News sport : Arthur Rhodes officially retires at age 45

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Though he hadn't appeared in a major or minor game since 2011, veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes quietly held on to a remarkable career that spanned 20 big league seasons. According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon though, that changed on Friday as the now 45-year-old left-hander just as quietly made his retirement from baseball official.



Like most pitchers who hang around through two decades, Rhodes was well-traveled. After debuting with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and spending his first nine big league seasons there, he changed uniforms nine times in 11 seasons, including stints with the Seattle Mariners (twice), Oakland A's, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.


It wasn't because he wasn't good. For his career, Rhodes went 87-70 with a 4.08 ERA over exactly 900 appearances (61 starts and 839 relief appearances) and 1,187.2 innings. It's just the life of a reliever, and Rhodes was one teams coveted because they knew he could get big outs in big situations.


Case in point, Rhodes posted 25 scoreless relief appearances out of 29 in the postseason. That includes a perfect 8-for-8 scoreless in his final season for the World Series champion Cardinals.


Excellent credentials to be sure, but it's Rhodes durability and longevity that were most impressive. They also helped propel into some rare company on more than one occasion. Check out these facts.


• Rhodes is one of only 24 pitchers to record 900 appearances in MLB history.


• Of those 24, Rhodes is one of only six left-handers. Side-arming lefty Jesse Orosco holds the record with 1.252 appearances.


(USA TODAY Sports) • Rhodes was a first-time All-Star at the age of 40, becoming only the fifth player to earn that accolade at that milestone age. Satchel Paige was the oldest at age 47 back in 1952. Tim Wakefield (42 in 2009), Jamie Moyer (40 in 2003) and Connie Marrero (40 in 1951) are the others.


Here's another coot twist that will prove to be the final chapter in his career. During the 2011 season, Rhodes was traded from the Rangers to the Cardinals and was guaranteed his first and only World Series ring as the two teams squared off in the Fall Classic. No one can say he didn't earn though. His postseason was spotless.


Rhodes isn't a guy who will draw Hall of Fame consideration five years from now. He may get a courtesy vote or two if voters are still doing that, but certainly not enough to stay on the ballot. But that's just fine. Rhodes found his niche, he accepted his role, and he fulfilled it well for a very long time. You'll take that guy on your team each and every time.


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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Seahawks-Packers game gets the Taiwanese animation treatment

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Look, you could read all kinds of blathering NFC Championship previews, ours included, or you could just watch the latest bout of insanity from the Taiwanese animators. You've got it all here: one-legged Aaron Rodgers, baby-armed Russell Wilson, human tornado Eddie Lacy, and Skittle-grabbing Marshawn Lynch. This is all the preview you're going to need. Enjoy.


[Join FanDuel's $2M AFC/NFC Title fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 17,475 teams paid]


____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : Lindsey Vonn ties record for career World Cup wins with victory in Italy

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Even after career-threatening injuries and career-altering celebrity, Lindsey Vonn continues to dominate. On Sunday, Vonn notched her 62nd World Cup victory, matching the 35-year-old record set by Annemarie Moser-Proell.


Skiing at the foggy, soft Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn finished in 1 minute, 39.61 seconds to defeat Austria's Elisabeth Goergl by about one-third of a second. Check Vonn's run right here, starting at about the 9:40 mark:



Injuries hampered Vonn for most of the last two years, keeping her out of the Sochi Olympics in 2014. But her workout routine never flagged, and neither did her spirit, according to Vonn:


"The last two years have been pretty tough and a lot of people counted me out and thought I would never reach this record," she said. "A lot of people thought that I would never win again. I never stopped believing in myself and I think I proved everyone wrong."


Vonn has a chance to break the record on Monday. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden holds the men's mark with 86 wins.


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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : 2014 Driver Reviews: No. 1 Kevin Harvick

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After doing exit interviews for Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2013, we're turning the tables. We want the drivers to sell themselves. So here are the resumés for all full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2014. Then, at the end, we'll provide a summation of the driver's season in 150 words or less.


Name: Kevin Harvick


NASCAR Experience: Essentially 14 full seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. 28 wins. Champion.


Most recent team: Stewart-Haas Racing


Most recent season finish: 1st


2014 accomplishments: Five wins, 14 top-five finishes, 20 top 10s and eight poles.


Most memorable moment: Pretty obvious, isn't it?



Outside of the title, it's the second race of the season. Everyone got a look at the speed they'd see throughout the season.



Strengths: Jumped into a new team and was successful right away. Always one of the fastest drivers near the end of a Sprint Cup Series race.


2015 goals: Double it up.


FTM's Take: While a title by Ryan Newman or Denny Hamlin could have been considered fluky, the fastest car throughout the 2014 season won the title. And in the new format, that's about all we can ask for right?


And it's also imperative to cherish the battle that Harvick had with his three competitors during that Homestead race. We may never see an incredible scenario like that again, as counting on all four title-eligible drivers to run nose-to-tail at times is a foolish game.


It's also a worthy achievement for Harvick, who has been one of the best drivers in the Cup Series since he stepped in after Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001. Outside of down years in 2002 and 2009, he's finished in the top 15 of the standings in each season. And in the years after each of those seasons, he's finished in the top five.


Will he stay at the top of the heap in 2015? Probably, though a bigger achievement may be having the fastest car of the season for a second straight year. If Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers have a formula that no one else does, watch out.


Previous reviews: No. 3 Denny Hamlin, No. 4 Joey Logano, No. 5 Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Jeff Gordon, No. 7 Matt Kenseth, No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 9 Carl Edwards, No. 10 Kyle Busch, No. 11 Jimmie Johnson, No. 12 Kurt Busch, No. 13 AJ Allmendinger, No. 14 Greg Biffle, No. 15 Kasey Kahne, No. 16 Aric Almirola, No. 17 Kyle Larson, No. 18, Jamie McMurray, No. 19 Clint Bowyer, No. 20, Austin Dillon, No. 21 Paul Menard, No. 22 Brian Vickers, No. 23 Marcos Ambrose, No. 24 Martin Truex Jr., No. 25 Tony Stewart, No. 26 Casey Mears, No. 27 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 28, Danica Patrick, No. 29, Justin Allgaier, No. 30, David Gilliland, No. 31 Cole Whitt, No. 32 David Ragan, No. 33 Michael Annett, No. 34 Reed Sorenson, No. 35 Alex Bowman


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Rico Abreu wins Chili Bowl Nationals

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The biggest sprint car race of the year was Saturday night and Rico Abreu won it for the first time.


Abreu passed Bryan Clauson at about the halfway point of the race and absolutely checked out in the second half, surviving a number of restarts for the win.


After the last restart, Abreu wasn't even challenged. He had a lead of almost a straightaway just a few laps after the yellow flag.



Standing 4-4 and 95 pounds, Abreu, 22, drives with blocks to build up the pedals in his car. He said he'd capitalize on the chance to drive stock cars, but has a busy sprint car schedule. 2014's USAC Midget series champion ran over 100 races last year. According to USA Today he's had preliminary discussions about late models and the K&N East Series.


"If I got a chance to drive stock cars, I would," Abreu said via USA Today. "I'm not sure what's going on there now, but I've got a lot going with sprints and midgets this year."


The Chili Bowl is held indoors in Tulsa, Okla.


There were many familiar faces at the Chili Bowl, both in the A-Main and either participating in the entire week or spectating. Or, in Tony Stewart's case, helping groom the racing surface. Kurt Busch was there (and didn't comment on his legal drama with his ex-girlfriend), while Kyle Larson raced in the A-Main. Ricky Stenhouse participated too, and Danica Patrick was there to watch him.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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Ronaldo double sees off Getafe

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Real moved four points clear of Barca at the top of the La Liga with a Ronaldo double at Getafe.


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Madrid – Real Madrid moved four points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice in a 3-0 win at Getafe on Sunday.


It was hardly a vintage performance from the European champions, who have stumbled at the start of 2015 and were knocked out of the King’s Cup by Atletico Madrid on Thursday, and they failed to score in the first half of a La Liga game for the first time this season.


Ronaldo broke the deadlock on a chilly afternoon at the Coliseum in the 63rd minute, clipping the ball in from close range after excellent work from Karim Benzema.


Bale made it 2-0 four minutes later when he finished off a swift break and Ronaldo grabbed his second 11 minutes from time with a powerful header, the Portugal forward’s 28th goal of the campaign in his 17th appearance.


Getafe battled bravely against their glamorous city neighbours, with goalkeeper Jordi Codina on fine form, and almost pulled a goal back four minutes from time but a shot from Alvaro Vazquez bounced away off a post.


Real, who have a game in hand, have 45 points from 18 matches, with Barca on 41 ahead of their clash at Deportivo La Coruna later on Sunday.


Valencia and champions Atletico, who host bottom side Granada on Sunday, are level on 38 points, with Valencia ahead on goal difference after Saturday’s 3-2 win at home to Almeria. – Reuters






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QPR boss shrugs off sack talk

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Harry Redknapp says he doesn’t fear for his job despite talk of his demise following QPR's loss to United on Saturday.


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London – Under-pressure Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp says he does not fear for his job despite speculation that he could be sacked following a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.


British media reports had claimed that 19th placed QPR would show Redknapp the door if they were to suffer a third-straight defeat when United visited Loftus Road.


Second-half strikes from substitutes Marouane Fellaini and James Wilson sunk the spirited hosts but Redknapp shrugged off suggestions that he could be axed after the game.


“I’m not worried at all,” Redknapp told reporters. “That’s the owner’s choice isn’t it, if they want to make a change.


“I spoke to (QPR chairman) Tony Fernandes this week, five times, and he’s never mentioned anything to me, he’s just said, ‘What a load of nonsense’.


“What will be will be. It’s up to them (the board of directors), it’s their club. Tony’s the chairman, I can only keep going.”


QPR are without a win in five league games and are second-from-bottom with 19 points from 22 games, but only three adrift from 13th-placed Everton in a tight league table.


“We’re still in among it to be fair. Okay today was a setback, but there’s nothing in it between the bottom seven teams,” Redknapp explained.


“From Everton downwards it’s going to be extremely close and we’ve got as good a chance as anybody.” – Reuters






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Disappointing start for Afcon hosts

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Equatorial Guinea fell short of an upset in Saturday’s Afcon opener as a lack of preparation caught up with them.


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Bata, Equatorial Guinea – Equatorial Guinea fell short of a dramatic upset in Saturday’s opening match of African Nations Cup finals as a lack of preparation and last-minute change of coach caught up with them.


The hosts, who had just two months to prepare after being catapulted into the 16-team field when the small central African country stepped into take over the organisation of the tournament, let slip a potentially famous win as they gave up a late goal in a 1-1 draw with Congo at the Estadio de Bata.


They had worsened the situation by letting the former Spanish international Andoni Goikoetxea depart after two years as coach, moving Argentine-born Esteban Becker across from his job with Equatorial Guinea’s women’s team.


He had just two weeks to work with the team, saying it was just enough time to work on some tactics rather than the fitness that is much needed by a team with many players drawn from minor leagues.


“I had 15 days to prepare with them and there are also a lot of new, young players. It was difficult to plan to try and peak all the preparations. We didn’t have time to work on the physical side,” Becker said.


A visibly tiring Equatorial Guinea, who had led from a 17th minute goal from English-based captain Emilio Nsue, allowed Congo to dominate the last 20 minutes of the Group A match and the inevitable equaliser followed three minutes from the end.


It was a heartbreaking reversal for an over-capacity crowd, who jammed the stairwells and aisle of the stands at the 35 000-capacity stadium after many had broken through a gate leading into the stadium.


“We did let it slip at the end, we were meant to win. But we left a great impression out there,” insisted Becker. “This is a team that can still has a chance to make some results.”


Equatorial Guinea remain in Bata for their next match on Wednesday against Burkina Faso, who were runners-up at the last Nations Cup, but lost their opening game 2-0 to Gabon on Saturday.


Equatorial Guinea took over as Nations Cup hosts from Morocco, striped of the right in October when they asked for a postponement over fears of fans bringing the Ebola virus into their country. – Reuters






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Battle for No 1 jersey ‘good’ for Bafana

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Ex-Bafana keeper Calvin Marlin believes the competition for the No 1 jersey is good for the national side.


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Johannesburg – Former Bafana Bafana keeper Calvin Marlin believes the competition for the number one jersey in the national team is the healthiest it has been in many years.


“I feel that the keepers have all been doing well and they deserve to be in the squad. It’s crucial to give them the experience of playing international football,” Marlin said.


Since the death of Bafana’s goalkeeper and captain Senzo Meyiwa in October, Darren Keet, Brilliant Khuzwayo and Jackson Mabokgwane have all been utilised between the posts – with all three of them looking to stake a claim in Bafana’s opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament against Algeriaat the Estadio de Mongomo on Monday.


The battle for the number one jersey is set to hot up even further with the imminent return from a long layoff of former Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune.


Marlin backed Darren Keet to be coach Shakes Mashaba’s first choice keeper at Afcon in Equatorial Guinea.


“Shakes is full of surprises so with him you never know,” Marlin said.


“I think Keet should be the man for the job, but that doesn’t take away from the good performances of the other players.”


Stability in the goalkeeping department was crucial in a high-stakes tournament like Afcon, the former Mamelodi Sundowns number-one said.


“In a tournament like Afcon, it’s difficult to chop and change goalkeepers. Unless the keeper is particularly bad in the opening game, it’s unlikely that they will be changed. Coaches normally stick with the same player.”


Marlin however, said rotating the man between the sticks after the continental competition may be a solution to appeasing each individual.


“I think each player should be given a chance to show what they are capable of after the tournament. Maybe alternating would be a good tactic.”


The return of Khune from injury would make the contest for the goalkeeper’s position more intense, he said.


“Khune is a quality keeper, but he should be treated the same as all the other players. Once he’s back to full fitness, he may be in the mix and the challenge will be for the coaches to cater for each of the deserving goalkeepers.”


Marlin still harbours nightmarish thoughts from Bafana’s 2006


Afcon campaign where they were dumped out of the group stages after losing each of their three matches, having failed to score a single goal.


He said a lack of unity in that squad of eight years ago, coached by Ted Dumitru, derailed their chances of conquering Africa.


“When we were there, we spent most of our time in the hotel rooms and that didn’t help us at all. It’s important that the players are comfortable with each other and are confident.”


Marlin was more positive about the current team set to contend for African glory and believed it was the best Bafana team assembled together in many years.


“This team has been exceptional. They have proven that they do not fear any other team put before them and that has been good to see.” – Sapa






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It’s not about the dosh: Fifa hopeful

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David Ginola says his bid to oust Sepp Blatter isn’t about money although he stands to get £250000 for his troubles.


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David Ginola has insisted he is not standing for the Fifa presidency because of money, after the announcement he will be paid £250 000 (about R4,4 million) by a well-known bookmaker in an audacious attempt to oust Sepp Blatter.


Ginola, the former France, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United winger, on Friday stated his intention to join Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein and Jérôme Champagne as candidates for the Fifa election in May, when Blatter is expected to secure a fifth term in office.


The 47-year-old faces numerous challenges, most notably to convince people that he is not part of a grandiose publicity stunt.


He must secure the backing of five national federations by January 29 to even be considered a presidential candidate, but Ginola conceded that not a single nation had yet to support him.


He also failed to name a single member of Fifa’s executive committee when questioned during a press conference, although he seemed to have genuine intentions to change the world game for good.


“Do you know how many hours I spent to think about it?” he said.


“I could be in the south of France with my friends. It’s a hard job. The money is not everything, you have to understand that money is not everything. Obviously you have to be paid for the things you do, but it is about emotional feelings.


“To have a fair game, you have to have a bunch of guys who represent different worlds and different approaches.


“I’ve never worked for Fifa, I am a brand new guy on the stage. Let’s have a new voice. I need to know a lot more about Fifa.


“It’s a huge task, that’s why we’re probably very late in the campaign process. I had to think twice.


“For me being here today is a huge task. It’s a fantastic challenge. I want to show and set an example to all the former players around me to say that we have a say in football – don’t let other people decide what is good and what is bad for the game.”


Ginola, who did not present an election manifesto or name any policies he would put in place as Fifa president, has been paid £250000 by Paddy Power.


The bookmaker has set up a website for public donations towards Ginola’s campaign and has set a fundraising target of £2.3 million.


Ginola will be paid the full £250 000 fee even if his campaign fails to get beyond the end of January.


He will receive 10 percent of all pledges if they surpass £1 million. A breakdown of costs was published on Friday and the budget included £565000 for advertising and £100 000 for security.


Ginola, who was part of England’s ill-fated bid team for the 2018 World Cup, has the backing of the online protest group “Change Fifa”.


He added: “Do you want someone who has worked with Fifa already, who is still working with Fifa? I have a clear mind, I want to achieve things, being seen as someone who brought some freshness and relief for how football should be treated.


“We want to re-boot football so there is no space for controversy any more.” – theguardian.com






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Not a perfect start to Afcon Cup

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It hasn’t been a perfect start, but the Afcon Cup in Equatorial Guinea is nevertheless up and running.


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Bata – Republic of Congo’s team was stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour on its way to play the opening game of the African Cup of Nations on Saturday. Later, dozens of rowdy fans found their way into a media room at the stadium, knocking over sponsors’ boards and forcing reporters and officials to scatter as they surged through.


It wasn’t a perfect start, but the African Cup is underway in Equatorial Guinea. Three weeks remain for organisers to try and keep the tournament together amid criticism that there hasn’t been enough time for the small Central African nation to properly organize it.


And as for the soccer, the host team drew 1-1 with Republic of Congo to open the traditionally chaotic 16-team, three-week championship at a packed Bata Stadium in the country’s biggest city, temporarily dispelling fears over poor attendances.


Those worries might return in games in smaller remote towns not involving the home team.


In the second game of an opening-night double-header in Bata, Gabon beat Burkina Faso 2-0 to take the early lead in Group A. Forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored one and set up the second to the delight of the drum-banging Gabon fans who traveled from just across the border.


Gabon co-hosted the African Cup with Equatorial Guinea in 2012, but lost in the quarterfinals as Aubameyang, its top player, was the only one to miss in a penalty shootout.


“It’s a new tournament and we start from zero,” Aubameyang said.


The Republic of Congo squad has been hardest hit by some of the teething problems this week in Equatorial Guinea, which only took over as host two months ago when Morocco pulled out over Ebola.


Coach Claude Le Roy has already complained fiercely about their hotel, which he said had no running water and dangerously exposed electric cables. On Saturday, he said his players had to sit on a bus for 65 minutes in the sweltering temperatures and without air conditioning after they were taken through the center of town and became bogged down in the gridlock. Le Roy said that was probably the reason why his team started so slowly against Equatorial Guinea.


“If CAF doesn’t understand they have to protect teams ... then they (CAF) have to change,” Le Roy said, blaming organisers the Confederation of African Football for not ensuring smooth passage for his squad.


The Gabon fans who ended up racing through a room where player interviews take place had apparently been given the wrong directions by stadium staff, some journalists said.


But on the opening day, at least, there was no problem with attendances.


In fact, there were probably more fans than there should have been for the opening game as the red-shirted Equatorial Guinea supporters kept flocking into the stadium even after the seats were full. Many watched from the walkways behind the stands as American R&B singer Akon made a surprise appearance to sing for the crowd, performing in black leather pants and a long coat and standing on a running track next to the soccer field.


Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue then scored the first goal of the African Cup, sliding an early shot under the Congolese ‘keeper to produce an even bigger roar from the crowd than Akon got. Thievy Bifouma equalised for Republic of Congo with three minutes left. – Sapa-AP






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News sport : Houston Baptist dons funky throwback uniforms to honor its past

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On a Saturday with one of the best lineups of games of the college basketball season, no one expected a contest featuring two losing teams in the Southland Conference to create a buzz.


But that is just what happened when Houston Baptist came out of the locker room dressed like the Harlem Globetrotters in throwback uniforms designed to pay homage to the best HBU teams of the 1960s and 1970s. The Huskies are celebrating their 50th season by honoring former players and naming All-decade teams this year.


The uniforms were mostly well received as pictures quickly circumlated around the Internet. Some were puzzled by the look and others disapproved.





On a Saturday with plenty of good basketball, the game came down to the wire with Houston Baptist winning in the final minute 74-73 on free throws from sophomore center Cody Stetler.


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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Texas too tall for West Virginia's pressure

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No. 16 West Virginia has been winning all season on defense by forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the other end. No. 20 Texas turned the tables on the Mountaineers on Saturday with a zone defense that led to a bad shooting night for coach Bob Huggins’ team.


Texas’ size advantage on the offensive end allowed the Longhorns to force a half-court game and dominate in those situations with plenty of points in the paint. They also blocked shots and won on the boards as usual in a 77-50 victory.


It was just what coach Rick Barnes needed after two disappointing losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Longhorns proved they’re not about to shrink from contention in the Big 12 Conference this early in the race.


Texas’ only senior, Jonathan Holmes, bounced back from going a combined 2-for-18 in those losses to score 16 points with 11 rebounds. Holmes turned things around by getting to the free throw line where he made 11 of 12 attempts.


Junior Cameron Ridley was a force for the Longhorns scoring 19 points with six rebounds and four blocks. Ridley made eight of 10 shots, including several heavy-handed dunks.


West Virginia (15-3, 3-2) made just 24 percent of its field goal attempts and Texas (13-4, 2-2) blocked seven shots for the 13th time in 17 games. The Mountaineers' leading scorer, guard Juwan Staten, finished with just three points and made just one of seven field goals attempts.


In his fourth game back from a prolonged absence because of a wrist injury, Texas guard Isaiah Taylor helped the Longhorns handle the West Virginia pressure defense. He committed only one of the Longhorns’ 18 turnovers, a much better success rate than teammate Javan Felix experienced. Felix fell victim to the traps and pressure defense and committed eight turnovers.


Taylor scored only five points, but he was only needed to facilitate in this one getting the ball to the big guys and forward Myles Turner, who scored 16 points with seven rebounds off the bench.


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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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Bafana no longer the whipping boys

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This is how it should be. South Africans must always anticipate a continental soccer tournament with excitement and high expectations.


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This is how it should be. South Africans must always anticipate a continental soccer tournament with excitement and high expectations. Our standing as one of Africa’s top economies demands that.


That all of the continent envy us and most come here to survive their country’s poverty confirms just how privileged we are.


Many a time I’ve had colleagues and even football experts from other parts of Africa lamenting our failure to put to good use the great facilities we have at our disposal.


Phrases such as “if we had these kinds of grounds and stadiums in our country, our football teams would achieve great things” became common-place in conversations and interviews with fellow Africans.


So it was pretty depressing and even embarrassing for some of us in the past few years that our national teams had literally become a joke on the continent as we repeatedly failed to qualify for tournaments.


We had become like the rich fat kid who was useless on the pitch but always had the kick-about at his place because he was the only one who owned a ball.


“Oh, yes, you are only playing in the tournament because you are letting us use your stadiums,” some fellow Africans would taunt.


How glad am I that they can’t say that now!


Bafana Bafana return to continental football’s grandest table not only to fill the numbers but as serious contenders.


Did you hear that? Sounds somewhat surreal, doesn’t it? But it is true and it feels so good to say that it has to be said again. We are among the potential winners of the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.


Granted it will take some Hercu-lean task from Shakes Mashaba’s team to emulate Clive Barker’s Class of 1996. But the good thing is that Bafana are no longer the continent’s whipping boys.


Instead they are a respected outfit seen by most experts as well as the opposition as a team to be respected and taken seriously.


The midweek hammering of a Malian outfit that we had hitherto never beaten in three meetings – a team that had actually twice ended our Afcon participation – put the cherry on the top of a 10-match spell that has served to earn Bafana the respect they’d previously lost.


As premature as this is given that the true test of any team is really at tournament level, this feat has to be celebrated given where we come from.


For a country that last qualified for the biennial, continental event way back in 2008 booking a ticket for the tournament unbeaten and then maintaining the record for four mat-ches thereafter, there is every good reason to feel on top of the world.


After all, we watched from the sidelines in both 2010 and 2012 having failed to qualify. We wouldn’t have participated in the 2013 (Caf moved the tournament to odd numbered years to stop it being hosted in a World Cup year) event, too, but did so as hosts – thanks again to our world class facilities.


So it is and must be a very exciting time for South Africans as Bafana look to get the better of Algeria, Senegal and Ghana in their bid to progress to the knockout phase.


Will they do it? Their pre-tournament performances have suggested so. What we must not lose sight of, however, is the fact that this is a work in progress.


And for a team built with an eye to the 2016 World Cup, they have already done well to put themselves among the tournament’s potential winners and the experience they gain in Equatorial Guinea can only stand them in good stead going forward.


Now let me go find that Bafana jersey that’s been gathering dust in the storeroom. It’s sure to be my top choice for the next three weeks. - Saturday Star






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News sport : Florida's Devin Robinson came up a few feet short on this dunk

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,


Ego got the better of Florida's Devin Robinson on Saturday.


He attempted a dunk late in the Gators' 73-61 loss that he had little chance of finishing.


Florida trailed Georgia by 10 with just over three minutes remaining when Robinson shot-faked from behind the arc, blew by Bulldogs forward Marcus Thornton and attempted to leap over the two help defenders who had stepped in front of the rim. Alas, Robinson overestimated his leaping ability by a couple feet and only got close enough to the rim to chuck the ball off the glass.


Making matters worse for Robinson, his missed dunk resulted in a transition bucket by Thornton at the other end of the court. Florida coach Billy Donovan called timeout immediately after that and removed Robinson from the floor.


Robinson had a respectable 11-point, three-rebound overall performance, but his missed dunk exemplified the Gators' decision making and carelessness with the basketball. Florida committed 19 turnovers and surrendered 56 percent shooting en route to its first SEC loss.


Falling at Georgia is a setback to a Gators team that has little margin for error in SEC play after a highly disappointing non-conference performance. Florida (10-7, 3-1) lost to every half-decent opponent it faced in November and December, falling to Miami, Georgetown, North Carolina, Kansas, Florida State and UConn.


(Thanks for the video, SB Nation )


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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!


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