Brazilian Ronaldinho tries to keep control of the ball from French Zinedine Zidane (l) during the match for the "Football For Hope" benefit match to help the victims of the Asian tsunami at Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 16--A Ronaldinho XI saw off a side captained by Andrei Shevchenko 6-3 in FIFA's Football For Hope benefit match held here which raised up to three million dollars for the tsunami disaster, AFP said.
Although Barcelona's 100,000-capacity Nou Camp Stadium was less than half full--36,000 tickets priced between 10 and 29 euros had been sold hours before kick-off--FIFA President Sepp Blatter applauded the initiative.
"This is the first time in my 30 years in FIFA that we have seen such an assembly of great players coming together for a humanitarian cause," said Blatter.
"It's a great moment for international football," Blatter added.
The match was preceded by a minute's silence impeccably observed in honor of the 287,000 people who died after a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent huge waves pounding into coastlines around the Indian Ocean.
Frank Rijkaard, coach of the winning side and of Barcelona, said: "I think it's right to participate in an event like this--it's important for the victims of the tsunamis and I think the players did a great job."
Lennart Johansson, boss of UEFA, European football's governing body, praised the speed with which football responded to the tsunamis.
"Many governments reacted slowly to the catastrophe, football reacted immediately," he said.
Addressing the teams beforehand Mohamed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, said: "You're all extraordinary players but you're also extraordinary people."
In total football has raised an estimated ten million dollars for the December 26 disaster.

British Tim Henman eyes the ball for a return to Nicolas Kieferduring during the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam on Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 16--Tim Henman put injury behind him to carve out a 7-5 6-4 first-round victory over Germany's Nicolas Kiefer at the World Indoor Tournament on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, David Nalbandian's gamble to hone his skills on the indoor circuit backfired when he lost 6-2 4-6 6-1 to Czech Radek Stepanek.
Henman arrived in Rotterdam after being sidelined with a chronic back problem since his third-round defeat at last month's Australian Open.
On Tuesday, the Briton unleashed his full serve and volley repertoire to leave Kiefer frustrated in a high-quality contest.
Although it took Henman six points to register on the scoreboard, he kept a firm grip on the match by never allowing his opponent to reach break point.
The 24th ranked Kiefer saved the first break point in the match in the 11th game with a scorching cross court shot but surrendered his serve two points later when Henman produced a copy-cat winner.
The third seed, who in the absence of any previous winners in the draw has the best record in the field after three runner-up finishes here, wasted his first set point with a double fault before firing an unreturnable volley.
The second followed a similar pattern before a fist-pumping Henman broke the deadlock in the ninth game on his only break point of the set.
A dipping forehand shot handed Henman his seventh win in 10 meetings with Kiefer.
Earlier, Nalbandian should have felt at home on the quick surface, having claimed one of his two career titles indoors, but he was outplayed by an opponent prepared to take risks.
"Nobody wants to lose and I'm really upset," said the fourth-seeded Argentine.

DURBAN, South Africa, Feb. 16--Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o was named African Footballer of the Year for the second consecutive time here Tuesday.
The announcement came as no surprise because Eto'o told teammates of his impending triumph after a friendly against Senegal in France last week and journalists overheard the conversation, AFP reported.
But the result will be a bitter blow to Nigerian football followers who believed veteran midfielder Austin 'Jay-Jay' Okocha would win after being voted top player of the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia.
Eto'o could not receive the award personally at a lavish ceremony in the Indian Ocean city as he was scheduled to play in a charity match in Barcelona later Tuesday for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster last December.
In a repeat of last year, the other finalists were Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Okocha, who play for English Premiership clubs Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers respectively.
While Eto'o failed to sparkle in a disappointing Cameroon team at the Nations Cup, he has been outstanding for Spanish league leaders Barcelona, scoring 17 goals in 23 appearances this season.
Brazilian superstar and reigning World Footballer of the Year Ronaldinho was glowing in his praise of Barca team-mate Eto'o this week.
"Samuel is undoubtedly the most dangerous attacking player in the Spanish championship and often makes the difference when Barcelona face other leading clubs," boasted Ronaldinho.
Eto'o is only the fourth African star after Ghana midfielder Abedi 'Pele' Ayew, Liberia striker George Weah and Senegal striker El Hadji Diouf to win the Footballer of the Year title in successive years.

TOKYO, Feb. 16--Japan's teenage golf sensation Ai Miyazato is set to use her success in the inaugural women's World Cup as a springboard for her US LPGA debut and her ultimate goal of beating world number-one Annika Sorenstam.
She made up for her senior teammate's blunders to ensure the two-stroke weekend victory over South Korea and the Philippines, putting Japan back on the world's honors list and upsetting Asia's pecking order, reported AFP.
"An excessive adrenaline flow made it hard for me to adjust my approach shots to my expectations in the final phase," the diminutive 19-year-old told Japanese media after the tournament in the South African town of George.
"That is pretty much the question I will have to solve in making the grade abroad."
She broke the course record by firing a six-under-par 67 in the last-day singles at Fancourt Estate's Links, arguably Africa's most tricky layout, while her 23-year-old teammate Rui Kitada shot an 82.
"This has helped Japanese women become known to the world. I hope they will keep on following it up," Hisako "Chako" Higuchi said in George.
Higuchi, 59, who now heads the Japanese women's golf association, became the first Asian woman to triumph on the US tour when she won the 1977 LPGA Championship.
Her compatriot Ayako Okamoto, now 53, followed in her footsteps by winning the 1982 Arizona Copper Classic.
"Miyazato says she wants to make it big on the US tour. That is quite a natural trend," Higuchi told the biggest selling Japanese newspaper Yomiuri.
Japanese women have been without a win on the US LPGA tour since 1999 when Akiko Fukushima clinched the AFLAC Champions tournament while South Korean rivals shot into the limelight.

LONDON, Feb. 16--The International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission will begin their inspection of London's bid to host the 2012 Games on Wednesday.
Bid chairman Seb Coe, Sir Steven Redgrave and Kelly Holmes will all address the commission on the opening day of their four-day visit, BBC reported.
Coe's address will outline London's plans as well as emphasizing the legacy of the Games.
There will also be a presentation on the key area of transport.
On Thursday, the commission will divide into three groups and will visit the proposed venues including the main site in Stratford, Wembley Stadium, Lord's, Wimbledon, Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade.
Friday will see the commission visit Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair, opposition leader Michael Howard and other Cabinet members before hearing a presentation on security by Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
The London bid will then make a presentation on culture and multi-culturalism on Saturday before Coe's farewell speech.
London is up against Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow and is the second city to be inspected by the IOC team following their trip to Spain at the start of February.

WASHINGTON,
Feb. 16--Lance Armstrong has ended speculation over whether he will race in the 2005 Tour de France by saying he will go for a seventh straight victory in this year's race.
Armstrong made history by becoming the first cyclist to win six Tours de France with a dominating performance, winning five individual stages, in 2004, AFP said.
"I am grateful for the opportunity that Discovery Communications has given the team and look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France," Armstrong told the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's website.
Armstrong will kick off his season early next month in the Paris-Nice seven-day stage race, the first event of the newly formed Pro Tour, the sport's top level racing series.
"I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect," said Armstrong.
Following Paris-Nice, Armstrong will take part in the 89th edition of the Tour of Flanders, one of Europe's most prestigious Spring Classics, on April 3.

LOS ANGELES,
Feb. 16--Kobe Bryant scored 40 points in his second game back from an ankle injury, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 102-95 victory over Utah on Tuesday night, AP reported.
Chucky Atkins added 24 points, including a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers a 96-95 lead with 54 seconds remaining. They stayed in front the rest of the way, pulling away in the closing moments on free throws.
Bryant went 12-of-19 from the floor and 15-of-19 from the line, had eight assists and five rebounds.
Caron Butler added 23 points for Los Angeles, which ran off a 12-2 run to end the game.
Reserve Mehmet Okur had 20 points for Utah as the Jazz reserves outscored the Lakers' bench 50-2. Another reserve, Howard Eisley, had 14 points and nine assists.
Starter Matt Harpring had 18 points for Utah.
The game was Bryant's first at home since he sprained his ankle more than a month ago. His first game back was in Sunday's 103-89 loss at Cleveland, when he scored 26 points on 7-of-22 shooting.
Meanwhile, Tracy McGrady scored 34 points and Yao Ming added 23 as the Houston Rockets blasted the Washington Wizards 123-93 Tuesday, extending their season-high winning streak to eight games.
Yao, the leading vote-getter for this weekend's all-star game, also had nine rebounds and four steals as the Rockets shot to a 62-49 halftime lead and never trailed.
Antawn Jamison amassed 23 points while Washington all-star Gilbert Arenas was held to just 11 as the Wizards suffered their fifth straight road loss.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 16--Padraig Harrington makes his first appearance of the year at the Malaysian Open on Thursday, looking to land the elusive title after several narrow misses.
The Irishman, ranked eighth in the world, has finished runner-up twice in Malaysia previously including a play-off loss to current world number one Vijay Singh of Fiji in 2001 at Saujana Golf and Country Club, this week's venue, AFP said.
"I've been practicing during winter and did some work. I am very happy with where my swing is at. Obviously, coming into my first event, I am going to be a bit rusty," said Harrington, who was also tied fourth at Saujana in the 1999 edition and joint second in 2000 at Templer Park.
"I'm on familiar territory on a golf course I have played well on in the past. I like the tournament, I like coming to KL and I'm hoping all these factors will get me over being a little bit rusty and that I will contend this week.
"I have done well in Asia, won quite a few events out here and on a course like this that I like, I hope I can win out here as well," said the Dubliner, who has registered wins in Taipei and Hong Kong previously.

A jockey trains with his horse, Jan. 11 on Lingreville beach, western France. (AFP File Photo)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 16--The recent success of Swedish trotters in prestigious international competitions has confirmed Sweden's status as one of the world's top trotting nations, but the dark shadow of doping looms over even the most respected stables in the country.
Swedish pride Naglo claimed first place in the recent Prix de France, while Gigant Neo and Hilda Zonette took second and fourth place respectively in the world's most prestigious driven trotting race the Prix d'Amerique.
But while fans in the Scandinavian country have hailed the accomplishments, a slew of widespread doping scandals have tarnished the sport and even spread to other branches of equestrian events.
In 2004, the Swedish Trotting Association STC registered 19 cases of doping among 3,000 horses tested, or 0.6 percent, compared to about 40 cases among 12,000 tested in France, or 0.3 percent.
That's twice as many cases in Sweden as in France.
"Before 2003, we saw about a half-dozen cases per year. In 2003, we had 16 cases. Yet the analysis methods are still the same, we do a lot of drug tests and our sanctions are more severe than in other countries," a spokesman for the association, Mats Fransson, told AFP.
"I think that the rise is the result of increased medication. We have fewer scruples today about making a horse swallow all kinds of substances so that it will recover faster," he said.
He stressed that most of the substances detected in Swedish horses are medicines aimed at helping a horse feel better faster, rather than performance-enhancing drugs.