Bradley Wiggins

TOKYO, June 29--Bidding for a third consecutive title, and to become the first four-time continental champion, Japan enters the Asian Cup recognizing that winning again has become a lot more difficult, according to AP.
Japan won the Asian Cup in 2000 by edging then defending champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 at Lebanon, and defended the title in 2004 with a 3-1 win over the host China.
With Australia joining the tournament for the first time, Japan could face a bigger challenge repeating. It was just over a year ago that Japan lost to Australia in its first match of the 2006 World Cup, conceding three goals from the 84th minute of a 3-1 loss.
The collapse in Kaiserslautern pretty much ended Japan’s hopes of advancing beyond the first round in Germany and the team bowed out after a draw with Croatia and a loss to Brazil.
But Ivica Osim, who replaced Zico as Japan coach after the World Cup, said he welcomes the addition of the Socceroos to the Asian Cup.
“I think it’s good for Asian football,“ Osim said. “It’s good for Australia because they are in a stronger group and it’s good for Asian countries because they will be competing against many talented players who play in Europe.“
Japan is in a select band of three-time champions, and is aiming to emulate Iran’s three consecutive titles from 1968.
Iran’s 1972 title in Thailand was wedged between triumphs at home in 1968--when the tournament was still in round-robin format--and ’76.
Saudi Arabia also has three titles, it’s hopes of three in a row crashing to Japan in the 1992 final. The Saudis have won three of the last six tournaments, and reached five finals.
The Japanese have dominated recent editions, winning three of the last four tournaments. This time, Osim named a provisional 30-man roster for the tournament that includes Europe-based stars Naohiro Takahara and Shunsuke Nakamura.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Takahara scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga this season. Celtic midfielder Nakamura earned both the Scottish Player of the Year and Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards for his outstanding performance throughout the season.
Japan could meet Australia in the quarterfinals should either side fail to top its group. Japan goaltender Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who was in goal for the World Cup loss to Australia, said his teammates look forward to a chance at redemption.

SINGAPORE,
June 29--Oman beat North Korea 4-2 on penalties after coming back from a first-half two-goal deficit to tie 2-2 at the end of regular play Thursday at the Singapore Invitational Tournament, said AP.
Four of Oman’s five penalty kickers successfully converted to give their team the win after two North Koreans--Ri Jun Il and Jon Chol--missed earlier. Kang Jin Hyok beat a static Omani defense with a brilliantly timed run to latch onto a through ball from An Jong Ho and then round Omani keeper Ali Al Habsi to give North Korea the lead in the 20th minute of the match, played at Jurong West Stadium.
Kang later earned a penalty for his team when Singaporean referee Abas Daud blew the whistle on Omani defender Ahmad Hadid’s two-legged challenge of him in the penalty area in the 45th minute.
An Chol Hyok converted the ensuing penalty to double North Korea’s lead. Omani forward Ahmed Mubarak, who came on as a substitute at the start of the second half, scored in the 48th minute against North Korean goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk after running past three North Korean defenders.
Oman pulled themselves level at 2-2 in the 54th minute when Ismail Al Ajmi put the ball past Ri after hitting the woodwork a minute earlier.
The Singapore Invitational Tournament is a round-robin competition that pits Singapore and North Korea against Oman and Saudi Arabia--sides preparing for the July 7-29 Asian Cup co-hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Oman is to be based in Bangkok, along with their Thai co-hosts, Australia and Iraq in Group A.

Roger Federer

WIMBLEDON, UK, June 29--Roger Federer won his 50th straight match on grass, needing only 11 minutes Thursday to complete his 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory over 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina to reach the third round at Wimbledon, reported AP.
The four-time defending champion, who will next face Marat Safin, had led 2-0 in the third set before rain halted play Wednesday. When they resumed, the top-ranked Swiss finished off del Potro, winning three straight games before Del Potro held serve in the sixth game.
“It was done quickly like I was hoping, but I was ready to go five sets in case,“ said Federer, who broke the Argentine five times and saved the only break point he faced. The No. 1-seeded Federer, trying to become only the second man in the Open era to win five straight titles at the All England Club, finished with 33 winners and made only 23 errors--one less than Del Potro.
“Fifty is a great number to achieve,“ said Federer, who is trying to match Bjorn Borg’s streak of Wimbledon titles. “I’m delighted about that but I haven’t won the tournament. Two-time Grand Slam champion Safin beat Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to advance.
“He’s always a player who can upset anybody on any day. I hope he’s not going to have one of those crazy good days against me,“ said Federer, who edged Safin 6-4 in the third set at last year’s grass-court warmup at Halle, Germany. “I feel like I will have to step it up if I want to beat him.“
Federer said skipping this year’s Halle tournament has not hurt his play, but he did admit to feeling slightly under the weather. “I have a bit of throat thing going on, but not much,“ Federer said. Three-time champion Venus Williams, wearing white spandex shorts instead of a usual skirt or dress, beat Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round in the women’s draw.
“I really haven’t played in shorts before, but my skirt was so big,“ Williams said. “I think they just made it too big.“ Williams, who struggled in the first round Tuesday but eventually beat Russian teen Alla Kudryavtseva in three sets, dominated Sromova with her first serves, winning 100 percent of those points in the first set. “I think my serve is pretty dynamic right now. It’s winning me a lot of points,“ Williams said.
In the second set, Williams saved break points in the first and seventh games.

LONDON, June 29--British number one Craig Pickering maintained his superb run of recent form by winning the 100m at the Ostrava Grand Prix on Wednesday, said AFP.
The 20-year-old clocked 10.16 seconds to finish well clear of second-placed Churandy Martina, while his compatriot Tyrone Edgar finished third.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie broke the seldom-attempted one-hour world record.
Gebrselassie covered 21.285km to beat Arturo Barrios’ long-standing mark. Barrios set the previous record of 21.101km in France on 30 March 1991.
“At around the halfway point I felt I could get the record--I felt comfortable the whole way,“ said Gebrselassie.
The Ethiopian simultaneously broke the 20km world record, also set by Barrios in 1991, clocking 56:25.98.
Pickering’s performance in the 100m was the latest in a series of recent wins, but he was keen to put his display into context.
“I ran a technically good race. My form has been improving steadily and I feel I can run even faster in Athens next week,“ he said.
“I’ve still not achieved what the likes of Tyson Gay is capable of, so I’ve still a long way to go yet.
“I’ve still have not run 10.10secs. I’ve still got several steps to take.“
Gay posted the fastest time in the world this year with a time of 9.84secs at last week’s USA Track and Field Championships.

ZURICH, Switzerland,
June 29--Faced with widespread protests across South America, FIFA blinked Wednesday and adjusted its ban on high altitude games, reported AP.
FIFA eased the restrictions to World Cup qualifiers above 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) rather than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet). The change, brought on by protests from South American countries, means international matches can still be played in the capitals of Colombia and Ecuador, but rules out Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. While the initial decision applied to all international games, the new rule will be limited to World Cup qualifiers.
The announcement by FIFA President Sepp Blatter came after the world soccer body’s executive committee heard a complaint from CONMEBOL, the 10-nation South American soccer federation, which voted unanimously two weeks ago to press FIFA to overturn the ban.
“This turned out to be a huge political discussion on a subject that was solely aimed at protecting players’ health,“ Blatter acknowledged. “We do not want to keep people from playing football at altitude ... (but) we do not want casualties on the field.“ The FIFA limit was adjusted 500 meters (1,640 feet) higher.
“Our medical committee has acknowledged there is a certain measure of flexibility in its recommendations,“ Blatter added. Citing medical concerns for players and an unfair home advantage for highland teams, FIFA last month prohibited international tournaments and World Cup qualifying matches in stadiums above 2,500 meters.
The original ruling eliminated all international matches in the capitals of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador, and in the stadiums of leading teams in Peru, Chile and Mexico. Wednesday’s ruling will still block World Cup matches from being held in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, which sits at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level, or in Cuzco, Peru.
But World Cup matches will now be allowed in Bogota, Colombia, 2,640 meters (8,700 feet) above sea level, and in Quito, Ecuador, at 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) above sea level. Blatter also noted that club matches and any non-World Cup games could still be held in stadiums above 3,000 meters. “For all matches not related to the World Cup, we will not intervene,“ Blatter said.
Andean doctors at a CONMEBOL conference two weeks ago insisted there were “no major problems“ with playing at altitude. Other medical experts disagree, however, saying that playing at higher elevations can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue and insomnia.

PARIS, June 29--Britain’s Bradley Wiggins has been named in Cofidis’ nine-man team for next month’s Tour de France.
According to AFP, the 28-year-old, who will now be among the favorites for the opening prologue stage in London, was not certain of his place in the team.
But victory in the prologue of the Dauphine Libere two weeks ago proved his credentials.
The Olympic pursuit gold medalist completed last year’s Tour and finished 16th in the prologue.
Cofidis will have high hopes for other stage wins in the Tour, with Sylvain Chavanel, Nick Nuyens and Rik Verbrugghe all realistic contenders.

MADRID, Spain, June 29--Real Madrid’s board of directors was expected to announce the dismissal of coach Fabio Capello, with Bernd Schuster the leading candidate to replace him, news reports said.
“Fabio, You’re Fired,“ was the banner headline on leading sports daily Marca Thursday, reported AFP.
“The Way’s Open for Schuster,“ said sports daily AS, adding that Madrid would dismiss Capello at Thursday’s board meeting. A club spokeswoman confirmed the board was meeting at noon but could give no details on what they would discuss. Speculation has been rampant in recent weeks that the club would get rid of Capello, even though the Italian coach led Madrid to the league championship earlier this month, ending a four-year trophy drought.
The meeting came as Capello was on holiday abroad. Club president Ramon Calderon said earlier this week Madrid was considering offering the job to Arsene Wenger,
Ronald Koeman or Michael Laudrup.
But Spanish media said Calderon favors Schuster, Getafe’s German coach and a former star for Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
However, Getafe FC posted a statement on its Web side Thursday insisting Schuster had a contract with the club until June 2008.
Calderon has never denied the club was thinking on firing Capello but has repeatedly said the final decision would be made by sports director Predrag Mijatovic.
Calderon said he had always liked Schuster as a coach, and had suggested him last year as a replacement for Lopez Caro, who had a six-month spell in charge of Madrid after replacing Vanderlei Luxemburgo. Caro was replaced by Capello instead.