling. Looking forward to this one!

Thanks for all your feedback. It's almost time to get underway at Old Trafford so enjoy the game. Fingers crossed for an entertaining clash!

Nick Walker believes a win today could establish City as serious title contenders. He Tweeted - "If man city are capable of winning this at old Trafford then they are capable of winning the league."

Chelsea fan Felix is hoping it ends all-square - "am going for an entertaining 2-2 draw..for the sake of chelsea."

Liam has Tweeted to say he's going for a City win and an Aguero treble - "got say City for the win, 3-2 aguero hat-trick maybe?"

Jeff Gatenby thinks United will walk it with a 2-0 win - "Im a Sunderland fan but i'm really looking forward to this and fancy Utd to win 2-0 with Nani and Rooney the scorers."

Ferguson's choice of centre-halves is not sitting well with Jasan Sivanesan - "I'm a bit worried about how the centre back pairing will hold up for United today. I prefer Smalling in the middle alongside Rio. For me, Evans has not performed strongly enough this season and I would have preferred Jones over him. It will be a very close game and it will be interesting to see how City have changed since the Community Shield loss in August."

To answer Venki's query on Twitter, this afternoon's referee is Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).

The Red Devils have also won their last 19 league home matches in a row - making Old Trafford a formidable place for leaders City to visit.

United have won five and lost none of the last six Premier League games against their city rivals - a run City will be desperate to address this afternoon.

Mark the Macclesfield fan has Tweeted to say he expects United to edge it today - "I believe that Manchester United will just have enough to beat City - 2-1."

Mancini has chosen not to start Edin Dzeko or the wantaway Carlos Tevez, with Mario Balotelli and Sergio Aguero leading his frontline.

Ferguson's decision to drop Little Pea to the bench could pay dividends, says Stefan Howarth - "Having Hernandez on the bench is a great idea, he's certainly an impact player and could be useful later, I can't deny that City are starting to intimidate me somewhat, but its Old Trafford so I think United will still win."

There's no captain Nemanja Vidic in Ferguson's XI, with Jonny Evans stepping in, but Rio Ferdinand returns.

Some surprises in the line-ups then, with Javier Hernandez missing out on a starting spot to Danny Welbeck as Sir Alex Ferguson makes the most of his attacking options.

Abhinav Athreya from Cincinnati sacrificed his night out to watch the derby - "Gave up going out last night so that I'd be up in time to watch the game! Although my heart says a 3-2 win for United, my mind says it's going to be a 2-2 fiercely contested game. Come on UNITED!"

Here are the subs for you - United: Lindegaard, Jones, Park, Chicharito, Berbatov, Fabio, Valencia. City: Pantilimon, Kolo, Zabaleta, Kolarov, De Jong, Nasri, Dzeko.

Harry Ewing has been in touch via Twitter and this will be no bore draw according to him - "utd to win 4-1 rach!!!"

Roberto Mancini's men currently sit two points ahead after setting the Premier League alight so far this season (no pun intended, Mario Balotelli).

This promises to be a fiercely contested showdown, with the Manchester rivals tussling for the top spot.

And here's the United line-up: De Gea, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Young, Rooney, Welbeck.

Our friends at Sky Bet make United slight favourites at 6/5 to beat their city rivals, while City are 12/5 and the draw is 23/10. It's a massive Manchester derby and both managers have shown attacking intent with their starting line-ups. Rooney and Welbeck start for United and are 5/1 and 7/1 to score first respectively, while City's main man Sergio Aguero is 7/1.

No United team as yet but here's the City XI for you: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Yaya, Milner, Silva, Aguero, Balotelli.

You can Tweet me @SkySportsRachG or send a good old-fashioned emailrachel.griffiths@bskyb.com.

Team line-ups will be coming your way very shortly but first why not drop me a line with your thoughts ahead of the big kick-off at 1.30?

Good afternoon all and welcome to our live coverage of the Manchester derby between United and City!

Posted on 7:50 AM / 0 comments / Read More